Bright Model

[kamikaze]

On low resolutions the player models are really hard to see for me. I only ever perceive my opponents while they are shooting at me. My eyes actually start to hurt after 15 minutes.

I'm playing on a notebook with Intel Shared memory video, so I'm stuck with 640x400 to keep a smooth frame rate.

On Q3A I use the Bones model with cg_forcemodel 1, which solves the problem. So top on my OA wish list is a bright model, designed to be well visible.

[fromhell]

it amazes me to see how many insist playing OA on a crippled laptop, it's the worst possible game for one for a completely different reason - control schemes. You'd need a good keyboard and mouse setup for actual control in a fast paced game, and even then it's pretty much a desktop setup.

OA on a touchpad, eraser-on-keyboard, or even a small center trackball is not fun for anyone i know. I think the only fun laptop FPS games are the ones that are exclusively keyboard controlled by default (i.e. DOOM)

Mobile Intel's suckness comes from its poor OpenGL icd, I suggest using a D3D wrapper like Scitech GLDirect.

[kamikaze]

it amazes me to see how many insist playing OA on a crippled laptop, it's the worst possible game for one for a completely different reason - control schemes. You'd need a good keyboard and mouse setup for actual control in a fast paced game, and even then it's pretty much a desktop setup.

OA on a touchpad, eraser-on-keyboard, or even a small center trackball is not fun for anyone i know. I think the only fun laptop FPS games are the ones that are exclusively keyboard controlled by default (i.e. DOOM)

There's this new thing called USB. You should check it out.

Mobile Intel's suckness comes from its poor OpenGL icd, I suggest using a D3D wrapper like Scitech GLDirect.

I'm pretty certain it's a shared memory issue, at least cutting down on texture quality helps a lot.

Also, I don't think D3D or a Scitech wrapper are available on my platform. Unless I woke up in a very weird parallel universe this morning.

[RMF]

I'm for brightskins available in oa next to the other models too. Some people can't really play without it seems, and it's a bigger problem than black names which is now ""fixed"" too (never heard much ppl about that but you do hear brightskins now and then ).

[Cacatoes]

Meanwhile, you can at least get some here: http://download.tuxfamily.org/openarena/files/pk3/brightskins/
And from servers using it of course.

That's right some models are near from invisible in particular situations, or depending on the map (red team players on redish background, the neko model on space maps).

[HelloKitty!]

Just to iterate: The problem is not that we need super-duper-bright stuff to go with the overbright picmic nonsens for 1337 performance.

But some models are simply very hard to see on many maps. This is one thing I like about QuakeLive -- all models are visible on all maps.  It brings fairness. As long as all models are equally visible, I'm a happy non-camper.

As long as some models are impossible to hit, other models can be seen around the corners from an airplane and other models look exactly like a wall, people will be complaining about bright skins and force models.

[kamikaze]

Yes, you sum it up nicely.

Well, I always play with forcemodel. It appears to me that this is the fairest mode of play available. Everyone sees me as well as I see them, so I'd be satisfied with a single well visible model, but you're right. To have all models well visible would be even better.

I suspect in Q3A they limited the colour schemes of their maps to this degree to make it possible to have well visible models in all situations.

[Bane]

I think that some models are just too dark like Tony, Neko, and who could forget Gargoyle stone skin which is all but black. Bright skins I feel would be good to add to the game or you could at least make these models brighter or retire them and also while we are talking about models can some please fix the Liz crouch and walk because when a players uses it: it’s like they become invisible for a second and look like a flat piece of cardboard.

[Udi]

also while we are talking about models can some please fix the Liz crouch and walk

There's a quick fix in the SVN commits thread.

There are some restrictions planned for future releases which will affect the animations and skins of the models. It's a major step forward and I think we could try to reach that goal for 0.9.0 (100% textures won't come this year for sure). Since the animations and skins will be changed, I think quick fixes like the animation fix above should be included. Quick fixing the skins would mean simple selective color correction. Just unzip the correct pk3, select the part you want to make brighter, save, repack, test, repeat. If you're satisfied with the results please post it to the boards so we can take a look. Since the details won't get lost during the color correction process, it has high chances of being accepted by fromhell. Just don't make the whole skin bright, instead highlight some areas like: you can add a bright band on Tony's fedora, make his tie brighter, add a bright cuff and give him his black/white gangster shoe. With such additions he will be more visible (you can identify the head, chest, arms, legs) but he will be still aesthetic. I can tailor Tony's new suit on Tuesday and show what I mean. I'm sure the other characters can be improved like this.

