Anarchy Arcade News

Today's small update fixes a bug that caused web content - such as YouTube videos etc. - to often fail to load.

Change Log:
- Fixed a bug w/ sync timing with the Steamworks Web Browser by delaying loading of URLs until after the 1st "render" callback. (Temporary hotfix until the issue itself is resolved in Steam.)

[h2]Object Grab / Inspect[/h2]
Pick things up & hold them very close to your face. Rotate & move them w/ mouse or joysticks. This is what the new Object Grab command in the Tab Menu > Commands tab lets you do.

They go back to where they were when you let go of them. Here's the details on how to control things you grab.

[h3]Gamepad[/h3]

• Left Analog = Move X/Y
  
• Right Analog = Rotate
  
• LT/RT = Move Up/Down
  
• Start = Exit Inspect Mode
  
• Hold LB = Carry Mode
  

[h3]Keyboard & Mouse[/h3]

• Left Mouse = Rotate
  
• Right Mouse = Move X/Y
  
• Middle Mouse = Move X/Z
  
• CTRL + Right or Middle Mouse = Move Rotation Origin
  
• CTRL + any 2 mouse buttons at the same time = Reset Rotation Origin
  
• Hold SHIFT = Carry Mode
  

The default rotation origin is the center point of the model. Sometimes models have weird center points (like if they have invisible bones.) So that's when you'll want to use the Move & Reset Rotation Origin stuff.

When you're in Carry Mode you can walk around while holding the object. Its rotation might get weird while you're walking around, but when you go back to Inspect Mode it should be smooth again.

Note that rotation behaves differently after you've walked around. This will be improved in the future.



[h2]Custom Cabients Tab[/h2]
Custom cabinets now have their own category on the Build Menu. Hold down the Virtual Mouse Input button (right mouse) while placing an item to access it.

Any cabinet that doesn't already exist in one of the other categories will show up here. They'll just have the default auto-generated thumbnail (if you have model thumbnails enabled.)

You can also hide cabinets from the menu. (See Settings > UI tab > Manage Hidden Entries to un-hide stuff, if needed.)

Custom cabinets are created by compiling Source engine props that reference special material names to indicate the screen & marquee surfaces. Technical info on how to create custom cabinets is at: https://trello.com/c/F3KfrfEu/1887-advanced-cabinet-guide



[h2]Radial Menu Command[/h2]
You can already access your library through the regular Library Browser by middle-clicking on an empty spot. Or you could already use the F6 button to access the Tab Menu > Library tab view of your library.

Now there is also the Radial Menu - which you can bind in the Commands Tab. Here's the deal with the radial menu...

It is all about the objects that are IN your current arcade - and quick access to your favorites lists to spawn new things.

It shows you nearby objects on pages. (Or you can use View Full Object List if you wanted to search through ALL objects in your arcade.)

You can click on an object in the menu to spawn another clone of it - or you can display a favorites list & spawn stuff from it instead.

Objects that already exist in your current arcade are highlighted. This makes it easier to avoid spawning the same thing twice. (This improvement also applies to the F6 Library tab.)

The Radial Menu also lets you update a model's thumbnail. Long-click with left-mouse on a model to regenerate its thumbnail.



[h2]Studio Cameras Hotkeys[/h2]
If you ever wanted to switch between specific camera views like some kind of virtual talk show camera operator - now you can.

Numpad 0-9 can now be used as camera hotkeys. CTRL + NUMPAD# to set your current position as a camera. Then just NUMPAD# to cut to that camera. ESC to exit. (You must be in 1st person mode.)

Camera positions will save automatically as convars (as long as AArcade doesn't crash-close.) They don't save per-map though.


[h2]Custom Particle Systems in Multiplayer[/h2]
Today's update improves AArcade's ability to sync custom map assets to include Source engine particle systems.

When you create custom maps through AArcade's Level Editor menu and then host your map in an online server, the custom assets (models, textures, etc.) you use can be synced by AArcade without you having to go through the technical steps that are normally required. (ie. PakRat not required.) And now the assets related to custom particle systems will also sync.

Lots of stuff from games like TF2. Rain drops, puddles, fire, magic dragons - anything you can get into Hammer.


[h2]Hammer Trigger Volume Enhancement[/h2]
Useful for parenting prop_shortcut's to moving entities during runtime - today's update includes the ability for trigger volume entities to filter entities by origin rather than BBOX. This allows for easier rigging of TV's that slide out of the floor or other interactive uses.

(Technically, you set the Disallow Bots flag to indicate to AArcade that you want to filter w/ origin.)

