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The Improve weather effects card discussion

JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,714
https://trello.com/c/oRGfZ0z8/161-improve-weather-effects

We would like to know how the NWN community expects to use this and how they would expect to use it within the toolset.

Please, provide your feedback in this thread.

Comments

  • NeverwinterWightsNeverwinterWights Member Posts: 339
    @niv talking about walking through fog or a sandstorm got me thinking about possible under water "weather" effects such as plankton floating all around you.
    nivJuliusBorisov
  • Dark_AnsemDark_Ansem Member Posts: 992
    So, my original idea was to have a system more open and "dynamic" (not only because the current system kind of visually is horrible, but also quite limited).
    JuliusBorisov
  • NeverwinterWightsNeverwinterWights Member Posts: 339
    Maybe some seeds/pollen floating around effect (think the movie Legend).
  • GM_ODAGM_ODA Member Posts: 177

    @niv talking about walking through fog or a sandstorm got me thinking about possible under water "weather" effects such as plankton floating all around you.

    Plankton, being tiny, would be visually just 'green fog' perhaps in patchy blobs?

    I would not mind having the ability to scatter non-impactable objects like raindrops/snowflakes in forms that could correspond to 'otherworldly environments', as an example, perhaps we could make it 'snow' on the areas that we call 'astral space' but the snow is some sort of little 'ball lightning' object?

    Doing this with tiny fireballs (lower planes use), or smoking cinders (elemental planes) or tiny whirlwhinds etc. could go a long way toward visually simulating some exotic locations.

    On our server we use weather (scripted) effects for all sorts of things, and having more visuals to work with would be nice.

    JuliusBorisov
  • Dark_AnsemDark_Ansem Member Posts: 992
    GM_ODA said:

    @niv talking about walking through fog or a sandstorm got me thinking about possible under water "weather" effects such as plankton floating all around you.

    Plankton, being tiny, would be visually just 'green fog' perhaps in patchy blobs?

    I would not mind having the ability to scatter non-impactable objects like raindrops/snowflakes in forms that could correspond to 'otherworldly environments', as an example, perhaps we could make it 'snow' on the areas that we call 'astral space' but the snow is some sort of little 'ball lightning' object?

    Doing this with tiny fireballs (lower planes use), or smoking cinders (elemental planes) or tiny whirlwhinds etc. could go a long way toward visually simulating some exotic locations.

    On our server we use weather (scripted) effects for all sorts of things, and having more visuals to work with would be nice.

    So in other words, the possibility of actually changing the VFX while keeping the same effect mechanics? Perhaps being able to alter intensity, speed etc?
  • NeverwinterWightsNeverwinterWights Member Posts: 339
    edited July 2018
    GM_ODA said:



    Plankton, being tiny, would be visually just 'green fog' perhaps in patchy blobs?

    I was referring more to like zooplankton. Some games already add similar underwater effects. Stuff moving all around in the area or in front of the camera.

    Example:




    And the seeds/pollen something like:


  • Grizzled_DwarflordGrizzled_Dwarflord Member Posts: 168
    I think this could be useful to emulate the ambient air in the sacking of a castle, or pillaging of a town, with different smoke colors and embers on the air.
    NeverwinterWightsGM_ODAJuliusBorisov
  • ShadowMShadowM Member Posts: 573
    edited July 2019
    All though particle effects can be done already, the question is can nwn handle large particle effects now with it changes. I would love to get a weather.2da or rain.2da etc.. one so we can have multiple files of rain/snow/fog etc... effects that we can change with scripting on the fly. For example I did release a new rain effect but with ability to change this to other files a module creator could easily have a curse that cause the rain to look like blood or freaky snow that glows etc.. and when the curse is lifted reset to it to default. I ran my sandstorm with nwn ee and it seem to be ok. I thought about making monster tornado effect with AOE and others have made maelstrom / whirlpool for CC. I would love to see BD release a few things related to weather and see how they look.

    Post edited by ShadowM on
    NeverwinterWightsshadguyJuliusBorisovGrymlorde
  • VerilazicVerilazic Member Posts: 20
    I think everyone agrees that new weathers would be great. I would only add that if there were a way to make them based on a new data file type so that people could create custom weathers (along with new graphics), that might be ideal.

