Spring RTS Engine

smoth wrote:would you say that this newer lua based method is more fps efficient?

It depends on the usage. Lua itself is very slow, so it is impossible to handle each single particle on the cpu (as the engine it does), instead it uses static display lists and runs a shader on it. So a modern GPU (~7600) is able to render >70k particles in realtime. The only problem is when you create many effects, each would be handled seperatly in lua (more cpu work) and slows down the whole rendering. Additional, LUPS doesn't z-sort the effects yet, instead it has a layer tag, so you need 2-3 layers for a fire effect (i.e. one for the core, one for the corona/flame and one for the black smoke).
In the case of fire it depends on the emitter, if it is static (doesn't change its pos like buildings) and its target doesn't move (i.e. it doesn't try to target a moving unit) I can write a special (self-repeating) class, which would be use only 2-3 effects per unit (more than one 'cos you still need multiple layers).
In the case of moving units (as the current fire effect in CA), you would have to update the emiter pos. But 'cos LUPS uses a display list you can't emit a new particle from a different point (you only can move the whole effect). To do so you would need to save all particle's positions somewhere accessable from the shader (-> float texture), this is what the "100k particles engine" did. But we don't have something like that in LUPS, so we have to emit new effects in any interval (->remember, LUPS becomes slower the more effects you use).

Finally, LUPS isn't ideal to render fire effects atm, but it supports a lot of things the engine doesn't and some most haves for fire effects (particle/effect rotation, runs unsynced, you don't need to restart spring if you want to test a modified effect, a lot of sphere and bursts classes, santa hats , ..).

ralphie wrote:I like this mod. Kbots not sucking is nice. But...

Realising i'm not the first to say this, having to update every time you want to play is incredibly annoying, and probably quite off putting to all but the hardcore.

Can't you guys just work out a simple system such as "ok next revision we do this, this, this and this" then do it all at once, instead of insignificant revisions hourly.

Whine over

nooo we're lovin the daily improvements. please keep going. this mod is really damn good. if only more people tried it (and Spring was easier to setup etc.) could have millions of players, i think.

P.S. sorry neddiedrow
i'm trying to think of something useful to say but CA team keep reading my mind and fixing things before i can ask
ok fire should probably be repairable by a standard repair, but you can make it take ages so its not very practical to keep up with :p
this is not sim city though.

You're right.

This is not Sim City.

THIS IS ANNIHILATION!

For some reason CA runs a bit smoother than BA. I simple cannot play speedmetal BAs, I start to lag in just 5 minutes.

Shh don't taint CA with this pox!

I think the daily update is neat, you update as you log on and then you have the very latest version with the latest exploits nerfed and new lua bling and effects appearing all the time. its the closest thing you can get to proper mod support in spring. if you dont like it because it takes eight seconds longer to fire up, then you should probably be sticking to fps anyway

I think the fact that there is no progress bar makes it frustrating. When there is a bigger update, it looks like the installer locked. The work in progress version already has the progress bar.

AntiElite wrote:For some reason CA runs a bit smoother than BA. I simple cannot play speedmetal BAs, I start to lag in just 5 minutes.

im not sure wheter to think this as a positive or negative remark

CA has more effects, but usually there are less units on the map and thus the mod lags less.

actually, I think its the nano particles.

Machiosabre wrote:actually, I think its the nano particles.

True. When ppl build a line of 20 nano builders in BA my CPU usage goes crazy.

SM and SB suck, yeah, it lags here because of spam.

The way to put out fire at the moment is just to repair the unit and wait until it burns out. Fire does damage so slowly that you can repair much faster than it.

Perhaps we need impulse water cannons :D (though the damage from the impulse would be far higher than that of just letting the fire burn).

i want arm commander to turn into firetruck

zomg

transformers

I cant see the fire...how come?
I do see the flame that units "shoot" but im not seing building burn although I do see them loose hp

as far as i know u need lups on for flame effects

It's temporarily disabled, until we optimize the effect more.

add critical hits

Edit: nevermind

i would like to ask if there is anyone experiencing huge fps hit when more than single nuke hit 'nearly' identical area?

cards i noticed it on are x1950 pro/xt, x2600pro/xt, x1650pro/xt, 8600 and 8800gt