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Cookieeater

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Posts posted by Cookieeater


  1. Only two viable HDR techniques are exposure control (used now in games) and simple contrast reduction (the one you showed, looks often horrible for obvious reasons). If you know any realtime tonemapping techniques, I'm sure BIS would be interested. But when doing tonemapping myself, I spend hours at the controls before I achieve the desired look.

    Bad HDR (via tonemapping)

    Good HDR (with bloom)

    Searching google images for "awesome HDR" I only found crap, lol. I gave up but I've seen some extremely nice shots too.

    Camera doesn't matter that much. You get more data in RAW than with a JPG, but the EV range is about the same. Doing bracketed shots with a decent camera is just more convenient.

    But we can't cause the "blinding effect" that sometimes comes from viewing something very bright, in a game. Adding bloom helps that a little even if its fake. The price for a HDR screen is still unreachable for most ($50.000 for a Brightside display).

    Unfortunately, it seems that very bright means white, and that's where the implementation fails. You wouldn't get blinded by looking at the compass because it has a white background color. Cows doesn't glow because they have white spots. For this to work you need to take into account the background. As more and more blacks is introduced, then it's time to up the amount of glow. If you're in a dark tunnel (pupil wide open), a white cow may start to "glow" simulating it's hurtful to look at. But in the cows enviroment (fully lit green meadow), the effect should be canceled out. In our game, that doesn't happen (I think, I haven't studied it in depth). Which is why we think it looks horrible.

    But, I can live with it I guess. The effect is somewhat reduced at 0.5 brightness, and I still get to experience "bad lighting conditions", and that is to me important.

    I'm saying that is has to. Or rather, I believe that it has to (select an aperture and go with that). Our eyes can work with a much broader EV range at the same time than any camera can. Contrast reduction like the image you showed has very limited practical use (while still making it a good image), which is why most go with tone mapping, which isn't feasible to achieve in real time.

    Tone mapping is hardly realistic and uses HDR for more of an artistic effect. HDR is meant to reduce overexposure and allow full detail of everything that your eyes would see that your camera wouldn't. Linking that fairy cave is an example of why you have HDRi photography, because in real life, you would be able to see what is outside, and what is inside due to higher contrast ratio. Also, the reason why stuff doesn't really blind us because there is only a range of darkness to brightness that your monitor can show, which is 0 for pitch black, and 255 for pure white. This is a problem since how can you make something that is brighter than pure white in a monitor? You can't, thats why they created HDR rendering.


  2. Bloom is activated on low. SSAO might impact the image bloom is operating on, I'm not sure what the rendering pipeline is. Ref. So this is a game image then? ;)

    But it isn't the best bloom implementation I've seen. But it's hard to point a finger on exactly what's wrong too. Sometimes I get the impression its truly a post process effect, basing it's information on the rendered low dynamic image instead of the high dynamic buffer. Or that the diffuse reflection model is slightly wrong. Or the use of white typically too white.

    Try to lower the brightness, it helps a lot.

    Problem is, that is taken from a camera, a shitty one in fact. In real life, you would be able to see that without having the ungodly bloom there. Try getting your camera out, and then look at an area with very high contrast. Chances are, your camera can only focus at a certain light range and at other light ranges, you wouldn't be able to make out the features so it'll look like this:

    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Shutter_speed_in_Greenwich.jpg

    Notice how you can make out each individual light on the picture all the way to the left, while you can't make out the pier. The picture all the way to the right is able to make out the pier, but the lights are all overexposed, and you can't see detail.

    That is why they created HDRi photography, which is merging all the images taken at different exposures into 1 picture.

    So something that could look like this in ArmA II:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StLouisArchMultExpEV-1.82.JPG

    or this

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StLouisArchMultExpEV%2B1.51.JPG

    can be merged into this:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:StLouisArchMultExpCDR.jpg

    Notice how in the first 2 images, you can't make out the image properly while in the third image, you can.

    ArmA II's post processing is incredibly unrealistic. Unless you were saying that ArmA II was trying to simulate a camera mounted on top of a persons head!


