TESTBED - Port User Interface Feedback.

[ToeTag]

51 minutes ago, Vernon Merrill said:

Been done.   But are you willing to deal with ~20 fps?...   There's your trade-off....

 

Aside from the frames issue, historically I'm sure they didn't travel the open seas with guns out getting salt water all over them. Also, I believe it was disrespectful pulling into port with guns drawn.

Having ports closed in port would also solve the disillusion of seeing low decks loaded with guns but upper decks empty.  Especially if the ship has been disarmed in ship settings.

 

Speaking of ports.... had an issue twice last night. Sailed from KPR and to Pedro Cay. Once in Pedro Cay's port I saw KPR's port screen. Had to exit the port and come back in for the proper port screen to refresh. Also happened sailing from Little Cayman to George Town. Got into GT and had LC's port screen. Again exited into OW and back into port for it to show the correct port screen.  Made an F11 report on the first instance. Seems when it happens, it's the previous port visited that stays in view.

Edited October 29, 2018 by ToeTag

[kitsunelegend]

56 minutes ago, Vernon Merrill said:

Been done.   But are you willing to deal with ~20 fps?...   There's your trade-off....

 

If a little animation of guns being pushed out at the start of a battle causes the game to chug to 20fps or lower, then three things are happening. A: You're computer is actually a potato. B: the coding for such an animation is extremely bloated and very poorly done as to destroy the game's optimization, or C : all of the above.

 

Seriously, its 2018 people. Nearly 2019. A little animation like that, if properly done, should NOT be causing such massive slow downs. If it does, then there is something VERY wrong, and someone messed up somewhere very badly.

[admin]

11 minutes ago, kitsunelegend said:

If a little animation of guns being pushed out at the start of a battle causes the game to chug to 20fps or lower, then three things are happening. A: You're computer is actually a potato. B: the coding for such an animation is extremely bloated and very poorly done as to destroy the game's optimization, or C : all of the above.

We had recoil and we even had cloth sails in early stages - they work great for 1-5 ships in the battle. The problem with recoil is drawcalls and the requirement to allow 50 first rates be present in one instance (goal was replication of trafalgar). We do not discount the possibility to have the duke of kent some time in the future, but even without duke of kent the amount of possible guns recoiling is 7000 guns. To look good they must recoil separately creating lots of drawcalls. Batched recoil (all guns move at the same time looks worse than no recoil at all). 

Short answer - recoil for 7000 guns was too taxing when we made the decision - world improved a little bit but not so much to dedicate programming time to add recoils. 

[ToeTag]

Wasn't expecting recoils of every gun throughout the battle (cool thought though), just having gun ports swing open and cannons rolling into position at the start of the battle instance for the player's fleet.

Edited October 29, 2018 by ToeTag

[Vernon Merrill]

41 minutes ago, kitsunelegend said:

If a little animation of guns being pushed out at the start of a battle causes the game to chug to 20fps or lower, then three things are happening. A: You're computer is actually a potato. B: the coding for such an animation is extremely bloated and very poorly done as to destroy the game's optimization, or C : all of the above.

 

Seriously, its 2018 people. Nearly 2019. A little animation like that, if properly done, should NOT be causing such massive slow downs. If it does, then there is something VERY wrong, and someone messed up somewhere very badly.

or D: (see Admin's explanation)....  

[admin]

12 minutes ago, Intrepido said:

what about if only the game shows gun recoiling for the player? Only one ships shouldnt hurt so much.

Once little concern.
Would not you have to have two ships in the RAM instead of one - one for your ship with recoil + the same ship without recoil for others. Making it even worse. How would you handle this?

 

[admin]

28 minutes ago, ToeTag said:

Wasn't expecting recoils of every gun throughout the battle (cool thought though), just having gun ports swing open and cannons rolling into position at the start of the battle instance for the player's fleet.

if it moves it can recoil.  it does not matter if it is at the start or during the battle..
have not you noticed fixed guns for all first rates? Thats the reason - even if the gun is stationary it creates a draw call. 

[Sir Texas Sir]

49 minutes ago, kitsunelegend said:

If a little animation of guns being pushed out at the start of a battle causes the game to chug to 20fps or lower, then three things are happening. A: You're computer is actually a potato. B: the coding for such an animation is extremely bloated and very poorly done as to destroy the game's optimization, or C : all of the above.

 

Seriously, its 2018 people. Nearly 2019. A little animation like that, if properly done, should NOT be causing such massive slow downs. If it does, then there is something VERY wrong, and someone messed up somewhere very badly.

I'm going to take it you never been in a 25 vs 25 first rate port battle (I so miss them and I don't even like the big ships).   Just being in that battle with that many ships you take a big FPS hit, than you have every one and thier mother firing cannons.  Even top in machines can take a good 20-40 FPS hit during those battles.  I know I use to run around 40-60 FPS, but once a port battle started with those ships it would drop down to 20-30 FPS and that is just from all the cannon balls flying around.  Imagine if you add more like Admin posted to that?  Nope I'll stick with not watching my cannons recoil...if I'm in a big battle any way my eyes are on the other players not what my men are doing or the cannons on the ship.

4 minutes ago, admin said:

Once little concern.
Would not you have to have two ships in the RAM instead of one - one for your ship with recoil + the same ship without recoil for others. Making it even worse. How would you handle this?

 

While we are on this topic about some things like recoil.  The only thing that has always bother me is why we don't have a extra model of the ship in OW with the dang cannon hatches closed on ships.  If your in OW the model should have them closed.  Maybe one day we can get a ship modeler to go through and add this to the OW model of all the ships, to have the silly hatches closed while on the OW.

[Alex B.]

On 10/25/2018 at 8:11 PM, DaRho said:

UPDATE 2 (new post as the screenshot wouldn't fit into the other post due to size limit).

I have noticed that not all is right as I have a strange ship in my docks in KPR now: a 5th/4th rate violet Victory with an Ingermanland paint and a lot of swinging bed and elevaing screw refits

 

Thank you, Captain

Problem found and fixed.

Best Regards

[Wind]

On 10/29/2018 at 11:40 AM, admin said:

We had recoil and we even had cloth sails in early stages - they work great for 1-5 ships in the battle. The problem with recoil is drawcalls and the requirement to allow 50 first rates be present in one instance (goal was replication of trafalgar). We do not discount the possibility to have the duke of kent some time in the future, but even without duke of kent the amount of possible guns recoiling is 7000 guns. To look good they must recoil separately creating lots of drawcalls. Batched recoil (all guns move at the same time looks worse than no recoil at all). 

Short answer - recoil for 7000 guns was too taxing when we made the decision - world improved a little bit but not so much to dedicate programming time to add recoils. 

I do not believe it @admin

Here is how to do it.

Add recoil guns animation only when in 'On board mode' Zoomed in (aiming mode) can look from side to side, but limited to 180 degree arc. Animate guns only inside 180 degree arc, boom Done. You do not see other ships guns recoil because you are locked in On board/aim camera. Smoke takes care of enemy ship animation -it's not needed. 

Add far zoom for ship and completely remove gun and sailors on ships when in 'zoom all the way out" mode. Your problem is your camera distance. 

Have 3 camera modes

1. On board - Animate guns , but control view point and animation at 180 degree arc. Do not animate anything else outside the arc.

2. Default what we have now, no animation. Medium zoom. 

3. Zoom out far enough to disable animations and moving sailors on board + reduce on board details. Make them small enough that they no longer needed. 

Hope I solved the long impossible animation problem.

Example of "far" zoom, you do not need sailors and gun animations, details at this range. 

 

Edited October 30, 2018 by Wind