Custom Engine Effects

[robot_rover]

I have a custom engine effect set up in unity using the ksp particle emitter, but how do I have it adjust when the throttle is higher or lower, just to clarify I have the effect .mu file in an effects module which is linked to the moduleenginesFX in the .cfg

[blackheart612]

Bruh, first off, you posted in the wrong forum section should be here

In any case, I'll offer help with it. Do you have smokescreen? It's the one that uses moduleenginesfx otherwise, use the stock ksp's module. Though because you went and made the .mu I assume you wanted to make the FX yourself.

MODULE {name = ModuleEnginesFX} itself is not the only module used but also EFFECTS {randomname {MODEL_MULTI_PARTICLE_PERSIST{}}. I'll get into that if you don't have it, I'll assume you copied an existing config.

If you have copied an existing config but it doesn't work, you need thrustTransform in your model. I think the z axis in Unity must point to the direction where the exhaust would go. I forgot but you can test. It's also where that thrust will push unto.

 

Edit: Hang on I'll request a move or Edit2: report it XD

Edit3: I'm not sure anymore, I'm lost in the forums as well ._. It's plugin related anyway haha

Edited May 2, 2016 by blackheart612

[robot_rover]

This isn't plugin related I'm pretty sure. While I appreciate the help, the effect is already working in game. What I did need help on is how to change the size and/or color when the throttle is at say 10% so it isn't always exactly the same

[sarbian]

You can only change the emission, energy and speed with the stock emitter. This is why I created SmokeScreen. The config is nearly the same.

[blackheart612]

What Sarbian said. It applies to everything in general. So you'll end up using smokescreen. Smokescreen chops things down such as how much are the emission, energy and speed in different atmospheric pressure or, like what you needed, on throttle amount. I'll be glad to offer help with smokescreen config but Sarbian is fully versed in it because of obvious reasons lol.

[robot_rover]

@sarbian I will definitely check out smoke screen but it seems to me that stock probably has everything I need. Could you point me to a tutorial about how to get those values to change with the throttle just using stock.

[sarbian]

2 minutes ago, robot_rover said:

@sarbian I will definitely check out smoke screen but it seems to me that stock probably has everything I need. Could you point me to a tutorial about how to get those values to change with the throttle just using stock.

No

I

can

not.

Because

I

already

said

that

stock

does

not

allow

it

 

Fell free to prove me wrong.

[blackheart612]

In a more elaborate explanation of how stock effects work, the stock FX are linear in a curve but react only on one input and goes from there, you couldn't specify which part of the thrust percent or which part of the atmosphere you want to have more emission, energy or speed. Because it just goes from 0-1. Unlike smokescreen and only in smokescreen, where you can specify to make 0.2 of the thrust have more or less emission.

Based on my experience ^ I use smokescreen btw

Edited May 2, 2016 by blackheart612
Corrected wrong stuff

[sarbian]

They use curve, but you onky have throttle as an input and emission, energy and speed as output. So no color, size or other params.

[blackheart612]

Yep I thought so. Just felt like linear as they just have one input as guide and travel the curve from there. Well, there we go. There's a tut on smokescreen's OP itself so you can use that.

[robot_rover]

Ok so if I just wanted to change the energy of the exhaust proportional to the throttle just using stock how would I do that? That I guess is the essence of my original question. On an unrelated note once I get the basic effect working I will check out smokescreen.

[blackheart612]

You can only reduce the energy in your particle's .mu itself and see if the exhaust will have lesser energy. Of course, you have to note that if you want a lesser energy of particles in, say, 10% the 100% throttle will also have lesser effects.

Stock KSP will have 0%-100% throttle's energy going up jsut as proportionally, you can't modify any more or any less. That's really all.

So, if your 100% throttle has less energy, 10% or 50% will have less energy as well.

 

Additionally, there's an ISP curve, you can edit that but your engine performance will lower or go higher depending on it. This makes the throttle performance lower and higher respectively, changing the energy of the particles.

Edit: Not just that, more below

Edited May 2, 2016 by blackheart612

[blackheart612]

Okay here, you can refer to the NASA parts but I'll share what I know with default FX.

there's

emission = 1.0 1.25 the first number (1.0) is atmospheric pressure iirc, and the other (1.25) is the level of particles emitted. higher number, more particles, brighter

speed = 1.0 1.0 the first number is still atmospheric pressure I think, 0.0 is space and 1.0 is land, and the other (1.25) is speed the particles go. higher numbers will probably separate particles into individual ones

 

and that's all I know there is.

In smokescreen there is a power curve

power = 1.0 1.0 and you can attach it to the energy parameter so you can make 50% throttle or 10% throttle have lesser energy than you want. I'm sorry for reiterating this but this is just how you specify exactly how you want that energy to go in different throttles. otherwise, it's default 0-100%

 

Edit: the second number, 1.0 suggests that it uses the default parameters you have on your .mu so if you have 1.0 emission, you get more emission than you have set in your .mu

Edited May 2, 2016 by blackheart612

[robot_rover]

Thanks that's exactly what I was looking for!

[blackheart612]

Cool, I edited my last post just for a little extra info. Don't hesitate to ask if you need any more help.

[robot_rover]

So in basic terms, the default is multiplied by the second number when the atmospheric pressure is at the first value. If that's all good I'll give it a try

[blackheart612]

Yes. That's quite right. The hard part there for me is getting the atmospheric pressure. I don't know how people do it, I just estimate. Anyways, that's all good. It'll change depending on where you are vertically.

Edited May 2, 2016 by blackheart612
punctuations