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New dev blog: Re-inventing trails

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Aineko Macx
#121 - 2011-11-25 22:01:55 UTC
Could you please increase the maximum camera distance at which the trails are still shown? Currently you have to fairly near to be able to see them.

Awesome™ work! Big smile

iveeCore 3.0: The PHP engine for industrial activities and CREST library
Bloodpetal
Tir Capital Management Group
#122 - 2011-11-25 22:09:59 UTC


FREAKING awesome!


Very excited to see this in action!

Where I am.
T'amber Anomandari Demaleon
#123 - 2011-11-25 22:21:05 UTC
i had absolutely no idea it was that easy

Twisted

www.shipsofeve.com
Dareth Meroul
OMRE
#124 - 2011-11-25 22:33:41 UTC
I love the new trails. Playing on Singularity a bit, I'd have to say the new trails are nicer than the old ones; none of that trail breaking, or sharp bending that there used to be. Glad to see their return!

One suggestion:
When piloting something fast and turning quickly, such as when orbiting close-in, there's a strange-looking disconnect between the engine plume and the engine trails, since the plume remains straight. Perhaps a bit of a straightening bias in the engine trails near their point of origin at the ship could be added? That, or allowing the plume to angle slightly in response to high speeds, though that seems less ideal than the other. Although, a combination of both might be interesting as well...

Anyway, that's what I immediately thought of, as far as refinements go, when playing on Sisi.
Dareth Meroul
OMRE
#125 - 2011-11-25 22:35:10 UTC
Crucis Cassiopeiae wrote:
One question...
is it possible to use this technique for some other effects in game???
so that strip miners and other "rays" don't look like 4 crossed planes...
Agreed, and: yes please.


PinkKnife wrote:
Since trails doesn't make sense on slow moving capitals, what about an engine wake? Maybe something like a slow pulse effect around them? Something to make those giant engines seem more massive when a freighter flys by you.
Indeed! I can agree that trails don't make sense for slow moving ships, but a gravimetric-wake effect (or something similar) would be appropriate and cool for massive ships and large engines... if feasible.


AndrewNardella wrote:
Now increase the speed of ships while on grid and in warp. (this would have minimal if not zero effect on gameplay) The way ships move now while in warp feels weak and tame. Needs to be more like this http://youtu.be/sHyy6F_GgsM (tho I find that a little too fast)
Yeah... I can't agree with this. You're comparing the experience of seeing a warp-off from a stationary position (an outside observer's point of view) to the experience we have from within the warp. It seems quite fast to me as it is, though obviously it's not instant, as there's some acceleration. Also, these two represent two very different styles (and mechanics, for that matter) of warp and different sorts of ships, so they don't directly compare that well.
Lors Dornick
Kallisti Industries
#126 - 2011-11-25 22:50:45 UTC
CCP Guard wrote:
Buzzmong wrote:
It's seeing math like that and the outcome of its application that makes me realise my degree is Comp Sci is near useless and I have a very very long way to go until I'll even be a mearly capable games programmer.

Very nice work CCP Mankiller. Do you have a bree (beer) fund? You deserve contributions!


Our collective beer fund can be found here:

https://secure.eveonline.com/

Blink


Ah, but many of us like our devs (in whatever shape or form, aka employees), but we're still wary of your bosses ;)

We need a trusted Plex for Beer campaign.

Chribba, another job for you? ;)

CCP Greyscale: As to starbases, we agree it's pretty terrible, but we don't want to delay the entire release just for this one factor.
DarkAegix
Center for Advanced Studies
Gallente Federation
#127 - 2011-11-25 22:54:41 UTC
Are you a wizard?
Haravar
Starscape LLC
#128 - 2011-11-25 23:00:27 UTC
Logan LaMort wrote:
I only remember two things from when I started playing EVE, pleasure hubs and engine trails.

Pleased beyond reason to see them back, definitely would appreciate future improvements to their look and effect as they are a little bit plain right now. Never the less, awesome stuff! Big smile


I won't lie, I got similar memories of my early gaming. Wish pleasure hub would come back, that was one of my favorite spinning environements, so active.

