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HE Explosion Mod WIP


ChanceBS

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That is an improvement IMO.

The smoke/dust is not persistent enough, the dust should last for at least as long as the muzzle obscuration (IIRC 7-10 secs is not unreasonable, and in dusty conditions/still air, much longer). This might be hard coded however.

The biggest issue with the graphics as they stand (apart from the solid-column for HE arty) is the horizontal line at the top of the explosion on the first frame of the animation.

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I like this last one best, the explosion 'flash' is still too big though IMO. There's not that much of one visible from my (very limited) experience, just a concussion wave that carries a lot of dust/dirt.

I'd say less flash, and a little more dirt in the initial phase around where the flash is now. That 'core' should dissipate a little slower.

Check how small the 25mm explosion flashed are here:

Just my thoughts. :)

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I think the engine itself is too limited at this point to allow for any radical improvements like that (it's not armed assault). The only thing you can do is alter the basic sprites, i.e. what they look like and what happens from frame to frame, e.g. how fast dust dissipates etc.

I honestly do think that eSim is underestimating the tactical significance of smoke and dust a little at this point by not improving the effects. Billowing smoke from burning vehicles, brush and structures and dust clouds from explosions and vehicles do of course look impressive, but it's not just eye candy. Smoke and dust have serious tactical implications.

I assume it has just not been ordered by a customer yet. Would be nice though.

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Well said Amaroq.

It is not just Eye Candy. You could say any improvement to graphics since Commodore 64 days was just eye candy, its not... I think most simmers, modders and maybe some publishers quest to bring to the PC exactly what you see in real life with your eyes. How many times has a new sim come out in the past 10 years and the first thing you judge are the graphics. "Wow, did ya see the graphics in that new sim?", "Wow you gotta see the special effects in that movie that came out Saturday." Graphics are the corner stone to a good sim/game. I admit there are some great solid games with limited graphics. There shelf life appears to be endless. Yet the graphics, although perfect for functionality, miss the mark for this day and age. We expect more.

The PC technology in the 90's seemed to double every 18 months and with it so did what we saw graphicly. In this decade, the technology has slowed. The graphics now seem to drop into 2 catagories, "10 years old" or you cant run it...

I hope the publishers of these great sim/games can meet the users somewhere in the middle. It is shameful to see a sim/game with a great foundation dissappear due to a short shelf life. What determines shelf life?

The consumer.

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Yeah, for example, if you look at these two shots from ArmA, the first shows dust from a hand grenade, the second shows the burning vehicles later on:

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/8103/arma2008062323050681vh0.jpg

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/6293/arma2008062323093964gp4.jpg

(Screenshot by Brennus, posted in this SimHQ thread: http://www.simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2538346#Post2538346 . I hope this form of linking is okay)

For one, the dust in the first shot obscures the target area so if there was someone there, you won't be absolutely certain you got him until the dust cleared. The other guy, OTOH, would obviously know you didn't get him, giving him a serious advantage in that particular situation. It's comparable to the problem presented in the Bradley vid higher up in this thread. You can tell yourself "Nobody can survive that" but you don't know until the smoke clears.

In the second shot I posted above, obviously smoke and fire obscure the entire area, so if, say, you were setting up an ambush you could effectively counteract any long range capability of an assault force like that because they couldn't see through the smoke and fire (neither could you, but that may be less of an advantage for you than the other guy). They'd have to come in close, maybe offering themselves up to shorter range AT fire. Any retreating force is also effectively masked by the burning vehicles they leave behind.

I have to correct what I said before, I don't think eSim is "underestimating" the tactical value of smoke and dust, I just think they're selling it a little short.

Having effects comparable to ArmA would change this sim a lot and in a more realistic way.

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I thought the following screenshots might be of interest in the dust particle category. They're back from DEC07, so I can't recall any particulars other than I was firing canister into a house no more than a hundred meters away, and when checking out the AAR, the resulting cloud:

ss072316dr3.th.jpg ss072430yf3.th.jpg ss072449du4.th.jpg

They were taken in the review phase, and I can't remember now if I saw it during execution, so I don't know if it was just an anomaly or what have you but it certainly caught my eye at the time :eek2:

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