-= Gametoast.com =-

You know how we have been unable to implement a blastermark impact effect? You can only either make the scorchmark face in one direction (regardless of what direction you hit the object), make it so that it will face the player, or make it face in a random direction. But, as far as I know, you can't make the scorchmark actually allign itself with the surface it hits.

I've been mulling this over, and I've realized that the shieldimpact effects actually do allign themselves with the surface they hit, like the shieldimpact effects of capital ships. Here's an example in case you're not sure what I'm talking about.
However, if you look at the com_sfx_shieldimpact_sm.fx and com_sfx_shieldimpact_xl.fx, they use billboard particles. In other words, the same type of particle that normally creates the one-direction-particle bug (like Bantha55's Tantive: Interception).

I substituted the scorchmark texture for the shield texture of com_sfx_shieldimpact_sm.fx and assigned it to ImpactEffectStatic in the ord odf. But the one-direction-particle persisted.

What I'm getting at is that if we could duplicate the the shieldimpact thing and substitute the scorchmark texture (and some other tweaks), we might be able to get this to get this to work.

It's a property of the shield and not the effect that makes it work. If you want to add shields to everything (and a shield on the terrain) then you could get it to work. If you don't feel like doing that (and I do not think I would normally choose to, there are a host of problems with it) then I don't think any amount of goofing on effects will do anything, since as you mention they are both billboard effects.

I remember while ago that someone did it, through the use of a hit effect (the one set in the ord file) that lasted a very long time. It worked very good except when you hit and killed an enemy the effect would last and the player would be on the floor (meaning there will be a floating blast mark where the person died). So as Mav said it will come with a lot of problems either way.

bobfinkl wrote:I remember while ago that someone did it, through the use of a hit effect

That's not even under debate here - he knows that you can do it with a hit effect (that is essentially the only way to do it), but the problem is (as mentioned) that the effect used to make a scorchmark is a mono-planar decal. Making it disappear or stay for a long time isn't the problem the OP is trying to address here.

Oh, I must have misread it then. Nevermind my first post in this topic then.

Ok thanks Mav. That's what I was afraid of. Now do you know how to change the shield effect? I know there is a shieldimpacteffet line in the odf but that just plays a different impact effect on top of the actual shield effect.

trainmaster611 wrote:Ok thanks Mav. That's what I was afraid of. Now do you know how to change the shield effect? I know there is a shieldimpacteffet line in the odf but that just plays a different impact effect on top of the actual shield effect.

ShieldImpactEffectSmall/ShieldImpactEffectLarge

-_- wrote:

trainmaster611 wrote:Ok thanks Mav. That's what I was afraid of. Now do you know how to change the shield effect? I know there is a shieldimpacteffet line in the odf but that just plays a different impact effect on top of the actual shield effect.

ShieldImpactEffectSmall/ShieldImpactEffectLarge

Are those .fx names or is that an odf parameter?

.Odf parameters. Completely forgot to mention that.

which odf? the ord/exp, or unit/object?

Weapon ordnance.

-_- wrote:.Odf parameters. Completely forgot to mention that.

Well like the shieldimpacteffect parameter, it doesn't change the shield effect but it adds an impact effect on top of the shield effect.

In other words, if I assigned com_sfx_ord_exp.fx to shieldimpacteffect (or the other two), the default shield effect will still play with the com_sfx_ord_exp.fx on top of it.

From that I gather that it may be something located in the common/odfs folder (which would require a custom ingame.lvl to change anything).

Fiodis wrote:From that I gather that it may be something located in the common/odfs folder (which would require a custom ingame.lvl to change anything).

I'm not 100% sure what you're talking about but in com_weap_ord_exp.odf, I found this

[ExplosionClass]
ClassLabel = "explosion"

[Properties]

Effect = "com_sfx_ord_exp"
Decal = "decal_explosion"

//SoundProperty = "imp_weap_ord_exp defer"

Not sure what decal is. There's no decal_explosion fx or tga that I know of, but there are textures called decal_explosion_crack_bump.tga and decal_explosion_scorch.tga.

And according to psych0fred's docs, he listed these two parameters under Ordnance Bullet

ImpactDecalTerrain
ImpactDecalStatic

Keep in mind that even though there are references to decals, the code may be broken. There are still plenty of ODF values for prone.

I read in another topic that decals are a broken code. I have found TGAs for them; they're things like footprints, apparently.

Fiodis wrote:I read in another topic that decals are a broken code. I have found TGAs for them; they're things like footprints, apparently.

I would figure. Didn't BF1 have decals though? I couldn't find any reference to them either other than those two textures I mentioned earlier.

Good news, though. I managed to replace the default droideka shield effect (ie, com_sfx_shieldimpact_sm.fx) with my scorchmark effect. It turns out the effect is derived from data_ABC\Common\Effects. I did it by taking my scorchmark effect and renaming it to com_sfx_shieldimpact_sm and then munging it. But I don't know how the game connects the droideka shield effect to com_sfx_shieldimpact_sm. So as far as I know, renaming the scorchmark effect to the com_sfx_shieldimpact_sm effect would be the only way to replace it.

Does anyone know where the shieldimpact name is cited for shields?

[EDIT]

Got them working, and they really do look great!
http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/ ... f5cfe7.png

What I would like to know now, is

1) How does the game know which effect to play for the shields
2) What are the downfalls you mentioned earlier Mav?
3) Is there another way to trick the game into thinking that the building has a shield?

trainmaster611 wrote:Got them working, and they really do look great!

Hidden/Spoiler:

http://screenshot.xfire.com/screenshot/ ... f5cfe7.png

Ahaha! I knew my research wasn't in vain!

If anyone can recall, I looked into blastermarks and decals sometime last year. What I came up with was a somewhat workable effect, but it was still buggy in a few ways. Funny thing was, I was using the shield hit effects as a reference. It never occurred to me to add a shield onto an object, as trainmaster has done here. Well done, train, well done.

trainmaster611 wrote:2) What are the downfalls you mentioned earlier Mav?
3) Is there another way to trick the game into thinking that the building has a shield?

2. Your method only works for shields. Terrain, nonshielded objects, etc. can only have unidirectional billboards.
3. None that I can think of offhand (probably onhand, too).

Fiodis wrote: 2. Your method only works for shields. Terrain, nonshielded objects, etc. can only have unidirectional billboards.
3. None that I can think of offhand (probably onhand, too).

2. That's where my decal effect comes in. It works on terrain like Mace Windu's force stomp (the terrain version one, at least).
3. Same here.