DMSmokeEffects Beta 4

[dmarkwick 261]

Thanks for the release. I'll soon be testing this in MP

About your suggestions to modify the smokeshell usage within the VFAI addon. I will play with different behaviours to observe "real life" situations. Right now I only wanted AI to throw smoke when it gets tough (being hit) and not as a precaution whenever under fire. Not only would this disrupt a lot of firefights but AI would also run out of SmokeShells very quickly in a urban combat environment. Imagine the frequent situational changes you experience there. I fear you would see a lot of smoke very quickly and then no smoke at all anymore.

Cheers,

VictorFarbau

LOL, yeah I hear ya

Actually I think it's fine how it works now. I'm sure the figures could be tweaked for the suppression idea so as not to overwhelm the battlefield with smoke, but I realise it also means hacking into another person's addon, so it's all fine really

As an aside, The smoke grenade-only version is available here. New thread will be started for it.

[mr_centipede 31]

thanks a lot DM.. will test it ASAP

good job

[malick 0]

This could be used in conjunction with Second's Suppression Scripts. When under heavy fire or pinned down, a squad would launch smoke grenades to cover itself.

This solution 'seems' better than launching smoke cover when hit.

Malick

[VictorFarbau 0]

Quote[/b] ]This could be used in conjunction with Second's Suppression Scripts.

Agree, my VFAI project enables units to steal weapons and ammo if needed. The smokeshell script is merely a sideproduct. Main focus of work will still be improvements of the above.

See ya,

VictorFarbau

[dmarkwick 261]

Quote[/b] ]This could be used in conjunction with Second's Suppression Scripts.

Agree, my VFAI project enables units to steal weapons and ammo if needed. The smokeshell script is merely a sideproduct. Main focus of work will still be improvements of the above.

See ya,

VictorFarbau

LOL, your sideproduct was the reason behind this smokeshell improvement

Funny how things happen here.

[TRexian 0]

I think that's called "synergy."

Great work all the way around.

[VictorFarbau 0]

Quote[/b] ]LOL, your sideproduct was the reason behind this smokeshell improvement

I saw the potential - so who am I to stop you from creating a legendary Arma addon?   Glad you found the time and energy to finalize it. Really great.

Regards,

VictorFarbau

[VictorFarbau 0]

I forgot to ask (setting up our server now): are you using createvehicleLocal to create the viewblocks? In other words: do you need to run the addon on the server or on each client instead?

Thanks,

VictorFarbau

[dmarkwick 261]

I forgot to ask (setting up our server now): are you using createvehicleLocal to create the viewblocks? In other words: do you need to run the addon on the server or on each client instead?

Thanks,

VictorFarbau

I used createVehicle, as I assume that will force a viewblock to appear on the server. As far as I've been able to find out, local vehicles only affect local AI.

Also, as the addon uses custom textures & objects, that all participants would need it.

[VictorFarbau 0]

I'll PM you about that.

VictorFarbau

[dmarkwick 261]

Oops, now what have I done?

[PTV-Jobo 820]

I know this is probably going to sound really, really, retarded and all, but I figured I'd post. I've been using DM's stuff religously and have been playing with v4 and noticed when vehicles are destroyed--especially the choppers and tanks--the smoke isn't as black and climbing as it use to. Is it a problem at my end or was it edited?

[dmarkwick 261]

I know this is probably going to sound really, really, retarded and all, but I figured I'd post. I've been using DM's stuff religously and have been playing with v4 and noticed when vehicles are destroyed--especially the choppers and tanks--the smoke isn't as black and climbing as it use to. Is it a problem at my end or was it edited?

Can you post a screenshot?

[PTV-Jobo 820]

Yeah, sure, I'll jump in and get a screen shot for ya.

[MoS 0]

one little suggestion that could improve at least the "feeling and atmosphere" of arma:

Is it possible to make all weapons throw up more dust? I noticed on a lot of iraq-war videos that there is smoke everywhere during a firefight. Not just from the weapons but also from the bulletimpacts into buildings and ground. Same thing with the guns of the tanks and helicopters. Just a lot more dust that stays also for a longer time would enhance the feeling.

Here some links with lots of smoke (i dunno if its allowed to post direct links so here are just the endings for videos on youtube)

<table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Code Sample </td></tr><tr><td id="CODE">/watch?v=4Mo-Lpa1mTM&NR=1

/watch?v=Qs5bnKNzf9k

[PTV-Jobo 820]

Here's that screen shot as promised.

I could have sworn the smoke was way darker and the plums farther up? I am running other addons/mods with your addon such as:

NWD Ballistics & Scope Fix, OFP Voices replacement, Real M136, 6thSense Pack 1, TrueMods and recently BPA Real Sound Mod as well as XAM

[dmarkwick 261]

I could have sworn the smoke was way darker and the plums farther up? I am running other addons/mods with your addon such as:

NWD Ballistics & Scope Fix, OFP Voices replacement, Real M136, 6thSense Pack 1, TrueMods and recently BPA Real Sound Mod as well as XAM

That's definitely not DMSmokeEffects

Are you using Extended Event Handlers? I would guess you are. I cannot imagine why you don't get those effects.

