[WIP] Lighthouses mod

Originally Posted by gap

BTW: shouldn't Runmode set to 'Stop'?

No. The generator is not 'reactivated' when the height is again above 1,8 (18 meters above sea floor).

Originally Posted by gap

Talking about GenHeightControl, I forgot to mention that the idea of asscoaiting it with the FloatingObject controller to trigger the splash effect, is brilliant! Is it your, or you borrowed it from somewhere else?

My own idea.

Originally Posted by gap

Sure it is. On my HD, all of your particle genertors and materials are stored in the custom FX library file I had created for light effects. I wanted to create yet another library file to be used only for materials, but it didn't work. Apparently particle materials can only be stored either in Materials.dat, or in the same file as the particle generator(s) calling for them.

Originally Posted by gap

Okay, so the generator with the sound attached to it has no visual effect?

It shouldn't, even if I tried to attach a blue star (to see what happens), but for a reason that I have not discovered yet, it doesn't show it.

Originally Posted by gap

during my first tests I had the feeling that if a wave was coming from south, splashes appeared on the north side of the lighthouse base, and vice versa

No, this was just an illusion. If the wave crashes south, the foam appears south.

Originally Posted by gap

Guys can you please test this:

Tourelle de La Plate v12 - Patch 3

Tested at a wind speed of 10 and 15 m/s, after the above changes the splash animation seems to me much more smooth. The stuttering still happens at times, but it is not as apparent and frequent as before. Let me know if it works for me as it does for me

Very nice texture indeed !

Works very well, even if the 'stuttering' is still there.

Originally Posted by gap

@ Kendras ;-)

Oh, very cool sound to relax and sleep !

 

Uh, you want to add it underwater when waves crash on the rocks, right ?

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

No. The generator is not 'reactivated' when the height is again above 1,8 (18 meters above sea floor).

18 meters above sea floor (that would be 1m a.s.l in the Pointe du Raz area), or 1.8m a.s.l?

I am asking because I would like to create a second, smaller splash effect to be triggered by lower waves...

Originally Posted by Kendras

My own idea.

Hats off to you Sir

Originally Posted by Kendras

It shouldn't, even if I tried to attach a blue star (to see what happens), but for a reason that I have not discovered yet, it doesn't show it.

I noticed the same. It seems that only the particle generator with lower index is rendered in game.

Originally Posted by Kendras

No, this was just an illusion. If the wave crashes south, the foam appears south.

Okay

Originally Posted by Kendras

Very nice texture indeed !

Works very well, even if the 'stuttering' is still there.

Okay, I am a afraid we will get to live with the stuttering. Something I have noticed is that every time test mission is loaded, sea conditions are slightly diffrent, and the stuttering gets better or worse depending on them.

On the other hand can you please test the patch below (It replaces patch 3) and tell me how it scores in therms of eye-candy?

Originally Posted by Kendras

Oh, very cool sound to relax and sleep !

Originally Posted by Kendras

Uh, you want to add it underwater when waves crash on the rocks, right ?

 

You read in my mind: it should replace the main splash sound underwater in free camera view, and inside the boat

Originally Posted by gap

18 meters above sea floor (that would be 1m a.s.l in the Pointe du Raz area), or 1.8m a.s.l?

I am asking because I would like to create a second, smaller splash effect to be triggered by lower waves...

To be sure, try to replace 1,8 by 1,6. If it is 16 meters, then the effect will always be visible, even with windspeed at 5 m/s. If it is 1,6 meters, then the effect will be more or less the same.

Originally Posted by gap

On the other hand can you please test the patch below (It replaces patch 3) and tell me how it scores in therms of eye-candy?

Mmh, i don't see any link. What did you change ?

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

To be sure, try to replace 1,8 by 1,6. If it is 16 meters, then the effect will always be visible, even with windspeed at 5 m/s. If it is 1,6 meters, then the effect will be more or less the same.

I already made some tests: GenHeightControl is relative to the soil/seabed level. That means that we will need several copies of the effect, each with different Min/Max settings, depending on the sea depth at the location that different lighthouses will be placed at.

Originally Posted by Kendras

Mmh, i don't see any link. What did you change ?

Sorry, my bad

http://www.mediafire.com/file/1fpa9b...2_-_Patch_4.7z

Randomized a bit the effect, and made it to be affected by wind force/direction
I am currently working at another version of the effect having two splash particles: shorter splashes for waves higher than 1m asl, and higher ones for waves higher than 2m asl. It looks cool so far, I will post it later

[MLF]

Just had a chance to have a look at V12 Patched to 4 - what magic. The stuttering of the waves appear to be a switch-on , switch off and then resume where it left off - the waves splash, rise up, switch off, switch on with the splash still high and splash subsides. Is that how you see it? I have tried to keep up, but real life took over so excuse if I'm out of touch. Anything you need tested with screenshots?