    My only other suggestion is: would it be possible to have weather be set on a "per-tile" basis in a given area, rather than as a global setting for the whole area? That's probably a huge change, but thought it'd be worth it to ask.
    DerpCityJuliusBorisovGrymlorde
  • FreshLemonBunFreshLemonBun Member Posts: 909
    Effects like heat shimmer and different styles of mist like low height levels of mist.
    JuliusBorisovGM_ODA
  • JFKJFK Member Posts: 214
    Reading the Trello card makes me think of Toolset things like:

    1. Being able to set direction and speed of moveable weather effects, such as roiling thunderclouds moving across the sky, bolts of lightning striking specified targets, gusts of high wind in specified directions and strengths, torrential downpours in specified trigger areas. Possibly overflowing rivers and streams?
    2. Darkening of the lighting when the sky becomes very overcast, as right before a tornado. Oh, and a tornado, with a designated path (waypoints). Now that we have transformations, the effects of gale force and above winds could be included: knocking over a plant, blowing a hat from a head, swirling leaves, driving snow -- that sort of ambience.

    -JFK
    JuliusBorisovGrymlordeGM_ODA
  • ActionReplayActionReplay Member Posts: 7
    Clouds moving across the sky, with shadows being cast from them.
    Godrays! The forest tileset has this but would be neat to be able to place these out yourself like in caves giving a look of sunlight reaching inside from cracks.
    Ash environmental to be used in volcanic areas.
    Collideable rain particles so rain does not go through roof or cover.
    Dynamic cubemaps if possible. Like have them animate depending on time of day and blend to another cubemap based on area weather.
    Actual dynamic directional light being cast from the sun/moon, also moving based on time of the day.
    Fairy particles like in the forest tileset but have it be placeable for other areas either as a placeable or some new environmental addon.
    Volumetric fog!
    JuliusBorisovGM_ODA
  • GrymlordeGrymlorde Member Posts: 121
    Remember in Baldur's Gate II, when a dawn lighting effect happened at dawn? In NWN we just have night and day effects. I really wish there was a way to handle dusk and dawn so that light can gradually fade out or fade in.

    Also I'd like to be able to roll in fog and roll out fog based on time of day (like San Francisco in the summer).

    Seasons! Man, I'd love to have seasons. Perhaps a .2da to specify the most likely weather conditions. For example, the fog patterns in San Francisco and the Peninsula are different in the winter and the summer.

    And a .2da to set the dawn, day, dusk, and night times, so that we can have different day lengths depending on the time of year.

    Control Weather spell! It'd be so fun for a druid to change the weather on a given tileset!

    How about changing the direction of shadows? As the sun moves overhead, can we have shadows that shorten and lengthen and change direction based on the time of day? And with a setting of equatorial, "normal", and arctic that defines the different angles of the sun? That is, little change in equatorial regions, and huge differences between summer and winter in the arctic/antarctic regions.

    How about a module difficulty switch like DISABLE_SCOLLS_DURING_RAIN to prevent using scrolls when it's raining? Talk about motivation to cast control weather! Or maybe an "umbrella" spell?

    How about % chance of lightning strike for all those fighters & clerics in full plate tromping around during a thunderstorm? Yet another motivation to cast control weather or at least protection from lightning.

    Or an item property and spell effect of summoning storm clouds, rain, snow, lighting, etc.? That way a side effect of using some artifact or relic or epic spell could be the sky darkening?
    SizGM_ODA
  • Dark_AnsemDark_Ansem Member Posts: 992
    Another example: thunderstorm with toggable rain, lighting, thunder, and adjustable visual/sound (intensity, different thunder sounds etc)
    Raduziel
  • Dark_AnsemDark_Ansem Member Posts: 992
    I would also like to add that, as of this patch, weather effects don't work at all.
  • nivniv Member, Moderator, Developer Posts: 410
    @Dark_Ansem I can't repro this. I've created a module with 100% rain and it's showing as expected. Could you elaborate, please?
  • Dark_AnsemDark_Ansem Member Posts: 992
    niv said:

    @Dark_Ansem I can't repro this. I've created a module with 100% rain and it's showing as expected. Could you elaborate, please?

    Basically, I'm creating my area with "Exterior rainy" weather, 100% chance, I'm standing there going around, and nothing happens.
  • nivniv Member, Moderator, Developer Posts: 410
    Yep, same here. Single area, 100% weather chance. Loading into it immediately renders the rain effect and the associated sounds. Can you share your module somehow, please? Feel free to email it to me at niv@beamdog.com if thats easiest for you.
    JuliusBorisovtfox
  • Dark_AnsemDark_Ansem Member Posts: 992
    niv said:

    Yep, same here. Single area, 100% weather chance. Loading into it immediately renders the rain effect and the associated sounds. Can you share your module somehow, please? Feel free to email it to me at niv@beamdog.com if thats easiest for you.

    Will do, thanks.
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