So with the new overlay stuff, my mind drifts to weather effects...
You could always implement rain by putting an object over the turf, or by using image() and sending it to everyone, but both had pretty big drawbacks.
Now that overlays will be handled as part of the turf drawing, I assume the drawing speed will be much better than the effect from placing an object over the turf.
Oh wow, I was just about to get into a discussion of how to manage which overlay is intended for what, but a check of the release notes indicates that an overlay can be an object (it says object type, but I assume that means an object), which takes care of that.
SO...I see having two weather objects overlaying each turf. One is the "active effect", such as rain or snow falling, and the other could be (this might be tough to make look very good) an image representing the cumulative impact of the rain or snow, such as water puddles or piles of snow.
What should be handled through overlays and what through icon states will be interesting to find out.
Darkness overlays could also be played with...though it might look better to simply institute a "dark" icon state with appropriate shadows and stuff.
Any thoughts about this?
Ooh, one of us could do a Weather Library, filled with objects that can be used as overlays representing various weather states...!
ID:138540
 Jun 20 2000, 9:07 am
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So with the new overlay stuff, my mind drifts to weather effects... Great... this is the kind of thing I had in mind when I was looking for a way to "abuse the privilege" of the new overlay system! :) Ooh, one of us could do a Weather Library, filled with objects that can be used as overlays representing various weather states...! /emote blushes, then suddenly gets a sour look on his face. Hey, wait a minute! I hate being volunteered for stuff! :) I think for this one it might be fun if we all put our heads together and collaborated a little. To that end, I wrote up a basic list of some design issues that might have to be tackled (incorporating the ideas from the past two posts), and I'll put it on the Design forum any moment... if I'm not paralyzed by sudden doubt, anyway. Any input would be welcome! | |
Overlaying images isn't that harsh, but placing objects is. Putting objects down takes FOREVER, not to mention you move at a mile a year when your display tries to update.
Well, you can overlay a reference (O), an object type (/obj), or an icon ('obj.dmi').
In CATs, I'm simply making it so that when it rains, it gets slightly darker (with an icon_state) then overlays a rain icon that shows the rain plinking on the ground. Then all I have to do is define which turfs are capable of getting rained on, so to speak, and it, theoretically, should look pretty good.
I'd say darkness and terrain effects should be handled with icon_states and weather and "moving" effects should be handled with overlays.
Yeah, I was working on an NVG mode, where players equipped with NVGs would see everything in, well, green as always. I was also working on a thermal mode, where players would have bright red overlays, and everything else would be shades of very dark red. I was also planning on adding invisible cloud objects that move and change the icon_state of all items beneath them to one darker setting. During weather, your NVGs and IR Goggles would go nuts, making it impossible to use them and thus a lot easier to use something else.
Yep, I volunteer Guy T. =)