  3. * It enhances immersion.

    * Blur is an effect to simulate loss of accurate eye input (ehh?) in certain conditions.

    * Slight blur makes things look a little better if you can't afford AA.

    * Provides SSAO at higher levels.

    * Simulates not so perfect optics by giving them a hint of chromatic aberrations.

    * Makes your vision go funny when you're tired. In real life it only happens when you get drunk, but hey, nobody's perfect ;)

    * It provides glow, which doesn't look too good until you hit 0.5 on brightness.

    It's all a matter of preference, and I use every bit of it (except the higher SSAO levels).

    And, it's a matter of opinions.

    It enhances immersion as much as the bloom that blinds everyone in Halo 3 and other bloomy games out there. Turning on Post processing to Very high is the equivalent of this:

    http://static.vgcats.com/comics/images/070119.jpg

    They really need to add in a separate option for SSAO. Combining it with post processing was a terrible idea IMO.


  4. I've been always wondering why some parts in where your sprinting and when you stop and move in another direction, your player does an extremely unneeded movement where he moves left or right for around 2 seconds where you can't shoot. I have just found out that if you start running and decide to press SHIFT and A or D quickly, your character does this animation where he hops to the direction you planned on strafing at which was A or D. Whats so terrible about it is that you can't fire while while in the animation, and you can't take over as in move in another direction. This gets chaotic quick when you decide to run, you hear gun shots and you immediately press shift so you can put your weapon up, and A or D if you thought that they were shooting from your sides with being unable to fire your weapon first, and being unable to override where your moving. Please remove this! Will try to upload a video tomorrow.


  5. Seems like the thread is going to wrap up soon. I truly still believe that open source is the way to go. Like scientists, if you don't openly publish your work, you're just hurting the progress of other scientists out there. When somebody opens a PBO, they're more like scientists, observing how somebody made the carpet bombing script or teleport script, then out there to go leech of your hard work and reupload it with another name. And most of them will always give credit to what they've used, and code stealing gets noticed pretty quickly by the community.


  6. Is it just me or are the soldiers are super tall and incredibly lean and narrow?

    This is an ArmA II soldier:

    http://fww2.org/kuvat/arma2premi1.jpg

    This is a real life soldier:

    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/photobucket/armymil-2008-07-24-081341.jpg

    http://news.stepforth.com/2008-news/images/memorial_day.jpg

    http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/071002/0710002_arming_hmed_3p.grid-6x2.jpg

    If Bohemia is making another ArmA game, it would be nice making soldiers more bulkier and more tougher then just being like sticks standing up on a field


  7. I'm not sure what you mean by points. You can read more complete answers to your arguments by reading the thread. Thanks.

    What can you do to protect against model theft? Nothing. I've read the thread, and all you said was to add in copyright protection for models:

    Or perhaps if only they have the power to reduce copyright infringement in the community?

    Gee obviously that would stop people from taking others work that is also copyrighted.

    http://www.garrysmod.org/downloads/?a=view&id=46451

    MFtipDpoE9Y

    iHcKtY8X12E


  8. If their is a will, their is a way.

    I am all for people protecting their hard work and locking files, but you have to come to the realization that people are going to figure out how to get around security. That is why security is a multi-million, if not billion dollar industry that has to constantly evolve and adapt to defeat new threats.

    I am also seeing the trend of relying on BIS. Hey BIS why cant you do this or that? Why won't you create a ability to lock files? Why can't we have mlods for A2 or OA? Maybe you should try creating an encryption program and see how long it takes to to get it to work properly. It is something that just doesn't happen over night and takes a lot of capital.

    Has BIS created a tool to lock PBOs and such? Yeah they have, but if I where smart, I wouldn't release the same tool to the community that you lock your proprietary information for your games. Once the tool is out and available, it will be easier to reverse engineer.

    There's probably another reason why BIS hasn't released being able to lock PBO's. I wonder why...


  9. The speculative drama aside, the problem you pointed out (which was pointed out before in this thread) is a valid one in my opinion. It is a potential problem that needs some thought in order to rectify.

