2008.06.16, 01:49 PM
I have been doing extensive work with particles, mostly just experimenting with different values to achieve various effects. Although I have made some interesting achievements, that which I truly desire to create still eludes me, somewhat....
I seek to create various types of laser weapons; however spawning one using a ray (like in the default Raygun script), will not suit my needs. What I think I need to do is spawn a particle based laser, however there really doesn't seem a way to do this properly; the closest I've come is using spawn.particleLine, but the problem with this, when implemented in this fashion, are numerous:
1. particles are spaced too far apart; in order to get the 'continuous beam' effect I am striving for, the particles must either be enlarged or many, many more of them must be spawned. Not only does this cause the engine to complain incessantly about "no more spots to add effect", but it tends to create a laser much bigger than what I want, and ruins the overall effect I am trying to achieve (it's not that I don't WANT big lasers, I just don't want a huge laser from this particular weapon).
2. the 'continuous laser' effect it totally dependent on certain points of view, and even to an extent certain firing angles; for example, using a smaller beam, I cannot seem to get it to look like a laser if character is facing sideways, nor does it look proper when character fires in an upward direction; firing straight produces the required effect (sometimes), while firing at a downward angle produces a much stronger effect. I believe this is because although in most cases the player wouldn't notice this, but particles are actually rendered flat (they are bitmaps, after all). One doesn't tend to notice this because in most cases the particle always faces the player. Experimenting with the idea of particle trails or spawn.particleMoving has met with less than favorable results thus far....
3. Although a minor issue, it looks rather unprofessional to fire a laser and when one moves the weapon, the beam stays in place. By design, the laser is meant to linger for a short period of time; however, I may have a way around this particular issue.
From what I can see, my problem is that the particles are spawned too far apart; can it be this is not something Dim3 can handle yet? Therefore, I would like to submit a request to implement something that would solve this current dilemma, perhaps a 'spawn particle as ray' sort of thing, or something....
If further clarification is needed, I can attempt to submit screenshots, to better illustrate my point. If anyone can help me with this problem, I would be eternally grateful!
I seek to create various types of laser weapons; however spawning one using a ray (like in the default Raygun script), will not suit my needs. What I think I need to do is spawn a particle based laser, however there really doesn't seem a way to do this properly; the closest I've come is using spawn.particleLine, but the problem with this, when implemented in this fashion, are numerous:
1. particles are spaced too far apart; in order to get the 'continuous beam' effect I am striving for, the particles must either be enlarged or many, many more of them must be spawned. Not only does this cause the engine to complain incessantly about "no more spots to add effect", but it tends to create a laser much bigger than what I want, and ruins the overall effect I am trying to achieve (it's not that I don't WANT big lasers, I just don't want a huge laser from this particular weapon).
2. the 'continuous laser' effect it totally dependent on certain points of view, and even to an extent certain firing angles; for example, using a smaller beam, I cannot seem to get it to look like a laser if character is facing sideways, nor does it look proper when character fires in an upward direction; firing straight produces the required effect (sometimes), while firing at a downward angle produces a much stronger effect. I believe this is because although in most cases the player wouldn't notice this, but particles are actually rendered flat (they are bitmaps, after all). One doesn't tend to notice this because in most cases the particle always faces the player. Experimenting with the idea of particle trails or spawn.particleMoving has met with less than favorable results thus far....
3. Although a minor issue, it looks rather unprofessional to fire a laser and when one moves the weapon, the beam stays in place. By design, the laser is meant to linger for a short period of time; however, I may have a way around this particular issue.
From what I can see, my problem is that the particles are spawned too far apart; can it be this is not something Dim3 can handle yet? Therefore, I would like to submit a request to implement something that would solve this current dilemma, perhaps a 'spawn particle as ray' sort of thing, or something....
If further clarification is needed, I can attempt to submit screenshots, to better illustrate my point. If anyone can help me with this problem, I would be eternally grateful!
