Weapon Special Effects

Quote

Originally posted by Azratax2:
**Huh? When I tried this out, i noticed that the weapon's sprite is always pointing the same direction as the ship. If this is what you want, good, because thats how it works.
Now, what I would like to find is a way to make the weapon's sprites point in the direction the shot is going. That would seem to have the difficulty you detailed unless firing straight back, or at a 90 degree angle (if you make the sprite look the same coming and going, which doesnt seem to be done anymore in EVN, but is done in Polycon and EVO)
**

I suppose you could render missiles flying perpendicular to your direction of flight for the initial shot, and then another normal render of the submunition missile.

Matrix

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Umm..on a slightly related matter, what do you use to view .pict files? my (free)quicktime doesn't work, annd neither does paint, or Windows picture viewer.

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Quote

Originally posted by lotsofblackflags:
**Umm..on a slightly related matter, what do you use to view .pict files? my (free)quicktime doesn't work, annd neither does paint, or Windows picture viewer.

**

If you are on windows, there are some pict files (those from the now dead Dreamwave, for example) are completely unopenable. I have tried everything. Nothing will open them.
Some picts open fine in quicktime or photoshop.
-Az

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It is here. EVNEW Public Beta (url="http://"http://www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW")www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW(/url)

Quote

Originally posted by lotsofblackflags:
**Umm..on a slightly related matter, what do you use to view .pict files? my (free)quicktime doesn't work, annd neither does paint, or Windows picture viewer.

**

I did a quick search on download.com and found a program called "Graphics Converter Pro" that claims to open picts. There's a 30-day trial available... (I know nothing about this program, I'm only relaying what I found. You could probably find something similar with a minimal amount of effort.)

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Quote

Originally posted by Azratax2:
**Huh? When I tried this out, i noticed that the weapon's sprite is always pointing the same direction as the ship. If this is what you want, good, because thats how it works.
Now, what I would like to find is a way to make the weapon's sprites point in the direction the shot is going. That would seem to have the difficulty you detailed unless firing straight back, or at a 90 degree angle (if you make the sprite look the same coming and going, which doesnt seem to be done anymore in EVN, but is done in Polycon and EVO)

Thanks to Matt and Dave for letting us know about this!
-Az

**

Ooh! So it does work! I was just wondering, as I said I haven't tried it out myself, and the effect I thought it would have was as I explained. Heheheh....

lotsofblackflags: (EDIT) Stupid me... I didn't see the sarcasm tag (/EDIT)

PICT files: Graphic converter is pretty easy-going. I've had it for AGES, and it still only waits 30 seconds for me to start. Though I have v 4.0 I think.... It works great for me!

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(This message has been edited by Phyvo (edited 12-08-2003).)

Quote

Originally posted by Phyvo:
**Ooh! So it does work! I was just wondering, as I said I haven't tried it out myself, and the effect I thought it would have was as I explained. Heheheh....

lotsofblackflags: "mburch" just happens to be Matt Burch, the guy who worked all by himself to make the first EV in the FIRST place. I suggest you give him some more respect... ; )

PICT files: Graphic converter is pretty easy-going. I've had it for AGES, and it still only waits 30 seconds for me to start. Though I have v 4.0 I think.... It works great for me!

**

Is GraphicConverter available for Windows? Hmm...news to me.

In any case, I've had GraphicConverter for some time. My dad decided he used it often enough that it was only fair to register. Remember, if you use it 10 times, you just wasted five minutes of your life waiting for the trial waiting time to end! 20 times, you just threw away 10 minutes. Use it 28 times without registering, and it's like smoking a cigarette! 😛

(Cigarette fun fact: every cigarette you smoke takes off 14 minutes of your life.)

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The programmer's code of entomology: there's always another bug.
Windows users: stop asking for plugins. (url="http://"http://www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW/")Make one yourself.(/url)

Quote

Originally posted by orcaloverbri9:
Is GraphicConverter available for Windows? Hmm...news to me.

It's not "GraphicConverter", it's "Graphic s Converter Pro", a different product by a different company. Probably a marketing ploy of some sort... like I said, I don't know anything about the program, including how stringent it is about registering, as I'm a mac user. As for GraphicConverter, I always just set the system clock back a couple of years... then it works fine. 🙂

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Pinky, are you pondering what I am pondering?
I think so, Brain, but if they called them sad meals, kids wouldn't buy them.

Oops... heheheh. Dang evil marketting ploys...

Actually, in os X, I can just do something else while I wait for it to load, so I don't actually waste any time. Evil me. 😃

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(edited: Telling people how to find pirate software, even vaguely, is both illegal, off-topic and pointless. -Mazca)

on the topic if you want the weapon to face the direction its firing before it splits using a standard weapon profile (like a gun) works, if you want it to face the direction of your ship, using Freefall bomb does that.

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"Well, I've been thinking. How'd you like to steal $750
million worth of illegal equipment from a GENOM subsidiary and put it
to a use that will benefit society?"
Gryphon, Hopelessly Lost Vol. 4

(This message has been edited by Mazca (edited 12-08-2003).)

