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Author Topic: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.  (Read 12309 times)

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Andy H

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #12 on: September 24, 2021, 08:33:17 AM »

So much to take in, very impressed so far. I even took the plunge and went with your cloud improvements. I like the 'secondary' explosions with smoke-trailing debris, and - having followed your clear instructions - am very happy with tracers and smoke trails. Thank you very much.
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JCC

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #13 on: September 24, 2021, 08:38:14 AM »

Thank you Sir!  :)

I really like this Update. It´s a great improvement of an already good mod from what I´ve seen so far. I can´t say that I know much about modding, but I do like your work and use several of your mods in my BAT v4.1.2 installations, And besides those ones I have a BAT v4.1.3 installation too which I keep stock.

Cheers
/JC   
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WxTech

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #14 on: September 24, 2021, 09:05:54 AM »

I have a *suspicion* that 4.12.2 with the SAS Engine Mod (2.7 or later?) incorporated should make this package compatible.

Can anyone can confirm this?

In any event, someone might want to give this a try...
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Hans-Joachim Marseille

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #15 on: September 24, 2021, 09:32:10 AM »

Thanks a lot!  :)
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Griffon_301

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #16 on: September 24, 2021, 09:51:22 AM »

If you could provide some hints why you think 1.2 is incompatible with BAT and what one should look for to confirm that incompatibility, that would be great... I would then test a little what's going on...
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WxTech

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #17 on: September 24, 2021, 10:39:51 AM »

I just copied over into my 4.12.2 modact 5.3 game (no SAS Engine mod) this effects folder and the Explosions.class files contained within (nothing else, as the other 4.12 specific classfiles and stuff is unchanged.)  I ran several quick missions and there were no real problems.

Except for a couple little issues when firing rockets at trains. I got a lot of a particular string to float clamp error (these are non fatal, as the game self corrects). I can't tell if those are actually related to rocket or train, though. And every destroyed train wagon generated a secondary explosion, and sooner than expected.

Other than that, things seemed fine.

The BAT version of Explosions.class, with its SAS Engine Mod features, has only a couple of meaningful differences from the 4.12, non SAS Engine Mod version. And that is that the Engine Mod seems to have resulted in an additional variation in construction for a couple of methods. But because the original method construction is still present, perhaps this results in 'backward compatibility.'  ???

I lack the fundamental knowledge to make a confident determination in this, however. At any rate, it seems that provisionally, at least, a 4.12 player could:

- Disable their current v1.1 Effects folder. (All other folders are unchanged, and OK to keep as is.)
- Copy my v1.2 Effects folder into their #SAS folder.
- Copy the two AircraftState.class files and the six Zip.class files from the now disabled v1.1 Effects folder into the new Effects folder.

This should have you enjoying the new effects, at least in most situations.

Anyway, I will be making a 4.12 Explosions.class, with the SAS Engine Mod related method variations removed, for the players not having the Engine Mod incorporated into their 4.12 game.

Again, if you have the SAS Engine Mod (v2.7 or later?) added to your 4.12 game, I suspect the entirety of this BAT version of my effects Mod here could be good for you. After all, BAT is built upon 4.12.

To be confirmed by wiser heads than mine, of course!    ;)
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stanislao

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #18 on: September 24, 2021, 11:25:31 AM »

Truly the foam and the wave moved by the movement of the ships has always been a sore point in the realism of the game, only partially softened by the new wake textures. The two waves on the sides of the bow have always been ridiculous .. two flimsy mustaches. And always the same regardless of the tonnage of the ships, it would be nice to make them larger and more consistent perhaps by doubling the position, one in the bow and one at a third of the hull (Wold of Warships teaches) .....




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Alien_12

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #19 on: September 24, 2021, 02:35:33 PM »

Hey,
Firstly, big thanks for your outstanding work, you're amazing!
If you start to run out of ideas what effects to do next, I suggest looking toward the kamikaze hit effects. I have no idea whether or not you've already done that (no access to the game for some time), but if you haven't, it would be really cool to see the game actually differentiate planes' explosion effects into bomb-carriers (fireball because of fuel + blast because of bomb) and empty machines (just the fireball).
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WxTech

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #20 on: September 24, 2021, 05:05:28 PM »

It turns out that the Explosions.class I included with the 4.12 pack, v1.1, was the same as for the B.A.T. pack, v1.1.

I can't recall if this was by accident or design. Being involved with a number of projects simultaneously clearly addles my feeble brain.  ;)

That would explain why, when today I copied over the latest 'BAT' Explosions classfiles to my 4.12 game, things worked fine. And they obviously have been OK for the various users who've installed my 4.12 version.

