[Vasudan Admiral]

This is just something I have been fiddling with in Blender recently that turned out (part by accident no less) to be a lot better than I'd been expecting:

(Click pic for short video of the rendered effect)


So I decided to get it in game:



Since that turned out to work quite nicely, here are two versions of the effect:

1) 28 frames, 1024 res version. It's rather wild and fast. I prefer....
2) 90 frames, 512 res version. It's slower, smoother, and just generally more purdy. (Also takes up a bit less space overall, though more texture slots :\)
Edit: If you get a 'forbidden' page, try right clicking -> save as.

In each zip there's a modified version for that old teal Knossos version included in each as well. I always thought it was a bit of a waste to just have it look like a colourised subspace, so I gave it some energetic swirly things and different, more powerful looking properties compared to the regular.

I've not been able to test the Knossos effect in game though, because I can't seem to get the special warp thing to work. :\





If anyone wants the source .blend file, lemme know and I'll upload it.

[BlackDove]

It looks a little out of place and cartoony.....this would need some working on the Z axis...

But I'd say potential to be the best yet.

[colecampbell666]

Very nice, but a bit chunky and cartoony. Make it smoother, and visually deeper (you can see into the tunnel) and you'll beat Axem any day.

[Vasudan Admiral]

There's a warp pof included that does give it shape. The shape's not visible from the angle of the piccy though. Have you both looked at in game with Enable 3D Warp checked in the launcher?

[colecampbell666]

Those are ingame versions? I thought you said it didn't work ingame?

[Vasudan Admiral]

I said I haven't been able to test the teal knossos effect in-game because 'alt-warp' doesn't seem to work for me in Fred.

Edit: Hmm, I think this is a case where screenshots don't help much. You need to see it in-game and in motion in order to be able to get a feel for it.

[Jeff Vader]

Let's give it a try, then. But am I the only one who likes the subspace vortex effect in the 3.6.7 mediavps?

Edit: Let's not give it a try. I'm getting a "you don't have permission to access..." on both of the zip links.

[Vasudan Admiral]

Ugh - forgot about that. I've asked if Goob can upload them to hard-light, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to get them either. The sectorgame servers got attacked by a virus a while back and the security has since knurdled all remote linking. :\

It works for me if I right-click -> save as, but I'm not sure that'll be the same for everyone.

Also, I didn't make this because I don't like the MVP ones, but because I was trying to work out how to make a vortex in Blender for use in animations and thought it looked cool enough in motion to warrent making in game versions.

[Vasudan Admiral]

Oh - it seems that another way to go might be to click the links in the Sectorgame version of this thread: http://www.sectorgame.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=50869#50869

I guess because it's not off-site remote linking, it works or something. :\

[Jeff Vader]

Yup, sectorgame worked. Downloading.

Edit. Awright, I tested it in The Romans Blunder. Looks kinda cool, though a bit blurry for my taste. Still, there's something quite appealing in this effect. Personally, I really like the watery thing that was in the 3.6.7 mediavps, even though I once got the impression that too many people didn't like it and it was dropped from 3.6.8. Oh well. Luckily the 3.6.7's are still available from the SCP website.

[TrashMan]

Looking very purdy

[colecampbell666]

Wait. Why do you have Suzanne (the monkey head) behind the first portal?

[Vasudan Admiral]

To test how it reacted with objects behind it - because I was fiddling with all kinds of additive layers and stuff, I had to be sure it wasn't going to solidly obscure (or worse) other stuff.

Lobo, well if you're using the smoother one - it's still a 512 map being enlarged to a surface that expands to massive proportions. I'm trying to figure out how to make a smooth 1024 version that doesn't appear to be cycling through about 5 frames total, while at the same time doesn't take up the better proportion of your HDDs storage space - let alone your RAM. :\

[Ghost]

Say, that looks pretty neat. I'm still waiting for a kickass version that looks closer to the FS1 end cutscene subspace, though.

edit: I suppose it all comes down to personal preference.

[Herra Tohtori]

I'm trying to figure out how to make a smooth 1024 version that doesn't appear to be cycling through about 5 frames total, while at the same time doesn't take up the better proportion of your HDDs storage space - let alone your RAM. :\

I have noticed that DDS texture compression is merciless when it comes to gradients. If you want a gradient-intensive effect to be used in big scale well without the artefacts becoming apparent, you pretty much need to use TGA files, or you need to use huge resolution to keep the upscaling minimal and the artefacts non-noticeable.

I myself have gone through Axem's subspace effect DDS files, blurred the artefacts away, then saved them as TGA's. It loses some of the detail, but at least the compression artefacts go away. As for memory requirements, it obviously uses more than DDS textures... But as long as I can't notice any performance drops, I rather take the smooth effect with no artefacts and big memory signature than a version with artefacts and smaller memory use.

That said, the effect itself looks closer to the retail/canon effect than the earlier ones... which is good.

But why is the blue normal subspace effect so much smaller than the cyan Knossos effect? Also, the normal subspace effect seems to end a bit too soon in-game.

[IceyJones]

hello 2gether

in the cutscene-thread i posted a completely new subspace-vortex i did out of my mind and of course it is wrong compared to the original one, but it seemed that the general response was very good. i think to put all proposals in one thread i put it also in this thread.

thats what we are talking about:

[TrashMan]

  That ..can't be in-game...

[IceyJones]

it´s rendered of cause.....i only want to post it as an idea....

[colecampbell666]

It's not wrong. It's your interpretation of a fictious object. Look at Axem's. His looks like yours, )albeit lower detailed) and is the standard effect for INFA.

[Herra Tohtori]

In my opinion, swirling vortices belong to B5 (TBP).

FreeSpace subspace effect should depict rippling space-time. Ideally, it would use a shader that causes a wavy distortion to the background seen through it, but I don't think how that could be made (if I'm not compltetely wrong, though, material system will be needed before this kind of effects will work...). Ripples of light spreading from the center, kinda like in the canon but much higher details.

Hmmm.... I'll be soon back with something.