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Rolo Redhand


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#1
Rolo Kipp

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 <washing his hands...>

Ok, another oddball problem.
I imported an emitter (Omen) from the weapon acid effect, trying to get a blood dripping effect on the altar. Changed the color, made it "splatter" and affected by wind. Exported it. All fine, but no effect in game :-(

node emitter OmenEmitter01
  parent rforearm_g
  position -0.124529 0.299238 0.127036
  orientation -0.267436 -0.933846 0.237506 -2.69538
  wirecolor 1.0 1.0 1.0
  update_sel 1
  update Fountain
  render_sel 1
  render Normal
  blend_sel 3
  Blend Lighten
  spawntype_sel 0
  spawnType -1
  xSize 5.0 
  ySize 5.0
  inherit 1
  inherit_local 0
  inheritvel 0
  inherit_part 0
  renderorder 0
  threshold 0.0
  combinetime 0.0
  deadspace 0.0
  opacity 0.5
  colorStart 0.780392 0.0 0.0
  colorEnd 0.615686 0.0 0.0
  alphaStart 1.0
  alphaEnd 0.3
  sizeStart 0.1
  sizeEnd 0.1
  sizeStart_y 0.0
  sizeEnd_y 0.0
  birthrate 150
  lifeExp 0.7
  mass 0.0
  spread 0.523599
  particleRot 0.0
  velocity 1.0
  randvel 0.2
  bounce_co 0.0
  blurlength 10.0
  loop 0
  bounce 0
  m_isTinted 0
  Splat 1
  affectedByWind true
  texture fxpa_flare
  twosidedtex 0
  xgrid 1
  ygrid 1
  fps 0
  framestart 0
  frameend 0
  random 0
  lightningDelay 0.0
  lightningRadius 0.0
  lightningSubDiv 0
  lightningScale 0.0
  blastRadius 0.0
  blastLength 0.0
  p2p 0
  p2p_type Bezier
  p2p_sel 1
  p2p_bezier2 0.0
  p2p_bezier3 0.0
  grav 0.0
  Drag 0.0
endnode

[edit: sorry, just noticed the formatting was snafu :-P]

Anyone see anything obvious that I'm missing? Because I played with the blasted thing 'til my battery ran dry, and I'd really like to pump up the effects on that Nasty Thang.
<...over and over again>

Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 02 novembre 2011 - 04:45 .


#2
OldTimeRadio

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Just a guess- change your spawntype from -1 to 1.  Do this in a text editor.  Try it again.  IIRC, this is a bug in NWMax.

To save lurkers from having to read the whole thread:
The problem wound up being the spawntype setting of -1. There is an issue with NWMax which causes the spawntype to be set like this either some or all of the time, probably when you make a new emitter from scratch. The solution is to set it to spawntype 0, usually by editing the model's text file.

This reminded me that there was a really cool and old reference on emitters posted by a guy named Xahlt.  I just checked and it was culled into Neverwinter Realms CC - Neverwinter Nights Miscellany, which looks like it covers all kinds of goodies, information-wise.

You can also find it in the Omnibus by searching for "particle emitter properties" (with quotes)

Modifié par OldTimeRadio, 02 novembre 2011 - 06:13 .

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#3
Rolo Kipp

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<tosses off...>

Tried that, just now. No change :-/

<...a wry grin>

#4
OldTimeRadio

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Weird, I have memories of having to change that setting by hand in a text editor. Hrm. What I do when I'm working on emitters like this, transferring them, is transfer it over to your model and then export and make sure the emitter is working with the old settings before changing anything. Then make teensy, deliberate changes. Export & test. Then rinse and repeat.

When I first started working with emitters under NWMax (as opposed to the BioWare Aura export scripts) I ran into lots of problems like this which caused me to slow down and get really careful and deliberate with changes.

