he created a prefab a couple nights ago that I haven't looked at yet. Then there's just mine which is the same holograms you've seen for quite a while... all three maps are the same style currently. holograms, well technically they are called Covenant Monitor Screens...
Just took a look at it, I defiantly prefer that design. The classic look is pretty neat, it'd look really cool in action with sounds, color-changes, etc.
Being a Grammar **** I find this inexcusable. But, I won't edit my post to serve as a reminder of my mistake.
I like the concept... if only it could spin http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/ExTerrestr1al/video/41946085 (EDIT: @Ryouji Gunblade check this out!)
so, the above could work, but we need to figure out a few details... 1- what visual will exist there prior to capturing? It should be a part of the larger cluster so that it is always there while the site is open. It should also be easy to see inside or just above the cluster of fx so that it is clear there is something you can press there, vs just having a big shiny thing - or maybe people will know what to do when they see a nav inside it? 2 - we need to reduce pieces especially if it is going to spin, and I really think it should. Removing even 1 or 2 pieces could help tremendously. Because remember that there are currently 3 sites on these demo maps, each needing its own set of fx, and then eventually we are making 2-site Extraction which will have at least 4 beacon sites, two active at once, and compatibility for up to 5 beacon sites. There are already many invisible items needed to make all of the scripting work (open up the demo maps in forge, and you will see how extensive it is), so we don't want to place a huge burden on the map designer to save tons of pieces and scripts. the nice thing about spinning this cluster to make it animated is that it uses only 1 script! but also a few more pieces. I can already reduce the items by 1 by moving the script for rotation to another piece, but I was obviously doing a first draft...
I initially intended the whole object to be there from the start, but all white. Maybe you could have the glow appear after interaction. The outer shell roughly represents the range you can interact. Spinning could work after interaction, but we ought to do this in a classic way if we can. The outside of the shell did not spin, but the interior did in an unstable way. You might be able to just script the interior rotation without joints. The H4 original only had a waypoint and often crates that would get transported away. You placed down the prototype translocation beacon and it would start to glow and give off electric arc flashes. Maybe there's something we could do with spark FX.
I was thinking the same thing you said in the 2nd and 3rd paragraph. If that's all possible that'd look great!
I gave it some more thought. Perhaps we could have the inner rings rotate in different directions, to produce that classic "wobble" look. Also, we could have both red and blue spark FX to replace the white glow, but maybe have the one of appropriate color spawn in depending on which team is controlling it. I so wish we had a small kill ball aesthetic...
Don't get carried away, guys. This coud look more classic for sure, but perfection will be far too expensive and frankly this is too late in development to be changing things that much. We just need it to look and act familiar, but i will try to do some of what you are suggesting. Keep in mind that some suggestions create new problems that you woudnt expect. For instance, the different directions of rotation would use a bunch more pieces. This smooth rotation was a big breakthrough actually, andbim surprised the reaction wasnt a bit more enthusiastic, frankly.
No, I meant use the object's own rotation via script. Saves pieces as you wanted. I can set up an updated prototype and record it in action.
I tried that firrst, it looks real bad. Heres what im thinking... When available, very slow rotation, neutral grey When capped, slightly faster rotation, and outer color change. When10 sec score warning, spin faster Also some fx when spawning and converting like i have now, just adapted to the new design. Might not be sparks, but something spectacular fo sho
I've been checking how it looks with different FX. I do like the Forerunner spiral object more than the glow for the center (pointing down). I wasn't able to get the center rings to spin consistently in any good fashion. The Forerunner teleport is a pretty good FX for finishing too. The angle of the inner rings looks better at 30 degrees instead of 45.
