ebnertra000, on 22 March 2021 - 03:43 PM, said:
That would be cool. Just needs some flashes and distant rumbling. I kind of wish the weather effects when you're in the storm were a bit better, too
ErickC, on 22 March 2021 - 04:44 PM, said:
When I uploaded the replacement environment sounds, a separate set of storm SMS files was included with directions for swapping it with the rain set. It would be nice if a "storm" option could be coded into OR - it could use the storm SMS set, increase the rate of rain, reduce visibility, and increase wind. Throw in random sprite-based lightning strikes and you've got a winner. The way I see lightning working is that you'd have a set of alpha images containing the whole lightning bolt from cloud to ground, and those would get rendered on a sprite that would appear in random locations for a fraction of a second, and while it appears, the visible portions could rapidly change through colours not unlike diesel smoke.
copperpen, on 23 March 2021 - 02:47 AM, said:
Far as I know, you cant have a texture displayed without having a shape to put it on. Skydome.png does not have a corresponding skydome.s shape, but if you open a route in TSRE5 and close it, then look at the TSRE log you will find a reference to skydome.s which means the shape is generated during runtime from the code. Basically the same way that MSTS generated sky, but not as refined.
Hi Folks,
Thanks for the interest - and Mervyn - thanks for looking.
It's a shame that the shape is generated - as that puts it out of reach to all except a qualified programmer. I'm assuming the environment code is ancient (wasn't Rick Grout involved at some point?) - which is why there's probably a reluctance for anyone to look at it. I know enough about coding to know that it's an onerous task to try to figure out someone else's code that hasn't been documented properly. That said - our environment is sorely in need of some TLC - as the sims graphics are the first thing anyone new to ORTS see's and can make or break an impression. While I would love to see a more substantial and comprehensive overhaul of the environment - I do realize our resources are sparse and limited - which is one reason I tried to make improvements with just a texture upgrade. Hopefully someone takes up the challenge at some point.
Regards,
Scott