Nonetheless, I still recompiled the latest 'BAT' Explosions.class in the 4.12 environment to include with the 4.12 effects pack (v1.2) that I just now made available. (Even though I see no reason to suppose this should result in any difference.)
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Chaoic16

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #21 on: September 25, 2021, 11:09:41 AM »

I love the new version of your mod! it is an excellent mod.  I still think you could make the machine gun / cannon firing flashes brighter if possible.

Other than that, it's perfect!  I am even able to use it in DOF, TGA, and JTW besides WAW.  I am able to enjoy the new effects in DOF right now.
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Griffon_301

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #22 on: September 25, 2021, 01:20:32 PM »

just installed the new fx pack into my modded installs (without the ship and gun classes as I used different gun classes in my modded game) and everything looks good here;
shot down some Jap planes and put some torpedoes into various unfortunate vessels and no crashes and no bad side effects;
in fact I shot down one Jap G4M at low level and it dipped one wing into the water and cartwheeled in right before my eyes without exploding...looked really like in some old original films I have seen...

one funny thing though occured when I was well into a torp run against a wildly firing destroyer that finally managed to shoot the tail off of my TBM at about 300ft; instead of crashing and dying, the TBM (or what was left of it) bounced over the surface of the water and came to rest some hundred feet from where it originally hit the water and my crew was able to escape in their rafts; that was definitely not what I expected and may be a side effect of something in this fx pack or the TBM pack... (think I read that you reworked the way some aicraft crash when they hit the ground (and water?)

other than that, great pack, will definitely stay in my modded games...

thanks a lot :)
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WxTech

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Re: WxTech's Effects Pack v1.2 for B.A.T.
« Reply #23 on: September 25, 2021, 01:50:52 PM »

I love the new version of your mod! it is an excellent mod.  I still think you could make the machine gun / cannon firing flashes brighter if possible.

Other than that, it's perfect!  I am even able to use it in DOF, TGA, and JTW besides WAW.  I am able to enjoy the new effects in DOF right now.

Now that you have all the modded files at your disposal, you have the power! Using Notepad, open up an effect file of interest and make your changes. After each change, in order to assess your handiwork you'll need to restart the game for the new change to take effect. Here's a list of all the hit flash effects and a description of all the effect variables.

Code: [Select]
List of bullet and cannon hit flash effects
-------------------------------------------

Against aircraft:

3do\Effects\Fireworks
  7_Burn.eff
  12_Burn.eff
  12_BigBurn.eff
  12mm_BigBurn.eff
  12mm_BigBurn2.eff
  20_Burn.eff
  20_BurnBig.eff
  20_BurnBig2.eff
  37_Burn.eff
  37_BurnBig.eff

Not used by my Explosions.class, and so can be ignored:
  12_BigFlame.eff
  12mm_BigFlame.eff
  12mm_BigFlame2.eff

-------------------------------------------

Against ground and objects:

Effects\Explodes\Bullet\Land
  Flash.eff
  Exp_Flash.eff

Effects\Explodes\Bullet\Object
  Flash.eff

Effects\Explodes\Cannon\Land
  Flash.eff
  12mm_Exp_Flash.eff
  20mm_Exp_Flash.eff
  20mm_Exp_Flame.eff  (not used by me)

Effects\Explodes\Cannon\Object
  Flash.eff

Effects\Explodes\CannonBig\Land
  Flash.eff

-------------------------------------------

To make your own changes, by way of example, using 7_Burn.eff, from the Fireworks folder.

7_Burn.eff file contents as current:

[ClassInfo]
  ClassName TParticlesSystemParams
[General]
  MatName ../TEXTURES/7mmFlash.mat
  Color0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.95
  Color1 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5
  nParticles 2  //1
  FinishTime 0.06
  MaxR 0
  PhiN 0
  PsiN 0
  LiveTime 0.06
  EmitFrq 256
  EmitVelocity 0 0
  EmitTheta 0 0
  GasResist 0.05
  VertAccel 0
  Wind 0
  Size 1.2 0.6  //1.05 0.5
  Rnd 0


ClassName: Either TParticlesSystemParams, TSmokeSpiralParams or TSmokeTrailParams. The first creates particle-based effects (as here) that are subject to more randomization. The second creates particle-based effect that are more highly constrained in a 'corkscrew'-like pattern (used a LOT in the game's early days, but essentially completely out of favor today). The last are the simple trail type effects used still for tracer smoke, contrails and jet engine exhaust.

MatName: Points to the texture used, located in the Textures folder, which in turn is located in the same Effects folder containing the Fireworks folder. An excellent, low-overhead, free viewer of these textures is Irfanview.

Color0: Sets color and opacity at the creation of the effect particle. The numbers are the red, green, blue and opacity values, ranging between 0.0 and 1.0. When RGB values are all 1.0, this makes the texture hue exactly as it appears in your viewer; decreasing one or more of these 3 values subtracts from that particular color channel. The opacity of 1.0 is fully opaque; 0.0 is fully transparent, or invisible.

