Graphics engine improvement

[sk3pt 0]

I would like a slider for shadow draw distance.

[Pyronick 21]

I don't know if this is the proper thread.

But I was thinking of the hype of a few years ago where helicopters in some games would play animations on vegetation when they came near.

Wouldn't it be possible to do this realtime, through the game's physics engine, controlled by the dynamic wind?

I'm not asking for computational fluid dynamics, but it would be really if vegetation (aswell as smoke, fire and dust particles) would have their own dynamics.

[SaBrE_UK 0]

I don't know if this is the proper thread.

But I was thinking of the hype of a few years ago where helicopters in some games would play animations on vegetation when they came near.

Wouldn't it be possible to do this realtime, through the game's physics engine, controlled by the dynamic wind?

I'm not asking for computational fluid dynamics, but it would be really if vegetation (aswell as smoke, fire and dust particles) would have their own dynamics.

This is already done in ArmA (latest patch), and in the video of Arma2, you can see it there as well.

[Pyronick 21]

I don't know if this is the proper thread.

But I was thinking of the hype of a few years ago where helicopters in some games would play animations on vegetation when they came near.

Wouldn't it be possible to do this realtime, through the game's physics engine, controlled by the dynamic wind?

I'm not asking for computational fluid dynamics, but it would be really if vegetation (aswell as smoke, fire and dust particles) would have their own dynamics.

This is already done in ArmA (latest patch), and in the video of Arma2, you can see it there as well.

Okay, never bothered to check really.

Is it fully dynamic or just animations? And does it also manipulate smoke, dust, etc?

[SaBrE_UK 0]

Okay, never bothered to check really.

Is it fully dynamic or just animations? And does it also manipulate smoke, dust, etc?

Watch this and see (Make sure you click 'watch in HD'.

[Pyronick 21]

Okay, never bothered to check really.

Is it fully dynamic or just animations? And does it also manipulate smoke, dust, etc?

Watch this and see (Make sure you click 'watch in HD'.

Yeah, but it looks as if there is no affection due to wind, as smoke just goes straight up.

Only dust kicked up due to air displacement from helicopters, not even interference on smoke dynamics.

Wind is often underestimated or just integrated in the ballistics, but you should also be possible to use smoke trail bending as reference to wind speeds.

[Maddmatt 1]

Okay, never bothered to check really.

Is it fully dynamic or just animations? And does it also manipulate smoke, dust, etc?

Watch this and see (Make sure you click 'watch in HD'.

Yeah, but it looks as if there is no affection due to wind, as smoke just goes straight up.

Only dust kicked up due to air displacement from helicopters, not even interference on smoke dynamics.

Wind is often underestimated or just integrated in the ballistics, but you should also be possible to use smoke trail bending as reference to wind speeds.

Particles and vegetation in ArmA are affected by wind. In the 1.15 beta patch for ArmA vegetation is now affected by helicopters, but they don't affect particles.

If particles were affected by helicopters it would be pretty cool, but it might end up with the effects looking a bit odd. They wont look natural in many cases unless there is a very large particle count.

[Pyronick 21]

Okay, never bothered to check really.

Is it fully dynamic or just animations? And does it also manipulate smoke, dust, etc?

Watch this and see (Make sure you click 'watch in HD'.

Yeah, but it looks as if there is no affection due to wind, as smoke just goes straight up.

Only dust kicked up due to air displacement from helicopters, not even interference on smoke dynamics.

Wind is often underestimated or just integrated in the ballistics, but you should also be possible to use smoke trail bending as reference to wind speeds.

Particles and vegetation in ArmA are affected by wind. In the 1.15 beta patch for ArmA vegetation is now affected by helicopters, but they don't affect particles.

If particles were affected by helicopters it would be pretty cool, but it might end up with the effects looking a bit odd. They wont look natural in many cases unless there is a very large particle count.

Perhaps it's possible with a high particle count, optimized particle LODs and having that all offloaded to shaders.

But than again, I assume the shaders will be maxed out already.

Especially with the Linda tech.

[Törni 0]

Improved wet effects -> equipment getting wet and glossy, rain bouncing of steel helmets etc. Might be hard to implement if rain or soaking happens somewhere in middle of a mission. Things should get wet or dry gradually as time passes.

