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[WxTech]

Over the past couple days or so I've been posting in the Lounge progress reports with screen captures detailing my changes to five of the Command and Control FX objects. Here they are!

This works in my B.A.T. 4.0 game. I don't know about compatibility for non-BAT games. Try it and see.


Get it here:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/avaifewzn5dar2k/%2521_0_CandC_FX_improvements.7z/file

From the included readme file:

Improved FX objects for Command and Control, by WxTech


After trying out the various C&C FX objects, I found issues that I felt could be improved upon. I offer my variations on five of these C&C objects.

I supply here dedicated effects and their resources, so as to eliminate potential conflicts.


CityLights, City lights
-----------------------
- Raise the lights several meters, so that they do not appear half buried
- Ignore map_T pixel RGB; now ALL areas of a map can have this object placed
- No longer place lights on water
- In the .eff, image of glare mostly fills the texture space, size is set to 5m, perspective compensation distance is 1600m, opacity 0.65
- Implement a Gaussian distribution, with a radius of 500m (68% of lights fall with in 1km diameter circle)


Bomb, "Bomb: Simulates large scale bombing raids"
-------------------------------------------------
- GREATLY reduced the number of fires/smokes!!!
- Randomized the size of associated fires
- Made all fires have a smoke column, as opposed to the 25% previously
- Reduced the distance at which the effect initiates
- Removed the dependence on map_T RGB values for fire/smoke
- Randomize and increase power for both effects and destruction, but reduced the range for blast effect
- Removed the dependence on TypeBomber; all planes can now initiate the object
- Increased the areal coverage possible for each group of related bursts, from 40m square to 100m square


Box, Flak barrage
-----------------
- Made it impossible for bursts to occur beneath the surface
- Applied a Gaussian distribution in height
- Reduced the distance at which the effect initiates, from 10km to 5km
- Reduced the range over which the illumination extends


BRG, "Barrage: Explosions over a 1x1km area" (actually, originally limited to a 200m box)
--------------------------------------------
- Reduced distance from plane for activation, from 10km to 6km
- Implemented a Gaussian distribution, with a radius of 200m (68% of bursts occur in a 400m diameter circle)
- Randomized and increased power for both effects and destruction, but reduced the range for blast effect


Fire, City fires
----------------
- Made the particle size random
- Distribute fires as a Gaussian, with a radius of 250m (68% of fires occur inside a circle of 500m diameter)
- Create a larger fire with smoke column for 5% of the fires
- Fires no longer placed on water
- Shortened the effect duration from 600s to 100s so as to control the maximum number of fires; now about 67 after 100s as opposed to ~400 after 600s
- Removed the dependence on TypeBomber; all planes can now initiate the object



CandC$CityLightsUnit.class
  6B8055C65151794E

CandC$BombUnit.class
  AB70ADBCA9105140

CandC$BoxUnit.class
  B430773050D433BA

CandC$BRGUnit.class
  2C3BE90045C3371A

CandC$FireUnit.class
  F13E21DED0DE6DD8



WxTech,
Sept 1, 2023

[genXgamer]

Thanks Glenn

Hope to make use of them in future missions.
Surprised you didn't tweak Storm Front, would of thought it was right up your alley.

[cbradbury]

Hi Glenn,

I'm a bit unsure about how to install this in BAT - what goes where?

Yours,

Clive

[WxTech]

Just drop the folder into #WAW3. Being named with a preceding "!0_" should ensure it sits above any folder containing the same classfiles.

I have only the WAW module in my game. For those who have other modules, like JTW, etc, it might be required to put this in its respective folder as well.

[cbradbury]

Cheers.

[Hans-Joachim Marseille]

Thank you very much for all your worx, Glenn. Highly appreciated.

[WxTech]

I hope someone tries all five of these to confirm that they're behaving correctly. To ensure seeing them in action, fly a bomber (the A-20 is good, as it's maneuverable enough) and where the properties option allows the selection, set to none (no red or blue team dependence.)

[Draken]

Thanks !

[tomoose]

Excellent ideas and thanks for taking the time.
I'm an extensive user of C&C with our HSFX online group.  I don't want to 'break' the C&C mod so is there a way to overlay these specific C&C objects into the existing C&C mod?
thanks.
Tomoose

[WxTech]

I'm not quite sure of what you're asking, moose. These classes replace the very same classes in the stock implementation, and should seamlessly integrate into the whole C&C construct.

Where missions already have present those FX for which I've adopted a Gaussian distribution, you'll find that now the coverage will likely be somewhat more extensive. Where I've dispensed with a dependence on limiting to City0 to City3 map texture slots, again there will likely be some increased areal coverage.

I should point out for users of stock effects in general. My couple of smoke effects here are patterned after my own scheme, and their behavior will likely be different. Probably more obviously, they will not rise ever more rapidly upward.

[tomoose]

WxTech;
ackd.  I'm just used to plonking the C&C folder into the Mods folder and that's it.  I haven't manipulated anything 'within' C&C if you get my meaning not having looked under the hood of the folder itself.  Copy/paste folder, done. 

[WxTech]

As long as a mod folder containing resources (classes, meshes, textures,catch.,  etc.,) resides above any folder(s) containing the same resources to be replaced, all should be fine. Assuming basic compatibility, of course.

In BAT 4.0, the stock C&C classfiles are located in folder, [Classes-ObjectsOther].