That's one of the things I suggested, but I wondered whether the AI would use it. I remember making a plug-in for EV with a ship that actually had space bombs, except that the AI never used the dang weapon! Stupid AI. I was wondering if this was fixed in Nova... or if I'm just incompitent and uninformed.

(This message has been edited by Phyvo (edited 12-08-2003).)

Quote

Originally posted by rebelswin_85:
**It's not "GraphicConverter", it's "Graphic s Converter Pro", a different product by a different company. Probably a marketing ploy of some sort... like I said, I don't know anything about the program, including how stringent it is about registering, as I'm a mac user. As for GraphicConverter, I always just set the system clock back a couple of years... then it works fine. 🙂

**

Oh. Well, a lot of people are stupid and call it Graphics Converter instead of GraphicConverter, so you can see my confusion...and every time, I want to strangle them. I don't know why. I mean, when I want to strangle people that think everyone in the world uses Windows, I at least have a reason, but here, I just do...

Man, that was a really weird post...

<sarcasm>
I need to cut down on the caffeine.
</sarcasm>

Gets up to get more soda

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The programmer's code of entomology: there's always another bug.
Windows users: stop asking for plugins. (url="http://"http://www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW/")Make one yourself.(/url)

Quote

Originally posted by lotsofblackflags:
**Umm..on a slightly related matter, what do you use to view .pict files? my (free)quicktime doesn't work, annd neither does paint, or Windows picture viewer.

**

There are two different types of PICT files, both of which work on Macintosh. The first of these has the PICT data stored in the Data Fork, and thus are accessible with Windows. The second type of PICT (aka PICT Resource File) stores the data in the Resource fork, which is stripped once it is downloaded to Windows. Thus, you cannot see them. However, with the use of Basilisk or Executor to open these into a halfway-decent graphics application, and save them into a data PICT, which are fully supported on both platforms.

Quote

Originally posted by Phyvo:
**That's one of the things I suggested, but I wondered whether the AI would use it. I remember making a plug-in for EV with a ship that actually had space bombs, except that the AI never used the dang weapon! Stupid AI. I was wondering if this was fixed in Nova... or if I'm just incompitent and uninformed.

**

Well, now that Matt added in calculations for submunition's length, it the AI should use it as an unguided weapon. If this is not the case, add another submunition as a free-flight rocket or unguided, and after one frame have that munition into the bomb, and then into the two missiles, and so on. Submunitions rock. 😉

~ SpacePirate

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Eat blazing electric death!

I have a program called Picture Viewer (filename: View32.exe), made by QuickTime, but I can't remember at all where I got it from. It's in my C:WINNT folder.

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Get (url="http://"http://www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW")EVNEW(/url) - the free, open-source plugin EVN Editor for Windows!

Now if I could just go and make the weapon...

sigh

Anyways, submunitions do rock. I always wondered why Nova didn't use them much (lack of time, I suppose). I mean, outside of the multi-torp, there really isn't anything... But the possibilities! The possibilities! My mind is going into shock thinking of them! And it's only one resource in Nova! Argh! Too... much...

I need my bed now...

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tries to put negative value into EVNEW

AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111!!!!!!!!!!!111 MUST USE NEGATIVE VALUES!!!!! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!1111111.

hehe.

goes to school and uses Mission Computer. It works

yay!

THese ideas are great. I'm gonna go and steal-erm- borrow them now.

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"Hey look! A Pola-(boom)"-my thoughts when entering Nila'Mjolnir.

Quote

Originally posted by Phyvo:
**That's one of the things I suggested, but I wondered whether the AI would use it. I remember making a plug-in for EV with a ship that actually had space bombs, except that the AI never used the dang weapon! Stupid AI. I was wondering if this was fixed in Nova... or if I'm just incompitent and uninformed.

(This message has been edited by Phyvo (edited 12-08-2003).)**

One of the things I did when I made this weapon was put it on a ship I pilot myself, which also has a bay to spawn itself, (it makes it look like i'm flying a V formation with myself)

the AI uses the unguided / guided submunition just fine when it targets and attacks enemy ships (as long as you remember not to check the flag "AI dont use")

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"Well, I've been thinking. How'd you like to steal $750
million worth of illegal equipment from a GENOM subsidiary and put it
to a use that will benefit society?"
Gryphon, Hopelessly Lost Vol. 4

Requiem: I belive Aprosenf is going to make it so you can enter negative values in EVNEW in the next version.

The funny thing about the pict issue is that only some picts are effected. I do plan to try out that graphic converter program. Thanks for the tip about it.
-Az

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It is here. EVNEW Public Beta (url="http://"http://www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW")www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW(/url)

(This message has been edited by Azratax2 (edited 12-09-2003).)

I managed to fit some quality testing time into a half-hour now, during my still hectic life (dammit, settle you!)

Anyway...