We have an example VMF that can be shared in our Discord if you are a Hammer user and wish to see how to use it.


[h2]Updated TheMovieDb.org Wizard[/h2]
Wizards are scripts that help you look up info about media on database sites - so that you don't have to manually fill out all the details about mainstream games & movies that you spawn.

There are only 2 wizards that are maintained in working condition: the Steam Store for games, and TheMovieDb for movies. (The rest are outdated & will be hidden/removed soon.)

Today's update has a fix to AArcade's TheMovieDb wizard so that it can properly retrieve poster & wallpaper images again.

Note that as an alternative to wizards you could use drag & drop. You could drag & drop images directly from your desktop or standalone web browser into a specific image channel of an item in AArcade if you hover over the object & choose a channel before you drop it in.


[h2]In-progress for next time[/h2]
There are some features in-the-works that I couldn't get polished enough for this update, so they'll likely be in the next one.

Those include: VR support, simple pets that follow you around, item spawn randomization, item re-roll, Libretro next/previous buttons, export to Hammer, Source vehicle menu. Stay tuned for future update news - or drop into the Discord if you'd like to follow dev more closely or interact w/ the community. (There's a link on the bottom of AnarchyArcade.com )

I hope you enjoy the inspect mode as much as I do, and find the Radial Menu useful! I'll be in the Discord as usual in case anything comes up. Have fun! ːilyː ːspg2anarchyː

P.S.
If you're wondering why my screenshots look so good, it's ReShade! If you need help setting up ReShade, feel free to ask or check out this help doc: https://hackmd.io/@smsithlord/H1fdj8T-9#How-to-manually-update-ReShade

[h2]Change Log[/h2]

• Added Object Grab to the Commands tab. It lets you pick up & inspect objects. Gamepad: Left analog = move X/Y, right analog = rotate, LT/RT = move up/down, start = exit, hold LB = carry mode. Keyboard & mouse: Left mouse = rotate, right mouse = move X/Y, middle mouse = move X/Z, CTRL + right/middle mouse = move rotation origin, CTRL + 2 mouse buttons at same time = reset rotation origin, hold SHIFT = carry mode.
  
• Added a Custom tab to the cabinet selection on the Build Menu. Any cabinets that aren’t already in other categories will appear in this tab. Can also hide cabinets from the menu. (See Settings > UI tab > Manage Hidden Entries to un-hide stuff, if needed.)
  
• Added Radial Menu to the Commands tab. It is an alternative way to see nearby objects, spawn things from favorites lists, see a full list of all objects in the world, or regenerate model thumbnails. (Long-click w/ left-mouse on a model thumbnail to regenerate.)
  
• Added support for hotkey controlled studio-style cameras. CTRL + NUMPAD# to set your current position as a camera. Then NUMPAD# to cut to that camera. ESC to exit. Must be in 1st person mode.
  
• Added support for syncing Source engine particle system assets in multiplayer. (If you use custom particle systems in your custom multiplayer map, you’ll have to re-host for changes to take effect.)
  
• Hammer: Added support for trigger volumes to filter objects based on ORIGIN point instead of BBOX. (Set the “Disallow Bots” flag to indicate to AArcade that you want to filter w/ origin.)
  
• Updated the TheMovieDb’s wizard to properly retrieve poster & wallpaper images again. (Note that only the Steam Store and The Movie DB wizards are expected to be in working order.)
  
• Improved “[driveletter]:/Windows” folder blacklisting to allow for things like “[driveletter]:/Windows Stuff”.
  
• Improved stability of joining multiplayer servers a little bit. (Erroneous double slashes in internal asset names no longer cause 0 byte MDLs.)

Greetings! Today’s update is a variety pack of small improvements, plenty of fixes, and a new console command to test out upcoming Source engine vehicle system support.


The avatar images of other people are now fixed on the menus & in-game, so now you’ll once again be able to know who you’re lookin' at just by lookin' at 'em.

Singleplayer in our own worlds are where most of us spend our time, but you can always try clicking the small Multiplayer > Servers button on the main menu to find other worlds, or host your own world that you’re in.

ːfallingmanː When exploring as a multiplayer guest, remember to have patience as things load in. For the best experience, it’s good to not click the OK button until after it looks like all the objects have finished spawning in. And check your Transfers Tab (by holding down TAB button) to watch as custom assets load in - to understand where any lag might be coming from as you walk around. Sometimes re-joining the server after all the custom assets have transferred helps things sync up more accurately. ːilyː


The menus for importing your Steam games are fixed and once again let you import your Steam collection in 1 large batch - or you could import just recent games instead.