Regards,

MLF

Originally Posted by gap

lighthouse text labels are much more smooth now, yet I can see some unwanted effects too: they are visible at lower zoom levels, meaning that the map will look a bit messy when there will be many lighthouses around the coasts

A bit messy, yes :

Originally Posted by gap

A question: do enemy units still attack our lighthouse set as naval bases?

Tested : yes, they do.

----

Back to the 'stuttering' problem. I knew it ! The problem comes from the second particle generator (the one with the object item attached to). If you delete it, my foam effect is perfectly smooth. So, we might find a solution by changing time parameters in this generator (although I have very few hope), or another solution would be to add this sound generator independently from the foam generator, with an own genheight controller, and even an own floatingobject controller if needed.

Originally Posted by gap

Okay, I am a afraid we will get to live with the stuttering.

I don't want to. Visual effect is more important for me than sound effect.

Originally Posted by MLF

Just had a chance to have a look at V12 Patched to 4 - what magic.

I'm glad that you like it !

[gap]

Originally Posted by MLF

Just had a chance to have a look at V12 Patched to 4 - what magic. The stuttering of the waves appear to be a switch-on , switch off and then resume where it left off - the waves splash, rise up, switch off, switch on with the splash still high and splash subsides. Is that how you see it? I have tried to keep up, but real life took over so excuse if I'm out of touch. Anything you need tested with screenshots?

Originally Posted by Kendras

Back to the 'stuttering' problem. I knew it ! The problem comes from the second particle generator (the one with the object item attached to). If you delete it, my foam effect is perfectly smooth. So, we might find a solution by changing time parameters in this generator (although I have very few hope), or another solution would be to add this sound generator independently from the foam generator, with an own genheight controller, and even an own floatingobject controller if needed.

Since the object particle that the sound is linked to is not supposed to be visual, we might try placing it in the same ParticleGenerator as the visual bitmap particle, as an array item.

I have also noticed that increasing the max number of particles makes the effect somehow smoother. My suspect is that the total count of particles spawned must be multiplied by the number of times the particle generator is linked to the object (8 times in our case). Anyway, here are two more versions of the effect:

Tourelle de La Plate v12 - Patch 5

Tourelle de La Plate v12 - Patch 6

Both versions: max number of particles increased from 40 to 400 and two splash effects used: one for waves higher than 1 m and another effect for waves higher than 2 m.

Patch 5: the lower particle effect uses the same waterspray bitmap particle as the high one, but squeezed vertically to look shorter.

Patch 6: the lower particle effect use a new bitmap particle.

Patch 3 to 6 are alternative to each other and shouldn't be enabled together.

Originally Posted by gap

Since the object particle that the sound is linked to is not supposed to be visual, we might try placing it in the same ParticleGenerator as the visual bitmap particle, as an array item.

I have also noticed that increasing the max number of particles makes the effect somehow smoother. My suspect is that the total count of particles spawned must be multiplied by the number of times the particle generator is linked to the object (8 times in our case).

You are not searching in the right direction.

Here, it works very well :

[MLF]

IMO patch 5 is better - reduced stuttering but spray switches off too quickly. Patch 6 the splash is too reduced, you would expect some spray even in calmer weather. What about splash refection - possible? If you look at the lighthouse from above it's weird that the splash is there and then is immediately gone without any aftermath.

MLF

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

You are not searching in the right direction.

Here, it works very well :

Like this?

Tourelle de La Plate v12 - Patch 7

Originally Posted by MLF

IMO patch 5 is better - reduced stuttering but spray switches off too quickly. Patch 6 the splash is too reduced, you would expect some spray even in calmer weather.

Wait, I am going to post a couple of variants which might address the lack of spray you noticed with patch 6

Originally Posted by Kendras

What about splash refection - possible? If you look at the lighthouse from above it's weird that the splash is there and then is immediately gone without any aftermath.

Do you mean water reflections (they should be already there) or what else? We are planning to add foam on the surface...

[gap]

Originally Posted by MLF

IMO patch 5 is better - reduced stuttering but spray switches off too quickly. Patch 6 the splash is too reduced, you would expect some spray even in calmer weather. What about splash refection - possible? If you look at the lighthouse from above it's weird that the splash is there and then is immediately gone without any aftermath.

MLF, can you please test the following:

Tourelle de La Plate v12 - Patch 8

Two versions included:

Patch 8a:

- Particles, wave height ≥ 1m: 'shortened' vertical spray particles and horizontal splash particles used in the same quantity

• half the quantity of vertical spray particles than used in patch 5 (not used in patch 6)
• half the quantity of horizontal splash particles than used in patch 6 (not used in patch 5)

- Particles, wave height ≥ 2m: unchanged

Patch 8b:

- Particles, wave height ≥ 1m:

• from no vertical spray particles to half the quantity used in patch 5 (this is random: the higher wave height, the higher the chance that some spray particles will spawn)
• same quantity of horizontal splash particles as used in patch 6

- Particles, wave height ≥ 2m: unchanged

I recommend you to test both versions after setting wind speed of the test mission to 15 m/s, and to reload the mission several times (as it seems that sea conditions are slightly diffrent every time a single mission is loaded).

