Creating plumes of musket fire?

[Michael Slaunwhite]

Hi.

I have been thinking more about trying to figure out how to create plumes of fire show when muskets are fired. I did try this once before but I just could not get it to look right.

I tried two different approaches. One I edited the images (images which showed troops in firing stance) but trying to align the fire just did not work out the way I liked. Second I tried adding a mix of fire to the smoke image, that didn't work out because the color of fire hung around as long as the smoke did (I lowered the time smoke lingered) but that was a total bust.

Does anyone here have any suggestions on how to add this to the game?

Cheers...

[Amish John]

Good luck with your plume of fire attempt. However, you do realize when a musket is fired you don't actually get a plume of fire, just a plume of smoke (maybe a few residual "sparks"). One change I'd like to see in SOW is for the musket smoke animation to be changed to more of a plume of smoke "quickly" being expelled by the musket and then dissipating into a small musket smoke cloud. Right now I think the musket smoke has too much of a lazy cotton ball look when the musket is first fired. As I've said before "nothing is impossible if I don't have to do it myself" :laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doqgPsmT7tc

[bedbug]

Yes, "good luck" is correct.
Getting a three dimensional occurance to conform to a two dimensional format if fighting the laws of science.
Not that the populace at large has any problem with chasing this fantasy.
Also playing with the effects.csv is much like hurding a hoard of kittens, but infinately more frustrating. :laugh:

We tried to have the smoke hang around longer as well, to get a "fog-of-war" effect going, but we hit our max in ballancing out the appearance verses the effect.

[Michael Slaunwhite]

Yes, "good luck" is correct.
Getting a three dimensional occurance to conform to a two dimensional format if fighting the laws of science.
Not that the populace at large has any problem with chasing this fantasy.
Also playing with the effects.csv is much like hurding a hoard of kittens, but infinately more frustrating. :laugh:

We tried to have the smoke hang around longer as well, to get a "fog-of-war" effect going, but we hit our max in ballancing out the appearance verses the effect.

Hi.

(groan). Well if you folks can't do it I sure can't... I guess I'm having to go squeeze one :pinch: and think this through. I don't believe in "it can't be done", there is always a way, so thisss :pinch: could take awhile. :blink: :dry:

Cheers...

[Davinci]

I agree with bedbug - I doubt that this is possible through modding, but would have to be programmed into the game.

I think roughly a year or so ago, I spent several hours trying to get this effect, the main problem was that it would show a different effect when viewing from the front, compared with viewing the same effect from the side.

I finally just gave up on that idea!

davinci

[Michael Slaunwhite]

Hi.

Well after some hard thinking, I remembered what Amish John said (I was well finished by business so don't be appalled) about it being unrealistic seeing fire coming from the musket, but he did say that on occasion "a few residual sparks" would be seen which of course made me think that having a stream of fire is not what I am looking to pull off, but I could add a couple of spark pixels into the mix which would give an appearance much more realistic, and it wouldn't be seen out of place from the front, side, or from the rear.

So what are your thoughts on this? Good? Bad? or just down right butt ugly like that button up top of the page? :whistle:

Cheers...

[Davinci]

No, I'm not talking about the fire effect, but the smoke shooting out forward effect.

Basically, how the video displays it above, I think that Age of Empires - or some other similar game does a very good job with the way that the smoke is displayed.

davinci

[Michael Slaunwhite]

No, I'm not talking about the fire effect, but the smoke shooting out forward effect.

Basically, how the video displays it above, I think that Age of Empires - or some other similar game does a very good job with the way that the smoke is displayed.

davinci

Oh okay. Hmmm, I think you may be right (Age of Empires). Imagine trying to get something like that into this game would be practically impossible. I think for Norb's next installment building on another game engine might be in order to get the eye candy people like myself are asking for.

This is out of my area for sure.

Is there a way to reshape the smoke, then have it appear like it comes out funnel shape (shape that would be more realistic), then just adjust the distance the smoke first appears coming from the musket, then reduce the time of the smoke hangs in the air.

In your opinion would that be something that just would look bad?

Cheers Davinci.