i think i saw some building on zoric that had a blue window on top, zar? i worked there as a scientist you may recall, it was your building.
anyway, i was wondering if there is a way to simulate translucency, because i think layers of these translucent model ideas could be used to simulate a gaseous atmosphere, getting darker as you go further toward the surface.
is there anyway to make fog models on a planet? any way to color the fog, or the water color? any ideas? anyone?
translucent textures?
blue #255 is transparent for the game.
as for fog, a method that i eventually plan to use for animated clouds on ciroz is to use layers of plains that are basically textured white and semi-opaque. a few dozen flat plains 3-5 tiles wide and 1-3 tiles high spaced about 1/2 a tractor length apart, both north/south facing and east/west facing so no matter where your looking at them from, they will look like they have depth. then use the model converter to make it semi opaque.
haven't tried it yet, but i'm hoping it would work.
besides clouds, i was also considering doing something smiler for dense snow and low lying fog. for fog the model would just be a static model and sitting lower covering most of the world except for high areas. for snow of varying densities it would be an animated quickly falling model that covered the world and was transparent blue except for white specks.
as for fog, a method that i eventually plan to use for animated clouds on ciroz is to use layers of plains that are basically textured white and semi-opaque. a few dozen flat plains 3-5 tiles wide and 1-3 tiles high spaced about 1/2 a tractor length apart, both north/south facing and east/west facing so no matter where your looking at them from, they will look like they have depth. then use the model converter to make it semi opaque.
haven't tried it yet, but i'm hoping it would work.
besides clouds, i was also considering doing something smiler for dense snow and low lying fog. for fog the model would just be a static model and sitting lower covering most of the world except for high areas. for snow of varying densities it would be an animated quickly falling model that covered the world and was transparent blue except for white specks.
Hmm. It's worth a try I suppose, but I'm not sure the way the game renders semi transparent stuff is going to be effective enough to truly simulate a thick foggy environment. I suppose what you'd really need is, well, volumetric fog I spose.
As zar says you can make any model transparent using the model converter - there are a few different alpha blend options, and 100 levels of transparency from opaque to invisible.
You can also use .tgas with alpha (in a very basic way I don't really understand) or indexed bitmaps with pure blue (again as zar says) to make things completely transparent.
You might also compromise and just use the fogging options available to world owners to create such an atmosphere... not quite the same as being surrounded by rolling fog banks, but some of the more extreme fog settings (ie near, dark) make it pretty hard to see anythin much beyond a few feet away.
f
As zar says you can make any model transparent using the model converter - there are a few different alpha blend options, and 100 levels of transparency from opaque to invisible.
You can also use .tgas with alpha (in a very basic way I don't really understand) or indexed bitmaps with pure blue (again as zar says) to make things completely transparent.
You might also compromise and just use the fogging options available to world owners to create such an atmosphere... not quite the same as being surrounded by rolling fog banks, but some of the more extreme fog settings (ie near, dark) make it pretty hard to see anythin much beyond a few feet away.
f
-
flametard
- Posts: 1245
- Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2007 2:05 am
- Location: Join NR! faction name: 'NR new recruits' password: 'Truth'
- Contact:
ok then, here's my idea.
you create 2D plain models that stretch over a small-medium landscape.
these plain models are set parallel to the heightmap, which is flat,
layered, about 1 plain every 10 feet up... to about 300 feet or so into the sky.
these plain models are textured semi opaque, on both the top sides and the bottom sides.
ok... stay with me...
the lowest levels of the transparent models would be the most opaque, starting with the first layer which is probably opaque or almost opaque...
each ascending layer would become more transparent until the top layer was almost all the way see through.
if youre using dark colors, use the thick black fog setting. if using light colors use the thick white fog setting. if it works we could make planets where you fly through atmosphere, or decend into a deep dark abyss underwater...you see what im saying please let me do it
you create 2D plain models that stretch over a small-medium landscape.
these plain models are set parallel to the heightmap, which is flat,
layered, about 1 plain every 10 feet up... to about 300 feet or so into the sky.
these plain models are textured semi opaque, on both the top sides and the bottom sides.
ok... stay with me...
the lowest levels of the transparent models would be the most opaque, starting with the first layer which is probably opaque or almost opaque...
each ascending layer would become more transparent until the top layer was almost all the way see through.
if youre using dark colors, use the thick black fog setting. if using light colors use the thick white fog setting. if it works we could make planets where you fly through atmosphere, or decend into a deep dark abyss underwater...you see what im saying please let me do it
i see what your saying.
the only problem i can see with that would be horizontal lines if a player looked towards the horizon. closer there camera is to the vehicle, the easier it could happen. in first person mode it'd possibly be obvious.
if the plains were closer, maybe 3ft or even 1ft, then the chances of this happening would be reduced. 10ft is a pretty big space. the bigger the distance between the pieces, the easier it will be for a player to see between them and see them as a flat surface. could still easily do a gradual lightening of density, but instead of 30 different models 10ft apart that have 1 plain, you would have 30 models that are 10ft apart but contain 10 plains that are 1ft apart.
a single double sided pain is only 4 polies, so even if you use 300 plains, it'd only come out to 1200 polys which isn't much at all.
really, the best thing to do is make em and try it
i think i'm going to make the clouds for ciroz tomorrow to see how it turns out.
the only problem i can see with that would be horizontal lines if a player looked towards the horizon. closer there camera is to the vehicle, the easier it could happen. in first person mode it'd possibly be obvious.
if the plains were closer, maybe 3ft or even 1ft, then the chances of this happening would be reduced. 10ft is a pretty big space. the bigger the distance between the pieces, the easier it will be for a player to see between them and see them as a flat surface. could still easily do a gradual lightening of density, but instead of 30 different models 10ft apart that have 1 plain, you would have 30 models that are 10ft apart but contain 10 plains that are 1ft apart.
a single double sided pain is only 4 polies, so even if you use 300 plains, it'd only come out to 1200 polys which isn't much at all.
really, the best thing to do is make em and try it
i think i'm going to make the clouds for ciroz tomorrow to see how it turns out.
there's also the possibility that the engine itself would make them gradually darker even if they were the same.
logically speaking, if you have equally 2 opaque surfaces, looking threw both will make things twice as opaque then if you looked threw just one. the game engine might do that for us by itself and if it does then fog models would be much easier to make semi realistic.
just thought of another issue though.
there's a bug with the opaque system. if any buildings get between the opaque thing and your view, then the opaque thing will show threw the building. in this case, the fog will show on top of buildings even if your against them. the buildings will all look dark gray or whatever as a result.
logically speaking, if you have equally 2 opaque surfaces, looking threw both will make things twice as opaque then if you looked threw just one. the game engine might do that for us by itself and if it does then fog models would be much easier to make semi realistic.
just thought of another issue though.
there's a bug with the opaque system. if any buildings get between the opaque thing and your view, then the opaque thing will show threw the building. in this case, the fog will show on top of buildings even if your against them. the buildings will all look dark gray or whatever as a result.