    One possible one is that you can still ask the addon maker to provide the unencrypted files for arbitration by a moderator or whatever currently happens when such a case is brought up without unbinned files.

    Appeals to convention are fallacious. I think disallowing a choice because you don't want people to be able to choose is question begging. Those are both fallacious arguments.

    I don't know where to begin here.

    I guess firstly, I can't believe you think you're presenting ************************ dx as if it's new information for any of us. Second of all, showing a video of how to steal is questionable at best. Thirdly, the matter is to reduce theft without any delusion that we will stamp it out completely ie. the locks on your doors. We have been through this last bit a few times so maybe you can stick to reading instead of rewriting the whole thread, thanks.

    @Baff1

    I didn't realize you had this copyright discussion with RKSL-Rock before. It seems to me like he answered you quite concisely the first time.

    I don't know how this can be said any stronger. RKSL-Rock is a primary source who says he has been through court proceedings where he has established his ownership of the IP present in his renderings of aircraft designs.

    Could you elaborate on your third point, because the first two are still correct points. Also, people are going to do what they want, be it drinking and smoking under the age of 21, getting drugs, getting illegal firearms, and so much. Laws do pretty little in the real world such as prohibition of alcohol in the United States and currently the Britain handgun ban. Nothing is going to change from the locked PBO other else than the modding community suffering and the people who actually steal the work getting off scot free.

    P.S.

    People can kick locked doors down too quite easily :p.


  10. It seems like whats mainly split up here are the modelers for locking and the coders/scripters against locking. I believe that modelers already have their "locked" models in the fact that you can't export from O2, if you don't believe me, here it is:

    http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Oxygen_2_-_Manual#Import_.2F_Export

    How people probably stole the models is by a ripper, which works on EVERY DirectX game including ArmA II, so locking it won't do shit because they can just start up the game and capture the scenery being rendered. So basically, when you get to the point where you make the model, release it online, and have somebody view the model in-game, you are at the risk of having your models stolen. In fact, this is nearly how all emulated games and games without modding support get their models ripped and end up on other video game mods.

    <Link to ripper tool and video removed>

    If you are concerned with your models being uploaded on Turbosquid with the lack of protection even with no export function, locking it won't do shit as they can use a ripper. And if you are so concerned about having your models stolen that you won't decide to make content, YOU SHOULDN'T BE MODDING IN THE FIRST PLACE AS THERE IS NO PROTECTION ONCE YOU HIT UPLOAD.


  11. Also it would really slow down mod making in general. I think I could make a safe assumption that all gamemodes use code from another gamemode that another person made. If a person wanted to find out how to set restrictions to certain vehicles, he can download a gamemode that has that feature, search through the code to find out how the author enabled vehicles with restrictions, and use the author's code as a base for his code. That is the genius of Linux too, where its all open source and the modding community is humongous and you can personalize your Linux to where it suits your needs, whether its a super fast and light OS for servers for guaranteed stability for servers, or a enthusiast one where you have almost all of these desktop features with neat graphics and an Aero like interface. You don't see it that much in Windows and Mac because it's all closed source.

    Also when will Bohemia make a Mac OSX or Linux port? Cross platform development is laudable and smart! It's what Valve and other companies have been doing lately, and it seems to have been paying off.

    http://blog.wolfire.com/2010/01/Why-you-should-use-OpenGL-and-not-DirectX


  12. ArmA 2's HDR lighting needs to have a major overhaul. Right now it's simulating a camera's HDR, when it should have human standards. The best option would be to have exposure adjustment to light as fast as it is right now, while exposure adjustment to darkness be much more slower as in 40 seconds to see in the darkness at night time after wearing night vision goggles.


  13. I have to say that after using Zeus AI, I find the AI to be much less effective at fighting. The ability to enter buildings is very cool but often times I see units facing wrong directions. Also in Zeus AI, the units don't really do anything when they're in the house. and really seem like they go there by random.

