Moving props / objects

Babyfark McGeez · 2013-10-12, 08:26 AM

Something i only realized just now; There is not a single moving object in this game, only animated textures. Does anyone know if that is another thing this engine can't do right now? It would explain why we don't have doors or elevators...or anything else that moves for that matter.
Also did they add volumes (water, lava, etc.) by now? Does hossin have real water?

Hirvox · 2013-10-12, 08:39 AM

No. Just like the water on Amerish, the water on Hossin is just a plane of water texture that you can pass through without any effects.

Babyfark McGeez · 2013-10-12, 10:01 AM

Thanks for the info.

Sledgecrushr · 2013-10-12, 10:05 AM

Im pretty sure that there are some draw bridges on Hossin.

MrMak · 2013-10-12, 11:25 AM

One of the deves explained it in response to one of the (OVER 9000) questiobn about doors. A moving object like an automated door is technicaly an NPC. NPCs lower the number of players in the area before the server starts having problems.

Still I dont think limited number in key areas would cause any significan issues. Though until lan animated object does somethign that cant be done with energy shields it will probably not happen any time soon.

Ruffdog · 2013-10-12, 11:37 AM

Pretty sure the only thing that moves is the sun.

KarrdeBRBU · 2013-10-12, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by Ruffdog

Pretty sure the only thing that moves is the sun.

That's a shader though (albeit probably a more complicated than average one)

BlaxicanX · 2013-10-12, 01:40 PM

... That is actually mildly disturbing.

I'd never really considered how much they had to sacrifice in order to get this many players on one service. Even with today's technology. That's crazy.

AThreatToYou · 2013-10-12, 02:16 PM

Dropping 10 players from the max for 5 or so doors in a render area would be, well, worth it.

Considering the difference however, I'd say we would need to drop about 120-250 from the max in order to implement 3-5 doors in every base.

I am taking about a wild a guess as a cave-man saying the world is flat.

Sirisian · 2013-10-12, 04:42 PM

There is a rotating radar dish in the sanctuaries. It has no physics on the extended arms and is just a cylinder. On Nexus the same radar exists, but it's no longer rotating.

Babyfark McGeez · 2013-10-12, 05:03 PM

I never noticed the rotating dish, will check it out.

But i did notice that the lack of anything moving is adding to the overall sterile and lifeless feel of the world. This thing needs immersion so badly;

- Emotes (voice macro + animation)
- Moving props
- Real continents (no out of bounds areas)
- A home sanctuary
- Faction related propaganda

If we would have all of the above, i would say, yes, this is a "MMO"-fps.

EDIT: I checked out the (VS) warpgates on all continents, and while there is a radar-like looking installation on indar (not on the other two though), it does not move and is just a simple prop. So once more, there is not a single moving object in this game.

Carbon Copied · 2013-10-12, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by MrMak

One of the deves explained it in response to one of the (OVER 9000) questiobn about doors. A moving object like an automated door is technicaly an NPC. NPCs lower the number of players in the area before the server starts having problems.

Still I dont think limited number in key areas would cause any significan issues. Though until lan animated object does somethign that cant be done with energy shields it will probably not happen any time soon.

The door argument I think is stringy and weak there have to be ways round it like butchering the generator/shield entities and triggers; trigger door control panel (it's only a model change) set up in similar "hack hold use" then the linked "shield" is just more opaque and it maybe fizzles out differently or something.

I'm just curious though how a prop that's animated on a set looped script and requires no interaction with the player be considered an NPC? It's an animated model on a skeleton.

Babyfark McGeez · 2013-10-12, 09:43 PM

VERY good point carbon.

When done like you said there would not even be a prop/mesh involved; A simple texture and two panels on both sides which trigger the "can move through" flag for a set amount of time. Basically slightly modified "mini shield gens" connected to "mini shields".

I also didn't really get the npc argument, maybe something got lost there when the dev tried to simplify it. From a mapping perspective that doesn't really make much sense.

Maybe such a simple, good idea like carbons just didn't occur to the devs? Or their "dumb it down" policy stricly forbids the use of such elaborate elements like doors.

camycamera · 2013-10-12, 09:51 PM

i think that the optimisation patches will very much help to make these things possible with little-to-no sacrifices possible.

but by what carbon said, there would be no problems made by adding doors if we did it like how generators are made.

AThreatToYou · 2013-10-12, 09:52 PM

Doors have to make decisions, checked by the server. In this way, they are NPCs because the door has an AI. It has to make decisions about players in a zone, friendly or enemy, how long no players have been in the zone, whether or not the door is hacked or destroyed or not powered and et cetera. Another huge problem with doors is that they are on the server, and WILL cause desync issues between players.

Other kinds of moving objects, as long as it isn't something that has to make decisions, shouldn't have an AI and thus aren't anything like NPCs.