Flashlights
KaptajnKLO
Join Date: 2012-06-25 Member: 153658Members
Join Date: 2012-06-25 Member: 153658Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Regarding the "blinding" effect to teammates</div>The way the flashlight functions in NS2 is a little bit perplexing to me with the way it almost blinds your teammates. I want to have it on alot of the time especially if I am in the Exo, but I know my teammates will find it annoying and they are sometimes very vocal about it as am I to be frank. So I am wondering if that is how it's supposed to be or if it is still a WIP. Cause it just seems very odd to me that the flashlight doesn't give the same effect to my teammates as it does to me.
Comments
And it needs to have range longer than melee distance.. Makes no sense using something that doesn't apply for %80 of what you need it for, seeing in the dark at a range that applies to the weapon youre using.
<!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1--> // Only display atmospherics for third person players.
local density = 0.4
if isLocal and not self:GetIsThirdPerson() then
density = 0
end
self.flashlight:SetAtmosphericDensity(density)<!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->
you can change that .4 to something smaller, like a .2 or .1 and it won't be so blinding in 3rd person.
<!--quoteo(post=1968613:date=Aug 30 2012, 10:54 AM:name=.ADHd)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (.ADHd @ Aug 30 2012, 10:54 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1968613"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Just turn off atmospheric effects and the blinding is gone!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
While it's great to see solutions to this problem being shared, I think it's important to bring it to UWE's attention. Fixing it now, for yourself, might help you forget the problem exists, but it's still there for the rest of the players who don't look at this thread or figure it out for themselves. I'm not having a go here, I'm just saying this is entirely the reason that UWE is calling it a "beta". Beta feedback is really important for the health of the game.
<!--quoteo(post=1968571:date=Aug 30 2012, 09:24 AM:name=6john)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (6john @ Aug 30 2012, 09:24 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1968571"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->you can change that .4 to something smaller, like a .2 or .1 and it won't be so blinding in 3rd person.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In addition to what I said above, when 1.0 goes live I'd expect that the .lua files will be hash-compared before connecting to a server, so your customisations might stop you from being able to connect to a server. That may or may not be the case, but I'd be concerned about it.
The exo actually doesn't seem to have this affect, or at least very toned down from the standard flashlight.
<!--quoteo(post=1968571:date=Aug 29 2012, 06:24 PM:name=6john)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (6john @ Aug 29 2012, 06:24 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1968571"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->open up Marine_Client.lua and find these lines in Marine:OnUpdateRender()
you can change that .4 to something smaller, like a .2 or .1 and it won't be so blinding in 3rd person.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
This feels like cheating a bit but I will do it so I don't feel like I am being trolled every time someone turns their flashlight on.
Interesting idea. Have a very small bit of ambient for marines, just so it looks nice but is not obscuring, but perhaps leave it at .4 (current value) for aliens so they have the advantage of seeing where marines are looking.
I like it.
Count on it.
^ This!
The complains about the minimal functionality of the server browser started long over a year ago. Everybody said: "Use the menu mod!" and everybody did. And now we are short before release and the server browser hasn't changed a bit in functionality.
You all are beta testers. Stop hiding problems for yourself with mods, console commands or .lua-tweaks. This is doing nothing good for the game.
Any details on how this will work? If the game just blocks all client-scripts that mismatch with the server's version of said scripts willynilly, that would outright brick all client-mods. Some kind of mechanism for multiple mods running alongside each other also has to be concocted. It's eerie quiet on this front so close to release.
I was even wondering if I was the only one who was experiencing this since nobody has said anything about it the whole I've been here.
Great topic, this needs to be addressed.
That would severely undercut the modding-community NS2 is so desperately marketing itself as favoring. A proper sandbox that is not given any game-alterating power would do the trick. Something like a 2nd client Lua-VM that is given readonly\aesthetic-functions, or something along those lines, think const-correctness. Though this would take a bit of work, hence my worry that so far no information has been released with regards to what is being done in this area.