#5
Rolo Kipp

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<taking another stab...>

Framestart/end 0? Shouldn't that be the range of the anim?
[Edit: no change :-/ ]
[Edit: reset framestart/end to 0, reset splat to 0 and wind to false.  At this point, only dif versus original effect is color. Still no effect]

<...in the dark>

Modifié par Rolo Kipp, 02 novembre 2011 - 04:56 .


#6
OldTimeRadio

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Take the model with the same emitter you have quoted...in the toolset, move the model around. See anything?  I'm seeing an effect when I move the placeable around and I just cut and pasted your code into a text edit with a sample model.  Trying to suss out what's causing that now.

Modifié par OldTimeRadio, 02 novembre 2011 - 05:03 .


#7
OldTimeRadio

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Ah, here we go. Set your spawntype to 0 in a text editor.
Image IPB
Model, which overwrites Armoire here. Should be your exact same emitter, just with spawntype set to 0 instead of -1. You should see a white box next to it- that's just a bit of sample geometry I use to confirm the model got loaded ok.

Modifié par OldTimeRadio, 02 novembre 2011 - 05:10 .


#8
Rolo Kipp

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<decidedly...>

Good instincts, OTR! If I move it in the toolset a fountain of blood sprays (not the effect I want, but an effect).

Cut and pasted the original effect from the vpr_aroacid.mdl.ascii. Now I have a fountain of acid that does not need to be shaken (not stirred) to be visible.

So, now to turn it into a drip. grav and splat and birthrate of 1 or 2?

<...confused>

#9
OldTimeRadio

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Rolo Kipp wrote...
So, now to turn it into a drip. grav and splat and birthrate of 1 or 2?

Mass, not grav.

#10
OldTimeRadio

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BTW, this reminded me that there was a really cool and old reference on emitters posted by a guy named Xahlt.  I just checked and it was culled into Neverwinter Realms CC - Neverwinter Nights Miscellany, which looks like it covers all kinds of goodies, information-wise

You can also find it in the Omnibus by searching for "particle emitter properties" (with quotes)

#11
Rolo Kipp

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<puts on some...>

OldTimeRadio wrote...
Mass, not grav.

Ahhh... Any recommendation on value? Gotta darken the color, also :-P

Can't get back to my tools until this evening (off-grid), so I'll be storing any more tips :-)
I'll be uploading the whatever I've finished tomorrow morning, but I've a lot of stuff undone on this one :-/ 
Still, it's useable... and I'm pretty happy (but not really done) with the OffToOn anim =)

<...serious weight>

#12
OldTimeRadio

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Be sure not to miss my post above about the NWN Miscellany doc- really good stuff.  As far as mass, I did it a few minutes ago in the toolset with birthrate of 2 and mass of 1.0 and it looked like you'd expect.  It should be noted that based on the orientation of the invisible emitter face, your particles may "pop up" before falling.  This is due to the current setting (that you quoted) of velocity 1.0 and randvel .2.  For just a straight drippity-drip-drip, I think you want to set those two to 0.0 and let your mass setting do all the work.

#13
Rolo Kipp

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<eyeing the old appliance...>

Oh, I don't miss much of what you write, OTR :-) Like Funky and a few others, I read everything you post =)

On the Velocity and randvel: on my list to experiment with, good to have a direction :-)

I've already grabbed the miscellany =) Now, to read it!

<...intently>

#14
Rolo Kipp

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<turning to face...>

Ok, the effect works. But not quite right.
I'd like to:
1) align the particle so it always faces the VP. Which setting is that?

2) get the blood to splatter. What does it splatter against? Collision with the PWK? Wherever its splattering, its not visible ;-P But then, my PWK geometry is at 0cm and the top of the altar is at 25cm. How will moving the PWK (geometry, not pivot) up 25cm affect the walkmesh?

3) I also need to turn it back to "lighten" as Normal just doesn't look good with the default texture. But I know how to do that ;-/

<...the music>

#15
OldTimeRadio

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Rolo Kipp wrote...
Ok, the effect works. But not quite right.
I'd like to:
1) align the particle so it always faces the VP. Which setting is that?