    For example, I made two teams fight each other, one on the fields and one next to the building. Half of all the units ran into the house and went prone behind some corner and never moved again. A quarter of the units went on the outside of the building and leaned from the walls. The half that were outside got mowed down by the enemy squad, which then just went to their destination because the AI inside the house never moved or did anything ever again. While when using the normal AI they fire back instead of running into a building and doing nothing and usually won.

    What I think about the Zeus mod is that the ability for AI to enter buildings looks very impressive indeed, its just that the AI isn't meant to move or fight in a building and that really saps the fighting power of the units because they almost never fire inside the house, use windows for their advantage, or lean from doors. The normal AI already use cover thanks to micro AI which applies to outside buildings.


  14. Your userconfig is all commented, which means default values are used.

    Please read first post, this mod automatically assigns skills based on unit type. It actually ensures the SF will always be better than the armed peasants, contrary to what you're trying to accomplish. Unless you edit your userconfig, of course, but keep in mind that applies to all missions. That's why I suggested you disable this for the atypical mission.

    Bizon SMG (9mm pistol ammo) against SCARs ? Guess who's gonna win that in open terrain.

    Well then I guess that this addon works! I was just confused and thought that assigning skill to a unit individually would drastically affect them.


  15. Cookieeater, the skills are customized in the userconfig file, please post yours.

    For your atypical scenario, it may be easier to disable this (ASR_AISKILL_DISABLED = 1) and just use the editor.

    Also, it may be a matter of equipment, what weapons were the Specnaz using when they lost against the US ?

    Again, this addon does not (yet) control engagement ranges.

    Here is my userconfig file:

    // AI skill settings

    // used by asr_aiskill.pbo

    // If you uncomment the line below it will not run

    //ASR_AISKILL_DISABLED = 1;

    // Runs only if ASR_AISKILL_DISABLED is undefined

    //

    // By default only skill levels 1 - 7 are used

    // They match the "asr_aiskill" value from CfgVehicles, for example:

    // class USMC_SoldierS_Sniper : USMC_Soldier_Base {

    // asr_aiskill = 1;

    // };

    //

    // lower number for asr_aiskill means better skills

    // numbers 8 and 9 are special skillsets for pilots, not so great infantry combat skills but good spotting

    // Defaults listed below, to change, uncomment and modify:

    /*

    ASR_AISKILL_SETS = [

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.65,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.65,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.75,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.75,0.25],"spotTime",[0.65,0.25],"courage",[0.65,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 0

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.60,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.60,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.70,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.70,0.25],"spotTime",[0.60,0.25],"courage",[0.60,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 1

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.55,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.55,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.65,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.65,0.25],"spotTime",[0.55,0.25],"courage",[0.55,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 2

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.50,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.50,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.60,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.60,0.25],"spotTime",[0.50,0.25],"courage",[0.50,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 3

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.45,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.45,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.55,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.55,0.25],"spotTime",[0.45,0.25],"courage",[0.45,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 4

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.40,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.40,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.50,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.50,0.25],"spotTime",[0.40,0.25],"courage",[0.40,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 5

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.35,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.35,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.45,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.45,0.25],"spotTime",[0.35,0.25],"courage",[0.35,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 6

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.30,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.30,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.40,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.40,0.25],"spotTime",[0.30,0.25],"courage",[0.30,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 7

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.40,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.40,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.50,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.70,0.25],"spotTime",[0.60,0.25],"courage",[0.40,0.25]], //asr_aiskill 8 (pilot 1, better)

    ["aimingAccuracy",[0.35,0.25],"aimingShake",[0.35,0.25],"aimingSpeed",[0.45,0.25],"spotDistance",[0.65,0.25],"spotTime",[0.55,0.25],"courage",[0.35,0.25]] //asr_aiskill 9 (pilot 2)

    ];

    */

    They were using their typical weapons. I don't really remember you can find it yourself in the editor. I thought this controlled engagement ranges because I saw people saying how this increased engagement ranges. So what does this exactly do? I tried editing the skill of individual soldiers and they appeared to shoot the same and spot distances the same. The only setting that mattered was the difficulty setting which made people overally less accurate when lowered.

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