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Rant: worldeditor visual feedback

by Tom Spilman · in Torque Game Engine · 05/09/2006 (12:17 am) · 6 replies

Ok not quite a rant... anyway i got your attention...

I've been in TSE world for a while, so i guess i totally missed when this went in...

www.sickheadgames.com/stuff/worldjoke.png

Wow.

These "visual feedback" things are a good idea, but as currently implemented, bad for anyone trying to seriously edit a mission.

My main complaint is they shouldn't always be on... just a couple of these on screen and your already having trouble finding things. IMO they should only exist when selected, preferably when they are the only selection as they tend to obscure your view for picking.

IMO the AudioEmitter visualization is ridiculously over the top for what is needed. It feels like i turned on a winamp visualization (what you don't see in the screenshot is that it's animated). Not to mention that if you add the amount of these you find on a typical FPS game your performance tanks.

A more minor gripe is directed at the world spawn. That sphere it draws is huge... like 50 meters across. That has to be a bug, but at least it is only drawn when selected.

I was working on some enhancements to the worldeditor when i came across this stuff. I feel compelled to expand my project to improve this area of Torque.
Tom Spilman's profile picture
Associate Tom Spilman
Sickhead Games

About the author

Tom is a programmer and co-owner of Sickhead Games, LLC.

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    Torque 3D Owner iHugMedia
    #1
    05/09/2006 (12:24 am)
    I find it very useful, as I get a constant visual indication of the distance and speed the sounds are travelling.
    The animation helps me get a better feel for it to shape the level around, too. Much better than the static icons in UnrealEd/Hammer imo.

    Associate Stefan Beffy Moises
    #2
    05/09/2006 (12:34 am)
    Not sure about 1.4, but in 1.3 AudioEmitters were only rendered when selected...
    and SpawnSpheres can be resized to whatever you want (and they should, since that affects the spawning)

    Associate Tom Spilman
    Sickhead Games
    #3
    05/09/2006 (12:42 am)
    @Mincetro - I agree you need a visual indication of the inner and outer sound cones (there is no speed), but not one that keeps you from being able to see your scene. That audio emitter covers as much space as your cones are set to... you cannot see anything within the emitter range. And i know you can turn off the visualization by editing the emitter properties, but it's an unnecessary extra step.

    @ Stefan - The AudioEmitters are always on in 1.4... so i guess that's a new bug. I didn't ever notice a radius for SpawnSpheres... what does it control? Should it really default a 100 meter in radius?

    Torque Owner Ben R Vesco
    #4
    05/09/2006 (7:54 am)
    SpawnSphere radius controls the area into which you may spawn. The spawn point is anywhere within the area covered by the sphere.

    Torque 3D Owner Kevin Rogers
    #5
    05/16/2006 (5:39 pm)
    @Tom: Totally with you here, particularly in regard to the audio visualization. I would much prefer something like the SpawnSphere -- just a simple mesh indicating the emitter's ranges. And yeah, it should only be visible when the emitter is selected...

    Associate Tom Spilman
    Sickhead Games
    #6
    05/16/2006 (6:14 pm)
    Well with all the work involved in really fixing the mission editor i decided to hack some changes in myself. I just have too many other projects on my plate to take this one on as well.

    The fact is there is a product here for anyone that wants to tackle it. Multiple configurable view panes, integration of the particle editor, etc....

    Mission Editor Pro anyone?