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Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - Printable Version

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+---- Thread: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users (/showthread.php?tid=74731)


Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - lowfighter - 25.03.2012

With the wealth of new effects mods (smoke,light, explosions etc) perhaps some of the mod creators can explain how to finetune certain mod parameters, namely those which can be changed by simple notepad editing and image manipulation. Myself I know some very basic changes you can do but it would be great if someone which really worked on these mods to teach us what can a user change by notepad editing and image manipulation.
A user can then personalize to some extent the mods he downloaded..
Also some of the effects parameters can be tweaked in case a user have PC performance issues with the original mod(s) he downloaded or got as a package...
Thanks in advance Big Grin

Re: Please help the users to tweak effects mods: - stuka_40 - 25.03.2012

Hi!
The file/files that you can change with notpad is/are. eff files for more information and details see here:
http://allaircraftsimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=29391&p=359389&hilit=EmitVelocity#p359389
scroll down until you see the yellow lines in post where I have explained all parametrs in . eff file in detail. The textures you can edit or change as
you want.

Re: Please help the users to tweak effects mods: - lowfighter - 25.03.2012

Thanks stuka!
Next days I'll come with some specific questions related to different parameters in the .eff files.



stuka_40 Wrote:Hi!
The file/files that you can change with notpad is/are. eff files for more information and details see here:
http://allaircraftsimulations.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=29391&p=359389&hilit=EmitVelocity#p359389
scroll down until you see the yellow lines in post where I have explained all parametrs in . eff file in detail. The textures you can edit or change as
you want.


Re: Please help the users to tweak effects mods: - lowfighter - 28.03.2012

So here's a first question
The file tankdyingsmoke.eff controls the smoke of a tank which was destroyed. Stuka's mod tankdyingsmoke.eff looks like (this mod is a beauty 8) 8) 8) )

[ClassInfo]
ClassName TSmokeSpiralParams
[General]
MatName vas_Smoke.mat
Color0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.60
Color1 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.0
nParticles 120.0
FinishTime -1.0
MaxR 160.0
PhiN 0.40
PsiN 0.30
LiveTime 8.0
EmitVelocity 12.0 14.0
EmitTheta 12.0 360.0
EmitFrq 10.0
Wind 1.0
Size 7.0 55.0
GasResist 0.10
VertAccel 10.0
Rnd 0.5


As it is in the mod the destroyed tank smoke will last forever. If I change for example
FinishTime -1.0 to FinishTime 1234.0 then the smoke will last for 1234 seconds and then vanish. This can be a good think when you play very ground-intensive missions like I do (or I did, nw I have very little time :mrgreen: ). Anyone can just tune this and similar parameters for planedyingsmoke cardyingsmoke etc. This is explained in the link Stuka gave just above. I thought it's good to explainin more detail.

Now for my first question:
I would like to decrease a bit JUST the height of the tank smoke. Is it possibe to do it just by changing some other parameter in this file? I tried but I didn't succeed...

Re: Please help the users to tweak effects mods: - stuka_40 - 28.03.2012

Yes,in 3 ways, or you have to change all 3 parameters, it depends on how you want it!
1. "LiveTime " parameter it says -->particles lifetime in s (seconds). if you decrase it we say from 8.0 to 2.0 the particles will disappear faster and the smoke height will bi decreased but it may cause that the effect may look strange, so you may change other parameters too!(don't change many parameters at the sametime, only one parameter and then check the effect).
2. You can decrese "VertAccel" too from 10.0 to 4.0 or 5.0 (this will make smoke hight shorter too)
3. or increse "GasResist " this will compress particles more and the smoke will be shorter.
It all depends on how you want your effect should look like.
The hardest thing is to learn how the different parameters interact with each other.
These changes (in all required parameters) must be in a way that the whole effect looks normal but shorter.
Remember as i said " To manipulate all these parameters which are in connection to each other, is very time consuming..."


Re: Please help the users to tweak effects mods: - lowfighter - 28.03.2012

Thanks a lot Stuka! Very clear explanations, I'll experiment with it Big Grin

Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - Fireskull - 28.03.2012

Hi, lowfighter and stuka_40 Smile

The subject and the answers are so good that I made this a Sticky Topic.

Thank you Smile


Fireskull

Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - lowfighter - 02.05.2012

Thanks Fireskull!
Hope some will contribute from time to time..
I managed to change fire/smoke sizes for my tanks by changing those parameters but it's not straightforward, exactly as Stuka_40 warned :mrgreen:

A question about the craters. Stuka_40, your craters are lasting throughout the mission. Any possibility for me to tune the craters to disappear let's say after 10-15 minutes? I have some very intensive tank-artillery scenery missions and after a while the concentration of craters is so high in some zones that when I fly over I get pretty bad FramesPerSecond.. Of course if not possible I'll try to tune down those missions... I would of course use the long lasting craters for the less PC demanding missions Big Grin
It would be really nice to have different variants of the effects parameters which you could switch depending on how heavy or light the mission is on the ground.

Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - stuka_40 - 02.05.2012

Hi lowfighter!
Yes you can do it by editing Explosions.class file.

Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - lowfighter - 02.05.2012

I don't know how to do that :oops:

Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - stuka_40 - 02.05.2012

lowfighter Wrote:I don't know how to do that :oops:
well ,if you dig here in the forum or in SAS you can get the necessary tools and learn the basics.
the tools you need are" DJ Java Decompiler 3.10" google for it and
"Java™ 2 SDK, Standard Edition 1.3.1_20" download here Arrow
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javasebusiness/downloads/java-archive-downloads-javase13-419413.html#j2sdk-1.3.1_20-oth-JPR
Observera! that you must use this version av java (Edition 1.3.1_20) other will not work, i don't
use it with win7, i use it with winxp if it will work with win7 or not you must investigate yourself.

Then go here http://www.horstmann.com/bigj/help/compiler/tutorial.html and read this section Arrow
Appendix 1: Installing the JDK on Windows for what you have to do after installation, and do as it says, remember that it explains fo an other version of java than you have installed, so when you do changes in "EnvironmentVariables" you must write your versions number and Path.

Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - lowfighter - 03.05.2012

Thanks again Stuka! I'll try when I had some time Big Grin

Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - santobr - 03.05.2012

You can control the craters when editing the mission in FMB. :wink:
Configure>Craters



santobr.

Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - lowfighter - 20.05.2012

Santobr, Is this a feature of stock il2 or it comes with some mod (or is included in some mod megapack)?
I'm not using any of the megapacks like ultrapack hsfx etc. Most of the mods I have are individual downloads.
santobr Wrote:You can control the craters when editing the mission in FMB. :wink:
Configure>Craters



santobr.


Re: Tweak effects mods: Please help the users - skyomish - 23.05.2012

Its part of the stock game in FMB.