[starwolf1991]

Ok, this is something that's peeved me off for a long time and put me off custom thruster creation. Their clipping! Old topic I thinks, but hey, a fella needs answers and I don't mean thrusterglows (That's easily avoidable).

I'm talking about like 'thruster02-01 for example. Now, from all the testing I went through, I was nearly convinced this applied to all customs in general. But of all things, only .pcx files and the custom ones from the Shadows of Lylat dump seem to be free of this curse. And for record's sake, this occurs no matter what version of FSO is used.

What's the secret here, guys? If you don't mind me asking, that is. How do you nail the fiendish sod?

[redsniper]

Didn't... soft particles... fix this?

Or am I misunderstanding something here?

[FreeSpaceFreak]

No ****, it's starwolf!

Like redsniper said, soft particles should fix this - try turning it on in the launcher (requires moderately capable graphics processing though). Or is it something else you mean?

[starwolf1991]

No ****, it's starwolf!

Like redsniper said, soft particles should fix this - try turning it on in the launcher (requires moderately capable graphics processing though). Or is it something else you mean?

Missed me?



This is what I mean. Can't quite see all of it from this angle, but using most angles to find it is a long drag.

Some thrusters. its harder to pick up on than others. With some of the more heavily-colored ones like the UEF afterburners, its even harder because the clipping assumes some of that color. But when you notice it, it is butt-annoying.

Yeah, I do have soft particles enabled. Doesn't seem to make a difference, on or off.

[General Battuta]

That's not thruster clipping - clipping is when a thruster or other effect renders through what should be an opaque surface.

I believe those artifacts you highlighted are caused by AA.

[The E]

Those are artefacts caused by the render hardware and the effects files used. It can be fixed, but it does require code-side intervention.

[starwolf1991]

That's not thruster clipping - clipping is when a thruster or other effect renders through what should be an opaque surface.

I believe those artifacts you highlighted are caused by AA.

Ah, artifacts. Pardon me for use of the wrong term. On that note tho, I have tested for this without AA enabled and had the same result. :/

Those are artefacts caused by the render hardware and the effects files used. It can be fixed, but it does require code-side intervention.

Ok. Well crud, that has me stumped. But I understand at same time What gets me is how one is actually able to beat this file editing wise in the first place; That is without the use of transparency like BTRL used. Anything I've tried in Photoshop and Gimp all end up causing artifacts in the end. Hell, even minor tweaks to MVPs one sets them off. To date, the only .dds examples I've seen free of this are SoL's. Example below:

[redsniper]

Oh no no no no noooooooooooo, this thing is back.

White thruster dots were the bane of my FS life for a good while. IIRC it was caused by forcing AA through GPU drivers... but you said you already tried it without AA, so nm. The other thing I remember is it has something to do with the first few columns of pixels on the thruster effects getting moved to the back. Like the whole effect is offset a few pixels and loops around. I think I fixed that temporarily by just opening the thruster effects in GIMP or whatever and painting the very front end of it black.

I haven't seen this issue in forever though. I figured we had it licked. I guess it's card-specific maybe?

[blowfish]

Could this be solved by clamping the thruster textures?  (Like The_E said this would likely require code changes)