Particle System

PipiPipi Join Date: 2009-12-09 Member: 69550Members
edited May 2010 in NS2 General Discussion
I'm quite confident their particle system is going to be very good when completely finished.

Experimented quickly with it in the cinematic editor this morning, and worked that out in 10 minutes. Quite impressive.
I like the smoothing on the sprites when they collide with faces.


Post stuff about it, I'd like to see custom sprites maybe, complexier effects, etc. Here's mine.. crazy stuff ! lol

<center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TCnUfr4yWSs"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TCnUfr4yWSs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
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Comments

  • IeptBarakatIeptBarakat The most difficult name to speak ingame. Join Date: 2009-07-10 Member: 68107Members, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow
    Explosions!

    Can't wait to see some crazy particle effects when the game is out.
  • TSSTSS Join Date: 2010-05-11 Member: 71716Members
    looks nice, a bit over the top though :p we should start a thread specifically for showing off these particle effects.

    while on the subject of cinematics, anybody know why it refuses to load some levels with "set level" (including DM range 2) while some load perfectly, fast and run smooth (1/4 of my test maps)?
  • FehaFeha Join Date: 2006-11-16 Member: 58633Members
    <a href="http://www.2shared.com/file/vYp6IJH4/ns2_cinematic_gorgeslide.html" target="_blank">http://www.2shared.com/file/vYp6IJH4/ns2_c...gorgeslide.html</a>

    I made a little "video" where you are a sliding gorge.


    I wonder though, why cant you set models visible in the timeline controll? It crash for me if I try to.
  • FlayraFlayra Game Director, Unknown Worlds Entertainment San Francisco Join Date: 2002-01-22 Member: 3Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Subnautica Developer
    Cool, glad you like it!

    It's very powerful, I can't wait to see what you guys do with it.
  • MaxMax Technical Director, Unknown Worlds Entertainment Join Date: 2002-03-15 Member: 318Super Administrators, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, Constellation, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts, Future Perfect Developer
    <!--quoteo(post=1772122:date=May 24 2010, 12:45 PM:name=Feha)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Feha @ May 24 2010, 12:45 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1772122"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I wonder though, why cant you set models visible in the timeline controll? It crash for me if I try to.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    That sounds like a bug. You can change the visibility in the "Properties" window though.
  • FehaFeha Join Date: 2006-11-16 Member: 58633Members
    I am pretty sure that isnt configurable by time. I wanted to make a model of a marine show up where the "gorge" hit something, so you realise you just were a drunk marine. Then a prop was supposed to fall on his head (lots of references to the vid you guys made :P). But it fail if it cant be made visible at same time as you change cam (as otherwise you think you slide into a marine as you see it while sliding).
  • SgtBarlowSgtBarlow Level Designer Join Date: 2003-11-13 Member: 22749Members, NS2 Developer
    edited May 2010
    I managed to make a fire... I did manage to make it a lot better but it crashed and this was the last render I had saved.

    <center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AnQDAe3l_CM"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AnQDAe3l_CM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>

    * I made it crash by trying to delete one of the emitters whilst it was playing.
  • WarLoverWarLover Join Date: 2009-11-05 Member: 69276Members
    This is awesome, it reminds me of the official screenshot thread.
    I expect the quality of what you guys make to drastically improve very soon.
  • TSSTSS Join Date: 2010-05-11 Member: 71716Members
    Ask and ye shall recieve :p I couldn't help myself and put in an extended session.

    I'll be damned if i don't make a nuke in every particle editor i get my grubby little hands on!

    <center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EEOfHfxcysY"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EEOfHfxcysY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>

    That movie's taken from a distance, i've added a moving camera to this one so it looks better but you can't see what i did with the emitters :p

    <center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2o2WgE72bYU"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2o2WgE72bYU" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>

    and made a quick video out of the steamvent i showed off in the screenshot thread. Just because it's the first thing i made ^^

    <center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7h4u23U7-JM"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7h4u23U7-JM" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
  • Chris0132Chris0132 Join Date: 2009-07-25 Member: 68262Members
    Do I see soft edged particles in that video?

    If so awesome, they're very handy.
  • xposed-xposed- Join Date: 2007-09-23 Member: 62412Members, Constellation
  • MaxMax Technical Director, Unknown Worlds Entertainment Join Date: 2002-03-15 Member: 318Super Administrators, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, NS2 Developer, Constellation, Subnautica Developer, Pistachionauts, Future Perfect Developer
    <!--quoteo(post=1772171:date=May 24 2010, 11:16 PM:name=Chris0132)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Chris0132 @ May 24 2010, 11:16 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1772171"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Do I see soft edged particles in that video?

    If so awesome, they're very handy.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Yes, there are soft particles in the engine.
  • TSSTSS Join Date: 2010-05-11 Member: 71716Members
    edited May 2010
    particle stretch. it's genius. I reccomend to always use atleast 2 or higher because it just makes it look amazing ^^

    the only thing i feel is missing is a inward and outward force. It's possible to set (and even animate but i haven't got that to work yet) the cone angles, but it'll always emit outward from a center point along the cone. if i had the option of collapsing the particles back to a single point, i could make realistical volumetric sphereish shapes, and that top fireball cloud would've looked soooo much better. If i'd add any x or y force at the top point right now you'd see a circle moving in that direction.