You can access this feature by middle-clicking on an empty spot & choosing the Steam icon that’s underneath the search box.

Alternatively, you can still add your Steam games one-at-a-time instead by typing the game’s name into the search box BEFORE you click on the Steam icon & choose Steam Store.

And remember that you can spawn ANY game (ie. non-Steam games) by dragging & dropping their desktop shortcut into AArcade’s window while in walking around mode.


Stickers let you apply a game’s Steam Achievement icon images - or your own custom PNGs - as decorations on the cabinet’s marquee surfaces.

You do this by going to an item’s Edit Item menu > Stickers tab. There it’ll show the default stickers available, and also instructions on how to add your own custom PNGs as stickers. (You should try to use low-resolution PNGs so they load quickly for you.)

In today’s update, you’ll be able to add up to 6 stickers per item (increased from 4.)


[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
AArcade has the ability to always animate certain types of media in an optimized way using a dynamic video texture atlas.

Animated GIFs, animated APNGs, short low-resolution MP4 videos, and as of today's update - WEBM videos are all supported by the Always Animated Images feature. Sometimes it’s useful to even set non-animated PNGs or GIFs as an always animated image so that it can make use of its alpha channel.

You have to manually flag which items you want to always animate. On the F7 Commands Tab there is a command called Always Animate Image near the top of the list.

It’s worth setting it to a hotkey on your action bar if you’ll be using it often.

Using the command will toggle the item you are looking at (or the nearest item to where you are looking at) to being always animated. If it shows up as a broken image icon when you do this, it means that the item you tried to flag as always animated did not have a supported media bound to it, so you should toggle it off then.

To bind a command to a hotkey on your action bar on the F7 Commands Tab, first hover over the button number you want to set a command to, then click the small box above it to switch to SET mode. Finally, click on the command in the list you want to bind to the hotkey.



Today’s update is the 1st in a series that will improve AArcade’s support of the Source engine vehicle system. Physics-based car vehicles (such as the HL2 jeep) are now testable in AArcade w/ a console command.

You can use this console (~) command to spawn the HL2 jeep: createcar

The HL2 jeep will spawn by default. But the console command can be further customized to specify different model & vehicle scripts to use on the car you spawn. This is an advanced feature, so be sure to jump into the AArcade Discord if you need some help figuring it out, but here is the more advanced syntax of the createcar command:

createcar "models/buggy.mdl" "scripts/vehicles/jeep_test.txt"

By combining the createcar command w/ pre-existing UGC vehicles from compatible Source engine games, you can put a new spin on the worlds you build. ːdealwithitː

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

That’s all for today! We are resuming our monthly community meetups as well, so head into our Discord (https://discord.gg/xtPSqy8) if you are interested or need any help with AArcade. Or post your question here in the official Steam forums if you are okay with a slightly slower response. Later on! ːilyː

[h2]Change Log[/h2]

• Added 2 additional sticker slots per cabinet, increasing the max from 4 to 6.
  
• Added a "Marquee" body group to the Fatty cabinet that lets you cycle between WIDE or TALL aspect ratios.
  
• Added WEBM video support to Always Animated Images.
  
• Added initial support for camera cut hotkeys.
  
• Added console command createcar. Syntax is: createcar VEHICLE_MODEL VEHICLE_SCRIPT
  
• Added a “replace object” icon when hovering over an in-world object while dragging & dropping something into AArcade.
  
• Improved preview logic to not treat Always Animated Image MP4s from Gyazo as if they were full-length videos when used in an item's stream field.
  
• Fixed in-game avatar images loading to TV heads.
  
• Fixed a bug w/ importing all & importing recently played Steam games.
  
• Fixed support for Source engine land vehicles - such as the HL2 jeep or similar vehicles from other Source engine games.
  
• Fixed various bugs w/ drag & drop item updating.
  
• Fixed a bug w/ TheMovieDB wizard setting incorrect type of “other” on media it matched. It now correctly sets type to “movies”.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the web browser address bar to appear blank sometimes. (Also impacted some wizards causing them to put blank "reference" URLs into the item's meta data.)

[h3]NOTE[/h3]
At 1:42pm Pacific there was a hotfix to this update that removed some debug buttons from the Main Menu that weren't supposed to be there. (They can be unhidden still for people who wish to test/debug stuff. More info in the Discord for those interested.)

Hello everybody! Today's small patch is to fix a bug with the createItem menu that interacted with the YouTube API for fetching video titles etc. This patch fixes the issue & will allow YT videos to spawn as normal again.

