Opinions and input please

[styckx]

Hi Bill
Got no idea what your doing here but the audio for the wagons is split in two. One for the looped sounds and the one shots are seperated into a different folder. Hope you know what i'm on about.
Phill

Yes but you can not link to more than one audio controller from a weather blueprint.

Still, if you look, when you create an ambient blueprint you can add loops and ambient one shots in the same controller. Like I said they both work, just the specifying what weather the one shots are active in is fubar. What you see in the video is all oneshots and ambient loops. The problems pile up when you start adding in weather events. The one shots just seem to be clueless what weather event is actually occuring.

[styckx]

Well I sent in a support email. Wish me luck. Until, if ever I get a solution or the problem fixed I'm halting work on the weather. Ashame as there is a ton of promise there and adds a load of atmosphere but the only way this will currently work 100% as it stands is to have one long never ending thunderstorm with zero weather transistions.

[Kariban]

Mind sharing what you've figured out about how weather effects transition? I can sort of see how it's meant to work although every weather definitions having entries for ALL weather states is a bit confusing, but I'd rather not re-invent the wheel. I take it once you load a scenario and it loads it's weather, you're stuck with the same three cloud layers?

[styckx]

Mind sharing what you've figured out about how weather effects transition? I can sort of see how it's meant to work although every weather definitions having entries for ALL weather states is a bit confusing, but I'd rather not re-invent the wheel. I take it once you load a scenario and it loads it's weather, you're stuck with the same three cloud layers?

Weather blueprints are simple now that I understand them. As I too was confused "Why is this named stormy when all weather entries are in it" it's confusing. And no, you're technically not stuck with the same 3 cloud layers.

Best way to look at a weather blueprint is like a dinner menu. A place may have 50 menus, all listing the same exact food choices, but how they are picked and cooked is entirely up to the customer.

Now.. One of the easiest blueprints to start from is the Clear blueprint. Since everything is essentially null. No rain, clouds, not a thing.

<WeatherTypeClear>
<cWeatherType>
<WindDirection d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="00000000FB21F93F" d:precision="string">1.5708</WindDirection>
<WindSpeed d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000A04D9CDC3F" d:precision="string">0.4470</WindSpeed>
<PrecipitationType d:type="cDeltaString">ePrecipitationRain</PrecipitationType>
<PrecipitationDensity d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000A09999B93F" d:precision="string">0.1000</PrecipitationDensity>
<PrecipitationSpeed d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000E0F44A3F40" d:precision="string">31.2928</PrecipitationSpeed>
<FogOverride d:type="cDeltaString">eTrue</FogOverride>
<FogColour>
<cHcColour>
<Red d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="00000080DBDADA3F" d:precision="string">0.4196</Red>
<Green d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000809D9BDB3F" d:precision="string">0.4314</Green>
<Blue d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000405F5EDE3F" d:precision="string">0.4745</Blue>
<Alpha d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0.0000</Alpha>
</cHcColour>
</FogColour>
<FogStart d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000006940" d:precision="string">200.0000</FogStart>
<FogEnd d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000E08540" d:precision="string">700.0000</FogEnd>
<LightningDensity d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0.0000</LightningDensity>
<LightningFrequency d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0.0000</LightningFrequency>
<BlendInTime d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000000000F03F" d:precision="string">1.0000</BlendInTime>
<CloudType d:type="cDeltaString">eCloudClear</CloudType>
</cWeatherType>

Let's say you want this weather choice to never have clear skies.. Just because the weather type is named "clear" doesn't mean it has to be. Change the bolded part to one of 3 cloud choices. Overcast, Rain, or Storm like so assuming we're going for a rain wet day.

Code: Select all

	<CloudType d:type="cDeltaString">eCloudRain</CloudType>

Now, The clear weather type uses rain clouds. If you want them to be rainy rain clouds adjust your precipitation settings etc. This same rule applies to the following 3 weather types of Overcast, Rain, and Cloudy. An easier way to make this easy is to think of the weather types as choices on a menu rather than a name like so.

Weather Type A
Weather Type B
Weather Type C
Weather Type D

The name is only suggestive essentially, all that matters is the settings for that weather type and the cloud used.

Now, we'll make believe you have went through and edited the rest of the 3 weather types (BCD) to your liking.

Now you get to tweak each type even more. Towards the bottom you'll see 4 entries, each named a weather type. (Clear, Overcast, Rain Stormy).