When you say VP, what do you mean?  So it always faces the player?  You'd be wanting to use a Render type which is some flavor of "Billboard".  BUT, I think if you use anything other than Render type "Normal", it's not going to splat.  I could be wrong about this but I just carried out some quick tests which seem to indicate that.

2) get the blood to splatter.

At least the following combination works:
render Normal
bounce 1
bounce_co 0.0
Splat 1

How it works I think goes something like this: Render Normal is necessary for whatever reason to get the effect to work. Although it's non-intuitive, setting bounce to 1 turns on the collision checking- if it's set to 0 you can see them fall right through the WOK in the toolset,  If splat is also set to 1, when it collides it'll splat. However, if bounce_co is set to anything greater than 0.0, the particles are going to bounce before the settle down and splat and their LifeExp is probably going to time out while they're still bouncing and they'll have just appeared to bounce and not splat. Make sure that bounce_co is 0.0 and they'll splat perfectly.

What does it splatter against? Collision with the PWK? Wherever its splattering, its not visible ;-P

I'm going to say WOK and that might sound unnecessarily niggly but there isn't guaranteed to be a PWK underneath the particle so nomatter what, it's really stopping at the WOK.  Whether it'll stop at a PWK if the Z of the PWK is higher than the WOK's Z...I dunno.  See the next answer for more.

But then, my PWK geometry is at 0cm and the top of the altar is at 25cm. How will moving the PWK (geometry, not pivot) up 25cm affect the walkmesh?

Interesting question because it brings up something I had made up my mind about but I know there is some difference of opinion on: Whether or not a PWK serves much of a purpose when shaped as a 3-dimensional object as opposed to a plane.  First, I don't know (as I said above) whether the PWK will act as a collision mesh against an emitter.  I would love to know the answer to that, though- so if you find out, post your results!  Some people, and probably in some circumstances especially, like to make their PWK as a cube instead of a plane.  I can see why they might want to do this but haven't ever been in the situation where I'd need to do it, myself.  I've always been under the impression that since the PWK is allegedly sliced into the WOK on the fly, and since the WOK is 2-dimensional, that the PWK is always flattened into a 2-dimensional object whose dimensions are projected downward onto the WOK...in some fashion.

This is just a guess though, so you might be able to make a box of a PWK and have emitter particles collide against it before hitting the Z level of the WOK.  Again, I don't know the answer and do things in such a way that I wouldn't have come across the answer so...I'd like to know what you find.

Modifié par OldTimeRadio, 03 novembre 2011 - 09:19 .


#16
Bannor Bloodfist

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A pwk and wok are not quite flat/zero z level. They CAN be set to act that way, but a raised section of a wok or pwk that is set to type 2 will block ammunition from going through. It will also block long ranged spells etc. Where a flat wok can stop you from walking across a specific area, a 3d version is better in that it also dynamically blocks the character, creature, ammunition, spells etc.

So, it all depends on the surface type of the wok/pwk, and it's variation in height as required by the object or tile in question.

The only "Z" limitation is that you can NOT walk above another walkable section. That does not mean you can't raise a wall, or walkway above the ground level, it just means that you can't walk both over AND under the bridged section, it is a one or the other type of deal.

This also affects and explains why "flying" objects/creatures, will bounce as they fly over a raised section of wok. That object/creature is using the base level Z location as it's base to fly above, if the base changes vertical position, the flying object will change as well. If the tile/pwk has a blocking section, a raised wall with type 2 faces, or trees with type 7 (non-walk) faces, then that flying object can't cross/fly over that section.

So, yes, pwks/woks DO affect Z location, and also affect other aspects of the game.

As a direct answer to OTR's question about collision mesh, IF the PWK is setup correctly, it WILL act as a collision mesh.  But that depends on the artist who created the pwk.  If the pwk is created simply as a flat plane set to type 7 (non-walk) to block character movement, it will NOT block spells, or ammuntion, but if the pwk has raised sections set to type 2 (obscuring) it will then stop the character from passing through AND stop ammunition or act as a wall to spells.