Note For ReShade Users
If you love using ReShade.me, like I do, then you'll notice that AArcade client updates reset your ReShade settings & you have to re-update to the newest ReShade version from their official site.

Here are the instructions to manually update your ReShade if the process is new to you: View Instructions on HackMD

Change Log:

• Fixed a bug w/ the createItem menu that caused YT videos to fail to fetch their title etc.
  

Hello all! Today's update adds a new camera mode (called Auto Director), the ability to save screenshots of in-game tasks, improved previews for Archive.org shortcuts, several bug fixes, and the ability to use short low-res MP4s as always animated images on cabinet screens!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Always Animated MP4s (+improvements)[/h2]
You can now use MP4s on items the same way you use normal Always Animated Images. Remember - images & MP4's that are always animating are also always loaded in memory (when visible), so for good performance it's important to only use short, low-resolution MP4s.

Seeing a room of arcade cabinets in AArcade all w/ video clips dynamically on their screens is like a dream come true for me. :)

To help you create good MP4s to use, there is a short tutorial on how to do it using Gyazo here: https://hackmd.io/@smsithlord/H1fdj8T-9#How-to-use-MP4s-as-Always-Animated-Images

Also in today's update, Always Animated Images (and MP4s) have been improved to un-load themselves if they haven't been rendered in the last few seconds - which *usually* results in higher resolution animated images in the room you are actually hanging out in.

[h2]Camera Auto Director[/h2]
This new camera mode uses your F5 screenshots as fixed-camera positions that track you as you walk around (inspired by Resident Evil's camera system.)

First, you must take some F5 screenshots in your arcade. Then go to Tab Menu > Commands tab and use the Camera Auto Director Toggle command. Use the command a 2nd time to toggle it off.

[h2]In-Game Task Screenshots[/h2]
If you've ever found yourself wanting to capture a screenshot of **only** an in-game task, now on the Tab Menu > Commands tab there is Task Snapshot.

It will capture the active in-game's last rendered frame as a TGA & save it into Anarchy Arcade/aarcade_user/taskshots.


[h2]Commands Tab Console Command Macros[/h2]
This one is a bit advanced & for people who are familiar with using the Source engine developer console (~) to bind custom commands to keys.

All of the commands from the Tab Menu > Commands tab are now defined as console command macros all prefixed with "cmd_". You can use "find cmd_" in the console to see a list of all available macros. And you can bind them using "bind p cmd_spawn_objects" (for example.)

[h2]Improved Archive.org Previews[/h2]
AArcade is now able to detect Archive.org URLs & automatically show the "embed" version of the link instead of the details link when previewing in-game. This lets you drag & drop links from Acrhive.org w/ better in-game previews w/o needing to manually customize your item further.

This system of locally detecting a database site's URL & generating the preview version of the URL instead will likely be expanded to support user customization in the future.


[h2]Smoke Volume Fixes[/h2]
Today's update fixes an old bug (originally related to the Fog Machine prop) that caused smoke volumes that were in maps themselves to be broken.

Now smoke volumes work in maps again - and also the Fog Machine prop has been improved to be more reliable.


[h2]Quest Improvements[/h2]
Today Coin Collect EZ quest templates have been improved to be linkable to Gossip EZ quests, & vice versa. This lets you create a quest chain where you must talk to an NPC before he gives you a "collect the objects" objective, and lets you tie completing the collect object quest back to any other quest you have waiting.

Another big update to the quest system is the ability to fire Source engine entity I/O from a quest dialogue using a new [ent_fire I/O_INFO_HERE] tag. This is *mostly* only useful to people who create their own maps in Hammer. However, with enough snooping around a map w/ console commands, it's possible to find stuff in exiting maps you could trigger from quests using ent_fire.

You'd first make sure your ent_fire command works using the (~) developer console. Technical information on how to use the ent_fire console command can be found here: https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Ent_fire

Documentation for the quest system itself is still a work-in-progress, so please feel free to jump into our Discord if you need any help creating quests of your own.


[h2]ReShade Manual Update Instructions[/h2]
AArcade's launcher has some special support for working w/ ReShade's d3d9.dll. However, there is currently an AArcade bug that resets your ReShade settings every time there is a client update.