Code: Select all

			<CloudClear>
				<cCloudDescription>
					<WispyLayerAlpha d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000A09999C93F" d:precision="string">0.2000</WispyLayerAlpha>
					<ThickCloudLayerAlpha d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="000000A09999A93F" d:precision="string">0.0000</ThickCloudLayerAlpha>
					<StormLayerAlpha d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">1.0000</StormLayerAlpha>
					<ColourDarkeningIntensity d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000000000" d:precision="string">0.0000</ColourDarkeningIntensity>
				</cCloudDescription>
			</CloudClear>

This controls other cloud layers that can be used in conjunction with the weather type clear. Now up above we changed the cloud type for "clear" to rain. So a value between 0.000 and up to 1.000 for each will adjust the alpha of that cloud layer. So if you want thick storm clouds with some light, lower level wispy clouds you can set it as I did above.

The same applies for the rest, overcast, rain, cloud.

To review

Adjust weather type settings, pick a cloud for that weather type, then adjust the fine detail cloud settings for that weather type.

By default, the "clear" blueprint has transparent precipitation (duh, it's clear). So you will need to adjust the alpha and other settings for each precipitation type.

Now, events. This is how long, and in what order your weather types will play out like a CD Player playing tracks in order they are burned.

Let's say you want weather type Clear (A) to start out and last for 15 minutes before weather type overcast (B) is transitioned to. (Transition length is adjusted in the weather type setting)

Code: Select all

				<cWeatherEvent d:id="19139136">
					<Type d:type="cDeltaString">eWeatherTypeClear</Type>
					<Time d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000001440" d:precision="string">15.0000</Time>
				</cWeatherEvent>
				<cWeatherEvent d:id="16711440">
					<Type d:type="cDeltaString">eWeatherTypeOvercast</Type>
					<Time d:type="sFloat32" d:alt_encoding="0000000000001440" d:precision="string">0.0000</Time>
				</cWeatherEvent>

Since, the Overcast (B) weather type is the last to play, this is the weather type that will be used for the duration of the scenario. You can stack hundreds of weather types together, there is no limit, and no order. You can do "Clear, Stormy, Rain" or "Rain, Overcast Storm" etc etc etc.

Now, rename the display names to like "Karibans Stormy Weather" save, clear cache and it will be available as a weather choice.

This is my abbreviated version but believe it or not, weather pattern blueprints is one area the wiki is actually worth reading and actually completely understandable with clear and accurate descriptions and instructions.

http://railworkswiki.com/tiki-index.php ... ht=weather

[Kariban]

Hmm, nifty. And re. the last bit, a miracle

Cheers.

[styckx]

The secret to the understanding the wiki with anything involving blueprints is to open the blueprint editor, and create a new blueprint of the type you are reading about and follow the wiki along with how the menus in the blueprint editor are organized. It's actually how I learned about audio a lot better. If you just read that thing and looking at an xml in notepad, you will go crazy. I hate the blueprint editor, it's a tired horse to work with, but it's good to make a basic template for you to edit and build on (a lot quicker) in notepad.

[Kariban]

It tends to hang randomly on me and I haven't figured out what particular alignment of the stars causes that, so generally I build small parts of blueprints in it and then work with the xml it exports in a text editor. There are worse ways of doing things, I think, I'm not mad enough to build XML by hand that often.

[hokitika67]

I hope you do get a response from RS.com....The work you've done and shown here really is impressive adding the most exciting and dramatic ambience to this sim one could hope for...particularly effective in North American settings perhaps ( shows you to be digitally multi-talented).
It seems to me that these core aspects, the general lighting ( I understand some amendment is forthcoming in some form) and potential for the weather system would be very greatly appreciated....dare I say before all else... So, again I hope you recieve a response Styckx.

[styckx]

Thanks for the kind words!

I just confirmed this is broke again on a different computer with default oneshots.

IOW comes with "Seaside OneShots" I edited the proxyxml to only play it in storm and rain weather types and delayed 5 seconds.

First pass: First event is a storm weather type (using storm clouds for redundancy)... Should play.. It did play when loaded.

Edited the weather blueprint events, and now inserted a clear (using clear clouds for redundancy) weather event first then the same storm event following it..

Second pass: Should be clear with no birds and transition to storm event and birds should start playing.. Result: Went from clear to storm and no birds played at all after the transition to storm.

I forgot to include in my email this is during transitions.. Whatever, I give this a 2% chance of being addressed.