Animated Clouds

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All Forums >> [Current Games From Matrix.] >> [World War II] >> Lock ‘n Load: Heroes of Stalingrad >> Animated Clouds

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Animated Clouds - 11/15/2008 2:25:31 AM

RobertMc
Matrix Trooper

Posts: 134
Joined: 5/10/2000
From: Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Status: offline

Animated clouds drifting over the battlefield? Why? Won't this interfere with seeing your units?

Post #: 1

RE: Animated Clouds - 11/15/2008 10:51:53 AM

markhwalker
Matrix Hero

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Joined: 1/29/2005
Status: offline

quote:

Won't this interfere with seeing your units?

Not at all. The opacity is set to something like 25% (Marc could answer that question specifically). Additionally, the clouds don't hover, they drift lazily across the battlefield. I'll post a video as soon as we iron out a Fraps Vista problem. That isn't the only animation. When units place smoke, you get a swirling smoke cloud, when squads armed with flamethrowers fire, a jet of flame shoots from their hex, tanks actually explode, tracers actually trace.

(in reply to RobertMc)

Post #: 2

RE: Animated Clouds - 11/16/2008 5:09:23 AM

RobertMc
Matrix Trooper

Posts: 134
Joined: 5/10/2000
From: Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Status: offline

Hi Mark,

Well, I'm all for bells and whistles in a computer game, and I look forward to seeing the
flamethrower flame, the tracers, the tanks blow up and all the animated carnage one might expect, but as to the animated clouds...

These can not be clouds, as depicted in the screen shots. They might be drifts of smoke from the ground, smoke from artillery fire or smoke from factory chimneys, but as depicted they are thin, wispy cirrus clouds that are found at greater than 20,000 feet in the air. By my reckoning, these clouds look to be about 200 feet above the rooftops.

Low-lying clouds would be thicker and full of rain, so you probably wouldn't be able to see a thing from the vantage point of the player.

My point is: what is the point of these so-called clouds? Do they add to gameplay in any way? What was the reasoning to take up programming time to create these animated so-called clouds?

Not trying to be snarky here, but I just don't get it. Was the intention to give the game player a feeling of "immersion"? If so, having wispy bits of smoke drifting around just seems to me to be an irritation. Really, clouds of this type would be very high, and drifting in an otherwise clear sky. Does this mean there are no scenarios with rain or snow in them?

Mark, I can just imagine your reaction if we were playing a face-to-face game of LocknLoad (boardgame version) and I was to pull out wispy cotton balls on toothpicks and start slowly waving them back and forth across the battlefield.

You'd say, "What is the point of that?"

Wouldn't you?

(in reply to markhwalker)

Post #: 3

RE: Animated Clouds - 11/16/2008 7:16:32 AM

markhwalker
Matrix Hero

Posts: 951
Joined: 1/29/2005
Status: offline

Hi Robert,

Thanks for the input. Trust me... there are no toothpicks in the computer game.

(in reply to RobertMc)

Post #: 4

RE: Animated Clouds - 11/16/2008 2:23:43 PM

Marc von Martial
Matrix Legion of Merit

Posts: 10875
Joined: 1/4/2001
From: Bonn, Germany
Status: offline

They will be an option, so if you don't want them you can turn them off. Others will like it. Sure they look like high altitude clouds, at least in their density, but since Mark wanted them and we need to have them not block visibility you will need a compromise.

The still screenshots do not do them justice either, they look more "real" when moving.

Believe me, the resources "wasted" on this were almost zero, stuff like that is not rocket science or hard to implement.

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Marc von Martial
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