I don't know for sure on the emitter side though.  That particular bit I have not checked, but I can't see why it would not act as the normal wok for a tile works with relationship to emitters.

Modifié par Bannor Bloodfist, 03 novembre 2011 - 10:11 .


#17
Rolo Kipp

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<casting a long...>

I can now say *this* much:
First - If the PWK is 25cm above the WOK, it is still valid for pathfinding.

Second - If you are a bumbling fool who forgets to add (update after changing) the separate .pwk file to the hak you can forget about *using* the placeable :-P

My guess, the separate .pwk is a 2D projection of the pre-export PWK geometry onto the WOK, so it doesn't matter how high it is.

<...shadow>

#18
Bannor Bloodfist

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Why does everyone insist on using the term 2d for a projection of a 3d object?If your pwk is flat, then yes, it only "projects" a flat plane. So, placing a flat, non walk area higher than the tiles wok faces, the engine assumes a raised non walk section. Same is true with an "obscuring" flat plane. The engine assumes a non walk section. But, if the pwk has 3 dimensions, the engine will fill with whatever type the faces are set to. An obscuring (type 2) will generate an obscuring type 2 face up to the height of the top of the pwk. If the faces are non walk, (type 7) the engine projects a type 7 face up to the top of the pwk. Type 7, while preventing the character from walking across, will not stop projectiles, while a type 2, WILL block both the character and projectiles.

Try it with a wall placeable. You will see what I mean if the pwk is correct, and type 2 faces, it will block projectiles if the pwk has height to it. If not, and the pwk is a flat plane at the base of the wall, it won't stop anything except the character/creatures will not be able to walk across it.

This is NOT 2d, but is in actuality 3d projection. Height, width, and depth.

Many, MANY pwks are created without taking that into account. Many are created as flat planes since it is sooo much easier to create. Folks take every opportunity to save time/effort, but that doesn't make the object correct.

The pwk base, should extend Upwards from the flat zero position, to the top of the object(s) in question. Otherwise, you would have no need to adjust the relative Z position of the placeable when you paint it in toolset. The toolset and game both project the 3 dimensions of the wok first, then adjust it by however the placeables pwks change the terrain.

Anyway, NWN IS a 3d game, in the that you CAN raise/lower the "Z" settings of objects etc. The only "Z" limitation is that you can only have ONE "Z". Meaning you can't cross over/under the same location.

Another test you can run to prove the point, is to place a set of steps over a walkable area. The steps, if created correctly, with a true 3d pwk, will now allow your pc to walk UP the steps.

#19
Rolo Kipp

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<mumbling something...>

Bannor Bloodfist wrote...
Why does everyone insist on using the term 2d for a projection of a 3d object?If your pwk is flat, then yes, it only "projects" a flat plane. So, placing a flat, non walk area higher than the tiles wok faces, the engine assumes a raised non walk section. Same is true with an "obscuring" flat plane. The engine assumes a non walk section.

Hmmm. In this case, my PWK being a flat circle with a notch cut out, what I was trying to describle was the effect of a plane object being projected on a plane object (WOK). I have no side faces to the PWK to raise it from 0cm to 25cm. It just floats above. My point in the above post was that it worked fine without having the geometry in the scene connecting the plane of the WOK with the PWK of the object. I.e. it doesn't *need* to be more than a flat plane (2D) for walking/non-walking purposes. This was something I guessed, but hadn't *known*.  

Referring to it as a 2D projection arose from my assumption that the graphics engine would not store or calculate more geometry than was needed. I.e. if it was *not* obscuring, adding any vertexes above/below the WOK is wasteful of both CPU and memory. I assume, in such a case, the non-walk information would be mapped onto the existing walkmesh in the same manner as a texture map - not affecting geometry, only type.