Do you get any DMSmokeEffects at all? It might make more sense if the entire addon is inactive.

[PTV-Jobo 820]

Well now I'm not sure lol. I have the handlers in a @Mod folder. I might try putting them into my Arma\Addons folder and try. But yeah I'm not getting the goodies I use to enjoy thats for darn sure.

And I'm using goArma's launcher which for me was a bit easier reorganizing certain mods/addons causing me to shuffle them around till something worked. So it's back to shuffling around and pray that it begins to work again....oy.

Edit: Ok, God must be smiling down on me today because I think it's working now:

Don't ask what I did because I have noooooooooooooo clue. lol

[andersson 285]

Can someone please give me a quick and correct comparison of his and armaeffects regarding:

CPU strain?

Realism?

Scope (changes all effects or a few)?

Thank you, whoever you will be.

edit. I have also read that some peolpe are using both, why?

[dmarkwick 261]

Can someone please give me a quick and correct comparison of his and armaeffects regarding:

CPU strain?

Realism?

Scope (changes all effects or a few)?

Thank you, whoever you will be.

edit. I have also read that some peolpe are using both, why?

Broadly speaking andersson, MadMatt's effects changes the default smoke & fire to new settings, while my DMSmokeEffects adds new smoke over the top of the default. There is some amount of blurring of purposes as I have some default effects changes and MaddMatt uses some extra effects, but that's why people use both. They use MaddMatt's to change the default effects to ones they like, and the use mine to layer new smoke over the whole lot.

There's no point comparing CPU cycles between the two as they're not doing the same thing, I'll tell you right now that DMSmokeEffects is more CPU intensive because it's adding lots of new smoke over the existing default smoke.

[andersson 285]

Ok, thank you for the explanation. As I understand it you aim for realism? You want the effects to look as real as possible, not just smoke for the hollywood effect?

Isnt it a bigger strain on the system when applying an effect over an existing effect compared to change the default?

Sorry for all the question, but I want to know more about your effects  

[dmarkwick 261]

Ok, thank you for the explanation. As I understand it you aim for realism? You want the effects to look as real as possible, not just smoke for the hollywood effect?

When I see footage of battlefields, one thing that strikes me is how much smoke there is. All kinds of smoke, from oily black to very light grey, almost white. And of course, burning vehicle do burn for hours, not seconds. So I made this addon to give a sense of huge destruction to battlefields. The smoke goes through several stages from full-on plumes, to reducing down to a smolder, to reducing down to nothing, which also gives a long-lasting game a sense of battlefield history. There's also code in there that makes the smoke react to the weather, so if it starts to get windy, the smoke will be thicker (as it's moving away faster) but last slightly shorter, to maintain the same particle count. Also, during rain the smoke will extinguish slightly quicker, and become paler as it turns to steam.

Isnt it a bigger strain on the system when applying an effect over an existing effect compared to change the default?

Well I also change the default I don't like to have two separate volumes of smoke if I can help it so I try to change the default smoke to match, in movement, the DMSmoke. The fire effects are also changed. Some of these settings are actually based around MaddMatt's settings, so that people won't see wildly different effects during the same game.

Oh, one other thing: my effects are (mostly) only local effects, which means that you'll get all the lovely big smoke in SP, but in MP you'll get the default smoke changes only. This will change in time, but right now it's mostly SP eye-candy.

[wipman 1]

Hi, i've try the B version and seems that lags a bit, and that in

rahmadi; the smoke columns after that a tank blasts off are pimp,

and the way that it's pushed by the wind too, the flames are the

best ones that i ever seen in the OFP or ArmA.

When there's a smoke screen after that a tank gets busted... in

the distance you see it, when you aim with a M24 for see if there's

some OPFOR alive... then the white smoke screen dissapears and

you see the place like always, no smoke at all unless the columns.

I don't know if that's intended or not, it helps when you aim because

it don't lags, but in 1St person view, in the distance lags, at least here. Let's C ya

[dmarkwick 261]

When there's a smoke screen after that a tank gets busted... in

the distance you see it, when you aim with a M24 for see if there's

some OPFOR alive... then the white smoke screen dissapears and

you see the place like always, no smoke at all unless the columns.

That's an ArmA particle scaling bug. It also happens when you get very close to the smoke in 1st person.

[[GLT] Legislator 66]

Hiho Cool addon I'm using it for months now but there is a problem with your latest version:

- I'm using Beta 4.3b of your Smoke Effects, nothing else

- I put the 3 pbo files into a mod folder (DMSmokeEffects.pbo, extended_fired_eventhandlers.pbo, extended_init_eventhandlers.pbo)

When I play a mission on our linux dedicated server I'll get the message that "this mission depends on downloadable content that has been deleted --> Click me. Everything was ok while I used the old version of your mod.

The game doesn't crash, the mission doesn't abort. The smoke effects appear, but maybe the problem appears because of your viewblock!?

By the way we're using queens gambit on the server and it was a queens gambit mission. I recognized the same problem with the error message during a normal arma mission as well.

I uploaded the smoke effects to our server. No success