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=Align)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Align)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You might be able to compose a list of allowed mods, I guess?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That raises enumerable number of questions. Who compiles this list? What qualifies as 'allowed'? Does every new version have to go through the whole verification-process again? How can servers differentiate between different kinds of client-mods, or indeed different versions?
It's a real pickle, which is why I had thought this subject be laid before the modding-community well ahead of v1.0 release.
Yeah I have noticed that as well after playing some more games. Don't see why the flashlight can't function similarly.
I'm pretty sure they just didn't really think about this when they promoted all that modding-stuff; or rather, they didn't fully realize they'd actually have to do something like that for release and now release is imminent and there is just no time for it. There will most likely only be server mods for 1.0, hopefully with Workshop support for full server+client mods, but no client-only mods.
<!--quoteo(post=1969273:date=Aug 31 2012, 02:22 PM:name=player)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (player @ Aug 31 2012, 02:22 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1969273"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That raises enumerable number of questions. Who compiles this list? What qualifies as 'allowed'? Does every new version have to go through the whole verification-process again? How can servers differentiate between different kinds of client-mods, or indeed different versions?
It's a real pickle, which is why I had thought this subject be laid before the modding-community well ahead of v1.0 release.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yeah, this is not realistic.
Leaving it up to the server operators would make the experience vastly different across servers, which is usually pretty frustrating (e.g. I want to play with my friends on my favorite server, but the admin banned xyz mod which is essential to my experience).
Leaving it up to one or a group of people will only create massive discussions, flame wars and animosity towards that group. The PTs can probably feel that kind of subliminal (and sometimes overt) hate very often on these forums, and they don't even have any real decision-making power.
Having had a bit of a poke around the code, it looks like UI code is separated from game objects, and just calls methods like PlayerUI_GetPlayerHealth() etc. So Client side UI files could be left out of the consistency check if you had some way of ensuring the UI code can't access or call anything else. Not sure how you'd do this or if the payoff is worth the effort, though.
If you did allow client mods, they would have to be for UI functions only, as allowing them any kind of control over rendering options like flashlight atmospherics opens things up for cheating mods that hide muzzle flash, make lerk gas super-transparent, put fullbright shaders on enemies etc.
For gameplay altering mods that require the client to have the same code so it can run prediction and do any mod-specific effects or UI, I guess you have to use a mod-specific game directory? And the code can be synced via steam workshop?
Some kind of metamod style plugin architecture for admin mods that don't touch client files would be useful and would allow mix-and-match server only mods. Server ops just add the files to the game directory and put them on a plugin list somewhere. That looks like a smaller job with a much bigger payoff.
Having had a bit of a poke around the code, it looks like UI code is separated from game objects, and just calls methods like PlayerUI_GetPlayerHealth() etc. So Client side UI files could be left out of the consistency check if you had some way of ensuring the UI code can't access or call anything else. Not sure how you'd do this or if the payoff is worth the effort, though.
If you did allow client mods, they would have to be for UI functions only, as allowing them any kind of control over rendering options like flashlight atmospherics opens things up for cheating mods that hide muzzle flash, make lerk gas super-transparent, put fullbright shaders on enemies etc.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
There's A LOT you need to be thinking about very heavily whether you can give this information to modders or not, it's not an easy process at all.
I remember when Blizzard had to patch out some possible function calls from their WoW Lua UI to make PvE less of a joke. E.g. hey took out the ability to get the camera angles to prevent full 3D ("inside the environment" style) HUD elements for things like range checks between players, though it's still possible to do stuff like that as a sort of top-down radar view, which is still a problem for game design since it makes some elements of the gameplay too easy.
There must also be the option to replace an original piece of the UI. You cannot just put the current UI into a separate Lua VM since some of it needs to have access to functions you do not ever want to disclose to modders (e.g. positions of other players). So, there needs to be a system in place to disable part of the original UI or override it, e.g. if you want to make a minimap mod.
The interesting mods are admin or gameplay stuff. Some sort of gamerules plugin architecture would be super useful.
I have a thumb sized lcd flashlight that illuminates more than these marine lights!