But, if the pwk has 3 dimensions, the engine will fill with whatever type the faces are set to. An obscuring (type 2) will generate an obscuring type 2 face up to the height of the top of the pwk. If the faces are non walk, (type 7) the engine projects a type 7 face up to the top of the pwk. Type 7, while preventing the character from walking across, will not stop projectiles, while a type 2, WILL block both the character and projectiles.

Try it with a wall placeable. You will see what I mean if the pwk is correct, and type 2 faces, it will block projectiles if the pwk has height to it. If not, and the pwk is a flat plane at the base of the wall, it won't stop anything except the character/creatures will not be able to walk across it.

I understand (though I have not yet experimented with) setting the types of walkmesh. I have read every tutorial I can find (all of yours :-), so I know the theory.

OTOH, I'm still feeling my way into NwMax and on the placeable PWK the only options I see are radios between Placeable and Door.  I assume that setting the correct color will set the proper type of face, but I honestly never even thought of that in connection to my Altar. Have no intention of obscuring, but don't particularly care if it does :-P 

This is NOT 2d, but is in actuality 3d projection. Height, width, and depth.

Many, MANY pwks are created without taking that into account. Many are created as flat planes since it is sooo much easier to create. Folks take every opportunity to save time/effort, but that doesn't make the object correct.

The pwk base, should extend Upwards from the flat zero position, to the top of the object(s) in question. Otherwise, you would have no need to adjust the relative Z position of the placeable when you paint it in toolset. The toolset and game both project the 3 dimensions of the wok first, then adjust it by however the placeables pwks change the terrain.

But, in the case of a flat surface hovering above the WOK, does it add in geometry or does it just project the type faces downward onto the WOK? That is, am I actually saving a bit of memory & cycle by using a flat plane, or am I *adding* some construction overhead when the placeable is added?

Anyway, NWN IS a 3d game, in the that you CAN raise/lower the "Z" settings of objects etc. The only "Z" limitation is that you can only have ONE "Z". Meaning you can't cross over/under the same location. 

Another test you can run to prove the point, is to place a set of steps over a walkable area. The steps, if created correctly, with a true 3d pwk, will now allow your pc to walk UP the steps.

Don't doubt it a bit =)

OTOH, if I cut a section out of the flat non-walk PWK hovering at the height of the top of my dias, the (now walkable) section is *not* raised to the top of my dias. You wade through the model. Strange, no? The engine does not, I think, add *walkable* mesh unless you specifically create it on the model. So, does it add *non*-walkable geometry? Or just project the shape of the PWK onto the existing WOK?

Caveat: Not trying to be argumentative :-) I did not know you felt so strongly about this :-/ And I *do* want to understand *why* things work one way but not another, or if I'm impacting the performance (plus or minus) with my modeling techniques.

<...lost in his mug>

#20
_six

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A pwk blocks access for around 25cm above and below it. By making the pwk a trapeze shape rather than a flat plane you can increase that range, so that placing it on flat ground or above/below the ground will be less of an issue. Whereas if you want it to be walkable and its too low it won't be.

However a pwk will never allow anything to be walkable.

Actually I don't believe the obscuring thing works. Pretty sure material type is just ignored, and its none walkable.

Modifié par _six, 04 novembre 2011 - 08:27 .


#21
Lord Sullivan

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A placeable pwk has only one setting "Obscuring" = (non-walkable + obscuring) so if a flat plane is used say... for a tree and you encounter hostile archers, they will keep still away from your Character and keep shooting through the trees if you are behind one, if you add geometry 250cm and up, they will be prevented from seeing your character through the trees and will start running towards your character to attack it.

Modifié par Lord Sullivan, 05 novembre 2011 - 01:49 .


#22
OldTimeRadio

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Lots of good information! Lord Sullivan, do you mean 250cm instead of 250mm?

#23
Lord Sullivan

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OldTimeRadio wrote...

Lots of good information! Lord Sullivan, do you mean 250cm instead of 250mm?

Oh yeah... 250cm. Sorry bout that. ;) FIXED.

Modifié par Lord Sullivan, 05 novembre 2011 - 01:49 .