Thanks to Kendras' intuition, the stuttering should be gone for good with no need of giving up the crashing wave sound effect

[MLF]

Hi Gap,

I've tested Patch 7, 8a and 8b.

Patch 7 - (Screenshots 1 & 2) Splash very smooth - no stuttering . Origin of spray segments are very apparent from above, with straight edges.

patch 8a - (Screenshots 3 & 4)Better spray effect, but edges still apparent when spray reduces/dissolves

Patch 8b - (Screenshots 5 & 6) IMO the best. Spray impressive, and density,height better. No straight edges apparent from above

Would it be be possible to have the spray go higher and be more wind blown after spawning (depending on wind speed). At the moment I feel there is a certain lack of fury in the spray.

If the idea is to add foam then reflections of the spray would not be needed. The more the sensation of wetness in rough stormy weather, the better

I edited the mission to increase wind speed to 15 m/sec, and I also set cloud cover to heavy with no changes. Unless the clouds are blue there didn't seem to be any change in the sky - have you noticed this?

Regards,

MLF

[MLF]

I have attached a screenshot of Patch 8b in calmer conditions, and the reflection of the spray is apparent
Funny thing is I edited the mission and added precipitation. It now rains from a clear blue sky - but don't suppose this has anything to do with this work.

regards,

MLF

[gap]

Originally Posted by MLF

Patch 7 - (Screenshots 1 & 2) Splash very smooth - no stuttering . Origin of spray segments are very apparent from above, with straight edges.

patch 8a - (Screenshots 3 & 4)Better spray effect, but edges still apparent when spray reduces/dissolves

Patch 8b - (Screenshots 5 & 6) IMO the best. Spray impressive, and density,height better. No straight edges apparent from above

Okay, I will keep working on the effect using v 8b as base then

BTW: when referring to particles, you should specify if you are talking about the short ones that you always see when a splash effect is triggered, or the tall ones that you only see when waves are equal or higher than two meters.

Originally Posted by MLF

Would it be be possible to have the spray go higher and be more wind blown after spawning (depending on wind speed). At the moment I feel there is a certain lack of fury in the spray.

I have already tried making splash/spray particles more affected by the wind than they are now, but the effect was not good because it looked like the whole splash (not only the spray) moved too far away from the lighthouse base. What I can do is making a third particle type, simulating vapourized water, to spawn with a certain delay, and to move further away from the splash following wind's direction. What do you think? Should I add this particle to both particle generators, or only to the one used for the highest waves?

Originally Posted by MLF

If the idea is to add foam then reflections of the spray would not be needed. The more the sensation of wetness in rough stormy weather, the better

Originally Posted by MLF

I have attached a screenshot of Patch 8b in calmer conditions, and the reflection of the spray is apparent

Okay, as you have already noticed water reflections are already there, though they are not always very apparent, especially when sea conditions are very rough. In any case, dynamic foam effect is definitely in our to-do list

Originally Posted by MLF

I edited the mission to increase wind speed to 15 m/sec, and I also set cloud cover to heavy with no changes. Unless the clouds are blue there didn't seem to be any change in the sky - have you noticed this?

Originally Posted by MLF

Funny thing is I edited the mission and added precipitation. It now rains from a clear blue sky - but don't suppose this has anything to do with this work.

Honetsly I didn't mess too much with other mission parameters than wind speed, but as for many other "fixed" values in game, it is possible that the game code randomizes them

[MLF]

Originally Posted by gap

.

I have already tried making splash/spray particles more affected by the wind than they are now, but the effect was not good because it looked like the whole splash (not only the spray) moved too far away from the lighthouse base. What I can do is making a third particle type, simulating vapourized water, to spawn with a certain delay, and to move further away from the splash following wind's direction. What do you think? Should I add this particle to both particle generators, or only to the one used for the highest waves?

At sea, when it is very windy, the tops of the waves are whipped up into spray. I would therefore suggest adding it to the highest waves - it might look a bit messy otherwise. I'm not sure everything follows the wind direction anyway - the waves, for example, come from any direction as far as I can make out

Originally Posted by gap

Honetsly I didn't mess too much with other mission parameters than wind speed, but as for many other "fixed" values in game, it is possible that the game code randomizes them

I'm sure it's nothing to do with this work - I had to disable a few other mods to take screenshots etc, so most likely some tail-end charlie is messing up the clouds - my problem

regards,

MLF