Author Topic: [WIP] Meteor Effect  (Read 5387 times)

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Offline 0rph3u5

  • 211
  • Oceans rise. Empires fall.
As seen here:


Table data:

Code: [Select]
#Secondary Weapons

;Basic Meteor for cutscenes, does nothing but looks okay'ish
$Name: Meteor1
$Model File: hornet.pof
$Mass: 0
$Velocity: 150
$Fire Wait: 0
$Damage: 0
$Blast Force: 0
$Inner Radius: 0
$Outer Radius: 0
$Shockwave Speed: 0
$Armor Factor: 0
$Shield Factor: 0
$Subsystem Factor: 0
$Lifetime: 600
$Energy Consumed: 0
$Cargo Size: 1
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 93
$ImpactSnd: 101
$FlyBySnd: 75
$Rearm Rate: 1
$Flags: ( "Particle Spew" )
$Trail:
+Start Width: 150
+End Width: 0
+Start Alpha: 0.8
+End Alpha: 0
+Max Life: 15
+Bitmap: missiletrail01
$Icon: icon_harbinger
$Anim: harbinger
$Impact Explosion: none
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 300
+Vel: 0.7
+Radius: 60
+Life: 5000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 2
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.4
+Radius: 45
+Life: 100000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.2
+Radius: 30
+Life: 120000
+Scale: 2
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02
$Pspew:
+Count: 4
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.1
+Radius: 15
+Life: 240000
+Scale: 3
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02

;Meteor which breaks apart
$Name: Meteor2
$Model File: hornet.pof
$Mass: 0
$Velocity: 150
$Fire Wait: 0
$Damage: 0
$Blast Force: 0
$Inner Radius: 0
$Outer Radius: 0
$Shockwave Speed: 0
$Armor Factor: 0
$Shield Factor: 0
$Subsystem Factor: 0
$Lifetime: 600
$Energy Consumed: 0
$Cargo Size: 1
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 93
$ImpactSnd: 101
$FlyBySnd: 75
$Rearm Rate: 1
$Flags: ( "Particle Spew" "Spawn Meteor2a,1" "Spawn Meteor2b,3" "Spawn Meteor2c,6" )
$Trail:
+Start Width: 75
+End Width: 0
+Start Alpha: 0.8
+End Alpha: 0
+Max Life: 15
+Bitmap: missiletrail01
$Icon: icon_harbinger
$Anim: harbinger
$Impact Explosion: none
$Spawn Angle: 3
$Spawn Angle: 6
$Spawn Angle: 12
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 300
+Vel: 0.7
+Radius: 60
+Life: 5000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 2
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.4
+Radius: 45
+Life: 100000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.2
+Radius: 30
+Life: 120000
+Scale: 2
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02
$Pspew:
+Count: 4
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.1
+Radius: 15
+Life: 240000
+Scale: 3
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02

$Name: Meteor2a
$Model File: hornet.pof
$Mass: 0
$Velocity: 225
$Fire Wait: 0
$Damage: 0
$Blast Force: 0
$Inner Radius: 0
$Outer Radius: 0
$Shockwave Speed: 0
$Armor Factor: 0
$Shield Factor: 0
$Subsystem Factor: 0
$Lifetime: 60
$Energy Consumed: 0
$Cargo Size: 1
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 93
$ImpactSnd: 101
$FlyBySnd: 75
$Rearm Rate: 1
$Flags: ( "Particle Spew" "child" )
$Trail:
+Start Width: 38
+End Width: 0
+Start Alpha: 1
+End Alpha: 0
+Max Life: 1
+Bitmap: missiletrail01
$Icon: icon_harbinger
$Anim: harbinger
$Impact Explosion: none
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 300
+Vel: 0.7
+Radius: 30
+Life: 5000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 2
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.4
+Radius: 15
+Life: 100000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.2
+Radius: 8
+Life: 120000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02
$Pspew:
+Count: 4
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.1
+Radius: 10
+Life: 240000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02

$Name: Meteor2b
$Model File: hornet.pof
$Mass: 0
$Velocity: 200
$Fire Wait: 0
$Damage: 0
$Blast Force: 0
$Inner Radius: 0
$Outer Radius: 0
$Shockwave Speed: 0
$Armor Factor: 0
$Shield Factor: 0
$Subsystem Factor: 0
$Lifetime: 60
$Energy Consumed: 0
$Cargo Size: 1
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 93
$ImpactSnd: 101
$FlyBySnd: 75
$Rearm Rate: 1
$Flags: ( "Particle Spew" "child" )
$Trail:
+Start Width: 25
+End Width: 0
+Start Alpha: 1
+End Alpha: 0
+Max Life: 6
+Bitmap: missiletrail01
$Icon: icon_harbinger
$Anim: harbinger
$Impact Explosion: none
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 300
+Vel: 0.7
+Radius: 20
+Life: 5000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 2
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.4
+Radius: 10
+Life: 100000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.2
+Radius: 5
+Life: 120000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02
$Pspew:
+Count: 4
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.1
+Radius: 4
+Life: 240000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02

