Talk:Mapping/Prefabs
Prefabs of models
"A prefab of e.g. a misc_model should also contain all the clips that are needed."
This may need some discussion, as currently those prefabs are made very differently. Some of them use weird combinations of clips that do not make sense at all. One example: The actual prefab of the Raptor dropship uses nodraw, actorclip and weaponclip brushes, all without levelflags. The nodraw brushes without levelflags will block actor movement and shots, but will not cast a shadow. The weaponclip brushes only blocks shots, duplicating one property of the nodraw, while the actorclip only blocks actor movement, again a duplication. This way we have three layers of clips and still miss the shadow.
- Some of this is wrong. The nodraw brushes without levelflags will block shots and also block the Line of Sight. They will not block actor movement and they will not cast a shadow. ShipIt 13:20, 18 April 2012 (SAST)
Also, using the clips without levelflags will hide them in UFORadiant when using the Levelselector.
- This is not true for the nodraw brushes. Those will stay visible all the time. ShipIt 13:20, 18 April 2012 (SAST)
Another drawback is, without levelflags the Level up/down tool cannot handle those clips correctly. Of course there might be a reason for this that I am not aware of.
So, if making a prefab of a model, I suggest we use one of the following combinations, with proper levelflags set.
1. Just nodraw brushes.
- The drawback here is that in some cases the nodraw brush will cause black holes in other brushes if touching them.
2. Three layers, a combination of actorclip, lightclip and weaponclip brushes.
- None of those breaks the Line of Sight. ShipIt
--ShipIt 09:56, 17 April 2012 (SAST)
I don't think level flags matter for nodraw/clip brushes. They are handled entirely separately. --H-hour 11:39, 18 April 2012 (SAST)
- Well, I did some testing. Do you just think it should not matter, or did your tests give different results ? Maybe the current behavior of the nodraws is not like it should be ? In fact not a single one of the Raptor dropships actually casts a shadow for some reason. I just don´t want more things like that spread over the maps. --ShipIt 13:20, 18 April 2012 (SAST)
- By all means, test it out. But my guess is that Raptor dropships don't cast shadows because the lightclip didn't exist when they (or the prefab) was set up. It's a relatively new thing (like, a couple years). But in my experience a lightclip brush casts a shadow (as do all brushes) regardless of the levelflag, because something on one level should still cast a shadow even if the viewer is not viewing that level. Same with weaponclip/actorclip. The way they effect collision does not depend on what level they are supposed to appear on. --H-hour 17:28, 18 April 2012 (SAST)
- For the actor-, light and weaponclip brushes levelflags only affect the way they are handled in UFORadiant. The nodraw brushes show different behavior in game depending on levelflags, as described. <-- This is not a guess nor what I think it could or should be, but the result of tests I made when updating the Informations about surface- and contentflags. Of course I might be wrong. ShipIt 07:04, 19 April 2012 (SAST)
- Interesting, did not know that. --H-hour 09:19, 19 April 2012 (SAST)
- For the actor-, light and weaponclip brushes levelflags only affect the way they are handled in UFORadiant. The nodraw brushes show different behavior in game depending on levelflags, as described. <-- This is not a guess nor what I think it could or should be, but the result of tests I made when updating the Informations about surface- and contentflags. Of course I might be wrong. ShipIt 07:04, 19 April 2012 (SAST)
- By all means, test it out. But my guess is that Raptor dropships don't cast shadows because the lightclip didn't exist when they (or the prefab) was set up. It's a relatively new thing (like, a couple years). But in my experience a lightclip brush casts a shadow (as do all brushes) regardless of the levelflag, because something on one level should still cast a shadow even if the viewer is not viewing that level. Same with weaponclip/actorclip. The way they effect collision does not depend on what level they are supposed to appear on. --H-hour 17:28, 18 April 2012 (SAST)
The point is "A prefab of e.g. a misc_model should also contain all the clips that are needed."
The question is : "Wich clips are needed?" ShipIt 07:04, 19 April 2012 (SAST)