Color1: Like Color0, but applying to the particle at the point of disappearance. During the life of the particle (set via LiveTime), the values change linearly from Color0 to Color1.

nParticles: Total number of particles to be created, or allowed to be displayed at the same time if FinishTime is set to -1. Note here that I originally used one, but then changed this to 2. I left in the original value as a reminder, and rendered not readable by use of the "//" characters which tell the code parser that what follows is a 'remark' or 'comment'.

FinishTime: The length of time, in seconds, required to execute the transition between start and finish for particle Size. This is different to LiveTime!

MaxR: For effects using the TSmokeSpiralParams class, this sets the widest point of the 'corkscrew' path followed by the particles. For TParticlesSystemParams based effects, it *seems* to be applied, in some manner I've not been able to divine, in conjunction with PhiN and/or PsiN.

PhiN: For effects using the TSmokeSpiralParams class, sets the number of 'corkscrew' spirals to execute during the LiveTime.

PsiN: For all particle-based effects (i.e., not simple trail types), sets the number of rotations of a particle during the LiveTime.

LiveTime: The time, in seconds, from particle creation to termination. It directly controls the rate of execution of the Color0-Color1 transition.

EmitFreq: The rate of generation of particles, as a count per second.

EmitVelocity: The range of speeds, in meters per second, that the particles are initially flung from their origin. If the two values differ, the velocity for each particle will be randomly set within this range. These values need not be stated as min followed by max; they are equally valid if max precedes min.

EmitTheta: The range of direction, in degrees (I think; I've also seen gradians stated as the unit of measure) about the emission axis, that particles are flung from their origin. If degrees, a value of 180 will have particles emitted potentially in all possible directions.

GasResist: Sets the rate at which an emitted particle is decelerated by the surrounding air. Permitted values are 0.0 to 1.0. Because acceleration is a non linear phenomenon having to do with a rate of change, this makes the selection of a good value here not so intuitive. For a particular effect involving particles being flung away and slowed down, the EmitVelocity contributes crucially to the overall behavior.

VertAccel: Sets the rate at which a particle is affected by gravity or bouyancy, and is expressed in meters per second squared. If negative, the particle falls (or wants to). Note that the gravitaional acceleration is -9.8. If GasResist is zero, acceleration continues apace unimpeded. When GasResist is non zero, this will impose a terminal velocity.

Wind: Sets a speed, in meters per second, for a particle to move horizontally, as though under the influence of a wind. Each effect can have its own Wind value. All having a non zero value will move in the direction of the game's internal 'effect wind', and subject to the varying velocity applied from moment to moment. This 'effect wind', as I call it, is entirely separate from the wind applied to planes, ordnance and (moving) windsocks. Which is too bad, and something that I think will involve addressing in a .dll (outside the capabilities of us mere modders.)

Size: The range of size of a particle, in meters, from creation to termination. That is, the two values are the start size and the finish size. Note that this concerns the full texture box. If a texture occupies but a small portion of the full graphic, the apparent size will be smaller than intended if you've focused only on the visible part, neglecting the unused outer portion.

Rnd: Supposedly a randomization value. I've yet to see truly definitve evidence that this actually does anything, but not that I've performed a structured examination. The closest I might say is for trail type effects, where the opacity varies.


And if you don't want to read the code window content (which you can copy and save to a file), here it is again, but more readable here:



List of bullet and cannon hit flash effects
-------------------------------------------

Against aircraft:

3do\Effects\Fireworks
  7_Burn.eff
  12_Burn.eff
  12_BigBurn.eff
  12mm_BigBurn.eff
  12mm_BigBurn2.eff
  20_Burn.eff
  20_BurnBig.eff
  20_BurnBig2.eff
  37_Burn.eff
  37_BurnBig.eff

Not used by my Explosions.class, and so can be ignored:
  12_BigFlame.eff
  12mm_BigFlame.eff
  12mm_BigFlame2.eff

-------------------------------------------

Against ground and objects:

Effects\Explodes\Bullet\Land
  Flash.eff
  Exp_Flash.eff

Effects\Explodes\Bullet\Object
  Flash.eff

Effects\Explodes\Cannon\Land
  Flash.eff
  12mm_Exp_Flash.eff
  20mm_Exp_Flash.eff
  20mm_Exp_Flame.eff  (not used by me)

Effects\Explodes\Cannon\Object
  Flash.eff

Effects\Explodes\CannonBig\Land
  Flash.eff

-------------------------------------------

To make your own changes, by way of example, using 7_Burn.eff, from the Fireworks folder.

