weather

[Malaya]

Hello,
I was thinking that it's a little off that there is no weather in the world. Apart from the weather linked to specific terrain that is. So, I thought it would be nice if weather coulded to the 'normal' terrain. Nothing too serious but I thought it would be nice if it rained every, but I thought it would be nice if it rained sometimes, instead of having constant sunshine. How often it rains, the developers can determine.

Malaya,

[AmonGwareth]

Specific weather for a region is possible, as you mentioned. We can make it rain all the time or be Blighted, but unfortunately the technology doesn't exist in the game to make it rain or snow only some of the time.

[Jazmyn]

Specific weather for a region is possible, as you mentioned. We can make it rain all the time or be Blighted, but unfortunately the technology doesn't exist in the game to make it rain or snow only some of the time.

Aww, that's too bad, I kinda liked this idea.

[ArchDemon]

Specific weather for a region is possible, as you mentioned. We can make it rain all the time or be Blighted, but unfortunately the technology doesn't exist in the game to make it rain or snow only some of the time.

But there is something at Night that Makes the Skies clear. If you sat in NT talking most of the time when night comes along.. the Skies become clear skies. and by clear i mean cloudless. Amon look into there and im positive you will find something to help with this. People can look up and notice a Change at a certain time but never notice it with the topic of the day.

[meepsa]

But there is something at Night that Makes the Skies clear. If you sat in NT talking most of the time when night comes along.. the Skies become clear skies. and by clear i mean cloudless. Amon look into there and im positive you will find something to help with this. People can look up and notice a Change at a certain time but never notice it with the topic of the day.

well you see, weather as in rain, and the way the sky looks are two different systems, I'll try to explain it (whilst guessing how the game works with this)

the weather you "see" when you look up/around, is called a skybox if I remember correctly, and basicly it's just an image displayed, which can change over time, but will still be just an image in the "sky", now the weather like the rain in the blighted areas, is a particle effect that is spawned around your character when you are on said terrain, you can see this clearly when you zoom out as the rain won't be anywhere but just around your character, however, it will give the illusion of it raining.

now a randomised weather system, that would be completely different from the aformentioned two.

[Arzel Rashemi]

I was sort of giving this some idle thought over the last month or two. The game has a way to make blight rain/weather attached to an entity like fafnir and furahage.

Is it possible for the devs to attach a weather effect to a completely harmless entity and make the entity invisible and unable to be selected? If they could, and then gave the entity a large roaming area, perhaps even making it roam randomly within that area, then there could be shifting weather patterns in the game.

[AmonGwareth]

As meepsa mentioned, weather is actually an effect around your character. Thats why you can't really see the blighted region weather until you are within the blighted region. So, unfortunately, a roving "weather" entity wouldn't really work.

[Arzel Rashemi]

As meepsa mentioned, weather is actually an effect around your character. Thats why you can't really see the blighted region weather until you are within the blighted region. So, unfortunately, a roving "weather" entity wouldn't really work.

Then, how does the system work concerning the blight rain/weather effect to a player that is near a mobile entity like fafnir, a blight anchor, or furahage, none of which are in blight regions? The weather effects attached to them are not attached to a region. My thinking was that the same thing that is done to fafnir, blight anchors, and furahage, could be done to that invisible, non-selectable entity, so that a player passing through or near the entity would get the effect of rain, thunder, or whatever effect might be suitable.

[Guaran]

I was sort of giving this some idle thought over the last month or two. The game has a way to make blight rain/weather attached to an entity like fafnir and furahage.

Is it possible for the devs to attach a weather effect to a completely harmless entity and make the entity invisible and unable to be selected? If they could, and then gave the entity a large roaming area, perhaps even making it roam randomly within that area, then there could be shifting weather patterns in the game.

I made the same suggestion here http://community.istaria.com/forum/s...tarian-Weather
back in 2006. If a weather effect can be tied to Fafnir, it could also be tied to other creatures.

I have a (likely) simple idea on how this could be implemented, based on observations of the varied blight weather pattern we already see follow certain mobs.

Create an invisible, non killable (docile) mob, that moves at speed 1, ocassionally comes to a stop for a few minutes, who roams the grassy areas of istaria. Associate a weather effect to the mob in a semi wide radius, which is just rainfall, maybe a little greyness in clouds andocassional thunder.

Create another mob for a sandstorm effect, roams tazoon desert. same slow speed, ocassionally comes to stop fora few minutes, then starts moving again in random directions.

Create one for heavy snowfall, roams the snow covered areas, same principals as the others. Probably no point in them moving into the blizzard areas.

Seems like would be simple to program, use the existing template that Tempest Ogres, Daknor, Blight Specters, etc. already use for the roaming blight weather pattern.


Come up with 2 or 3 rainfall patterns light average and a heavy. Same for snow and sandstorm patterns.

Might even think of something interesting to throw into the volcano-lava areas like Dralk. And maybe a heavy rain - hurricane pattern that roams the open sea (for dragons who might fly thru it).


Dev's? thoughts? possibility of this being do-able?

PS. Afterthought, perhaps make the "mob" killable only by a new spell that only shamans could cast, maybe druids. Some point blank aoe spell called "Prayer for sunshine" or something, and if they happened to be in the middle of the storm, and were within 10m of the invis mob that's creating the weather pattern, the mob dies (to respawn maybe an hour later) and the inclement weather fades.. 5 minute recycle if they should miss (the prayer wasn't answered).

In that thread Amon mentioned that the "entitys" would spawn as you entered the area therefore it wouldn't really seem natural, however Fafnir roams without being spawned (to my knowledge). Surely there is a way to have it spawn without players present. Perhaps it could be an NPC in place of mob type monster. Slowly walked, 1m speed, and stopped moving alot, but could gradually traverse an area over the course of an hour. Then despawn for 30 hours or so, then maybe respawn.

[ArchDemon]

As meepsa mentioned, weather is actually an effect around your character. Thats why you can't really see the blighted region weather until you are within the blighted region. So, unfortunately, a roving "weather" entity wouldn't really work.

whatabout attaching the weather to recorces or NPC's? or doodads like trees? bushes etc.

[AmonGwareth]

System doesn't allow attaching it to objects like that. Plus, it would only show up when you entered its area. You wouldn't see it from a distance, meaning it would be sunny and all until bam you entered it. And, it would be static and not move.

If attached to a monster, like Fafnir, it would be predictable cause it would be in the same spot.