Sweet! Thanks for doing that R&D Some of those things I have also messed with (back when the current Fx were designed) and found similar results. I liked the Forerunner teleport (and use it) for the appearence and disappearence of the beacon itself. Then, a moment later a larger Pelican thruster (back I think it is) to make it look like it has all been beamed up to somewhere, or "Extracted". Now that our thing will be floating, I'll pick a different finishing piece like a thruster, but it will look similar to what we have been using for that beam up. I'll check out the spiral. It didn't work with what I was doing before, but I'll re-examine now that it sounds like we will be chaning the visual beacon. I have thought a lot more about how to plug these changes in to the existing "code" as it were. And I will say that I don't want to have to redo it again after this, nor will it be easy for someone to just unplug one set of visuals and plug in another. THere are sequencing and logical on/off things we'll be tweaking that expert scripters could bang their head on for a while and ifgure out, but because it won't be plugn play for new visuals, we need that "one ring to rule them all" type of solution. I definitely appreciate your hontesty and help changing the existing setup. You guys are both getting some cred for helping to define, guide, and direct the approach here. After all, it would suck if I did all this and no one played it.
also looking at flickering light coming in at moment of appearance will work. It might not, cuz I want to spawn in just one object at that time, rather than getting the lens flare just so that it faces all directions (as you probably know, needs multiple lights) EDIT: and Spiral is probably a no go, cuz it always looks blue-ish, which I am happy to get away from with my current monitor holograms always being blue. ALso, it is a bit too wide and only extends in the one direction. Doesn't really fit the space of the sphere very well... I'll keep looking.
haha... gg Hex how did you find me join through friends or something? I am using my son's confiscated xbox for maybe a month or so... we'll see. And damn! I cannot use a xb1 controller for ****. It feels so weird. I swear I play much better on pc cuz of 360 controller
Yeah I friend most people I know on FH. I noticed your rank went up, so I realized you weren't on PC atm. It took some time for me to get used to the One controller, but I've found to love it 10x more so. GGs btw, and yes I noticed you attempt that Fathom jump a few times.
I was testing for if glitches are gone. Its weird, the first day i loaded up xb1 for extraction had immediately full rooms over and over, but the past couple days i couldnt get more than 4 ppl at once... I think i found a new glitch anyways, so it wasnt a waste. I think i can easily fix, but if beacon isalready one color and other team is within melee range of defending player as they try to convert, it believes the defender is capping. There may be an easy way to fix by resetting the cap progress when the defender enters the zone, but it might seem like a glitch to some. It would be more like a defensive move that is just part of the mechanis... But part of me wants to attempt a more difficult, but clean solution... My eternity ball redesign almost has a similar thing working, which detects the player who trips theball so we can use their shields value. In theory, this could work for detecting an activator's team andassigning that to something... Question is... how perfect do i want this to be before i release a first prefab?
fyi, I think the glow is probably the best piece for filling the inside of the sphere with fx. I cannot find anything that looks at least as good, though I wish it were a bit more dynamic. But with the thing spinning it will look really cool for sure. and, so far I think my doodle pad here at work just let me see that the new design will not use many more pieces than the current one, though probably a couple more. That's good for map builders. But, a warning, the stations are not idiot-proof to install. It will require attention to detail and strictly following instructions. For instance, the spinning orb may need to be two prefabs per station so that the builder does not need to do complex grouping procedures that increase the probability they will not have a working station afterward... whatever happens, I won't release something that doesn't work for folks... it will just take some refinement and careful instruction like I said. I plan to do a lot of work on this tonight... EDIT: Oh, and I meant to ask for the best colors for changing the outer-sphere to when capped by Red/Blue. The blue I have right now doesn't look right.... suggestions please. (mainly, the blue and red need to be similar brightness so one doesn't stand out more (red currently stands out a lot more)
new visuals, finally. 2hrs of sleep last night... http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/ExTerrestr1al/video/42243065 Still needs a little work, but nearing completion. I'm not sure the change in rotation speed will end up working 100% of the time, and there is a quirky rotation bug that I want to try to fix. Also, the flare even though it is set very weak may still be a bit much on the eyes. That was an attempt to keep object counts down a little (sun flare is only flare able to be seen from all directions, so one red light and one blue light). I am also going to tweak the visibility of the navs and hopefully find a way to keep the visuals but also make it easier to see the "Activate" button message appear. I don't want people to miss that. YIKES! This new version now sits at 35 pieces per site, including all functional components and visuals. I hope that doesn't turn people away from building maps for it... Hopefully since most of them are invisible 90% of the time, performance won't be an issue for people who typically stop at 1400 or so pieces. it will probably crash a lot on PC in those cases, but not xbox. So, builders, keep around 100+ pieces freed up.