Author Topic: Particle trail script  (Read 55109 times)

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Offline Nighteyes

  • 211
Also, your fix works.

post a screen please :)

torc has pointed out something cool after testing the script in Diaspora, how easy will it be to add this script to activate for subsystems explosions?

 

Offline m!m

  • 211
torc has pointed out something cool after testing the script in Diaspora, how easy will it be to add this script to activate for subsystems explosions?
It will be a more complicated but it should be possible.

 

Offline Nighteyes

  • 211
torc has pointed out something cool after testing the script in Diaspora, how easy will it be to add this script to activate for subsystems explosions?
It will be a more complicated but it should be possible.

some more brain storming on that subject, would it be possible also to tell the script to continue generating particles at the subsystem location? possibly first to use the script for awesome subsystem explosion, and after generate particles with a fire/smoke effect on them for a specified amount of seconds, the ship can move leaving behind it a smoke trail from the damaged subsystem.

 

Offline m!m

  • 211
I think a system that would simply be based on a "+Subsystem" option would be the best approach so you just specify the subsystem name with that option which would simply be a modifier put on the top of the different types (Ship, and ShipTrail) which would then use this subsystem as a starting point.

 

Offline Dragon

  • Citation needed
  • 212
  • The sky is the limit.
If you do that, could you also add an option to assign damage checks to a subsystem instead of hull? I just realized it would be great if you could make damaged engines emit smoke on larger ships, with every engine having it's smoke amount set individually. In that case, an option to start/stop emitting when subsystem is down would also be helpful.

 

Offline Nighteyes

  • 211
and lets not forget, we need adjustable speed, and if possible to emit the particles towards the normal of the subsystem, as in shoot the particles out from the ship hull...

IMO the hardest thing would probably be to "stick" the emmit location to the subsystem as the ship keeps moving.

and just throwing this out in the air, is it at all possible to have particles collide with a ships hull? so smoke for instance wont just clip through the ship as it moves?

 

Offline Nighteyes

  • 211
and on further testing of the script, I still think that the main particles.cfg file should be split by default to ships, weapons, trails, explosions, subsystems and the like, as well as splitting the PDF file.
having it all under one config file makes no sense, it can be extremely long if you have different trail types, lots of ships and weapons with trails and special explosions, one specific config file for each particle creation type would be much more user friendly.

*I know its possible already to do, but I'm saying that by default it should be set up like that, so that people won't have to edit script lines...

 

Offline Dragon

  • Citation needed
  • 212
  • The sky is the limit.
They don't have to edit the script.
You could use $Include to add any number of new configs you wish, with only one line for each in particles.cfg .
Remember: First update the script and read it's docs, then complain.  :)

 

Offline Nighteyes

  • 211
*I know its possible already to do, but I'm saying that by default it should be set up like that, so that people won't have to edit script lines...

I know this, I'm talking about how the script comes, with these config files already set up by default

 

Offline m!m

  • 211
I already splitted the configuration files and I will split the PDF files after I have implemented the subsystem things.
Also subsystems have no normal which could be used as an emit normal so you would have to specify that yourself.
It's also no problem to have the emit position stick to the subsystem position as that information is available at any point.

But that will have to wait as I'm currently tracking some parse error which I can't explain... :sigh:

  

Offline Nighteyes

  • 211
can't you use the hull normal behind the subsystem? anyway glad your working on this, cant wait to test it out :)

 

Offline Nighteyes

  • 211
some more bugfixing: the set size function for the trail particles didn't get fixed, its still using the old way of calculating it as part of a percentage of a ships hull...

some more: debris trail as it is implemented right now is inferior to the version in the mediavps, the particles should grow smaller over time untill the fire completely burns out, it should also generate particles on a few different points on the debris hull, and have them at a randomized size so they don't all look the same
« Last Edit: September 21, 2011, 09:48:08 am by Nighteyes »

 

Offline Nighteyes

  • 211
after quite a bit of trail and error, I take my word back regarding the set size function for the trail particles, it kind of works, but not like I imagined it, currently when a trail particle has a set size, it will use the size from the parent particle that is generating it, basically disregarding the size set it the trail particle field.
can they be unlinked please? its much easier to have 2-3 trail types that you know how they will look in-game than to relay on a percentage from the size of a ship... I might also want to have a really small parent particle and a rather large trail behind it, currently, this is not possible...

 

Offline m!m

  • 211
some more: debris trail as it is implemented right now is inferior to the version in the mediavps, the particles should grow smaller over time untill the fire completely burns out, it should also generate particles on a few different points on the debris hull, and have them at a randomized size so they don't all look the same
Alright, I'll include an option to specify the lifetime of a particle plume which will be used to let the generated particles get smaller over time. But the two other things you mentioned are already possible by using the "+Size" and "+Number" options.

after quite a bit of trail and error, I take my word back regarding the set size function for the trail particles, it kind of works, but not like I imagined it, currently when a trail particle has a set size, it will use the size from the parent particle that is generating it, basically disregarding the size set it the trail particle field.
can they be unlinked please? its much easier to have 2-3 trail types that you know how they will look in-game than to relay on a percentage from the size of a ship... I might also want to have a really small parent particle and a rather large trail behind it, currently, this is not possible...
I'll include an options that will let you control whether you want to have a fixed size or a dynamic (similar to the existing ones)

 
Quick question about the +Trail entry...
Code: [Select]
$Type: Ship
$Class: GTD Orion
+Name: TestEffect
+Effect: capflash
+Time: 1
+Emitstate: 2
+Number: 20, 20
+Speed: 1600, 2200
+Size: 4, 5
+Box Min: 0, 0, 0
+Box Max: 0, 0, 0
+Spewcone: 90, 90, 90
+FPS: 15
+Trail: GenericTrail
I am having trouble finding any asset named 'GenericTrail' in the VP files. Where does this come from? Does something special need to be done to set up another particle trail? Specifically, I want to find the necessary files and alter them, to produce similar effects with altered hues (for different colors).

Will any .eff file with a string of properly-named images work in place of 'GenericTrail', so long as it is present in the effects folder?
:divedivedive: <--- This needs to be a smiley.
Developer of the Singularity campaign/mod (WIP)
I call dibs on developing a Capella Barbecue Theory campaign.

 

Offline m!m

  • 211
The trail is a separate definition in the configuration file, see section "Type 'ParticleTrail'" in the documentation for information on how you define them. There should also be an example definition with name "GenericTrail" be present in the configuration file that comes with the download.

 

Offline torc

  • 210
  • Diaspora SFX engineer
m!m just wanna thank you for the great script you did... keep it up :)
indossare una divisa può avere un prezzo alto...ma a volte...è troppo alto!!! Bill Adama

 

Offline m!m

  • 211
I uploaded a new version which now has a function to add trails to subsystems. The documentation has been updated accordingly.

 

Offline Dragon

  • Citation needed
  • 212
  • The sky is the limit.
I've only seen this after I sent you that PM.  :)
It's a great feature, engine trails can be finally assigned to subsystems.
Also, PPS seem to work OK, you could add it to other places where it could be useful.