Talk:TXMT/Introduction-Analogy
[under construction/ work in progress/ still underdevelopped]
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As we found out that there are several methods and concepts with advantages/disadvantages I post in here several trials - Pixelhate, your input needed, others are welcome =) I enlarged the text-font-size a bit, hopefully nicer to read...
To fulfill the needs/ offer analogies/explanations fitting the skills of the one or other creator (level: beginner, average, advanced - experts shouldn't need a prepared analogy anymore) I think offering the result with these 3 types would be easier to follow/understand - so grouping the suggestions correctly is important, too =)
Definition trial - other opinions are welcome - and example of what I mean:
Beginner: *a fitting clear headline like 'Beginner start reading here' LOL* (just started modding, is doing first tutorials and is still quite confused/ overwhelmed)
Average: *a headline which guids the average one to read this text* (already did some things, can prepare packages of average difficulty and wants to find out more possibilities/ starts to edit even more of the package structure)
Advanced: *headline which makes it clear that the advanced modder has to start reading here* (already started to edit the package structure itself, first experiences in complicated things like e.g. anims, slots so this one has already a feeling and understanding for this topic though an overview about the whole possibilities and knowledge how to work with certain parameters etc.is missing/ wanted)
Remarks
- First I think you should stick to Wiki-formatting and not use styles to format. That way we can get this wiki to a consistent look.
- Second for my personal opinion this approach is far too prosaic and should be far more technical without overwhelming the users with lower technical knowledge. I see this Wiki as a technical handbook and not as a paint-it-yourself-picturebook for the technically challenged (to use this term again... ;o). But - as I already stated - this is only my opinion.
- I do not understand, why the article is not presented on the still empty article page and is only discussed here on the discussion page, because that's how a Wiki usually works...? Xanathon 07:44, 14 December 2006 (EST)
The styles - :lol: I decided to use them as long as Numenor needs time to find an unique format for all the sites which belong to the "TXMT encyclopedia" (yes, that's it's title and it wasn't me who suggested this) because it already looks different to the other SimPe- explanations and this encyclopedia will be different to the other sites - because in generally, it is possible to explain things in a way you can understand and use them without having to understand everything, the background, included - like e.g. someone is able to use a PC for his job, can handle the required programs perfectly though he doesn't know how his PC actualy works (1|0, what happens within the RAM etc.), how the programs work to do what he wants them to do, without knowing what exactly his OS does - though he has to call the support when software or hardware are broken he can do his job and manage everything he needs for that. That's my opinion, I think Numenor thinks similar (if not, why should he want to do it ;o), Niol too and many others who know that you are able to do quite a lot with understanding the way you have to do things why, only in SimPe. It would be so much easier if this understanding (which is definately working) would be supported on the Wiki in an even more efficient way than tutorials can. One of the "goals" of this project is certainly proving that we are right; with the informations offered to you in a "language" you talk you can understand such a complicated topic like the Material Definition, you can even use the TXMT correctly in your packages without havng to ask others how to adjust it.
Of course, if someone wants to keep the wiki to be a sophisticated "White men over 50 with blonde hair and green eyes who were already divorced at least 4 times, their mothers were called Kunigunde coming from Burundi while they grew up in Alice Springs, London and Moscow and went to Yale only - Club" the amount of possible members should be quite small - but I think the Wiki itself isn't as sophisticated as some are smug about it. This depends only on the people who use it and on their toerance, their want to get others to be able to join - and of course the want of those others to do whatever they can do on their own to understand the offered info.
Nevertheless every journey starts with the first step =)
Ehm, Xanathon, don't get me wrong, I already noticed that you don't get the way it works this time, we came to something completely different =) Lots of stuff is discussed in the TXMT-thread on MTS2, lots of stuff is only discussed between the 4 project members Numenor, Niol, Pixelhate and me so "suddenly" some results just appear in here.
In the thread Inge and Peter Jones got already "involved" as they want to write a plugin for SimPe for "the technically challenged" to handle the TXMT better and also Teko who investigates the Material Shaders can share his knowledge about the shaders with us like we can offer the TXMT stuff to him so you see, it is already a "network" in progress and that's exactly why I think it is possible to enable the Wiki advantages also for people who cannot program C++ or other programming languages just because everybody who visits the Wiki tries his very best to understand - and help helping yourself is a very well working principle, isn't it?
To your personal opinion: thank you =) Actually this is the first of several different versions that shall explain the background, "what is this material definition actually good for", in several difficulties (beginner, average and advantaged modder) explained via an analogy, a not too technical comparison as an intro, because the real technical explanation is explained on the next (still missing) page before it goes on explaining and listing data, the whole content of the TXMT, it's meaning, purpose, required cross links like the material shaders, the "envcubes" are needed, too and and and - so in the end every kind of "knowledge" will be able to read what this one understands, can even go on and read the next level of dificulty for camparison and may even understand in there things, just because info was available. You know what's important before you do the first step of a long journey, don't you? When the project goes on, it will be possible that people even learn walking in here before they start their journey exploring the whole TXMT, other features etc. That's what I think because I know ow "teaching yourself" works - you can learn a lot as long as you try it on your own and know where you have to look for.
It would be cool if you try to understand the principle and go on with offering input to the project, I think your opinion can be helpful, too =)
Khaibit 08:59, 14 December 2006 (EST)
- Count me out. My time is limited and I'm not willing to fill it with reading elongated essays that could have been stated with four or five precise sentences (as above). I am sure that one can teach even the "technically challenged" how to use "this" with technical termini set in an explaining context without telling "fairy tales" in the process. Anyway: Good luck. Xanathon 11:25, 14 December 2006 (EST)
Introduction to the Material Definion (TXMT)
What is it good for - an analogy for fundamental understanding
The Futuristic House
Imagine you live in a futuristic hightech house which is totally computer-controlled. You can adjust so many settings that you need to know the owner's manual first before you can use your house, live in there. Already the available functions and settings for every kind of appearance are too complicated to know about their possibilities. Some of these settings affect others, they interact with each other while other settings are only adjustable when you enabled the main setting for this area and others don't need further choices as they can only be turned on or off.
