Spring RTS Engine

I think its about high time some of the mods began making use of large numbers of particle systems. Currently, the only ones I've seen are smoke, but there's so much scope. I mean look at some of the screenshots on the Spring website. Any shot taken from behind an aircraft looks poor because its so flat and boring. What about some trails leading into smoke behind them?

I think we need to take a page out of Supreme Commander's book. Take a look at the usage of particle systems in there, not only for flame trails but also weapon usage.

In addition the smoke trails from the rockets need some work. The leading trail is far too rigid and wooden. It's the way its being modelled at the moment that's the problem.

This is a request to modders, and not just the main designers. It needs improvement. Most people's machines can handle an increased number of particles. I mean at the moment, a commander going off causes only a little lag and that uses a huge number of particles, but apart from that theres only very, very sparse usage.

Instead of balancing and rebalancing and tweaking each mod, then claiming its a highly balanced pack to make people download it (only to make another 10 changes to the balance over a succession of re-releases) try to improve the actual visual quality of the models.

That's my two cents. Please don't flame and I understand that you guys work as hard as you can! I just think that some of the problems I can see with the game (though, not problems - just things not looking as good as they should do) I had to state.

Modders can't do much more than smoke, a short lived yellowish thing and a smoke pillar (and that only very hacky). Spring is VERY hardcoded in that regard.

Bleh, if we controlled particles we could have magic, and sparks, and stuff that owned as much as Argh's flamethrower...

Snipawolf wrote:Bleh, if we controlled particles we could have magic, and sparks, and stuff that owned as much as Argh's flamethrower...

I guess we need to look to the SY's then, eh? Cause I think that that's what we need. At the moment, everything is very... well it sometimes looks like you're playing with glossy cardboard models - as though you cut out a page from a glossy magazine and stuck it onto your unit. It looks OK, but the things that fool people's senses into making them think there's more to a game are the things that introduce elements they cant completely take in.

Will there be dynamic lighting in the next release version? I heard a rumour about that. If that's true, then how about adding a light source to each laser shot or to the back end of an aircraft or a flash out of a gun muzzle?

It would look very cool as the laser shot travels across the ground, lighting it beneath it 'til it reaches its target.

LAG FEST! I don't mind though

What about nanolathes? I remember TA has far more and nicer, shinier particles for them!

yes, because they were rendered as 2x2 pixle blocks over top of the 3D render, you can't get away with that aswell when the view isn't isometric...

same for guns "shooting through eachother" it didn't look bad because the weapons were rendered in a 2D overlay.