Hard Light Productions Forums
General FreeSpace => FreeSpace Discussion => Topic started by: blowfish on February 07, 2008, 03:12:51 pm
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I have two questions about beams (these really have to do with the game engine)
1. How long are they? Are they infinite or is there a defined length?
2. What do the different types of texture tiling on beams do? I know there is type 1, 2, and 3.
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Do you mean in game or in theory?
In game, I imagine they are simulated as infinite-length rays.
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Do you mean in game or in theory?
In game, I imagine they are simulated as infinite-length rays.
I mean in game. That's why I said this has to do with the game engine.
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1. By default... Long, but not infinite. 30 000 units (which can probably be assumed to be metres).
#define BEAM_FAR_LENGTH 30000.0f
2. There are AFAIK only 2 rendering methods for the beams. Either retail like version or then tiled.
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2. There are AFAIK only 2 rendering methods for the beams. Either retail like version or then tiled.
No what I mean is that when they are tiled, there are three types of tiling
+Tile Factor:
Defines the beam texture tileing factor. Second number defines the tileing type. Type 0 tiles the graphic in the beam as many times as defined by the 1st number. Type 1 uses the 1st value as the lenght of the tile.
Syntax: Float, Integer
The second number defines the tileing type. It explains type 0 and type 1, but what about type 2, which I have seen frequently in the ADVEffects tables (and doesn't seem to work right all of the time).
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1. By default... Long, but not infinite. 30 000 units (which can probably be assumed to be metres).
Yep, units are metres, clicks are kilometres.
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Well.. what i meant is that retail like is the 'type 0' with a texture that is spread all over the beam. The standard retail type beam is exactly as having of +Tile Factor: 1, 0. As for the type 2... well.. The tables in the beta mediavps, the beam sections of them that is, are AFAIK from bobboau and they are actually build for the changes he had made in his own version of the FreeSpace Open code. Like having more than 5 beam sections etc.
Also ATM code doesnt seem to have support for other two types. Either the one which is triggered by using 1 in the tiling type or by using anything else.. The second option triggers the 'type 0' tiling type.
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All right, that might explain why type 2 tiling looks messed up sometimes.
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I have two questions about beams (these really have to do with the game engine)
1. How long are they? Are they infinite or is there a defined length?
IIRC 30km.