In current version of ArmA it also rains inside buildings

[Bucic 1]

I didn't go through all the topic - I don't have time. Long story short. BI, whoever is responsible for graphics engine should have his salary cut down at least to what I get - about 400 euro a month. Simple reason - I see that the current graphics state is NOT right and he doesn't.

Where the hell is the light?! Is your goal to mimic the original Falcon 4.0 engine (1998)? Or STALKER's engine? I mean com on. Take a real picture of landscape during sunny day and just compare. It looks like sunny weather would look better in ArmA 1 engine.

Bumpmapping is exaggerated. At least on aircrafts.

Another thing - faces worse than those in ArmA 1.

Glooming - tell me, please, where have you seen glooming mat building surface or any other mat surface which glooms. I know there are a lot of "glooming lovers" out there (commonly calling any type of glooming by "HDR") but any respectful sim developer will ignore they candy demands. In other type of games blooming is fine but in sims it has become a plague.

Wan't glooming - watch some 80's soap operas.

EDIT

The lighting thing - I'm sorry, it does look good. It's just all the screens I've seen were taken in poor weather conditions apparently. I've checked the gallery at the official arma2.com.

[Chaos 0]

I hope, i am right here.

Maybe BIS can make the stealth-lights on vehicles.

See here:

[Spokesperson 0]

<img src="http://tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:svHxv0Tg6kjs5M:http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/LPIPOD/BN19073_81-FB~City-Traffic-Reflected-in-a-Car-Side-Mirror-Chicago-Illinois-USA-Posters.jpg

" border="0">

[Chaos 0]

? I can´t understand it.

Well, i have a little, simple detail, but i think its fine. The soldiers in cargo of trucks have their weapons on the back. I think its schould be better and realistic, when they hold their weapons in the hands between their knees. In OFP1 & ARMA1 the gun muzzles can be seen out of the truck on the top.  

[wipman 1]

Hi, rightnow in the ArmA the grass is displayed in a weird way when

there's a closer light source as a fire or a vehicle on fire or things

like that, which looks like this:

And that... looks very bad, the ground totally black but the grass

glowing as the chernovil weed...!? it looks really bad to me, and

i think that will be good if that could be fixed or improved. Let's C ya

[Chaos 0]

The same problem you have with gras and shadows in daylight.

[dentist guba 0]

i think thats cause the game shades things depending on faces, the game thinks each clump of grass is like an upright sheet of paper, reflecting loads of light, im not sure but the new vegetation should be a bit better as it is modeled with more accuracy (may have more faces with different shading rather than just a simple box/ plane.

[Cultivator 0]

Good evening...

I don´t know, if somone posted it before, but one thing i realy want to see in ArmA2 are improved muzzeflash´s for weapons...

In ArmA its always the same texture for every shot......

At daytime its no problem but when you shoot at night it looks very unnatural......

I dont know if its possible with the engine... but ACE-Mod had shown that it could look good with multiple textures.....

Have a nice day

Regards -rF- Cultivator

[sk3pt 0]

I hope they make that "tile effect" for the tileable ocean textures less apparent somehow.

[Daedelus 0]

hello, sorry if this question has beeb already asked, but i have a Radeon 3870 CrossfireX and i would know if arma 2 support crossfireX technology !

thx a lot !

[sk3pt 0]

Some distant LOD's for the vehicle dust, so you can spot them from the air just by the dust cloud(on desert maps).

[mr.g-c 6]

I would love to see some minor improvement:

Alternating Muzleflashes.....

Seeing one and the same muzzleflash looks really unrealistic and odd - especially at fast firing guns.

Given the fact that you already could in both OFP1 and Arma add up to 3 different flash-textures, makes this less of a "big thing". Just use one flash, tunr it around by some degrees and add it.

[an_enlarged_stomach 1]

different hit effects on different grounds.

Asphalt-dirt and road debries

sand-loads of sand going up

etc...

[Pyronick 21]

Some distant LOD's for the vehicle dust, so you can spot them from the air just by the dust cloud(on desert maps).

Dynamic LODs for all particle effects plz, you really need to see smoke/dust building up in the far distance IMO.

[SimonSIx 0]

that means a hole new lightning system?

[Pyronick 21]

that means a hole new lightning system?

Just a few modifications to the renderer. Depends on how the engine is built.