Smoke grenade cover improvements

[calo_mir 10]

Currently, smoke grenades can be easily rendered useless as cover:

Smoke grenades do not block view if you're standing right on top of

them. I believe what happens is that individual puffs of smoke are

culled from the viewport when the player gets too close. This means

you can happily run up to an active grenade and see pretty clearly

in all directions.

What should probably happen is essentially a screen tint/overlay the

same hue as the grenade smoke that increases in opacity the closer

the player gets to an active grenade. Smoke obviously spreads and

dissipates the longer the grenade is active so the opacity level should

probably be calculated based on proximity to the smoke and the length of

time the grenade has been active.

A grenade that's been active only a second or so would produce no

opacity at high distance and high opacity at very low distance.

A grenade that's been active long enough to reach "peak" output (that

is, maximum smoke spread/volume) would produce moderate opacity at high

distance and maximum opacity at moderate range - meaning that you'd be

practically blind standing in the smoke near the grenade but would regain

sight as you stepped further away from the grenade, simulating the dispersal

of smoke in the atmosphere.

I hope I'm not being completely incomprehensible.

This may already be possible to implement using the new "screen effects"

features that I know almost nothing about.

Having just sat and written this, I've realized that this could probably be

applied to any smoke-producing explosion (to create an effect similar to

the visibility obscuring clouds of dust created in OpF2).

Ideas welcome.

[calo_mir 10]

So, er, nobody has any thoughts on this then?

You lot actually satisfied with the smoke grenades?

[Apocal 10]

Smoke is broken in 1.03. 1.04 should fix it.

---------- Post added at 04:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:55 AM ----------

Now, that being said, I think smoke could use a thorough look in the game, albeit in my I have a problem with arty obscurants (WP/Smoke) and the lack of differentation between the two. WP is pretty quick to build, pretty much *boom* smoke, but it doesn't last long, maybe a minute or two. Base-discharging smoke takes time to build but it lasts quite a bit longer.

[calo_mir 10]

I'm actually using the 1.03 beta for regular play so the broken smoke isn't the issue. The issue for me is that I can completely negate the effects of smoke by running up to the active grenade. I'm close enough to the point of emission for smoke particles to be completely covered from the outside but able to see out and around myself without trouble.

In effect, the person who threw a smoke grenade to conceal themselves just made it much easier for me to conceal myself from them and no more difficult for me to see them.

---------- Post added at 04:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:53 AM ----------

Finally got round to installing fraps, so I'll put some pictures up of the effect later.

[-=Firewall=- 10]

If you fire your smokelauncher in a tank battle, the enemy wont loose his target, despite the tank is completely covered by the smoke. It works only if you fire the smokelauncher before the enemy could see you.

I also had a LAV witch fired his smokelauncher but was also capable to fire exactely trough the smoke on the enmey.

By the way, have you also noticed, that the smokelauncher of the AAVP doesn't work?

[calo_mir 10]

The AI may still fire where it knew the target was, even with a giant cloud of smoke in front of them. This is pretty sensible behaviour. You might want to test in the editor if it'll follow the movements of units that should be obscured (in other words, run away and behind a building, making sure you stay obscured by the smoke).

[Apocal 10]

By the way, have you also noticed, that the smokelauncher of the AAVP doesn't work?

It was working for me a minute ago. Dedicated server.

[calo_mir 10]

http://dev-heaven.net/issues/show/3995

---------- Post added at 09:34 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:22 AM ----------

Approaching grenade.

Close to column of smoke.

Standing inside column of smoke and looking at live grenade shows that smoke is being culled from view (I should have a face full of smoke and not be able to see anything).

Standing inside column of smoke and looking around. I can see out - nobody else can see in!

---------- Post added at 09:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:34 AM ----------

Try it yourself.

[-=Firewall=- 10]

It was working for me a minute ago. Dedicated server.

Really? I tryed it right now, and there was no smoke. It works with the LAV and so on...

@calo_mir

May be..., but I had a test, where I had a T72 which fires the Smokelauncher immediately after the start of the game. Then I drove my M1 in a 90° angle away, but the T72 hit my M1. After few seconds of driving the Tank should missed me if it was still aiming to the last known position of me before he was covered by smoke. I know that the smoke does not work properly after Patch 1.03, but the first test was with 1.02....

Would be good it it would work. :)

[PTV-Jobo 724]

Yeah that's one of the few things I liked when playing America's Army back in the day, the smoke grenades seemed to do a nice job. Throw a few down and you got a crap load of smoke to cover movements, etc for a bit.

[dmarkwick 259]

Is this phenomena related to the particle scaling bug I raised earlier in the year?

[sbsmac 0]

I just voted for it. One of the best improvements in Arma2 (IMHO) is that smoke grenades were actually a reasonably lag-free way of providing cover. Would be good to see them sorted out properly.

[calo_mir 10]

Is this phenomena related to the particle scaling bug I raised earlier in the year?

Someone on the bug tracker seems to think so...