remake tracers/hit sprites

[Skyguns MKII]

Our hit sprite and bullet tracers seem to have graphics as old as as the first few planes modeled in aces high. The thick laser like tracers we have now just seem  cheesy to me (i know one of you will say "well its a game") However HITECH is starting to introduce newer graphics on terrain, water, and planes and I request we have better tracers to compliment those changes. Tracers i would like to see would run thinner through the air unlike the thick laser beams we have now. Fade away instead into eventual full transparency instead of a block of yellow as it trails from the round. As well as adding a little orange in the color.
     As for the hit sprites i would like to see a better indication of a hit as well. I enjoy watching how HITECT modeled some amount of debris to pop out when u land a couple rounds but i would like to see something that doesn't look like a glob of unusually huge and dull hit sprites when u land your rounds. I just want these things to keep up with the graphics they are improving. Just a few ideas guys     
 

[danny76]

Not unreasonable suggestions at all +1

[olds442]

I never did understand the long streams of white crap coming out of the tracer. Like what is that supposed to be exactly, also most tracers in gun cams looked more ball shaped than lazer like.

[FLS]

I never did understand the long streams of white crap coming out of the tracer. Like what is that supposed to be exactly, also most tracers in gun cams looked more ball shaped than lazer like.

Tracers burn so they have a smoke trail. They spin so the smoke is helical. A source of light can overexpose film and appear larger than it is.

[Saxman]

I'd also like to see tracer colors by country, too where appropriate (IE, Japanese aircraft IIRC had green tracers).

[Zacherof]

I'd also like to see tracer colors by country, too where appropriate (IE, Japanese aircraft IIRC had green tracers).

Weren't ours more red than yellow? Or is that from bad video quality

[Volron]

Something like they have in WT?  A mix of that with ours would make it quite nice to the eye.

[Tinkles]

Our hit sprite and bullet tracers seem to have graphics as old as as the first few planes modeled in aces high. The thick laser like tracers we have now just seem  cheesy to me (i know one of you will say "well its a game") However HITECH is starting to introduce newer graphics on terrain, water, and planes and I request we have better tracers to compliment those changes. Tracers i would like to see would run thinner through the air unlike the thick laser beams we have now. Fade away instead into eventual full transparency instead of a block of yellow as it trails from the round. As well as adding a little orange in the color.
     As for the hit sprites i would like to see a better indication of a hit as well. I enjoy watching how HITECT modeled some amount of debris to pop out when u land a couple rounds but i would like to see something that doesn't look like a glob of unusually huge and dull hit sprites when u land your rounds. I just want these things to keep up with the graphics they are improving. Just a few ideas guys     
 

I agree, reasonable suggestions. +1

Does anyone recommend what the hit sprites should be 'upgraded' to? Like post a screenshot of what you think it should look like or something. Because while I agree the current hit sprites are.. unsightly, I can't think of a good replacement for them.

[Chilli]

The tracer smoke was modified since AH1 to include the spiral image they now project. (maybe this came around the time of the water reflection / ground detail update).  It would be reasonable that such a change if agreed upon, would be on a to do list around the same time to allow beta testing for effects and community reaction.

The hit sprite, maybe should be one of those scalable things like texture size and go along with weapons effects check box.  One example of the way to go for hit sprite would be a smaller sized spark, less round and more "shakey" gun cam short streak shaped.  This timed appropriately with a brief color spray (to represent metal fragments in some aircraft or wooden splinters in others).

Less is more.  Maybe show dust and tiny streak shaped spark unless plane surface or controls are damaged (ie damage list).  Show erratic shaped larger explosions when structure or controls are damaged.  For example, peppering an attacker from the tail gunner with .303s you can barely see the planes wings due to the volume and size of hit sprites while the plane flies flawlessly through.  When hit sprites are scaled due to damage, a more detailed viewers experience would be represented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTwZAwyBYjg       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLvWpIEOXFM


   


 

[Tinkles]

The tracer smoke was modified since AH1 to include the spiral image they now project. (maybe this came around the time of the water reflection / ground detail update).  It would be reasonable that such a change if agreed upon, would be on a to do list around the same time to allow beta testing for effects and community reaction.

The hit sprite, maybe should be one of those scalable things like texture size and go along with weapons effects check box.  One example of the way to go for hit sprite would be a smaller sized spark, less round and more "shakey" gun cam short streak shaped.  This timed appropriately with a brief color spray (to represent metal fragments in some aircraft or wooden splinters in others).

Less is more.  Maybe show dust and tiny streak shaped spark unless plane surface or controls are damaged (ie damage list).  Show erratic shaped larger explosions when structure or controls are damaged.  For example, peppering an attacker from the tail gunner with .303s you can barely see the planes wings due to the volume and size of hit sprites while the plane flies flawlessly through.  When hit sprites are scaled due to damage, a more detailed viewers experience would be represented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTwZAwyBYjg       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLvWpIEOXFM


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Nice points.

I would also recommend that if HTC were to 'update' the hit sprites, that they make something for the 'visual impaired' audience to use.  I don't have the best eyesight and sometimes have problems seeing the sprites (even though they are huge  ). Just a thought though..

I think it would be cool having these things when we get the new terrain engine update . 

[bustr]

I would settle for the tracers I shoot from a 37mm soft gun, 88 and mobile ack were just as bright and bold as the auto ack tracers are. Instead of being dampened out. Might as well be shooting with tracers off. Back in February when everyone was getting WoW'd by SweetFX, I installed it. Then adjusted it's 3 levels of gamma to the point all of my manned ack and mobile ack tracers were bright and sparkling. Also got rid of that omnipresent haze and brightened up the sky. Which resulted in my reducing the game's gamma to .95. I was able to use the tracers to pull lead just like the german manuals teach. And hit quite well because of it.

Then a month or so later, I log into the arena, and I have to completely redo my SweetFX settings and raise my game gamma back to 1.4. So long tracers. I was enjoying hitting bombers at 4k up to then with the 37mm. Now I'm back to guessing if I'm really leading with enough elevation or if my round stream is even in the same county with the cons. In ww2, manned ack tracers were bright enough in day time because they were part of the gunners sighting and lead protocol. You had no other way to gauge if you were leading enough other than watching the tracer stream.



 

[Ack-Ack]

most tracers in gun cams looked more ball shaped than lazer like.

What you are seeing in the gun camera films is the shaking as a result of the recoil from the guns.

ack-ack

[Chilli]

What you are seeing in the gun camera films is the shaking as a result of the recoil from the guns.

ack-ack

I like what Bustr said about making tracers more pronounced (gamma bright), and more round type specific. 

The hit sprites are where immersion will become more evident.  Take a little artistic license, and give the hits more of the shakey cam visual.   In the "In Sight" Aces High video from the front page (video link on the right in my prior post) you get a great view of both how great they are, but also, how uniformly identical they are.

[Windycty]

I remember shooting .50 cals in the Navy, the tracer color was a vivid hot pink-orange color, not the white-yellow color we have today in AH.  When the rounds hit the water they would bounce and ricochet off the waves- that effect would be nice to see in the game.

[USRanger]

I've made custom hit sprites and tracers for custom maps.  It's pretty easy once you know where to look for em.