Conflagration Propagation
by Kyzrati on 20110828 , under Progress, Video
First, explosions of any kind can now be attached to props and entities, so UFO power sources, cyberdiscs and more can now explode. How to do a suicide run on a UFO:
Taking out a cyberdisc (2x2 units aren't yet implemented, but it blows up just the same):
Incendiary weapons now create fire which ignites terrain and entities. Here's a rocket launcher firing incendiary rockets, after which you can see the fire spread a little (it would spread much more in a wheat field). Burned terrain will produce varying amounts of smoke/dust based on its composition (also occurs when destroyed or when props fall from heights and smash into the ground).
Although not as effective as incendiary ammo for the job, HE weapons may of course cause some small fires, too:
Fire is naturally useful as a makeshift light source:
Smoke grenades make a much denser, longer-lasting patch of smoke (throwing not yet implemented--this is shot from a weapon):
Smoke affects FOV (kinda the point):
And for the grand finale, lets burn that house to the ground, just because we can (and then blow it up afterwards, because that's fun, too :)
On a side note, even though the videos were already cropped down to nothing, YouTube still felt compelled to compress them to nothing. Maybe next time I'll just record the entire window in HD instead. (I wish I could use screenshots instead, but the latest updates are best shown in videos...)
So here are the latest major additions:
- Exploding Props & Entities
- Effects of incendiary weapons/explosions
- Fire burning/propagation and light emission
- Entities catch fire and burn
- Smoke results from fire and some weapon effects
- Smoke affects FOV and stuns units
- Materials can release varying degrees of smoke/dust when burned or destroyed
Current state of the near-term TODO list:
- Light-emitting items
- Variable animation speed
- Throwing
- Sound effects
- 2x2 units
- Reaction fire
4 comments
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Kyzrati
August 29, 2011 at 7:38 AM
UFO Power source: The explosion I rated using the exact same stats from the game, and it's somewhat variable (as in X-COM, it's 215+/-35, even more powerful than a blaster). Its rules are a bit funny in the game, and I think they may have made it weaker for crash landings (?). The currently small selection of data values is mostly for general mechanics testing at the moment; there'll be plenty of time for tweaking later once the charts are filled out.
Explosion blocking: Walls and objects all have so-called "HE blocking" values that determine how much they block. Those are straight from the game, and work normally. I just haven't explicitly shown it at work in a screenshot where you can see the damage done (should've included that back in the earlier explosion screenshots). Obstructions also block smoke, etc. I think in some cases it may seem confusing because some of the testing particles produced by the engine (which are purely visual in nature), can pass through walls in some cases if they're not set to detect collisions. Yeah, it's mostly about huge explosions right now just for fun :) I promise you that hiding behind walls will work as you expect it to! Unless of course they are using a blaster, in which case you'd better have a good medic.
Thanks for commenting, though; it could give me ideas for things to include in future posts and/or remind me of stuff I may have forgotten (though UFOPaedia.org is pretty complete!).
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Creepy
August 30, 2011 at 4:46 AM
UFOpaedia.org is an EXCELLENT source, I love all the entries that came out of them pawing through the code. And the data canisters, fanon or not, are really interesting.
I didn't do a lot of shooting at engines (You don't shoot the prizes!) so I'm probably just misremembering the size of the explosion if you're straight-up matching their detonation stats. And it would make sense for badly damaged crash-sites to be toned down, they were probably just alternate maps drawn up to be interesting rather than actually duplicating a blown-up engine, now that I think about it.
And nobody expects a flimsy wall to stop a blaster bomb. That would be silly =P
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Kyzrati
August 30, 2011 at 8:12 AM
Heh, yeah, I certainly never fired at or near a power source myself--that's where all the dough comes from!
And even the folks at UFOPaedia.org didn't figure out exactly what was up with crashed UFO explosion damage in some cases. UPS are detonated normally once the map is loaded but before the first turn, definitely not pre-made patterns, but sometimes the game seems to intentionally let a couple aliens go unscathed even if they would've otherwise died in the blast. We'll see what it looks like once I have the UFO designs in. Map generation has yet to find itself on the TODO list.
August 28, 2011 at 11:00 PM
It's great that we got some unstable objects to blow things apart with, though that UFO Power Source going up pretty much leveled the entire UFO. Makes it nearly impossible to have a UFO to recover if it's shot down, though. Usually a UFO with a blasted power source is in terrible shape, but there's survivors and the UFO's outer shell was usually intact (Except for a Battleship's feet-located Power Sources). They might have a hole in the roof above where the engine sat, but otherwise were still dangerous as defensive bunkers. So maybe the explosion for the Power Sources should be toned down a little?
Also, a thing I just noticed: Explosions don't seem to lose any power when they hit an obstacle. If you're hiding behind a wall and a rocket hits nearby, it seems like the wall does nothing to mitigate the damage taken; all the stuff behind things that should take a little edge off the blast seem destroyed just the same as if they had no cover at all. Shouldn't the explosion lose power in directions where it's gone through a major obstacle, like a wall?
If you already have that, I guess it's just hard to notice since all the test explosions are holy-crap huge for maximum fun. =B
Other than that niggly bit, everything seems pretty awesome. Smoke and incendiaries should be great fun to play with. =D