EAWPRO's Hires Effects

[VonBeerhofen]

A small example of the differences between the stock effects and the ones used in EAWPRO.
This drawing shows the stock effects in the left picture and one of EAWPRO's effects in the right one. As you can see there are 9 different animations in the stock drawing, the bright colored squares are used for the tracers, one square for each calibre, and only 4 frames are available for fires. All other animations use 8 frames.



EAWPRO uses an entire texture for it's 16 frames per effect and besides the longer and hires animations another advantage is that the drawing's color palette is individual to each effect drawing and is therefore much more realistic, whereas the 8 stock effects have to share those colors in a single texture. EAWPRO also uses 8 calibre colors with the option to use 16, as apposed to just 4, I just can't think of any weapons to use the remaining 8 colors.

Furthermore EAWPRO uses 16+ of such Hires effects drawings but each effect can also borrow frames from the other effects drawings, which with certain animations allows a selection out of 16 x 16 = 256 frames. I hope you understand that this approach allows all effects to be swapped freely with another by simply renaming the texture file or .SPT filename. The same goes for their TRA (transparency) counterparts.

I hope this explains why swapping Sprite Tables or changing them isn't as usefull as one thinks, after all each animation is linked to some action in the game and the routines for these had to be completely rewritten in order to make this work and it's not just a swap in the Sprite Table, that won't work at all since the used animations are defined in their own specific routines which control their actions.

VonBeerhofen

[rwatson]

Interesting post Vb..I understand only a bit but the picture makes it a bit understandable

[RIBob]

On ‎11‎/‎25‎/‎2018 at 4:41 PM, rwatson said:

Interesting post Vb..I understand only a bit but the picture makes it a bit understandable

Concur with Russ.  In my observation of fire, particularly fires caused by gasoline and such, the flames are of different hue depending on the amount of air (oxygen) mixed-in.  

So, flames nearest the source of fuel tend to have the least exposure to oxygen, and are deeper red, changing to a brighter red, then deep orange changing to a brighter orange, then deep yellow changing to a brilliant yellow.  The flames gradually change hue along their path to a yellow as more oxygen is introduced, as combustion is more complete.

The accompanying smoke is most prevalent at the base of the fire, where combustion due to insufficient air is necessarily incomplete, and lessens with the introduction of more oxygen.  However, the smoke from the base of the fire will flow back in the airstream, thus masking the relatively lesser amount of smoke produced with increased oxygen.

As perceived by an outside observer, the smoke will tend to darken the flames considerably, as though the flames were being viewed through a neutral density lens filter.

The smoke, being tiny particulates, can actually have a slightly different path than the actual liquid that is burning, since the liquid is much heavier.  In extremely high winds, the paths of the smoke and the flame are nearly indistinguishable.

For example, siting next to a camp fire, it is common for the smoke to quickly separate from the flames, and blow downwind from the flames.  The flames of the campfire will be blown downwind also, but the smoke much more so.  With the very high wind velocities seen with flaming aircraft, it is safe to say that the smoke and flame path will be the same as long as the flames are visible, but at some point, the dissipating smoke will be a captive of the prevailing wind.  Much like the contrails of most aircraft that generate such. 

As for major explosions of aircraft, such as internal bomb loads being detonated more or less simultaneously, the visual effect would be of a very large, more or less spherical, brilliant yellow (bordering on white, initially) explosion,  very quickly cascading down through orange, since the explosive in the bombs contains its' own supply of oxygen, and is therefore complete combustion.  The remnants of the plane leaking fuel are, for the purposes of this discussion, considered as separate entities, following the rules of combustion described above. 

Respectfully submitted for consideration.  I hope some of this may prove useful in some way.  Perhaps not.  Your call.  As with many of my suggestions/criticisms, I am not entirely sure of what information is of use to you, so I make (helpfully helpful) suggestions not knowing what is useful or not, from your perspective.  I certainly hope you receive them as such.

Sincerely, RIBob

Edited November 28, 2018 by RIBob

[RIBob]

Can't edit anymore, so last portion of above, in parens, should read ... (hopefully helpful)….  Regret limited editing capability.