While I work towards a solution to properly support ReShade - it is suggested that users manually update their ReShade to the newest version using the special instructions provided here: https://hackmd.io/@smsithlord/H1fdj8T-9#How-to-manually-update-ReShade

If you're not familiar with ReShade - it is a 3rd party project that adds awesome post-processing effects to DirectX games (like HL2 and AArcade.) The project's website is: https://reshade.me

While ReShade works out-of-the-box with tons of popular games by using their install wizard like normal, the setup to use with AArcade is slightly different because of where our d3d9.dll is & what it's named. So be sure to give the AArcade instructions up there a look before jumping in w/ ReShade.

[h2]Bug Fixes & Improvements[/h2]
Some other fixes (other than the ones already mentioned) include avatar images in multiplayer should be fixed now, some things in the Settings menu have had their help text updated, and a couple obsolete options & commands have been purged.

Also, TheMovieDB wizard has been updated to work for getting movie meta data again. Note that the only 2 wizards expected to be in working order currently are TheMovieDB and the Steam Store wizards. (The defunct & obsolete wizards will be purged soon - with drag & drop features improving to help assist with item customization.)


[h2]Community Avatar Pack + Screenshot Event[/h2]
Recently several members of the community prepared their personal avatars of themselves to become NPCs in AArcade. We shared the pack with each other & posed our characters in our arcades for some fun screenshots.

Thanks to everybody who participated in this version of the community avatar pack - and looking forward to adding more community members' characters to the pack. Feel free to jump into the Discord or hang out in the twitch.tv/anarchyarcade chat to get involved with the AArcade community yourself!

[h2]Our Discord + Occasional Multiplayer Meetups + Weekly Live Stream[/h2]
If you have any questions or just want to get active in the AArcade community, you are invited to join our Discord here: https://discord.gg/xtPSqy8

We have occasional multiplayer meetups & field trips where we explore worlds together. They are organized in the Discord and streamed onto the weekly twitch.tv/AnarchyArcade live stream when they happen. You are invited to participate in the chat there as well.

That's all for today's update! Party on ya'll!

[h2]Change Log[/h2]

• Added Camera Auto Director Mode that uses your F5 screenshots in your arcade as Resident Evil-style camera positions that track you as you move around.
  
• Added Camera Audo Director Toggle to the Tab Menu > Commands tab.
  
• Added a new console command task_screenshot that saves a screenshot of the active in-game task into aarcade_user/taskshots
  
• Added Task Snapshot commands to the Commands tab.
  
• Added cmd_ console commands for all commands on the Commands tab. (If you type "find cmd_" into the console, it will show you all of them.
  
• Added support for MP4 URLs to be used as Always Animating Images. (IMPORTANT: Only set
• *very** short
• *very** low resolution MP4's to always be animated.)
  
• Added Always Animated Images MP4 Support to the Settings > UI tab. When enabled, MP4's will animate just like GIFs do when set to always animate.
  
• Improved Always Animated Images to auto-remove images from the active atlas if a screen that uses it hasn't been rendered within the last 360 frames.
  
• Changed the help text for Show Windows Task Bar & Max Library Search Results in the Settings > UI tab.
  
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused the console variable that controls Always Animating Images to be stuck in the OFF state.
  
• Removed "Right Free Mouse Toggle" from the Settings > UI tab, because it is obsolete for now.
  
• Changed Auto Inspect logic to prefer the Preview field over the Stream field, by default. (To better accommodate you assigning short MP4s to the Stream field to always animate.)
  
• Fixed avatar images on the Online Servers menu.
  
• Improved line wrapping on the Online Servers menu.
  
• Added a Copy Link button next to each server listed in the Online Servers menu.
  
• Added $glassenvmap and $dudv to the list of material attributes that get detected when adopting/syncing custom assets.
  
• Improved JSON exports of arcades by including the BodyGroup of objects as a "body" value in the JSON.
  
• Improved Auto Inspect behavior to automatically embed archive.org file URLs. (Clicking on an archive.org video or comic will now show it in preview mode instead of detail mode.)
  
• Fixed a bug that prevented smoke volumes built into maps from working properly.
  
• Fixed a bug w/ the Fog Machine prop that caused it to be unreliable.
  
• Added ability for quest dialogues to trigger world logic via a new [ent_fire ...] quest dialogue tag. It uses Source engine entity I/O - just like you'd type into the ~ developer console.
  
• Improved Coin Collect quests to support the Object Presence values of: Always, Until Collected, and After Begun.
  
• Improved EZ Quest Presets to be more resistant to loading invalid values.
  
• Added ability to chain Gossip quests into Coin Collect quests & vice-versa.
  
• Added support for Coin Collect quests to chain into other quests.
  
• Fixed TheMovieDB Wizard.