AFX 1.1.2 for TGEA 1.7.1 (Limited) Open Beta 2

Derek Bronson recently made mention of this in his blog, 3rd Party Product Update - June 2008, but here is a more complete announcement.

Just a couple of months ago, I announced the beta release of AFX 1.1.2 for TGEA 1.7.0. That beta went really well, but while preparing the final release, we heard about the TGEA update to 1.7.1, so we decided to postpone the final release and do a second beta that was compatible with TGEA 1.7.1. So here it is...

Right now, if you have a license to AFX for TGEA (ComboPack or CoreTech), you can download a copy of the AFX 1.1.2 for TGEA 1.7.1 Beta 2 from the AFX for TGEA download page on your account page.

Please refer to this thread in the AFX private forums for more details regarding the (limited) open beta:
www.garagegames.com/mg/forums/result.thread.php?qt=76548


The changes from TGEA 1.7.0 to TGEA 1.7.1 were largely minor in regards to AFX compatibility, but in particular, the Atlas support is much improved. All of the Atlas-based missions are looking and working much better now.

We also took the time between the two betas to implement some new Zodiac features...

Zodiacs on Polysoup DTS Objects

Zodiac rendering now works on polysoup-enabled DTS objects. Currently this is limited to TSStatic objects with the usePolysoup field set to true.

Zodiac Altitude Management

In addition to a position, Zodiacs now also keep track of separate altitudes relative to the nearest terrain and interior. (For the purposes of altitude measurement, polysoup objects are treated as interiors and atlas objects are considered terrain.)

By default, a zodiac's altitudes are undefined but they can me measured using a special AltitudeConform transform modifier. When used, it adjusts an effect's z position to the nearest point on an interior or terrain and additionally records the original (pre-conformed) altitudes of the effect. These altitudes can then be interpreted by zodiac effects so that the zodiacs shrink or fade as their altitude increases. This is very useful when you have bridge-like interior or polysoup structures above visible terrain. With altitude management, zodiacs can be made visible on the bridge-like structures but not on the terrain directly below.

Zodiac Distance Fading

Zodiacs now fade out according to distance from the camera.


Zodiac Gradient Filters

Zodiac rendering can now be filtered by the gradient of polygons on interiors and polysoup objects. Here is how gradient filtering works... Horizontal floor polys have a gradient of 0, vertical wall polys have a gradient of 90 and horizontal ceiling polys have a gradient of 180. Each zodiac can specify a range of gradients and will only appear on polys with a gradient that falls in the range. 0-45 is a good default setting that avoids walls and ceilings, but still appears on most floors even if slightly angled or rounded. 135-180 would put the zodiac only on the ceiling. You can also invert the filtering so that gradients in range don't show the zodiac. For example, an inverted range of 80-100 keeps the zodiac off most walls (where they get all stretched an ugly), but renders it everywhere else.


Please enjoy AFX 1.1.2 for TGEA 1.7.1 Beta2!