When you decide you want your house to dye the window glass when the sun shines you enable this option so now you have to adjust additional parameters for it. Do you want to dye the glass only around noon, to protect sensitive plants (only in a certain room?) and how do you want the colour of the dyed glass to behave? Shall it change - when, why and how? When the window glass is dyed do you maybe want the house to turn the light on automatically when you enter a certain room because the glass even decreased it's transparency? Do you want to have plate glass outside while it's matt inside?
Probably you noticed that this 'window glass example' was about Transparency and Reflectivity, even Animation and ordinary texture changes caused by Lightning parameters. That is not all yet: The wall and floor coverings, the surface of your furniture, decoration, your personal stuff, the stories you can read in books, the texture of your plants inside and in your garden, your clothes and even your texture, the color of your skin, everything is managed by the Material Definition (in this futuristic high tech house anyway). The Material Definition - by means of single parameters or groups of them - completely manages every aspect of the appearance of every kind of texture applied to the mesh.
Of course the Material Definition offers tons of possibilities so you can adjust/ tune and of course add these window-setting parameters and many more to your personal wishlish of "hightech house behaviour", though in the Material Definition you only can choose texture relating parameters. Some of them are independent while other choices need further fine tuning. If you decide to switch one of the hightech house behaviour parametes off it will automatically turn off its adjustment- subparameters if there were some. Some parameter are interrelated in a way that changes in one parameter immediately affect the other, related one, others are stand alone parameters and depending on the way you mix your parameter- bundle your windows will behave, look and even work in different ways - to adjust them easily you will understand how to handle the tool for changes like this, the Material Definition, correctly, easily and even in a more efficient way than you probably did before.
(next try, shall be simple/easier:)
A Sim's View Of Things
Explaining the TXMT from Sim to Sim who's fresh created and explores his universe...
"Hello! You just moved in? I'm Mortimer Goth."
"Yes, I did. Didn't even have the time to take a look at my house though for some reason I know where to find what. My name is Bob Andrews. Nice to meet you, Mortimer."
"Nice to meet you, too, Bob. So you wonder about all the things you know for some reason, like my phone number too?"
"Yes, indeed! Now that you say it - what's going on here?"
"Hahaha! Don't worry, we are Sims! We live in a virtual world extra created for us to live in."
"You are kidding, Mortimer! This shall be a virtual world?"
"Yes, it is. Let me explain: all you can see consists of meshes. These are the shapes of objects like a table, the walls and the ground you stand on are meshes, too like your clothes and even your body is a mesh."
Bob looks around, looks at Mortimer from top to bottom and looks at himself, his shoes, trousers, feels his face and looks at his fingers.
"Meshes, I see..." he replies still doubting, "But why do they all look so different?"
"I understand your confusion, Bob. Believe me, it's true. These meshes are nothing but shapes and to let them look different and create certain effects like transparency of glass or let a car shine and also let the wooden table look like a non reflecting wood surface there are more things required than only a texture covering the mesh. This is all managed by a so called Material Definition. This material definition makes the mesh appearing with the right texture for it with the right options applied to it. For example your jeans would look strange if they were reflective while your fridge would look strange if the metal would look dull. When it's e.g. about reflectivity the material definition tells the mesh not only to use a texture - it can use one of course but it doesn't have to. The material definition can create color and effects to a mesh even without texture. In this case only color can be appied for example to an additional helper you don't see itself, only the result. This helper can be a certain so called "envcube" which is added to create shiny reflective material like e.g. metal and glass. Sounds confusing, doesn't it?"
"Oh yes, it does! Everything consits of meshes which can have a texture or only color applied to it with additional helpers or not - and all this is managed by a material definition which uses enff...thingy-helpers or not... What?"
"Envcubes like the reflectionkitchenhighcontrast-envcube don't only have complicated names but they are some of the helpers creating effects. When one of the helpers is in use and you have a certain material that is displayed correctly it can happen that it does not need a normal texture like a color of a skintone, a cloth-texture, a surface texture of an object. In this case the material definition manages the correct appearance of the mesh even without a texture so e.g. the glass can look clear or reddish or greenish without a texture but only with a certain color value determined in the material definition. Because the material definition is not only a powerful manager but also complicated all roads lead to Rome. You can see a reddish glass that uses a texture, too.
So a mesh needs a kind of texture which can only be a certain color, too. To let the mesh look like we see it the material definition defines how the mesh is displayed. The material definition controlls the properties of the texture-parts of meshes like a table with wooden and glass parts. Sometimes this works by using helpers like these envcubes we don't see while they create the correct look of meshes. This is the way it works as we live in a vitual world - and because of that you also know some things like my phone-number or where to find your bathroom but this is not controlled by the material defintion, of course. Do you believe me now?" Mortimer asks smiling.
"Uhm, yes, it seems like you are right, Mortimer. Thank you. Let me think about that for a while and now for something completely different. Do you like tennis?"
(another trial:)
The Tree's Branches
*getting prepared*
Standard (o-8-15 :P) file tree structure compared with the TXMT
The Sims 2: Behind The Scenes/ Off The Stage
*getting prepared*
compareable to these 'organs of a human talk to each other' stories, want to describe/explain the results with "listening to the program" and it's tasks to display the game... TRON is alive ;)
