#3

Thanks!

I have made some progress. I’ve been experimenting with boarding_beam_combo.lua. This is the full file:

fx = {
style = "STYLE_COMBO",
properties = {
property_06 = {name = "FX7",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "BOARDING_BEAM_LIGHT",},
property_05 = {name = "FX6",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "BOARDING_BEAM_SPRAY",},
property_07 = {name = "FX8",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "BOARDING_BEAM_TUBE_SPRAY",},
property_02 = {name = "FX3",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "boarding_beam_beam",},
property_01 = {name = "Fx2",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "",},
property_04 = {name = "FX5",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "boarding_beam_burn_ring",},
property_03 = {name = "FX4",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "boarding_beam_burn_ring02",},
property_00 = {name = "Fx1",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "",},
},
}

The “combo” part means that it is made up of multiple sub-fx. So I isolated each one by commenting out all the other lines:

property_06 = {name = "FX7",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "BOARDING_BEAM_LIGHT",},

(No discernable effect):

property_05 = {name = "FX6",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "BOARDING_BEAM_SPRAY",},

A sort of animated flame:
image

property_07 = {name = "FX8",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "BOARDING_BEAM_TUBE_SPRAY",},`

A stream of particles moving out:
image

property_02 = {name = "FX3",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "boarding_beam_beam",},

A beam of light (a sprite that is always facing the camera):
image

property_04 = {name = "FX5",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "boarding_beam_burn_ring",},

A blob at the base of the beam (a sprite that is orthogonal to the beam):
image

property_03 = {name = "FX4",type = "VARTYPE_STRING",value = "boarding_beam_burn_ring02",},

A blob (sprite always facing the camera):
image

And this is what it looks like with no lines commented out, all the sub-fx combine to produce the boarding beam fx:

image
image866×352 45.1 KB

1 Like
#4

wow! looks cool - did you start with another effect or make it from scratch?

#5

That is what I started from. It’s the marine frigate boarding beam. I haven’t modified it yet!

#6

Ah, okay. haha

How are you getting it to just show up in space? Is that a HOD with no geometry?

#7

You can spawn an effect at any marker on the hod file, the marker does not need to be on the ship’s hull. In this case the marker is not near the ship, so I can look at the effect on its own.

#8

so the thing with Duration is if you don’t modify the keyframe times, you won’t see a difference. (unless you modify it to be shorter)

#9

Keyframe times? How are they defined? Perhaps that explains why some parameters have so many values associated with them…

#10

iirc, it’s time, value, time, value, ...
everything comma separated

edit: i just remembered i have the original FX manual. I will upload it.

2 Likes
#11

That would be very useful!

#12

For realsies! That would be cool! I thought about posting some of the stuff I figured out, but even then it doesn’t seem like it works 100% of the time or always as you would expect. So I didn’t want to post what was… in fact… horsepucky.

#13

Did you manage to find it? I had a search, but no joy :frowning:

#14

Sorry fo rthe delay. Have been sick…

3 Likes
#15

Thanks, that looks like it’s going to be very useful!

Hope you’re feeling better!

#16

wow! Thanks! The acceptable value ranges are totally useful too!

#17

Assuming they still apply for HWRM…

#18

as far as I can tell, the FX system/parameters did not change from HW2 to HWRM.

Thanks for the hopeful wishes! :slightly_smiling_face: I’m not yet though… :man_shrugging:

1 Like
#19

I kind of think things are the same too. Looking at some of the things I was trying and the value ranges, I think I was out of the acceptable values when things were getting weird. (sometimes) other times it was just plain weird.

Or at least if things are getting flakey with whatever your trying, you can check the value ranges to see if that might be it.

#20

Maybe there’s another layer in between the FX tool and the output files:

I’ve been redoing the platforms so that you can REALLY seal a front or mount a defense with them. So there are four of them, one for fighters, one for corvettes , frigates and cap ships. They’re expensive and kind of easy to take out individually, but if all four of them together, you’ve got a REAL problem.

Anyway, of course the anti cap-ship one has a super-duper über-laser on it, and I’ve been messing with in on and off for the last couple of weeks. Anyway, the max beam width in the documentation is 10 and the rings on this version have a width of 50:

ss00298
ss002981920×1080 502 KB

The rings don’r move along the beam! I was thinking of that time in the Flash Gordon movie where Baron finds that laser-machine-gun-thingy and them blasts those two knuckleheads with the gas masks on when they come through the door before he kicks the tripod away totally cool-like. I’m pretty sure the bullets didn’t move, they were just kind of dots floating in space, which I though was super-awesome when I was a kid. But whatever, I wanted to see if there would be a difference if I change the beam width to 10 and:

ss00299
ss002991920×1080 493 KB

Itty-bitty stupid rings!

This effect does seem to get dropped as one of the first ones once the game starts filling up though, so maybe the engine can do it, but it doesn’t like it.

#21

hmm, it does sound kind of cool to have the rings not moving, as you say. I have put the fx stuff on the back burner for now, but maybe I should start investigating again now we have that manual…

#22

I’m not too sure how much good it’s going to do us because we only have the output files, but I think if you start messing with an in-game effect that’s even sort of like the one you want, you’ll be able to get something pretty close to what you want. I save copies a lot, because it’s pretty easy to change some values and then the file is super-broken afterwards.