Weapon types that can accept negative inaccuracy values and what they do:

- Unguided cannon : Fires at # degrees to either side of front, with -# inaccuracy. Shots will face forward. eg. A value of -90 would make shots that fire directly to the sides of the ship, but the shots will point forward.
- Unguided turret (full, front, or rear): Acts exactly like an unguided cannon (fires at # degrees to either side of front) except that shots will face toward the target, if within the turret's range (ie. for front turrets, the shots will face the target only if the target is within the turret's normal angle of use).
- Turreted beams : Will limit the beam's arc of firing to a swath of # degrees across the front of the ship. The value, unlike for cannons, is the distance (in degrees) between the two sidemost extremes. That means -90 would make a beam that can be aimed up to 45 degrees off of forward. eg. A value of -90 would make, essentially, a front-turreted beam. The beam will not fire at all if the target is not within that range.

I haven't tried all weapon types, but certain others (guided missiles, freeflight rockets, and normal beams are examples) will not be affected by negative inaccuracy values.

Now, negative submunition theta values are more interesting.
- Submunitions : Negative submunition theta values will only have an effect if the submunition count is greater than 1, which is a shame, but not a big deal. The # defines the angle of separation, ie. a value of -180 will cause the submunitions to split off going directly to each side perpendicular to the way the original shot is facing. A value of -90 would cause the shots to split off heading 45 degrees to either side of forward. -360 causes them to go straight backward.

Now, the interesting part to this is that the shots WILL be facing in the direction they are heading, unlike using negative values for the weapon inaccuracy, and it WILL work no matter what the submunition weapon type is. Yep, you can create missiles that will always come straight out the back of a ship, facing in that direction, and will turn around to head toward the target properly. To do so, make an unguided cannon with an invisible shot and no movement and very short lifetime (1 frame) which immediately submunitions into the missile, subcount 2 (oh well, they'll be exactly one atop another, just don't let them be jammed), subtheta -360.

W00T! 😄

I have not tested values greater than -180 for weapons, or -360 for submunits...hm...next on the list when I get a free moment.

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Quote

Originally posted by Weepul 884:
**I managed to fit some quality testing time into a half-hour now, during my still hectic life (dammit, settle you!)

Anyway...

Weapon types that can accept negative inaccuracy values and what they do:

- Unguided cannon : Fires at # degrees to either side of front, with -# inaccuracy. Shots will face forward. eg. A value of -90 would make shots that fire directly to the sides of the ship, but the shots will point forward.
- Unguided turret (full, front, or rear): Acts exactly like an unguided cannon (fires at # degrees to either side of front) except that shots will face toward the target, if within the turret's range (ie. for front turrets, the shots will face the target only if the target is within the turret's normal angle of use).
- Turreted beams : Will limit the beam's arc of firing to a swath of # degrees across the front of the ship. The value, unlike for cannons, is the distance (in degrees) between the two sidemost extremes. That means -90 would make a beam that can be aimed up to 45 degrees off of forward. eg. A value of -90 would make, essentially, a front-turreted beam. The beam will not fire at all if the target is not within that range.

I haven't tried all weapon types, but certain others (guided missiles, freeflight rockets, and normal beams are examples) will not be affected by negative inaccuracy values.

Now, negative submunition theta values are more interesting.
- Submunitions : Negative submunition theta values will only have an effect if the submunition count is greater than 1, which is a shame, but not a big deal. The # defines the angle of separation, ie. a value of -180 will cause the submunitions to split off going directly to each side perpendicular to the way the original shot is facing. A value of -90 would cause the shots to split off heading 45 degrees to either side of forward. -360 causes them to go straight backward.

Now, the interesting part to this is that the shots WILL be facing in the direction they are heading, unlike using negative values for the weapon inaccuracy, and it WILL work no matter what the submunition weapon type is. Yep, you can create missiles that will always come straight out the back of a ship, facing in that direction, and will turn around to head toward the target properly. To do so, make an unguided cannon with an invisible shot and no movement and very short lifetime (1 frame) which immediately submunitions into the missile, subcount 2 (oh well, they'll be exactly one atop another, just don't let them be jammed), subtheta -360.

W00T! 😄

I have not tested values greater than -180 for weapons, or -360 for submunits...hm...next on the list when I get a free moment.

**

Um, why do you need a subcount of 2? Subcount of 1 works... or does it?.
-Az

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It is here. EVNEW Public Beta (url="http://"http://www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW")www.aznt.com/EVN/EVNEW(/url)

Back in the day when I used to tweak with EVO's resources, I came up with an idea for a weapon that I never got around to developing. Luckily, this topic reminded me of it.

If I recall correctly, it used to be that there was a field for weapon inaccuracy where you could put in a percentage (this might still be in there, dunno). Well, my idea was a cannon that through some weird warp of space time had a barrel that pointed in every direction at once. To make this work, I'd simply put in a 100% inaccuracy and boom: Sprayfire cannon. I'd need some kinda weird graphic for the outfitter, but meh.

-nemo

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