[WIP] Lighthouses mod

[SquareSteelBar]

Confirm that [except CTD]


inside reef:



underwater:




reef is transparent for light halos.

Originally Posted by MLF

Put the .dat file in \Terrains\Locations folder.
Updated the Locations.cfg.

Reef visible in game on surface (whether OnLand= true or false)

Nothing visible underwater.

Yes, that's logical, because the base of the 3D model will always be placed on the sea surface if the model is placed from the Locations.cfg file. But the base should be placed on the sea bed if you create a new land unit and place it with the mission editor.

Originally Posted by MLF

And I drove straight through it.

Originally Posted by SquareSteelBar

Confirm that ... inside reef

Strange ... If you try my work, you shouldn't be able to go through the island :

d/L link : http://www.mediafire.com/file/ky0fvj...Kendras_LH.zip

You will find :
- the 3D model : K_Lighthouse_1.dat
- an icon for the LH (maybe to improve a bit)
- a single mission : Test new LH.mis

It is JSGME ready. Put the folder k -- New lighthouses in your MODS folder and enable.

Before launching SH3, open the file data/Terrain/Locations.cfg (of your installation), and write this at the end (change ### with the correct number) :

[Location ###] ; test new lighthouse
Long=-4.755715
Lat=48.043404
Heading=90
OnLand=false
ShowOnMap=true
FileName=K_Lighthouse_1
LocationName=La Vieille

Originally Posted by SquareSteelBar

reef is transparent for light halos.

The problem doesn't come from gap's files. You have to edit the particles generators of the light halo, and change depth test from false to true IIRC. If you try my mod, you will see that you can't sea the lighthouse's light halo through the island.

About the rock, I would prefer a flat base from which some reliefs are emerging. Something like that, but smaller of course :



Good tutorial here : https://www.darkcreations.org/hoddmi...hout-photoshop

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

About the rock, I would prefer a flat base from which some reliefs are emerging. Something like that, but smaller of course :

The base vertices/edges of my current model are on an horizontal plane, just as in the picture you linked to your post. I only removed the flat faces on the base because I thought they would be hidden under the seabed anyway.

Do you want them visible instead?

[gap]

One last comment for now (sorry for spamming your thread Kendras ): from MLF's and SquareSteelBar's screenies (thank you guys!) it is pretty obvious that the ambient occlusion texture is not rendered on top of the diffuse texture. I suspect the AO texture map to be blocked by the SpecularMask controller also applied to the reef material. Can someone please remove that controller together with its container from the file and/or move them below the "Reef1AO.tga" texture map, and repeat the test?

Another suspect is the "in-memory DX2/3 texture compression" flag that I checked both for the main and for the AO textures, but let's try with the SpecularMask controller first...

[MLF]

Hi Gap,


I assume there was a clash between ID's in your file and something in my set-up. Therefore I remapped IDs and all worked.

The 2nd CTD was my being dumb - hadn't noticed that Kendras had included a Locations.cfg in his mod. Think his called up something not available in my setup.

I found that by changing the Node-Reef1 Node Positioning Translation Y value I could lower and raise the reef in the water, actually submerging it altogether, or having it float in the air.

Here is the your modified .dat file:-

https://www.mediafire.com/?6h7401kv6ca55op

MLF


PS: - didn't see your last post re the ambient occlusion texture. Will give it a go, but maybe tomorrow.

[gap]

Originally Posted by MLF

I assume there was a clash between ID's in your file and something in my set-up. Therefore I remapped IDs and all worked.

The 2nd CTD was my being dumb - hadn't noticed that Kendras had included a Locations.cfg in his mod. Think his called up something not available in my setup.

Originally Posted by MLF

I found that by changing the Node-Reef1 Node Positioning Translation Y value I could lower and raise the reef in the water, actually submerging it altogether, or having it float in the air.

Good to know. The model is 27.8 m (i.e. 2.78 game units) high, so if we set the Y translation value of its bone to, let's say, -1.78, the rock would rise 10 m over the sea level, and if placed on waters deeper than ca. 17.8 m, it would "float" rather than laying on the seabed. Easy math, but I think it would be better if we found a way to link the model directly to the terrain.

Originally Posted by MLF

PS: - didn't see your last post re the ambient occlusion texture. Will give it a go, but maybe tomorrow.

