Re-written Non-Linear Blending Tutorial Status

(WolfWings) #1

First Cut

Lacking graphics and formatting still, as the machine I have available to use GtkRadiant on only has 128MB of memory… so I can’t load SaberPeak reasonably to tinker with it just yet as a nice base for comparison screenshots of this technique.

Final layout will look a lot like sock’s structure for Articles, but I wanted to get impressions on the textual content of the article as it stands now, as I’ve had delays due to work and personal injuries (sliced the tip of my left middle finger about half-way off, 3 stiches and a band-aid holding it on and closed now) preventing me from working on the Article much, and I didn’t want folks to think it was abandoned.

(ratty redemption) #2

@WolfWings, first off, when you talk about the “newly-discovered capabilities built into all Q3-engine games” I really think you should credit ydnar, rgoer and myself, and in future other people should also credit you for helping to further develop this technology.

and in linear blend articles, I think we should also mention NOP`s part in helping first test the alphamod volume blending with me, as that inspired me to further develop my soft edge water using the linear blending.

2nd, I had to read through some of it twice, but I think I understand all of your tutorial now, except the use of the $ symbols on the .tga texture mapping lines? …I know it is used with lightmaps and internally generated whiteimages, but what`s the reason for using them on the .tga lines?

and other then the bold main text, which hopefully your remove when properly formatted, I really like the wording and proposed presentation of your tutorial, and would be happy for you to write up, create any web based ones of mine in the future, if you had the time and were happy to?

saying that, work on my own tutorials is on hold while I deal with some serious real life stuff, which is preventing me from getting any mapping done atm, but time allowing in the future, I dont lack motivation for helping develop the technology, although I dont think my chaotic form of note making compares well with a well presented tutorial, hence my suggesting on working with you on that side, plus we`d surely develop the technology better, working side by side?

(WolfWings) #3

I was trying to avoid layering a dozen names in the introductory paragraph, actually. laughs Yes, a LOT of people got us here, but I thought better to build a ‘credits’ section of my website detailing people and what they’ve helped accomplish, than to explian it in every single article that references or builds on work they’ve done, since I’m planning on building a series of 4 based around non-linear blending just to start with.

The $texture bit I have no excuse for though. I’ve no idea how I missed that. =O.o=

And the ‘main bold’ text will be very much gone once a .CSS file is associated with the .HTML one, among other formatting and style adjustments I’ll be making then. It’s still only ‘marked out’ with H1, H2, and H3 tags so I can box up the text easilly once I move it to the final layout. Somewhat akin to what a pre-FP version of a map looks like, with the areas boxed off and rough hewn, no textures applied anywhere, etc. I built .HTML similairly.

But yes, time (and fingers!) allowing, I’d love to finish designing the related articles I already have mentally sketched out:
2) Blends (Linear and Non) for Water and Volumes (AlphaMod water, etc.)
3a) Sharp vs Soft Non-Linear Blends (This one’s easy. AlphaFunc or BlendFunc, more or less.)
3b) Adding Lightstyles to Non-Linear Blends (Explaining why you and how to use non-linear blends with lightstyles.)

The numbering is just a mental idea, since 3b really ‘builds on’ the ideas from 3a, and restructures the shaders presented in 3a to move the lightmap stage to the top, nothing more. 3a explains how BlendFunc and AlphaFunc are fairly interchangable, and what the visual differences are. 2 does what it says, shows how to taper the edges of a volume, for things like water, as well as how to (ab)use non-linear blending tricks to add a subtle movement to the edges without resorting to deformVertexes, since that can interact badly with alphaMod water.

(ratty redemption) #4

I thought better to build a ‘credits’ section of my website detailing people and what they’ve helped accomplish, than to explian it in every single article that references or builds on work they’ve done, since I’m planning on building a series of 4 based around non-linear blending just to start with.

understood and good idea :slight_smile:

np about the shader syntax error, at least we spotted it early on… and cool about article formatting, although I didnt really understand the html stuff you mention as Im a complete n00b when it comes to that.

as for your other, proposed tutorials, they do sound cool, and Im happy to help go over the tech side with you ...not that you need my help, but two of us are more likely to catch any bugs, syntax errors or inefficient construction methods were using… would you agree? :slight_smile:

just one thing I would change in your sentence “shows how to taper the edges of a volume…” I prefer the term “fading”

and I can show you in private my rough notes, and pics I have for the 3rd part of the original blend tutorial I was working on, and the new ones Ill take for the next tutorial, and if you have time you can release them to the public in a more presentable form, since admittedly that is a side I know Im not very good at and currently don`t have time to spend on.

also this makes more sense to me as your going to be one of the private testers of the mml terrain maps I`m helping Gerbil with, so again with your help, we can hopefully use the best available construction methods for those maps :slight_smile:

(WolfWings) #5

Yeah, ‘fading’ makes more sense.

As for the tech side, you’re welcome to explain things in a rough way if you want to e-mail me whatever you’ve worked out roughly so far.

wolfwings@gmail.com

I’ve figured out most of the previously-listed tutorials pretty throughly though from the tech side, since once I got the basic idea (non-linear blending) in my head, I was able to think of all sorts of interesting and useful ways to apply the technique. :slight_smile: Some of them will go into rather complex shaders though, so they’ll be limited-use at best since you can’t apply a 5-pass shader everywhere, but in small areas it can add some very nice visual touches. =^.^=

Now if I can just get videoMap shaders to work right on complex surfaces all the time, I could make some really impressive water to show off with very high-detail caustics. Will have to test them under ET, and hope they work better there.

But to answer your question, yes, I’d be more than happy to use your graphics and notes to build tutorials from, if you’d like. Right now I was going to use the recently-posted SaberPeak terrain map to build screenshots from, but it’s indexmap-based so it’s just too big a pain in the arse to so much as look at, let alone re-use. =-.-= All I really need is a decent chunk of grass/rock/snow terrain that has the terrain touching in all three combinations, so I can show the different blendings and how they look together and seperately.

Anyways, yeah, here’s to hoping we’ll be able to get Gerbil’s MML maps looking better than anything to date! :smiley:

(ratty redemption) #6

understood, and a bit of a shame you probably wont be using NOPs saberpeak map as reference now, but it would make more sense for us to use maps we`ve made.

and Gerbil is very open to the idea of me testing terrain brush construction and blending in our maps, as long as he gives approval before any final versions are released, and he trusts me to not keep in effects that don`t look as good as previous effects or ones that heavily impact on frame rate.

actually some of his concept ideas for other ways to add details to the terrain maps might interest you, at least from a technical pov, although I shouldnt reallly discuss these in public, so Ill pm or email you over the next few days if I`m not too busy.

(WolfWings) #7

I may use a segment of the saberpeak map, if I can ever even get the map to load in-game. Unfortunately, I’m stuck on a 128MB machine that’s running WinXP, so I can’t even load the map in ET, and it barely loads in GtkRadiant after about 3-4 minutes of waiting. =^.6=

And no, the machine isn’t mine, it’s a house-mate’s that I have a login on. My machine is a dual-Athlon I keep at a co-lo for $10/month. :slight_smile:

(ratty redemption) #8

understood and I knew your own machine was more powerful, otherwise offering to host a test server for Gerbils maps would be a little silly on the low spec machine your currently using :wink: