[Nuke]

is it possible to use a stetched or tiled pof model in place of the conventional beam system. the model would be textured with tga textures that have alpha channels for transparency. id like to be able to use animated textures as well. with some clever modeling beams could be rather impressive.

[jdjtcagle]

, I CAN'T IMAGINE SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!
Sorry, maybe I misunderstanding

[RandomTiger]

You cant use TGA transparrency in 3D situations, the engine is not setup to render it correctly, its effects are undefined. Ie it could look different on every card.

[Nuke]

i thought i read somwhere in the wiki that tga alpha channels were suported. if not then what about table specified alpha? if i could use alpha in my models, i could do some really cool stuff.

[Taristin]

I think FS2 beams are the one thing that looked good enough to leave alone.

[mikhael]

I with Raa on this one. They DO look good and don't really need a change.

If you want to change them I can make some detailed suggestions how they SHOULD be, but no one would agree with me.

[Turnsky]

what's the point in modelling something that, for all intensive purposes, looks like a giant lightsaber, it doesn't need modelling at all..

although, it needs a better look at the charge-up point.. and impact points..

[Liberator]

I don't know about that, beams look pretty good there too.

[Bobboau]

could be a little better, but that's an art thing

[Nuke]

the beams only really look good because they sound good. they actually got the sound effects right. beams in other games look just as cool, but they lack in the sound department. freespace's beams tell everyone that there is a battleship nearby. they seem more real because more of your senses experience them. its a psycology thing.

now if i could actually shape the beam on multiple planes i think i coule make some really cool effects. this idea would be used as an alternateive to 2d beams, not a replacement.

[Carl]

but it would look the same. the only difference would be that the game would run slower.

[Lightspeed]

I hate people's obsession with making EV4RYZING 3d.

There's some things that will a) run a lot faster and b) look a lot better in 2d.

Beams, weapon effects, explosions and shockwaves are just some of those things.

[Stealth[cro]]

IMHO, Beams should be left as is. They look good enough right now, plus you can easily mod the looks. Even Paint would come in handy

Nuke - roger on the beam sound, every time I hear a BFRed charging I just keep praying I'm not in the way

[Unknown Target]

It would look the same, what would be the difference?

Nothing, you say?

Well, sir, you are correct!

[RandomTiger]

I think shaders applied to the existing effects are the kind of thing we need to use to make beams and stuff look good.

[Nuke]

there is of debate over what kind of effects should be 2d and what should be done in 3d. i personally think that the modder should have the option of using both. the current beam method is perfect for lightsaber style beams. but if i want to do something else, like a railgun type beam, then the usual method would be hellishly inacurate (believe me, i tried).

now if i could use a 3d beam, i could model a couple open ended cylynders (one for the smaller inner spiral, another for the bigger inner spiral), textured with a spiral beam texture. then model a few intersecting planes in the middle for the actual trail, and with some alpha channel textures, id get a real nice railgun beam. ive done renders of the things in truespace and they looked pretty good. and that is just the beginning. i could do som anime esque beams.

[Flaser]

AREA BEAMS - this thing would need 3D models.

I can't see why people smash an idea just because it resembles an earlier but futile concept.

Nuke's point wasn't replacing the beams: IT WAS MAKING THEM MORE VERSATILE.