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How to Spawn a decal with script - info

by Steve Acaster · in Torque 3D Professional · 11/25/2010 (3:30 pm) · 10 replies

I've got a basic hit-prediction scripted and whilst I can spawn applicable damage, explosion, etc at the end of the raycast, I've not worked out how to slap a decal at the position.

Anyone any ideas on spawning a decal with script? I'd hoped it would be a simple %decal = new decalData, datablock =, position=, etc but apparently it isn't ... or at least nothing happens and nothing in the console.

[edit]
Answer below!

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Torque Owner Ivan Mandzhukov
Liman3D
#1
11/25/2010 (3:34 pm)
Use the DecalManager class (actually it is exposed to console!)
There is a method decalManagerAddDecal.
You can use decalManagerRemoveDecal also...
I'm not really sure,but decals should be instantiated on the client side.

Associate Steve Acaster
[YorkshireRifles]
#2
11/25/2010 (10:57 pm)
Thanks for the pointer, foolishly I looked in the other code files but not that one ... not that I got it working properly ... keeps appearing at origin ...

Associate Steve Acaster
[YorkshireRifles]
#3
11/25/2010 (11:12 pm)
Okay got it working ... on flat ground plane ... but not objects ... I'm thinking that's what the normal is for ...

Associate Steve Acaster
[YorkshireRifles]
#4
11/25/2010 (11:32 pm)
Which is the transform of the impact position ... yay ... still a little stretched on certain surfaces ... I'm wondering if that's due to the truncation in the numbers ... e-00

Associate Steve Acaster
[YorkshireRifles]
#5
11/25/2010 (11:42 pm)
Apparently not - it was the rotation setting stretching things over too far, set to zero all is fine.

%impact = "0.215927 19.9602 2.98508 -1 2.98023e-008 8.9407e-009";
	%rot = getwords(%impact, 3, -1);
echo("decal wanted at normal rotation " @ %rot);
	%pos = getwords(%impact, 0, 2);
echo("decal wanted at pos " @ %pos);
		
//decalManagerAddDecal( %position, %normal, %rotation, %scale, %decalData, %immortal);
decalManagerAddDecal(%pos, %rot, 0.0, 1.0, smallimpactsDecal, false);

And all appears well in the world of scripting bullet holes on to raycasts.

Moved to "useful threads" forum.

:)

Associate Konrad Kiss
Bitgap Games
#6
11/26/2010 (12:55 am)
You should consider writing a book with all the tricks you figure out! I have a number of these printed out for instant reference.
This one goes in right there with the rest of the small gems.

Thanks Steve.

Torque Owner Ivan Mandzhukov
Liman3D
#7
11/26/2010 (6:58 am)
Yes,the rotation is an angle (in radians),because the AngAxisF class is used for it.

Torque Owner deepscratch
DeepScratchStudios
#8
11/27/2010 (5:05 pm)
@Steve,
maybe you can help me write a small function that lays a scorch decal, at the spot where a box has been destroyed, upon its scheduled delete?

it would really be a huge help, been struggling with it

Torque Owner Donald Teal
Duck's Den Productions Inc
#9
11/27/2010 (6:20 pm)
i second konrad's post. your tricks and help you provide are invaluable.

Associate Steve Acaster
[YorkshireRifles]
#10
11/28/2010 (4:35 pm)
@Deep

I'd think a raycast down from the centre (or at least above) the destroyed object from it's damage/onDamage/onDestroyed/etc fucntion would do the trick.

Been partying ... brain a little fuzzy ... but off the top of my head without testing ...

//I like my typemasks collected into a big global, 
//saves typing them out individually everytime
$Obstacles = 
  $TypeMasks::VehicleObjectType |
  $TypeMasks::PlayerObjectType |
  $TypeMasks::TerrainObjectType |
  $TypeMasks::StaticTSObjectType |
  $TypeMasks::StaticShapeObjectType |
  $TypeMasks::ForestObjectType;     // InteriorObjectType replaced

Function Your_Class_Thing_Here::onCollision(%this, %col, %etc)
{
   if(%this.getDamagelevel() >= %this.maxDamage)
   {
      %start = %this.getWorldBoxCenter;
      %end = VectorAdd(%start, "0 0 -5");
      //how big is the box? No point sending a raycast off for 20km
      //so 5 units/metres here
      %targetsearch = containerRayCast(%start, %end, $Obstacles, %this.getID());
      %impactpoint = firstWord(%targetsearch);
      %pos = getwords(%targetsearch, 1,6);

      //do your explosion FX here, particles, audio etc

      if(%impactpoint != false)
      {
         %rot = getwords(%pos, 3, -1);
		
         //decalManagerAddDecal(%position,%normal,%rotation,%scale,%decalData,%immortal);
         decalManagerAddDecal(%pos, %rot, 0.0, 1.0, ScorchBigDecal, false);
      }
   }
}