Glow channel info

Has anyone done glowing windows on their models (like on the stations)? Since only the windows glow I'm assuming that some sort of mask was used on the LW surface. I can't imagine that every single window was surfaced as seperate polygons. Does anyone know more about how this works?

Shane?

*edit*
This issue has been resolved by GrandpaTrout. Read on to see how it's done [8D].

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GrandpaTrout and I were discussing this very subject this weekend. I get strange results when displaying a station section as an avatar to a different class; the station form will appear, but with no textures.

GrandpaTrout mentioned that Stephen Robertson mentioned (at the INA forum which had it's archives deleted) that the stations use special shaders. Which would probably mean they're linked by their class type with code to do what they do.

I've been experimenting with finding ways to create glowing windows in stations. One idea which didn't pan out was to 'cut' my windows into the textures using the color 0,0,0 (which should render transparent) and then placing a light w/flare inside the station. Kind of a jack-o-lantern effect.

It didn't work.

The engine is ray tracing light, so it won't display the flare through the poly, even if a section of the poly is transparent.

Another idea I started on (but haven't tested) was to set up light colored windows in the texture and then place minature lights (minus lens flares) right next to each window.

But, as I've been working with station avatars, I've not yet had time to complete this test and see if it works. I doubt seriously it will achieve the desired effect, so it kinda rides the back burner.

<font size="1"><font face="Book Antiqua"><font color="black">"Never before in the history of the world had such a mass of human beings moved and suffered together. This was no disciplined march; it was a stampede-- without order and without a goal, six million people unarmed and unprovisioned, driving headlong. It was the beginning of the rout of Civilisation... of the massacre of Mankind."
--H. G. Wells The War Of The Worlds</font id="black"></font id="Book Antiqua"> </font id="size1">

Hmm, ok Shane, thanks. I have another question for you though. How did you get the glow channel to work on your test ball? What did you name you surface to make it glow? Or did you just use the thruster glow channel? The reason for both of these topics is that I need to do the glows for the X-Wing engines, but they need to be permanently glowing, and not tied to the thruster animation. So if I can't use a mask on the wings rear textures to get the glow isolated to the engines then I'll have to make the engine glow a seperate surface and assign it as a glow channel.

Thanks for any tips you can give me.

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The Ultimate Guide To Modding: I-War 2 - Edge Of Chaos (on hold during SW MP mod)
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I wouldn't do a glow channel if they are always glowing. I'd just place a point light in each thruster core. The light will make whatever texture there glow (just don't crank up the intensity too far or you'll get whiteout). In addition, when an object gets close to the thrusters, it will receive light from the thrusters.

If you use a glow channel, you'll have to separate the thruster core polys and rename the surface to activate the glow channel.

I've never tried it, but naming the surface

glow channel=(0.0)

might create a glow which is constant. But that's just a wild guess.

<font size="1"><font face="Book Antiqua"><font color="black">"Never before in the history of the world had such a mass of human beings moved and suffered together. This was no disciplined march; it was a stampede-- without order and without a goal, six million people unarmed and unprovisioned, driving headlong. It was the beginning of the rout of Civilisation... of the massacre of Mankind."
--H. G. Wells The War Of The Worlds</font id="black"></font id="Book Antiqua"> </font id="size1">

I'd just place a point light in each thruster core. ...when an object gets close to the thrusters, it will receive light from the thrusters.

Awsome thinking! Thanks [8D]

*edit*
I spoke too soon. The lights seem only to be good for lens flares, they don't actually give off any light in the game. !

Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Has anyone ever made any lights that actually give off light in game?

On another note, as I was studying the converter documents I noticed an interesting passage under the LOD Optimization heading.

"Selecting this checkbox causes the program to output basic textures only, i.e. no environment or glow maps, etc."

Obviously the glow maps referred to are part of the textures. It seems to me that this means the glow channel works with the luminosity maps in Lightwave. I'm going to try using both of these to make the X-Wing engines (part of the wing texture) glow, while masking the rest of the wing.

mailto:second_chance@cox.net
The Ultimate Guide To Modding: I-War 2 - Edge Of Chaos (on hold during SW MP mod)
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GrandpaTrout did a headlight or something simular that would throw a green glow on objects nearby, so, it was giving off light. I think that was a year or so ago but you'll probably find something about that buried in the pog section.

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