[DaBrain]

Now that the zmode for the lens flares is correct, I thought it might be nice to take the flares to the next level.

The reason why most of the lens flare textures in FSO are currently hardly visible was for the most part that they were behind other objects and because they were not dynamic at all.

To get an idea of what I had in mind you should watch this:
http://www.videocopilot.net/products/opticalflares/features/dynamic_triggering/

It's a bit over the top though. I think it would be nice to have a few more options for the single flare elements.
In effect, we need to scale them, as well as change their colors and rotation.

Scale: Scale the mesh in X and/or Y direction
Color: Multiply RGB color values. Allows color changes and increas/decrease in intensity.
Rotation: Does the mesh point to the sun while it's rotating around it?
PositionOffsetModifier: Allows the element to move in the opposite direction, as well as to come from the other side of the screen. It could also allow elements to move faster to the sun, as the player's view gets closer to it.

Code: [Select]

$FlareTexture1: corona001
$FlareGlow1:
  +FlareTexture: 1
  +FlarePos: 1.5
  +FlareScale: 5
  +PositionOffsetModifier: -1, 1, 1
$CenterRotationToSun: YES   
$CenterValues:
  +Color: 200, 200, 100
  +XYScale: 8, 2
$MiddleAreaValues:
  +Color: 100, 100, 100
  +XYScale: 4, 1
$BorderValues:
  +Color: 200, 200, 150
  +XYScale: 2, 6


This is just rough idea. It will require some more thought.
Note: By allowing X and Y scaling, we avoid using huge square textures with small streaks on it, just to get a properly looking streak effect.
-> Saves memory

[Nighteyes]

I completely agree with pimping lens flares! I only wish we had them on other things apart from suns, like when your close to a ships thrusters, big explosions and such

[Woolie Wool]

I think the use of lens flares should be strictly limited. Does anyone remember the late 1990s when everything had a lens flare and "the new lens flare" was used to describe the 3D graphics flavor of the month?

[mjn.mixael]

I think the use of lens flares should be strictly limited. Does anyone remember the late 1990s when everything had a lens flare and "the new lens flare" was used to describe the 3D graphics flavor of the month?

That may be true.. but that should by no means be a reason for these features not to be added. If a mod team wants to add a gratuitous number of flares or flare styles, it should be up to them to decide and deal with criticism accordingly. But that really shouldn't be a reason not to code in the options.

[Sushi]

LENS FLARE!!!

Seriously, though, you should have seen early fan art on HLP. A lot of it was just screenshots with lens flares Photoshopped in on top.

[torc]

simply COOL

[DaBrain]

I know, I know. Lens flares have a really bad image. (Thanks, Photoshop lens flare!)
For years, I've laughed about images with lens flares on them.

However they've made a comback in the last few years. (Star Trek, Transformers, Crysis 2, Mass Effect)
If they are not too "static" and sharp, they can really enhance the visual quality of a game/movie. Just don't overdo it.


Well, the lensflares in FSO aren't complely static. Thanks to the blending effect when you look directly into the sun, it looks like the lens effects get a bit more intense. Also it looks like they get bigger when they're a bit further away from the sun center and not quadratic (i.e. 1024*256). Probably due to the way they are rendered in space, but it's neat anyway. Maybe I could fake a bit more dynamic with mipmaps (they seem to turn a bit) and by putting elements into one of the corners of a texture (but I hate wasting texture space).