A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
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- Albertosaurus
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A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
Moving flora
I imagine this must have been tried before, but I can't recall seeing it, and don't have the time to install the game and look around. However, this thought/idea keeps pinballing around in my head so I figured I needed to at least post it to get it out of there Anyways, has anyone animated flora? For example, long grass could have a trigger that when a dinosaur or player enters, the grass sways through animation. Seems grass would be simpler because I believe grass is more of a flat mesh/billboard type of object? But I feel like the same could be done with trees to simulate movement in the wind?
Higher detailed terrain
So I know there is the issue of being limited in the texture quality for terrain, as well as how complex the splitting of terrain vertices can be. Has anyone tried a smaller level where terrain is mostly imported meshes? Then you could use HD textures?
Anyways just to random ideas that may be new but probably not that I just had to brain purge
I imagine this must have been tried before, but I can't recall seeing it, and don't have the time to install the game and look around. However, this thought/idea keeps pinballing around in my head so I figured I needed to at least post it to get it out of there Anyways, has anyone animated flora? For example, long grass could have a trigger that when a dinosaur or player enters, the grass sways through animation. Seems grass would be simpler because I believe grass is more of a flat mesh/billboard type of object? But I feel like the same could be done with trees to simulate movement in the wind?
Higher detailed terrain
So I know there is the issue of being limited in the texture quality for terrain, as well as how complex the splitting of terrain vertices can be. Has anyone tried a smaller level where terrain is mostly imported meshes? Then you could use HD textures?
Anyways just to random ideas that may be new but probably not that I just had to brain purge
Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
Well, I've done animated textures for long grass (since it's basically only two flat planes at an approximately right angle), but I guess we could do with some more complex plants something like what I did with the Dilophosaurus opening its frill (by using substitute meshes) when triggered by some action... my only worry in that regard is whether the substitute meshes would conflict in any way with the LOD meshes...Second Illiteration wrote:Moving flora
I imagine this must have been tried before, but I can't recall seeing it, and don't have the time to install the game and look around. However, this thought/idea keeps pinballing around in my head so I figured I needed to at least post it to get it out of there Anyways, has anyone animated flora? For example, long grass could have a trigger that when a dinosaur or player enters, the grass sways through animation. Seems grass would be simpler because I believe grass is more of a flat mesh/billboard type of object? But I feel like the same could be done with trees to simulate movement in the wind?
Well... in my Pens level I've used meshes to replace terrain in some areas, but the problem with that is that you need to place the correponding physics objects underneath... and dinosaurs may get stuck when stepping on them, or may not want to step on them in the frist place. It's a bit tricky in that regard, but if you do, of course you can use terrain textures on "fake" terrain objcets. Think of them just as large boulders colored like the terrain...Higher detailed terrain
So I know there is the issue of being limited in the texture quality for terrain, as well as how complex the splitting of terrain vertices can be. Has anyone tried a smaller level where terrain is mostly imported meshes? Then you could use HD textures?
Anyways just to random ideas that may be new but probably not that I just had to brain purge
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
- Draconisaurus
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Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
Don't want to spoil too much but I'm aware of a mod going on with animated palm leaves... Had a look, is quite nice, although due to framerate you tend only to notice when not moving.
Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
Moving flora
I imagine this must have been tried before, but I can't recall seeing it, and don't have the time to install the game and look around. However, this thought/idea keeps pinballing around in my head so I figured I needed to at least post it to get it out of there Anyways, has anyone animated flora? For example, long grass could have a trigger that when a dinosaur or player enters, the grass sways through animation. Seems grass would be simpler because I believe grass is more of a flat mesh/billboard type of object? But I feel like the same could be done with trees to simulate movement in the wind?
I believe the mod Draco is referring to is my Tres HD mod, which does indeed have animated flora. All I did was give the leaf textures a five-frame animation sequence, which makes it look as if the leaves are swaing in the wind. I got this idea from machf's swaying long grass, as he said. The big problem with doing this, however, is that animated objects don't appear capable of caching, which causes them to be rendered at full detail no matter how far you get from them. I have yet to come up with a solution to get around this.Don't want to spoil too much but I'm aware of a mod going on with animated palm leaves... Had a look, is quite nice, although due to framerate you tend only to notice when not moving.
Closest thing I've ever seen to that, other than the terrain meshes people have used to create tunnels, is the perimeter terrain I made in the MegaJungle level. That's just a big object modelled to look like mountains which I applied a satellite jungle texture to in order to have mountains surrounding the playing area without having to use and detail Tres terrain.Higher detailed terrain
So I know there is the issue of being limited in the texture quality for terrain, as well as how complex the splitting of terrain vertices can be. Has anyone tried a smaller level where terrain is mostly imported meshes? Then you could use HD textures?
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- -=TresCom Developer=-
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Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
don't forget that TC-Cove has those large ferns that bend away when you walk through them (it's physics-driven rather than animated: there's a $-object in the center for the collision and the fern is mounted to a magnet).
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Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
Iiiiii haven't played TC~Cove, so I don't really know much about it, as the link for the file is dead. But yes, I'm aware of this idea, using it extensively in both my major projects. Though I was first introduced to it via JPDS.Slugger wrote:don't forget that TC-Cove has those large ferns that bend away when you walk through them (it's physics-driven rather than animated: there's a $-object in the center for the collision and the fern is mounted to a magnet).
Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
I could upload those TC~cove files, but it consists of two separate downloads and then you have to use GeomAdd to create the final SWP/PID files...
Or maybe I should make a new "ready" version for simpler downloading?
Or maybe I should make a new "ready" version for simpler downloading?
Visit The Carnivores Saga - a forum devoted to modding Action Forms' Carnivores, Carnivores 2 and Carnivores: Ice Age games
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
Tres WIP: updated T-Script Reference and File Formats documents
Sound name listings for the Demo (build 117), Retail (build 116), Beta 103, Beta 99, Beta 97, Beta 96, Build 55, PC Gamer Alpha (build 32) and E3 1998 Alpha (build 22) TPA files
Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
Definitely take the latter option. Most people probably don't know how to create the files with GeomAdd. A short wait is better than a difficult set-up.I could upload those TC~cove files, but it consists of two separate downloads and then you have to use GeomAdd to create the final SWP/PID files...
Or maybe I should make a new "ready" version for simpler downloading?
- Draconisaurus
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Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
IIRC, I stole the bending Tres plant from a test level Slugger sent me aeons ago, putting it into JPDS. It seems to have created a legacy over time... I am *cough* aware of a level where ALL the ground foliage seems to bend via physics...
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Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
I believe that was the TC_Isle test level, which is where I would've snagged that object from. I don't seem to recall seeing a level where all the ground foliage was physics-driven?Draconisaurus wrote:IIRC, I stole the bending Tres plant from a test level Slugger sent me aeons ago, putting it into JPDS. It seems to have created a legacy over time... I am *cough* aware of a level where ALL the ground foliage seems to bend via physics...
0066521C: 'Cannot create local swap file - Is Trespasser installed??',0Ah,0
"Cold lino was the driving force behind world power!"
"Cold lino was the driving force behind world power!"
Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
Which level is this? I don't think anyone's done a level where EVERYTHING bends. Beach HD has many, but not all ground foliage objects bendable, as does JPDS and RTJP.I am *cough* aware of a level where ALL the ground foliage seems to bend via physics...
- Draconisaurus
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Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
Oh! I was referring to Beach HD...
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- Albertosaurus
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Re: A couple ideas: moving flora and higher detailed terrain
I had figured there had to be SOME stuff going on that utilized these ideas or something similar.