Very nice work on the engine trails CCP Mankiller! It's nice to see some seriously epic graphics, and more importantly the creative method for effecting them.
Ishanmae
Deep Core Mining Inc.
Caldari State
#129 - 2011-11-25 23:01:03 UTC
Great job!
XY Zed
#130 - 2011-11-25 23:15:00 UTC
Cool blog, I would also love to see a blog about how the gates were aligned.
Chaos Incarnate
Faceless Logistics
#131 - 2011-11-25 23:20:59 UTC
I'd like to take the time to approve of the return of engine trails and support future improvements/visual upgrades thereof. Cool
zcar300
SERCO Group
#132 - 2011-11-25 23:28:51 UTC
Sweet. Keep up the good work.


I love all the small improvements that are coming out this expansion!!!!
Louis deGuerre
The Dark Tribe
#133 - 2011-11-26 00:01:03 UTC
You're my new favourite dev.
Deviana Sevidon
Jades Falcon Guards
#134 - 2011-11-26 00:01:35 UTC
I never really missed the old engine trails and I have to say that they make EVE look too comic-like.

Fortunaly there is the option to turn them off.

....as if 10,058 Goon voices cried out and were suddenly silenced.
Morbid Man
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#135 - 2011-11-26 00:20:15 UTC
i like all the changes you guys are making, but i do have one question.

What about, "The Door."? Are you guys still working on allowing chars to walk around the station or have you stopped that work?
Sirius Cassiopeiae
Perkone
Caldari State
#136 - 2011-11-26 00:33:32 UTC
Morbid Man wrote:
i like all the changes you guys are making, but i do have one question.

What about, "The Door."? Are you guys still working on allowing chars to walk around the station or have you stopped that work?



SIGNED
Palovana
Inner Fire Inc.
#137 - 2011-11-26 00:40:55 UTC
CCP Mankiller wrote:
Schnoo wrote:
will missiles be included?


First investigate trails on drones, then missiles.

The length of a trail scales with speed, but the radius scales with the ship's size. Ah, and trails only kick in when you go faster than 150.... (Trails on slow capitals just doesn't make any sense)

WTB trails for my Maserati.
It does 185, you know.

Please support: export of settings in editable format

Your stuff goes here.
Lord FunkyMunky
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#138 - 2011-11-26 00:42:24 UTC
awesome dev blog...

and "Of course there is always more. Some animation on the trails, adding light absorption, refraction, etc. I would like to spend more time on the trails, so if you guys appreciate the new trails I might get the time I need to do all of this…"

for the love of god yes, this is what you need to do CCP needs to continue to incrimentally improve on things, i mean don't burn months on it but put in some time to improve it even a little between expansions
Lord FunkyMunky
School of Applied Knowledge
Caldari State
#139 - 2011-11-26 00:43:53 UTC
Dareth Meroul wrote:
Crucis Cassiopeiae wrote:
One question...
is it possible to use this technique for some other effects in game???
so that strip miners and other "rays" don't look like 4 crossed planes...
Agreed, and: yes please.


PinkKnife wrote:
Since trails doesn't make sense on slow moving capitals, what about an engine wake? Maybe something like a slow pulse effect around them? Something to make those giant engines seem more massive when a freighter flys by you.
Indeed! I can agree that trails don't make sense for slow moving ships, but a gravimetric-wake effect (or something similar) would be appropriate and cool for massive ships and large engines... if feasible.


AND ALL OF THE ABOVE!@
joomla alacard
Indifferent Bastards
#140 - 2011-11-26 01:04:05 UTC  |  Edited by: joomla alacard
CCP Mankiller wrote:
You can turn off the trails in the options menu, if you want....

The length of the trail is directly proportional to the ship's speed.

And we'll see what else we can use this tech for: lasers? maybe...


Having trails of different colors for certain types of ammo the projectile and hybrid guns fire would be cool too. Depending on orbit speed and fire rate, you could "draw" what would look like a short chain of (deadly) RNA in space, around a stationary target!

Also; I know it (seems like it) would be computationally more expensive, but if the idea of rendering as particles was used, wouldn't it be (programmatically) simpler to, say, allow ships flying through a trail to affect the trail by dispersing the particles comprising it in accordance which its bounding (sphere?) area and vector? As they look now, the trails look really neat!

EDIT: Of course, having the server(s) calculate this (particle rendering) for every trail/ship on a grid *probably* isn't the best thing, but it would be cool as a client-side advanced graphical option. That seems do-able.