$Name: Meteor2c
$Model File: hornet.pof
$Mass: 0
$Velocity: 175
$Fire Wait: 0
$Damage: 0
$Blast Force: 0
$Inner Radius: 0
$Outer Radius: 0
$Shockwave Speed: 0
$Armor Factor: 0
$Shield Factor: 0
$Subsystem Factor: 0
$Lifetime: 60
$Energy Consumed: 0
$Cargo Size: 1
$Homing: NO
$LaunchSnd: 93
$ImpactSnd: 101
$FlyBySnd: 75
$Rearm Rate: 1
$Flags: ( "Particle Spew" "child" )
$Trail:
+Start Width: 13
+End Width: 0
+Start Alpha: 1
+End Alpha: 0
+Max Life: 6
+Bitmap: missiletrail01
$Icon: icon_harbinger
$Anim: harbinger
$Impact Explosion: none
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 300
+Vel: 0.7
+Radius: 10
+Life: 5000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 2
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.4
+Radius: 5
+Life: 100000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke01
$Pspew:
+Count: 3
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.2
+Radius: 5
+Life: 120000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02
$Pspew:
+Count: 4
+Time: 100
+Vel: 0.1
+Radius: 3
+Life: 240000
+Scale: 1
+Bitmap: particlesmoke02

#End

All components should be part of FS2 retail and subsequently the MediaVPs.

How to use:
- Put it in a -wep.tbm for your mod.
- Use the create-weapon SEXP to spawn it ingame.



So I promised some people that I would be done with this effect today ... Didn't work out that way, for a couple of reaons., and a) I don't want to tease people anymore and b) I need a little help to make this better.

A couple of things:

a) All +Life-value in the $Pspew-sections are *overblown*, I have not scaled them back down because I originally made the mistake of thinking miliseconds, not seconds. The particle .ani itself only last a few seconds anyway. This might be a problem with the particle limit of the engine and memory usage.

b) The $Trail is the big problem that makes it look not good:
b.1) Since +Start Alpha doesn't go beyond 1, I have no trail that looks bright enough.
b.2) And the what I currently have under +Bitmap is a standard missile trail, which scales poorly to size.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 
Sweet! I'll see if I can come up with any graphical improvements.

 

Offline 0rph3u5

  • 211
  • Oceans rise. Empires fall.
Sweet! I'll see if I can come up with any graphical improvements.

Any progress? - I want to finish the new Rain On Ribos IV-credits sequence this week (finally, now that re-writing all the briefing texts is done*) and this effect is kinda the centerpiece of it all...

*The old briefings were terrible as they did not adequately convey what you were supposed to do each mission; they were hardly more than bullet points.
« Last Edit: October 23, 2018, 09:52:07 am by 0rph3u5 »
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 
Yep I remember I had something I was satisfied with, but I adapted it to my own needs so I'm not sure if it still matches yours; I'll post something in a couple hours or tomorrow if it's not too late for you. :)

 

Offline 0rph3u5

  • 211
  • Oceans rise. Empires fall.
I'll post something in a couple hours or tomorrow if it's not too late for you. :)

I've got the whole week, but before Thursday would be nice.
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 
It's rather just a different take on the thing rather than an improvement, but still.

The strange gap is caused by taking a screen. I can PM you the files if you're interested as it requires a custom effect.

[attachment stolen by Russian hackers]

 

Offline 0rph3u5

  • 211
  • Oceans rise. Empires fall.
While looks good, it is not what I am looking for exactly - it looks more like a small meteor that would not reach the surface...

But since I have a rather evocative line from the original FS1 command briefing to go on, I am looking more for something in the direction of the fireball that would surround a "rocky" meteor at low altitude...


How many particles are making up the trail?
"As you sought to steal a kingdom for yourself, so must you do again, a thousand times over. For a theft, a true theft, must be practiced to be earned." - The terms of Nyrissa's curse, Pathfinder: Kingmaker

==================

"I am Curiosity, and I've always wondered what would become of you, here at the end of the world." - The Guide/The Curious Other, Othercide

"When you work with water, you have to know and respect it. When you labour to subdue it, you have to understand that one day it may rise up and turn all your labours into nothing. For what is water, which seeks to make all things level, which has no taste or colour of its own, but a liquid form of Nothing?" - Graham Swift, Waterland

"...because they are not Dragons."

 
While looks good, it is not what I am looking for exactly - it looks more like a small meteor that would not reach the surface...

Hmm, I think it's rather vice-versa; atleast according to the footage I remember (though speed might be play a bigger role than size). Here's what I recall:
-Debris from space shuttle Columbia looked more like my effect.
-Small (football sized) meteor looked like your effect, with small pieces breaking off and falling down seperately.
-Big meteor (the one over Russia a few years ago) looked more like mine again.
But that's just what I can think of; you might want to watch some more footage on YT yourself. Also in the end it depends on whether you want to have it realistic or "just impressive looking" anyway. :)

BTW, one idea I just had- no matter which effect you choose, you could make it look better by spawing off smaller effects at (seemingly) random intervals.

Quote
How many particles are making up the trail?
3 - custom effect, ParticleSmoke01and ParticleSmoke02; the last forms the core of the effect.
Plus a regular missiletrail02.