    But considering the market for ingame nukes, it's no biggie ^^
  • RazorRazor Join Date: 2010-02-23 Member: 70695Members
    edited May 2010
    I had a lot of fun playing with this yesterday but I couldn't get it to so up in game in my level. The Particle Emitter is centered to origin and should be visible. Then I created a particle entity and gave it the correct path name and settings but nothing. Even tried a cinematic entity and didn't work.
  • Dalin SeivewrightDalin Seivewright 0x0000221E Join Date: 2007-10-20 Member: 62685Members, Constellation
    Wait a minute...
    Particles have opacity... I thought the engine didn't have this "feature" yet? Can you simply allow textures to have an Opacity value as well?
  • Chris0132Chris0132 Join Date: 2009-07-25 Member: 68262Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1772200:date=May 25 2010, 04:07 PM:name=Max)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Max @ May 25 2010, 04:07 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1772200"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Yes, there are soft particles in the engine.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    Groovy.

    I also like the way the particles distort, it seems somehow more natural than the way they do so in source.
  • TSSTSS Join Date: 2010-05-11 Member: 71716Members
    Particles aren't in the engine test. If you want to show off what you did you'll have to render it in the cinematics editor, directly to a video file. There's an option to "set level" which will load a level into the editor, which you can use to adjust and render your particles in an enviroment. That tends to be buggy for me though, it loads DM1 just fine but refuses to open DM2 along with nigh all my maps. However the game will skip the "particles" entities in your map upon loading (as well as tech, resource and door entities, ambient sounds too).

    I'm guessing all of that will be enabled in the alpha build, whenever that's comming. I hope not too long though, i wonder how the games performance on particles is and how crazy i can get with em.
  • RazorRazor Join Date: 2010-02-23 Member: 70695Members
    edited May 2010
    Thats a bummer. Well, here it is.

    <center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Cvi3Gu98JJY"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Cvi3Gu98JJY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>
  • TSSTSS Join Date: 2010-05-11 Member: 71716Members
    that looks real nice.

    yknow creating a custom effect texture might be better for this but if you increase the time between flashes and scale it up (alot) you've got a pretty accurate lightning storm thar. I think it's a bit elaborate and lenghty for a simple spark effect. But the bottom looks very much like what i'd expect to see below the clouds in a thunderstorm :p
  • slayer20slayer20 Killed a man once. Join Date: 2007-12-13 Member: 63157Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    One thing I would like to do is set the particle to face a certain direction. So far, all it can do is face the direction of the camera and the way it's being emitted.

    I want to make the particles face upward so they look like they're on the ground.
  • Dalin SeivewrightDalin Seivewright 0x0000221E Join Date: 2007-10-20 Member: 62685Members, Constellation
    Ahh.
    Didn't know maps skipped the loading of them ATM.
  • TSSTSS Join Date: 2010-05-11 Member: 71716Members
    edited May 2010
    always check your console after loading ^^ it says in there what's skipped by "skipping particles" for example.

    i found that out after putting in the tech and resource entity's in a test map, them not showing and wondering how everybody else got them to show :p (view models, cheaters :p)
  • aeroripperaeroripper Join Date: 2005-02-25 Member: 42471NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation
    Cool effect Razor.
  • TSSTSS Join Date: 2010-05-11 Member: 71716Members
    UPDATE! cinematics added to the engine!.

    <center><object width="450" height="356"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/khFg9jkY_pw"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/khFg9jkY_pw" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="450" height="356"></embed></object></center>

    Currently only the "Cinematic" entity works for me, a "Particles" entity crashes the game as soon as it's triggered (so if it's "start on=true", the game crashes when the map is loaded). Ya can't trigger cinematics entities like particles entities so on that test map, the explosion starts when the game starts and either loops or plays once at the beginning.

    Just made this one a quick n dirty for the update, needz sleepz ^^
  • PHXPHX Join Date: 2010-06-02 Member: 71937Members
    edited June 2010
    Hi all!

    Here's my first attempt, with the particle editor. A steaming vent.

    <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdoXSQ5iR_c" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdoXSQ5iR_c</a>

    (How can I embed the youtube video here?)
  • PHXPHX Join Date: 2010-06-02 Member: 71937Members
    A simple fire.

    <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuUhAj9OElo&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuUhAj9OElo...feature=related</a>
  • PHXPHX Join Date: 2010-06-02 Member: 71937Members
    A portal ... thingie ...

    <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVv8A2Lkw8A" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVv8A2Lkw8A</a>
  • aeroripperaeroripper Join Date: 2005-02-25 Member: 42471NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation
    edited June 2010
    Does the particle system support stuff like reflecting dynamic light off steam (for example) or having it flow realistically around a player walking through it? I imagine having dynamic particles would open the door for all kinds of cool effects like 'smoking out' aliens from vents, or fans that suck in smoke particles and shoot it down a venting system.
  • ChopsChops UW Technical Artist (and Store Guy) Join Date: 2009-08-06 Member: 68373Super Administrators, NS2 Developer, Pistachionauts
    <!--quoteo(post=1772439:date=May 26 2010, 07:39 PM:name=slayer20)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (slayer20 @ May 26 2010, 07:39 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1772439"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->One thing I would like to do is set the particle to face a certain direction. So far, all it can do is face the direction of the camera and the way it's being emitted.

    I want to make the particles face upward so they look like they're on the ground.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    That's going to be added soon :)



    Nifty portal effect PHX
  • CruorCruor Join Date: 2004-11-07 Member: 32677Members
    @Chops

    Maybe you could answer if animated particle sprites are possible in the present or is planned on being added in the particle system engine eg. one particle morphing from a fire sprite to smoke sprite in a animated timeline during the particles lifetime.

    my thread for the question: <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/index.php?showtopic=109756" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/forums/in...howtopic=109756</a>
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