Projectiles should always face player

YouTube · Post by **Nash** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 23:26

I read a forum post Xaser wrote somewhere (can't remember where) and this thought came to my mind.

You know how cardboard-like sprites appear in GZDoom. When looking up or down at extreme angles, the sprites look really, really... flat.

It gets worse with projectiles. Shooting balls of plasma or rockets while facing up or down not only looks unimpressive, but for some people, totally distracting and can even spoil moods.

I propose a way to make the projectiles and its impact explosions excluded from the normal sprite behaviour; they should always face the player/camera no matter what.

How this should be done, I'm a but unsure though. Maybe a flag that can be added into DECORATE to tell the engine that this actor should always face the camera?

Or perhaps this modified behaviour should work automatically if the actor is a projectile?

Shinjanji · Post by **Shinjanji** » Fri Nov 11, 2005 23:34

Better yet, how about having an option or slider to control how much sprites will lean towards the player... I find it annoying trying to fire down on enemies, and all I can see are thin slivers of thier sprites.

YouTube · Post by **Nash** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 0:03

Your suggestion sounds much like what I've been trying to get Graf to do all this while.

You win!

Plus, with the annoying bug which I posted a while ago already fixed (that bug that got you killed when you shot a rocket while aiming straight up), there's more reason to add this feature because players are more likely to shoot straight upwards now.

Shinjanji · Post by **Shinjanji** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 16:38

I dunno 'bout you, but I can fire a rocket straight up with no problems whatsoever... judging by the rocket trail, it seems like it's being spawned NEXT to me when I fire straight up...

YouTube · Post by **Nash** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 22:42

It was a bug in older versions of GZDoom.

If you look in the Closed Bugs forum, you'll see a thread started by me which describes this behaviour. Graf quickly said "no" simply because it would require touching Doom's physics code.

After a rather silly argument on why this behaviour MUST be changed (most people just wanted to ignore the problem and "don't shoot while looking straight up"), Graf eventually posted a bug report on the rockets miscalculating damage in the ZDoom forums.

Randy quickly fixed it, and the fix is included in .98. Which is why you won't see the old behaviour anymore...

Epoch · Post by **Epoch** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:09

What can I say?
Angled sprites are a noble cause, and I would really love to see Graf make the plasma sprites not look like flattened pieces of canine excrement, but it looks like he is refusing to add such features.

Post by **Enjay** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:43

When you are shooting at an enemy from a height at an extreme m-look angle, it's quite hard to hit. I don't think it's just because the sprite is very thin and therefore hard to see - it's like something else is going on too. I know the monster isn't getting thinner just because the sprite that represents it is, but unless I aim right at the feet of the monster (or sometimes in front of the feet of the monster) I find I simply don't hit it. Is this a known-about issue?

Post by **Graf Zahl** » Sat Feb 11, 2006 1:58

That's a problem with the way Doom handles movement. It is performing xy and z movement independently (which is a moronic concept if you ask me.) This has the effect that trajectories with a large vertical component tend to create erratic results. The only way to fix this would be a complete rewrite of the movement code (and that would mean giving up the Doom engine.)

Epoch · Post by **Epoch** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 20:26

Just give up the Doom engine already! It's messing with many great features. Besides, with the number of changes from the original engine, how can you still consider this minor change "giving up" the engine when more drastic changes have already been done many times.

Deathsong12 · Post by **Deathsong12** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 20:47

I hoipe Graf is feeling up to a complete engine rewrite...
Or he could just another existing engine. It's a shame BUILD has all those legal problems.

YouTube · Post by **Nash** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 21:27

So... Graf. Any word on the "flat sprite" issue?

I think not only projectiles will benefit from limiting the Y angle. The other monsters could also use them.

Hobbs · Post by **Hobbs** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 18:31

http://www.fuhquake.net/
http://www.fteqw.com/

Go wild with all the features. Dont sicken me again by saying dropping the Doom engine is fine.

EDIT: Wait do it if you want, if you do I can say that you dont play Doom anymore and be correct! :D

YouTube · Post by **Nash** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 19:27

Hi Hobbs how was your holidays !!