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Before we go any deeper in how to write shaders we should find a way/test how to implement them.

ANDEWEGET wrote:Before we go any deeper in how to write shaders we should find a way/test how to implement them.

well ICE in XSI 7.5 can export to .xml format, so I'm guessing unless you can make sense of raw shader data, the only way to test this out is to write one.

I guess you could write a bumpmap shader and compare the .xml documents to see if they look similar, but even if they don't that doesn't necessarily mean that it won't work ingame, so the only way we can know for sure is making one and testing it ingame.

There's still an issue with the fact that you can't write new shaders, because we can't update the exporter's code with new flags, nor can we update the game to look for new flags. At very best you might be able to update in-game shaders. Truthfully though the bigger issues go back to not using what the engine is already capable of doing. Crysis this ain't, and it never will be, but we could vastly improve on what's already there with updated models, textures, bumpmaps, better lighting in levels (take a look at how some levels like Rhen Var Citadel look on the Xbox), etc.

Example: **Without playing the game yourself on the Xbox you don't easily notice how much better DLC Rhen Var looks compared to PC Rhen Var.

If that can done on PC, then this opens up a new door to graphical possibilities in SWBF2.

Sorry if this has already been brought up, but I'd like to point out that it may be the lack of variety.

E.g. Destructible things, like windows (in COD they are so fun to destroy ) and damage marks.

In Damage marks, like Mace Windu's "ground pound" thing. With that, I don't think it'd be too hard to implement...just set the fade out to never or not at all (that's just me, maybe it will over-tax weak old BF).

The Destructible things would be cool, but it doesn't seem to me like you could flood the world with a bunch of objects and not bog down the system-plus you could always repair them, but fusion cutters don't work on plants and windows

Press_Tilty wrote:Sorry if this has already been brought up, but I'd like to point out that it may be the lack of variety.

E.g. Destructible things, like windows (in COD they are so fun to destroy ) and damage marks.

In Damage marks, like Mace Windu's "ground pound" thing. With that, I don't think it'd be too hard to implement...just set the fade out to never or not at all (that's just me, maybe it will over-tax weak old BF).

"Damage Marks" or decals they're called in swbf2 were cut from the game, you can see the unused decal mode in zeroeditor and decal effects leftover in some odfs. Windu's "ground pound" is actually an effect instead of a decal. I think it might be possible to have black marks from explosions through an effect, but it work only work if the rocket, grenade, etc explodes on the ground, and the particle limit might get in the way.

Press_Tilty wrote:E.g. Destructible things, like windows (in COD they are so fun to destroy ) and damage marks.

Funny you should say that, I'm trying to make destructible windows and a glass shattering effect for my Mod2 rust/scrapyard based map.

BFX has blaster marks that appear when you hit a surface. I believe that they are also effects. Those would be nice to put into the stock sides but is there a way to implement something like that without breaking online compatibility?

Yeah, there's an odf command to make that possible.

odfcommands break online compatibility

Really? Are you sure about that? I always thought that they would work online......Or maybe I'm thinking of something different?

it is possible to add new effects online. The server handles stuff like fire rate, collision, and damage, while the client handles everything visual, where buildings appear, the color of everything, the models, effects and all that jazz.

(At least in SWBF I) you could change a lot in the odfs, fire rate, speed of the blasts etc and it would look like it fires that fast in multiplayer, too, but it actually didnt fire that fast.

Just pointing out that since BFX's blaster impact marks were effects, not decals, they were always billboards that faced a certain direction. If you hit a building from the wrong angle (read almost every angle) the impact mark would stick out away from the building itself.

Ninja wrote: Funny you should say that, I'm trying to make destructible windows and a glass shattering effect for my Mod2 rust/scrapyard based map.

Um...seems like all those windows would really overtax BF...or maybe that's just me. To bad there's no melee

To stay more on topic, is there a way to make destructible buildings that don't show up on your little bar on top? To me it seems like it'd be more fun to hunt for things tat were destructible. I mean, I've seen glitches where "IMPERIAL STAR DESTROYER" will appear for a sec, so doesn't seem to hard.

Am I wrong?