Need some help / advice with smoke effects.....

wbuchart

wbuchart

SOH-CM-2024
Trying to add a smoke effect to Scrubby's new Spitfire float plane. For some reason I can't get the smoke effect to move up or down on the z axix.....tried different effects and did re-read the sdk to make sure I got it right. I did a google search also and found another person with the same issue but no-one responded to his question.

any help would be greatly appreciated. below is what I added to thew aircraft.cfg. Also am sure there is no other [smokesystem] in the file. I can go left to right and front to back, just not up and down. I did not try this on any other aircraft yet.....just the spitfire.

[smokesystem]
// Z, X, Y
smoke.0 = -2.00, 1.00, 2.50, fx_smoke_w

Thank,

Bill
 
Just a thought ....

Have you tried swapping the numbers around ?

I've noticed on some aircraft, if I've used the co-ordinates from the engine section and added smoke, it trails as a single stream from behind the aircraft.

But swapping the numbers into a different order , the smoke can then be repositioned to suit.

Just a thought ....

Pete.
 
For reasons known only to MS, the vertical axis is not adjustable in the 'smoke' section.

If you absolutely must move the smoke up or down, you can put your smoke effect into the 'lights' section and link it to a light you usually use with that model.

Maybe moving the engine section coordinates will help. I'm not sure if it will.

I think some designers make their own custom effects to get smoke where they want it.
 
Positioning smoke effects, when assigned to the SMOKE system, can be much more difficult. As previously stated, for some reason the vertical axis of the smoke effect can not be adjusted under the SMOKE system. Instead, you will have to modify the smoke.fx file that you are using on the plane.

First, make a copy of the effect file that you want to use on the Spit Float....name it Spit Float Engine Smoke.fx or something that reflects that it is to be used on the Spit Float.

Next, open the .fx file in Notepad. You will need to find the section of the .fx file that list the offset values. It will look like this:

X Offset=0.00, 0.00
Y Offset=-0.35, -0.35
Z Offset=-2.00, -2.00

Now, I have not adjusted the offset values in a .fx file myself....so I can not explain why there are two sets of values for each offset coordinate. There can also be multiple offset value sections through out the .fx file.....and I am not sure what all they do as they can sometimes have totally different values. So basically, it is all trial and error to figure it all out and to get the effect positioned exactly where you want it.

A far easier way to add smoke effects is to position the smoke effect under the LIGHTS section...use one of the lights that are normally not used...WING, LOGO or something similar. Once done, you will need a gauge that triggers that particular light to control the smoke effect.

The Reno Racer P-51D package comes with a folder set by Rob somebodyorother....sorry Rob, for some reason your last name is hard for me to remember....that has a gauge that controls smoke effects via the LIGHTS section. I would recommend grabbing that package and using that gauge....I think it's on Simviation and Flightsim.com

OBIO
 
Thanks, Obio.....

...(and everyone else). I'll try renaming and recoding the fx file, that seems best. I do use the lights and have an xml that turns on exhaust on the lights, I want something to trigger what looks like a blown radiator and figured the smoke would work best for that because I can smack the 'I' key.

trouble there is I know just enough about modifying effects to know I could be in for a real headache if multiple particles are involved :salute:

PS for those who haven't seen it yet, Scrubby's new spitfire float plane is realy cool
 
I haven't tried Scrubb's Spit Float yet, but have been using a CFS2 Spit Foat. Will have to bring Scrubb's into the hangar and do a side by side comparison.

OBIO
 
Not sure if this is what you are after with z-axis movement, but adjusting the particle temperature property in the .fx file itself will cause it to rise and sink with higher and lower temps respectively. Therefore if you want an upward blowing radiator smoke burst, up the temp. But ultimately yes, you will have to work with the offset values as Obio pointed out.
 
OBIO said:
....The Reno Racer P-51D package comes with a folder set by Rob somebodyorother....sorry Rob, for some reason your last name is hard for me to remember....that has a gauge that controls smoke effects via the LIGHTS section. OBIO
Click to expand...

Hmm.. I guess that must be me then... :salute:
Rob BARENDREGT is the name ... Not too difficult, right ? :)

And to the OP: the inability to set the vertical offset in the Smokesystem definitions is simply an unsolved bug in FS2000/FS2K/FS9.
In FSX MS finally got it right ...:)

:ernae: Rob
 
rcbarend said:
Hmm.. I guess that must be me then... :salute:
Rob BARENDREGT is the name ... Not too difficult, right ? :)
Click to expand...

Rob,

Your last name would be easy to remember if I were a Dragon...as it is spelled like something a dragon would say just before it toasted a knight in shining army.

I am going to BARENDREGT you into ash! :redfire:

Tim
 
nazca_steve said:
Not sure if this is what you are after with z-axis movement, but adjusting the particle temperature property in the .fx file itself will cause it to rise and sink with higher and lower temps respectively. Therefore if you want an upward blowing radiator smoke burst, up the temp. But ultimately yes, you will have to work with the offset values as Obio pointed out.
Click to expand...
I think what they're looking for is z-axis placement, not movement. In each emmiter.x section, you should find these:

X Offset=0.00, 0.00
Y Offset=0.00, 0.00
Z Offset=0.00, 0.00

For a fixed position offset, just use the first number and leave off the second completely. In FS, if you use two different numbers, then every time the emmiter is started, FS will pick a random point between the two.
 
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