SKY/CLOUDS :: Concern ::

[Jeremy]

Hey, I was thinking, it games, the sky...
This would be a good idea. Some new games, see, the sky is night with stars, and there are 3-D clouds that move across the sky. But most games make the clouds move too fast, when there is no wind, therefore, they should make the clouds move slower, and the background should be REALLY big, and scroll in circles, like the last level if QuakeII ... Just an opinion, dont break a blood vessel.

[Zaldron]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
3D CLOUDS!! MUAHAHAHAH!H!haha

No, really, we need a bit more for that.

Are you talking about gross spiky polygons or over-saturated chunks of particle systems?

[Amanichen]

When i saw the doom skys i thought they were cool, and when i finally learned how to use the illusion of a neverending sky in a WAD i was happy....

Then came the quake sky...it was cool for a while, the polar effect, with the fast moving clouds, which was cool becuause it fit in with ambient the wind howling/whistling sounds....

Then came the quake II sky...boring...garsh...not only did the textures look juxtaposed next to the acutal level structures (try entering the nuclear plant with the tanky-thingy down below and the flame towers)...

Then the quake II last level was cool (if u had open GL) cause it rotated! wow!...

Then the Quake III sky...I dunno what to say about that....

...OK ENOGUGH! GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!

sorry about that...I would like to see a quake I mapped clouds with a higher polar mapped setting akin to one in Doom/Doom II, effects like steam, smoke, and clouds flying by would add a nice touch.

[Zaldron]

The only good solution are shaders. Everyone here that played Alice remembers the hollowed torus that looked like a vortex, where each 20 second a door passed by, engulfing the whole level.

That´s just a simple shader, applying over a simple plane the results from a camera located beyond players reach (like Unreal skyes).

You can do polarized clouds, static or rotating-blended-distorted-whatever skycubes, weird crap, level architecture.
Whatever suits better for the map...

[Jayextee]

Hmmm.. this must be the 1096387462nd post where Jer obsesses about the Doom skies. What's the problem? Isn't the important stuff good enough for you.

Hey, lets say that if Doom 3 turns out to be a bag of shite, but has marvellous skies, we've found the only Doom3 fan already.

There are more important things, like geo-mod, NPCs, pack behaviour in enemies, weapons, lighting, volumetric fire/water, powerups, theme, story.... et cetera. The list goes on.

[Betcha]

I'm kinda with you on this one Jeremy. For me the "Doom Sky" was a defining moment. The dark forboding clouds, hinting at the evil and carnage ahead, backlit by the burning cities of earth was just....well it helped instill the freaky feeling of "Doom".

The Quake sky was crap. Two fast moving layers with no character at all. Quake 2 sky was hideous and the Quake3 sky.....hmmm, better but still not to flash. I did like the Unreal skies....don't you think they were kinda cool? :)

I'm hoping for some serious mood setting skies in Doom3 with just awesome effects. The kind of sky that distracts you long enough for hell spawn to ram a fireball down your throat. I want to get shot in the ass 'cause I'm to busy looking at the surroundings.

Betcha