Author Topic: Underground lighting and sound problem. (Read 5118 times)

RHK · February 19, 2012, 09:13:12 PM

I have an underground bunker. How do I keep the mission lighting from penetrating the ground? (bunker needs to be dark).
Also, I need to turn the rain/lightning volume down for the players inside.

edit - If I need to use portals for the lighting seperation, I kind of need help on that.

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Wesley Williams · February 20, 2012, 12:34:56 PM

That's pretty advanced stuff, and I would recommend just forgetting about it because you won't be able to use your map much longer anyways. However, if you really want to try this, I would suggest using negative lights inside the bunker (with or without ME). But for the sound problem, you'd probably need to use a zone or trigger, I'm not positive on that one. Look in other maps to find such scripts, unless you already know how to script for BL maps.

RHK · February 21, 2012, 10:08:37 AM

My programming experience is from the old days - asm/pascal. I decided to learn Torque script because my kid plays Blockland. That, and I'm having fun with the scripting side of the game.
Won't be able to use my map anymore soon? Please elaborate.
As for negative lighting - no. That wouldn't be how you do it.

Thorax · February 21, 2012, 02:16:15 PM

Quote from: RHK on February 21, 2012, 10:08:37 AM

Won't be able to use my map anymore soon? Please elaborate.

Quote from: kompressor on February 05, 2012, 04:27:24 PM

Hello Blockland Users!

We�ve been hard at work the last few months on a some big updates to Blockland:

_{(Full size versions at bottom of post.)}

That�s right: shadows (and shaders).

You thought it couldn't be done... but here it is!

In order to make all this possible, though, we need to kill two old, slow features in Blockland: interiors and terrains.

These two features complicate Blockland�s code tremendously. That means we can�t add game features very quickly. They still have bugs in them (after years of work). They are slow, too - bricks are about 90% of their speed and can do a LOT more (explosions, events, in-game editing).

They also look bad:

They looked great in 1999, but it is 2012 now. It�s time to move forward.

We are going to remove interiors and terrain in an upcoming release. Every "map" will be like Slate, ie, with one big ground plane. If you want the bedroom, load The Bedroom build. If you want a city, build one out of bricks. If you want the kitchen, I bet there is a build of that knocking around, too.

That�s what this thread is about - to let you know where we are going with Blockland, and to talk about these changes. The Blockland community is a big part of what has made Blockland successful - we want your feedback. If you have a great use for interiors or terrain that blocks can�t do, please bring it up so we can see if there�s a way to help you get the same mileage with the new system. If you think shadows are cool, we�d love to hear that, too.

Here is the list of questions I DON�T want to see asked over and over:
"But my computer can�t run shaders/is lame and slow/has broken drivers!" Get a new video card, even a $20 lame-o ATI or nVidia video card can run Blockland very well these days. BUT - you can turn shaders off, and the game will run and look as good as it ever has.
"I am frightened by change/old bricks looked fine/interiors and terrains look better than bricks." You�re wrong. There are reasons to like the interior/terrain renderers but visual quality is not one of them. If you want to make this argument, post beautiful screenshots that look better than shaderized bricks, NOT essays.
"But everyone can build! I won�t be special if I can�t make interiors or terrains." Tough, make cool stuff with bricks! It can be done, I see new neat stuff every time I play the game (props to awesome builders!).
"Why don�t you keep everything like it was?" Because Blockland is developed by a small team, it is not possible for us to keep every feature in the engine working 100% AND add cool new features.
"When is this release going to happen?" When it�s done. We will probably initially release shadows with a toggle to turn them ON, then later have them on by default.

Go to the Development board if you have questions.

RHK · February 21, 2012, 04:45:39 PM

Thorax - Thanks. A link would have been the way to go though.
But I'm still seaking a solution to this.

RHK · February 24, 2012, 09:49:16 AM

Is this beyond the ability of our local map makers?

Wesley Williams · February 26, 2012, 06:57:26 PM

Quote from: RHK on February 24, 2012, 09:49:16 AM

Is this beyond the ability of our local map makers?

Yes, but I'm not even sure if this is possible with the old Torque engine. I'm fairly certain that the dark atmosphere inside the bunker is impossible, although you might want to give emitters a try. As for the sound, I couldn't tell you much more than trying to use zones.

In any case, I wouldn't waste your time over it, as maps will be removed and you can't build underground in any case. Brick builds are going to look a lot nicer soon, I hope to see people focusing their efforts on detailed builds.

VerticalHorizon · February 28, 2012, 10:40:21 PM

Quote from: RHK on February 21, 2012, 04:45:39 PM

But I'm still seaking a solution to this.

RHK · February 29, 2012, 09:47:38 AM

Indeed I am.

Marcem · March 01, 2012, 02:02:45 AM

If you make the ambient lighting black or make a completely closed interior a room can be completely dark, but doing both of these probably wouldn't work well for you.

RHK · March 03, 2012, 10:02:43 AM

Creating a portal with display ambient lighting set to false (0), isn't working well. Getting mixed results. Still working on it.