7_Burn.eff file contents as current:

[ClassInfo]
  ClassName TParticlesSystemParams
[General]
  MatName ../TEXTURES/7mmFlash.mat
  Color0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.95
  Color1 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.5
  nParticles 2  //1
  FinishTime 0.06
  MaxR 0
  PhiN 0
  PsiN 0
  LiveTime 0.06
  EmitFrq 256
  EmitVelocity 0 0
  EmitTheta 0 0
  GasResist 0.05
  VertAccel 0
  Wind 0
  Size 1.2 0.6  //1.05 0.5
  Rnd 0


ClassName: Either TParticlesSystemParams, TSmokeSpiralParams or TSmokeTrailParams. The first creates particle-based effects (as here) that are subject to more randomization. The second creates particle-based effect that are more highly constrained in a 'corkscrew'-like pattern (used a LOT in the game's early days, but essentially completely out of favor today). The last are the simple trail type effects used still for tracer smoke, contrails and jet engine exhaust.

MatName: Points to the texture used, located in the Textures folder, which in turn is located in the same Effects folder containing the Fireworks folder. An excellent, low-overhead, free viewer of these textures is Irfanview.

Color0: Sets color and opacity at the creation of the effect particle. The numbers are the red, green, blue and opacity values, ranging between 0.0 and 1.0. When RGB values are all 1.0, this makes the texture hue exactly as it appears in your viewer; decreasing one or more of these 3 values subtracts from that particular color channel. The opacity of 1.0 is fully opaque; 0.0 is fully transparent, or invisible.

Color1: Like Color0, but applying to the particle at the point of disappearance. During the life of the particle (set via LiveTime), the values change linearly from Color0 to Color1.

nParticles: Total number of particles to be created, or allowed to be displayed at the same time if FinishTime is set to -1. Note here that I originally used one, but then changed this to 2. I left in the original value as a reminder, and rendered not readable by use of the "//" characters which tell the code parser that what follows is a 'remark' or 'comment'.

FinishTime: The length of time, in seconds, required to execute the transition between start and finish for particle Size. This is different to LiveTime!

MaxR: For effects using the TSmokeSpiralParams class, this sets the widest point of the 'corkscrew' path followed by the particles. For TParticlesSystemParams based effects, it *seems* to be applied, in some manner I've not been able to divine, in conjunction with PhiN and/or PsiN.

PhiN: For effects using the TSmokeSpiralParams class, sets the number of 'corkscrew' spirals to execute during the LiveTime.

PsiN: For all particle-based effects (i.e., not simple trail types), sets the number of rotations of a particle during the LiveTime.

LiveTime: The time, in seconds, from particle creation to termination. It directly controls the rate of execution of the Color0-Color1 transition.

EmitFreq: The rate of generation of particles, as a count per second.

EmitVelocity: The range of speeds, in meters per second, that the particles are initially flung from their origin. If the two values differ, the velocity for each particle will be randomly set within this range. These values need not be stated as min followed by max; they are equally valid if max precedes min.

EmitTheta: The range of direction, in degrees (I think; I've also seen gradians stated as the unit of measure) about the emission axis, that particles are flung from their origin. If degrees, a value of 180 will have particles emitted potentially in all possible directions.

GasResist: Sets the rate at which an emitted particle is decelerated by the surrounding air. Permitted values are 0.0 to 1.0. Because acceleration is a non linear phenomenon having to do with a rate of change, this makes the selection of a good value here not so intuitive. For a particular effect involving particles being flung away and slowed down, the EmitVelocity contributes crucially to the overall behavior.

VertAccel: Sets the rate at which a particle is affected by gravity or bouyancy, and is expressed in meters per second squared. If negative, the particle falls (or wants to). Note that the gravitaional acceleration is -9.8. If GasResist is zero, acceleration continues apace unimpeded. When GasResist is non zero, this will impose a terminal velocity.

Wind: Sets a speed, in meters per second, for a particle to move horizontally, as though under the influence of a wind. Each effect can have its own Wind value. All having a non zero value will move in the direction of the game's internal 'effect wind', and subject to the varying velocity applied from moment to moment. This 'effect wind', as I call it, is entirely separate from the wind applied to planes, ordnance and (moving) windsocks. Which is too bad, and something that I think will involve addressing in a .dll (outside the capabilities of us mere modders.)

Size: The range of size of a particle, in meters, from creation to termination. That is, the two values are the start size and the finish size. Note that this concerns the full texture box. If a texture occupies but a small portion of the full graphic, the apparent size will be smaller than intended if you've focused only on the visible part, neglecting the unused outer portion.

Rnd: Supposedly a randomization value. I've yet to see truly definitve evidence that this actually does anything, but not that I've performed a structured examination. The closest I might say is for trail type effects, where the opacity varies.
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Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people. - Hyman Rickover (but probably predating his use.)
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