More smoke?

[CharlieReddog]

One of the submissions in a mission I'm making calls for you to search for a wrecked chopper shot down some time before. Now, because of the dynamic nature of it's positioning, it maybe that it's buried deep in some woods in North Sahrani and impossible to see easily.

So, I would like the chopper to burn. For a long time. Nice thick and black and VISIBLE smoke.

The attached below works, but isn't really thick enough or high enough to be really spottable. What can I change to get the effect I want?

Code: [Select]

_obj=_this select 0

_PS = "#particlesource" createVehicleLocal getpos _obj
_ps setParticleCircle [0, [0, 0, 0]];
_ps setParticleRandom [0, [0.5, 0.5, 0], [0.2, 0.2, 0], 0, 0.25, [0, 0, 0, 0.1], 0, 0];
_ps setParticleParams [["\Ca\Data\ParticleEffects\FireAndSmokeAnim\SmokeAnim.p3d", 8, 1, 6], "", "Billboard", 3, 8, [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 4.5], 0, 10, 10.9, 0.5, [4, 12, 20], [[0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.8], [0.25, 0.25, 0.25, 0.5], [0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0]], [0.125], 1, 0, "", "", _obj];
_ps setDropInterval 0.2

[hoz]

Try out Colsanderslite partical generator. It allows you to play with the settings in real time.

[CharlieReddog]

Thanks, but I'm just as lost there as I am changing the params in my code.

Can someone just tell me rather than point me to something equally confusing?

[bedges]

The problem is that particle generation is confusing - questions about particles were always moved to the old Advanced Scripting board, because they are a pain to get right and often involve simply playing with the parameters until you get what you need. The resource linked above will help you do that with the absolute minimum of fuss - which is why he created the resource in the first place. Imagine life before it!

A good start would be to identify the aspects of what you're trying to do in terms of the parameters. You want thick black smoke that's visible from a distance. That means that:

a) the colour values should be around [0,0,0,1] which is fully opaque black
b) the length of time your particles 'live' should be long enough for them to rise a good distance into the air, at least a hundred metres (treeline is approx 30 metres tall)
c) the size of the particles should stay fairly constant, and big - at least a couple of metres wide
d) the number of particles you generate should be pretty high to keep the smoke thick
e) you don't want too much movement because otherwise your smoke particles will drift and dissipate

Armed with those qualities it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to make a decent smoke column using the particle generator.

[Planck]

And of course you can always cheat and view the templates on the Biki, but you wouldn't do that would you?


Planck

[Worldeater]

The smoke columns from the templates are probably to short for your mission. You can stretch them by adjusting some ParticleArray parameters:

- First selectt a number (say 7).
- Multiply the LifeTime by that number
- Divide the AnimationPhase by that number.
- Divide the drop interval by that number.


HTH