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Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:23 pm
by Kierra
Does anyone know how to make waterfall mist?

I visited Gira and observed the waterfall mist they created there, but I don't know how to go about animating it.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
~Kia

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:50 pm
by D'Lanor
It looks like a sprite with an animated texture.

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 12:53 pm
by Nadnerb
The mist is a particle effect. We don't yet have full support for particle systems.

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:28 pm
by D'Lanor
It doesn't look like particles. I think Kierra means the mist that goes up where the falls hit the lake surface. I am pretty sure that is a texture. And a bad one at that too. It always was the one effect that spoiled the Gira falls for me.

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:30 pm
by Aloys
Theorically with a good deal of patience it would be possible to simulate a particle system with a bunch of sprites animated through Python.. :lol:
(I\\\'m not saying it should be done.. ;) even less that it would be easy to do or that the performance ingame would be good :shock: )

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:41 pm
by Kierra
*nods* I was thinking of experimenting with it...once I knew how Cyan did it. Figures I'd choose an environment that'll be difficult to make look realistic :roll:

Somehow I always seem to set these sorts of challenges for myself, LOL You'd think I'd have learned by now :lol:

I do like the "water droplets" effect on the larger waterfall in Gira...the one that plunges off into the edge of the age. I suppose that's the particle effects you are referring to nadnerb?

~Kia

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:49 pm
by Lontahv
Aloys, I don't really understand how you would do it in python. :?

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:02 pm
by Nadnerb
Okay, there are a whole bunch of effects going on here besides the fall itself, and none of us seem to be quite on the same page.

Show Spoiler


I was initially referring to the "rising mist" when I posted. These are set to rise and fade out, and are part of the particle system "Particles-WaterfallMist-new" in Gira_District_giraCanyon.prp

The droplets falling from the top of the falls are also particles. They are part of the particle system "Particle-WaterfallDroplets" in Gira_District_giraCanyon.prp

The ripples/foam expanding from the bottom of the falls are an animated texture.

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:16 pm
by D'Lanor
If those are particles this is definitely the worst particle effect in Uru. I guess one has to admire the art of making particles look like a flat animated texture though. ;)

Re: Waterfall mist

PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:21 pm
by Aloys
Aloys, I don\'t really understand how you would do it in python. :?

How should I know? I\'m not a Python expert. ;)

My basic idea would be to make a bunch of regular non-animated sprites in the scene bellow the waterfall out of view, and then animate them through old-fashioned Python hack animation, warping their position at random following some complicated sine fonction or anything that could give them a more or less smooth path..
Off course because the particles aren\'t actuall generated/killed you\'d need to create a whole lot of sprites and choose at random which one to pop in and out of view.
The only problem is that I dont think it\'d be possible to make them fade away.. It\'s not possible to change the shaders on the fly through Python is it? If no then they have to suddenly disappear (or be warped away from the scene) which wouldnt look too good.

Again, I\'m not an expert.