[HelloKitty!]

I totally support the "bright trim" idea, and it's probably the most reasonable and realistic direction.

[Bane]

Sounds like a good idea Udi about also i was wondering if you could maybe give the stone gargoyle bright red eyes I think this would also look good

[fromhell]

I have a fork of exclusive bright and visible sutff, it is odd if they want it so much there seems to be no interest from anyone into developing it... ah well.

As for OA 3.X I have a couple models already underway. Good news they're around the 1000 triangle mark so performance should be even better. They're also more visible and distinguishable and don't look like the ideal 1982 FPS game vision a "pro" wants. The bad news they're not rigged yet, I don't know how to rig feet yet and the benchmark comparison results have not yet been done.

OA3X should have a new name actually. 3.X implies too much of 'next-gen games'. OpenArena Gaiden?

[Bane]

Any way we could get some pics of the new models fromhell ?

[kamikaze]

It turns out, that the issue is much smaller when playing against human opponents. I think it probably balances out, because they have the same impaired vision I do.

However, the nightmare bots kick my ass on several maps.

[AmDDRed]

Well, I'm surelly for seeing players in the game )))

Playing on 1366*768, with max graphics.
There are two things that makes bot unseenable:

1. The dark model, the dark surround. I dunno, but OA has quite dim textures, that on far reaches make models invisible. You know, when you are moving, everything is moving around you - and other player moving to you being as dim as the other map parts is not so easy identified.
At least model textures must be made brighter someway - of course, there are Doom's bright model, but it's the only model that has such skin. And as the Doom is idSoftware character, he won't survive till the end... The Major and the Gargoyle are copies too, but they are more unique then OA Doom.

2. Blooms and flares blinds the player. Some space maps has too much light )) With p.1 it develops my intuition and rear sight (based on movement not color) ))

[Gig]

Doom? We don' have a "doom" character yet. I suppose you are talking about Sarge/Grism...

Anyway, my personal suggestion, previously told here, would be to create a server-side (to have all players in the same situation) cvar to enable bright colored "glow" around all the characters, applying a specific shader around any player model (like with the quad damage, but without emitting light)...

About flares, it's true that in some maps one has to turn them off because they disturb visibility... but at the moment I can't imagine easy fixes.

[Cacatoes]

but at the moment I can't imagine easy fixes.

I suppose "putting less flares", "diminishing their intensity".
I don't play with flares but I think oa_ctf4ish was suffering from this problem.

[AmDDRed]

Doom? We don' have a "doom" character yet. I suppose you are talking about Sarge/Grism...

You see, you understand me. You can call it "Grism" or "Sarge" or however you like, but still it's the q3a Doom's copy.

[Gig]

@AmDDRed
It's a lookalike... but it is not exactly a 1vs1 copy... I suppose it is allowed, reading DO NOT LINK[/b]) h t t p s : / / openarena . wikia . com/wiki/Character_Ideas#Q3A-isht]here...
Anyway, Fromhell (the project leader) creates the models and in general decides what to put in official OpenArena releases, what to place in additional "tribute packs" or what to kick out of anything "official"... I don't know what are his projects about Grism. There are some mods that rely only on this model to use "brightskins" (some mods added custom pk3 that changed the texture/shaders only for it, while others changed texture/shaders for all the "stock" OpenArena models -one by one-.... what I suggest is to add something appliabe -at will- automatically to every model, past and future).

@Cacatoes
I'm not sure.. maybe the "projectile vomit" map is almost unplayable with flares active...

[ArKL1Te]

and perhaps some color customization to the bright skin? cg_forcemodelcolor 0xAARRGGBB ?? (Alpha Red Green Blue)