I' don't want to create a level with no moving parts! How do I use COGs? I've read the elevator and doors tutorials but I still can't seem to grasp the Idea of COGs.

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Never where I want, only where I need...

Ok, lets say you have a door. Now, a doors not much good unless it moves, right? So we need to things; to tell the door to move, and then to tell it where to move.


A cog tells the door to move. Theres a few included with JK that can do it, or I oculd write you up a simple one here. Ill assume your using JED, so the following instructions will be specific.


1) Hit F7. This brings up the cog placer.
2) Click on "Add cog".
3) Browse for your door cog. Yo ucan use one of JK's door cogs, or your own.
4) Click 'Ok'.
5) Select your door in either the 3d preview or the wireframe.
6) Go back to the cog placer, select the cog in the list, then highlight the "Door" value on the left.
7) Hit "Alt-G". This will automatically insert your door's frame number into the cog.

Congrats, the cog is placed. Now, when playing the level, and you activate the door, it will be told to move. It wont, however, because we still haven't told it where to move.


1) Select your door in either the 3d or wireframe view.
2) Bring up the thing editor (Enter).
3) Click on "Add value". Call it "numframes" and hit OK.
4) Click "Add value" again. Call this one "frame".
5) Repeat step 4.

Ok, by now your door should have 3 new values: "numframes", "frame", and another "frame". (if not, redo the last secion) The "numframes" value will tell the door how many positions it will have available to move though. The "frame" values tell the door where to move to. In this case, we have 2 of them; an open and a closed posistion. You can have more than 2 if you like.

6) Open up Notepad or your favorite *lightweight* text editor.
7) Click on "Copy frame value" in your door's thing editor.
8) Go to Notepad and paste the value in. Add a new line under it.
9) Go back to the wireframe view. Move your door to its "open" position. Be precise.
10) Load the thing editor and copy the frame value again.
11) Paste this value in Notepad on the second line.
12) Go back to JED, and hit Ctrl+Z. This should snap the door back to its previous position. If it doesnt, youll have ot manually move it back.

Ok, at this point, your door should be in its "closed" position, and your should have Notepad open with 2 frame values. If not, redo the last secion.

13) Bring up your door's thing editor.
14) Click on the "numframes" value. Set it to 2.
15) Go over to Notepad. Copy the FIRST frame value.
16) Go back to JED, and the thing editor.
17) Click on the FIRST "frame" value. Paste the frame in.
18) Go back to Notepad, copy the SECOND frame value.
19) JED, thing editor, click on the SECOND "frame" value. Paste it in.

Congrats, your door it set up. It should now operate properly ingame.

I walked you through the long way of setting up door values, but its a good skill to know. This time may have taken awhile, but you will get faster.


Any quesitons, post them here.

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The future is here, and all bets are off.

Ok, so an elevator COG would be basicaly the same way?

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Never where I want, only where I need...

Seems it would. The only difference is that some of the elevators are triggered to move differently (by entering a sector instead of activating the elev).

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I am Darth Slaw.
The Dark Lord of the Sith,
And part of the Nightfire mod team

I've got it figured out... thanks all.

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Never where I want, only where I need...

...or you could just select a door thing, hit f9 > misc > make door...

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ILLEGAL PORNOGRAPHIC VIDEOS NEWEST GAMES MP3Z AND MOVIES!!!

Cogs tell things when to move, you need frames to tell them where to move. They are just (x,y,z,pitch,yaw,roll) co-ordinates in 3d space that tell it where and how it is rotated. Typically, doors and elevators just have two different values for their frames. I'd better stop babbling before I confuse ppl

[edit]If you want to add a frame (you will need at least 2 (I think)), just click on the thing you want to add one to (be in THING mode), then click Add Value, and call it "frame" X2


[This message has been edited by F-Body (edited March 21, 2004).]