Beam Weapon Visuals - Travel time

[NeonSturm]

Laser, Maser, Phaser, Taser, *aser weapons:

There is an emitter point and a target point.
These points travel.

1. If the beam pulse is at 0.25 to 0.5 distance and the points travel 10 meters (push/microwarp effect), then the beam repositions (what the looks?)
   
2. The beam travels a curve (magic beams?)
3. The beam misses but do damage at the target point (undesired)
   
4. The beam misses completely (no instant hit weapon)

I think I prefer the magic beam barrage effect

EDIT: No magic. just gravity-drives! (Black holes bend light too)​

Bending beams sounds like it would be more difficult to calculate. You'd need some sort of rope physics or something to beams, instead of them just being a sprite.

True, but when the point of impact is already determined by "bending beams" and tracking projectiles in 90% of the cases, you can just alter the visual effect without breaking immersion too much.

Bad computers have effect 1 (repositioning), good computers have effect 2 (curving beams).
1 is more accurate, but 2 may be desired by some players with good hardware.​

 

[Nickizzy]

Bending beams sounds like it would be more difficult to calculate. You'd need some sort of rope physics or something to beams, instead of them just being a sprite.

Simple. Make beams a chain of small segments(length based on lag levels, more lag less segments), the starting segment goes forward and slowly curves towards the target, cloning it's self each time it moves. Clones slowly fade over 1 second.

Or is that literarily rope physics?

 

[Lecic]

Simple. Make beams a chain of small segments(length based on lag levels, more lag less segments), the starting segment goes forward and slowly curves towards the target, cloning it's self each time it moves. Clones slowly fade over 1 second.

Or is that literarily rope physics?

That's essentially rope physics, just with very large segments that fade out over time.

 

[NeonSturm]

Rope physics are about force waves that travel along the rope.

They can have different wavelengths and amplitudes but wavelength+amplitude may change due to friction and interference.
​

Experiment:

1. You need a heavy rope because of air friction. As cross-section grows faster than diameter, bigger ropes are better.
   
2. Put one end at a door handle or fix it to the fence.
3. Swing the rope to produce "standing waves" with a wavelength of rope-length/2 or rope-length/3