Steam and Vapor

    jayman38

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    New idea for decoration:
    Ships could use steam and water vapor and anything that looks like that.

    Imagine some of the movies and TV shows you've seen, where some sort of vapor trail or steam leak is appearing on a spaceship (or in a space station, on a planet, in a boiler room, etc.)

    Setting up steam spouts could be useful in all sorts of creative ways.
    1. Alternative engine exhaust
    2. Airlock pressurization
    3. Decontamination
    4. Glass Pipe Contents
    5. Yes, Boilers
    6. Battle Damage
    7. Landing Thrusters
    8. Simulated Decompression
    9. Simulated Gas coming out of a vent (metal grill)

    Other ways that steam can be used in game where the player doesn't build it: creature breath in cold atmospheres, ships lifting off from planets, sizzling steam coming off lava flows, etc.

    Now imagine a steam "block" that can be placed to create steam "waypoints" to dictate where the steam will go on its path. Each placed path-block can be linked to a color to set the color of the steam to one of the eight colors (default: white). Logic can turn steam off and on.

    Imagine setting up the steam path-blocks like this:

    place_puff_blocks.gif


    Then imagine the steam automatically working with those set waypoints like this:

    bouncing_steam.gif


    I'm not sure if this can be directly linkable with weapon systems, but imagine if steam were used at the exit point of weapon effects, or used at the impact point when those weapons hit something and to add additional effect to the particles from destroyed blocks.

    "steam4" could be a good base image for what each steam "particle" could look like on its path to the next waypoint.
     
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    This seems highly frivolous, even in comparison to some of the more obscure requests. As far as decoration goes, sure, this would be cool. But how feasible and wouldn't you rather have that time devoted to some actual blocks?
     
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    New idea for decoration:
    Ships could use steam and water vapor and anything that looks like that.

    Imagine some of the movies and TV shows you've seen, where some sort of vapor trail or steam leak is appearing on a spaceship (or in a space station, on a planet, in a boiler room, etc.)

    Setting up steam spouts could be useful in all sorts of creative ways.
    1. Alternative engine exhaust
    2. Airlock pressurization
    3. Decontamination
    4. Glass Pipe Contents
    5. Yes, Boilers
    6. Battle Damage
    7. Landing Thrusters
    8. Simulated Decompression
    9. Simulated Gas coming out of a vent (metal grill)

    Other ways that steam can be used in game where the player doesn't build it: creature breath in cold atmospheres, ships lifting off from planets, sizzling steam coming off lava flows, etc.

    Now imagine a steam "block" that can be placed to create steam "waypoints" to dictate where the steam will go on its path. Each placed path-block can be linked to a color to set the color of the steam to one of the eight colors (default: white). Logic can turn steam off and on.

    Imagine setting up the steam path-blocks like this:

    View attachment 10124


    Then imagine the steam automatically working with those set waypoints like this:

    View attachment 10125


    I'm not sure if this can be directly linkable with weapon systems, but imagine if steam were used at the exit point of weapon effects, or used at the impact point when those weapons hit something and to add additional effect to the particles from destroyed blocks.

    "steam4" could be a good base image for what each steam "particle" could look like on its path to the next waypoint.
    I like the idea of this, although I think it should be a bit simpler. Maybe just a simple block that shoots steam particles in the direction it's facing?
    This seems highly frivolous, even in comparison to some of the more obscure requests. As far as decoration goes, sure, this would be cool. But how feasible and wouldn't you rather have that time devoted to some actual blocks?
    You're right about all of that, though some people already enjoy "frivolous" block placements that are just for decoration.
     

    jayman38

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    This seems highly frivolous, even in comparison to some of the more obscure requests. As far as decoration goes, sure, this would be cool. But how feasible and wouldn't you rather have that time devoted to some actual blocks?
    It seems perfectly feasible to me, with appropriate limits. (E.g. No more than 1000 active steam particles in the universe at any one time.)

    The dev team knows their priorities, but it's a good break to get away from the higher priorities and work on something more "fun". As far as fun ideas go, I'd like to see this more than most other fun ideas. I listed a whole bunch of ways that this could be used by the community, and it would be flexible enough that they would come up with even more uses than that.


    I like the idea of this, although I think it should be a bit simpler. Maybe just a simple block that shoots steam particles in the direction it's facing?
    You lose so much flexibility if you limit it to a particle shooter with up to 6 directions. And how to determine how far the steam goes? Maybe terminate the stream after a distance of one or two blocks. Maybe the dev team would prefer to go that route if they do pursue this idea at all.

    With my suggestion, you have lots more directional possibilities, and a defined, flexible distance that the trail travels before stopping or changing direction, all with a single Block ID.

    Edit: Less than one Block ID, if you do something tricky, like use area activation blocks linked to a water block or something.
     
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    You lose so much flexibility if you limit it to a particle shooter with up to 6 directions. And how to determine how far the steam goes? Maybe terminate the stream after a distance of one or two blocks. Maybe the dev team would prefer to go that route if they do pursue this idea at all.
    I think your proposal is cooler, but the devs probably want to do everything simplicstically and in way's they've alreadone before.
    Also I like your idea of changing the steam travel distance. Maybe having the travel distance and pressure of the steam would be cool- you could change how readily it goes upwards in the ship and how far it will travel. =)
     
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    At one point there was a particle system being developed. I'm not sure what happened to it. Performance issues perhaps?
     

    jayman38

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    At one point there was a particle system being developed. I'm not sure what happened to it. Performance issues perhaps?
    They set up a particle system to throw off parts of cubes when blocks were destroyed in battle (yep, it was cool and flashy), and as far as I knew never changed it from then.
     

    CyberTao

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    One way to do the steam effect like Jay wanted, is to make use of connection lines (like between logic and factories). Just allow the connection like to be separate from the others (custom texture/shading on it).
     
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    They set up a particle system to throw off parts of cubes when blocks were destroyed in battle (yep, it was cool and flashy), and as far as I knew never changed it from then.
    The debris is currently implemented if you have it enabled. Yay space confetti. But I was refering to an actual particle emission system as the OP suggested. Let me see if i can find a video link. There. That video is almost a year old. as far as I know it only existed for a brief time in the dev build.
     
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    First thought: not needed any time soon.
    There are way more features I'd like to see before Dev's spend time on this.

    That said, adding in atmosphere would be great. Steam, smoke, ion beams, dust, energy clouds, all sorts of stuff. I'd be perfectly happy with a 'particle block' though - an air block that has an animated texture, rather than needing full 3D rotation.

    If the hitbox for the block were normal sized but the texture slightly over-size it could be blended with other particles, look like it's going through grates, but still need only minimal tweaks to the current block system and not have to check whether it is clipping through other blocks. Having a puff of steam clip out the side of my ship while I'm flying is not immersive...

    I'd also like for them to have an off state for use with logic systems.
     

    kiddan

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    I believe steam would be really cool, but maybe instead of a particle it could be in a block form. Lots of Minecraft mods have steams and stuff in block forms, such as Enviromine's gas that comes from burning coal ore by mistake... Some gasses could be boiling hot and harm players, possibly also having pockets of them underground as hazards.

    Plz don't start a flame war about Minecraft VS Star-Made because of me suggesting this...