Thank you MLF, take your time

So, I placed your reef model and texture in my first mod. The file is placed in data/Terrain/Location, and placement written in data/Terrain/Locations.cfg. I have reworked your 3D model : 150% on Y axis, and 0 height at sea level. In Locations.cfg, if I set "On land=true", then the reef is not visible at all in game. So, I let on "false".

In GAME:

Here at depth = -17 m (checked in Mission editor). Note that the texture is not applied, the land is grey, but with a stone aspect.

 

Above water:


Under water:


Under sea bed:

Now, at depth = -28 m, and specular mask deleted. The same texture is applied above and underwater. Other thing : the sea surface is the same on the reef:

 

Crash test OK:

 

"Ouch !"



"Help, we are stuck !!! The boat is flooding !!"

Originally Posted by gap

I think it would be better if we found a way to link the model directly to the terrain.

Now, it's better : the model is linked directly to ... the sea level !

[MLF]

Had to delete Locations.cfg which came with mod as caused CTD (calls up bits and bobs that I don't have).
Edited my Locations.cfg as suggested, and all ran OK.

Nice model

The base extended beneath the surface of the sea (although placed using locations.cfg). I can confirm that it was solid when I tried to drive through) and that the light was not visible when it was behind another object.

I played around with settings in Gap's reef model (hope he doesn'tmind?). I found that by giving the Node-Reef1 Node Positioning Translation Y value a negative number (here -30 see 2nd screenshot) the model did go beneath the sea (see 1st screenshot of underwater view of sub)
I also tried changing the StaticObject parameters and setup to reflect yours but the boat still drove through.

Hope this helps.

All reminds me of this:-

Originally Posted by MLF

All reminds me of this:-

"Negative Captain, I'm not moving anything."


I just don't understand the last sentence : "it's your call" ... ?

[MLF]

It means "It's up to you, alter course or ram a lighthouse!". Basically what we've been doing testing the mods - ramming lighthouses/rocks to see if they are solid or not!

[MLF]

Hi Gap,

Tried PM'ing but your mailbox is full.

May have a fix for the drive through reef - added new node as child of existing node and moved 3d model, reflections below that. Possible that StaticObject describes a child object rather than an object at its own level????
Changed StaticObject type as well to 10/-1 and set squarelength to 200 (same as in Kendras' LH file) - not sure what that does though.

Any objections to me posting the changed file in this thread?

Regards,

MLF

[gap]

Thank you for your feedback and sorry for the late replies guys. Yesterday and the day before yesterday I was on my way to home, and I had hardly the time to read your comments

Originally Posted by Kendras

Without my computer, I can already answer to this : Yes ! I already tried this issue by colliding the rock with my U-boot. The AI ships are also stuck if they are near the island. So, no need to have a .zon file with collision spheres ! But if you make this model a land unit, then you will have to create a .zon file with plenty of collision spheres, and this will require a lot of time.

Setting the reefs as land units is not strictly needed, especially if we find a way to anchor a terrain object to the seabed. Anyway in my own experience with SH5, even land or sea units can be made collisionable using the staticobject controller rather than collision spheres, just like terrain objects. IIRC the secret is putting the controller not directly on the main unit but on an equipment linked to it through eqp file. Though following the 3D profile of its parent unit, this collisionable equipment (can be a dummy, invisible copy of the reef) should not touch the main model in any point, otherwise some weird things can happen.

[gap]

Originally Posted by MLF

Hi Gap,

Tried PM'ing but your mailbox is full.

As usual

Originally Posted by MLF

May have a fix for the drive through reef - added new node as child of existing node and moved 3d model, reflections below that. Possible that StaticObject describes a child object rather than an object at its own level????

Possible. As I noted a few days ago, SHIII harbors stored in the Terrain/Locations folder, contain no actual 3D mesh, but only dummy placement nodes that Library 3D models, on turn, are attached to. Staticobject controllers are attached to Terrain/Locations files (one per file), rather than to library models. It is also possible that traslation values of placement nodes (rather than the ones of the nodes containing the 3D models) are used for determining the position of each model relative to the 3D world

Originally Posted by MLF

Changed StaticObject type as well to 10/-1 and set squarelength to 200 (same as in Kendras' LH file) - not sure what that does though.

Oh sorry, I had forgot setting controller's squarelength property after adding it, but the 10 / 1000 type controller container should be correct. IIRC I took it from one of the stock files

Originally Posted by MLF

Any objections to me posting the changed file in this thread?

Yes, post it please. The more we are, the quicker we can sort bugs out