Halo Maps Forum

FOG LORD to the rescue!!
Yes, that is my self proclaimed title.

So much for quick, but this'll tell you everything you need to know, and alot of stuff you probably don't.

Ok, to add fog (not atmospheric fog that comes with the sky tag)...
1: Choose or make your fog. You can choose density, color, etc. and also at what distance below the fogs surface it becomes water. That's very important.
2: Choose where you want the fog. So far, I've been able to place fog below and above horizontal planes and vertical planes. Remember that you can not have more then one type of fog in a cluster, and it's bad if the fog of one cluster is visible from another cluster with a different fog or no fog, as fog is either activated or deactivated. It's not like there's this fog "here" and that fog "there", it's "the camera is here, so this fog is active everywhere.
3: Make the fog plane. As far as I can tell, fog planes do not have to follow any rules other then being completely flat, and not having multiple ones in a cluster. Tool considered different elements to be different fog planes. They do not have to form a sealed volume as far as I can tell. A single triangle will do. For most purposes, if should be perfectly horizontal, normal facing up. This way the fog will be below that level. Apply a material name "+Unused$" (without quotes) to it.
4: Apply in sapien. Form sapien select "cluster properties" > "Pallets" > "Fog pallet" then click "new instance". Choose what fog you want, it's name, and it's scale function (don't know what scale function exactly does yet. I assume it scales it, effectively making it denser or less dense, but I'm not sure. Don't mess with it). Once that's done, go to "cluster properties"> "fog". Depending on how sapien cooperates, the fog plane should be visible. Apply the fog by selecting it in the "Properties" window. It doesn't matter where you are or what cluster you're in. The fog will now be applied to every cluster in the map. Now save the scenario (and bsp) and exit. Re-open sapien. Fog should no be visible under the fog plane everywhere. (If it isn't you did something wrong or you're fog isn't very visible. Try typing in "rasterizer_fog_plane 1" to turn the fog on and off. Use "rasterize_fog_atmosphere 0" to turn off the sky's fog). Now, you may have parts of your map that are below the level of the fog plane, but that you don't want fog in. To turn it off in these clusters, open the bsp in guerilla. It may help to first apply unique weather, background sound, and sound environments to each cluster for easy identification. Scroll down to "clusters" in guerrilla, right under "lens flare markers". Each cluster will have a "sky", "fog", and some other properties. The fog, if applied correctly in sapien, should have a number like "-32768". I don't yet know where this number comes from, but to turn OFF fog in a particular cluster, set this value to "-1". Turn off fog in all clusters where you don't need it, identifying which they are by their other properties. Save.
Now when you re-open the map in sapien, you should see fog where it should be when the camera is IN the clusters where the fog was left on, but as soon as the camera moves into a cluster where the fog was set to -1, all fog everywhere turns off. This is why tool gives a warning "2 fog planes visible from a single cluster". it looks weird to suddenly be walking along and have fog appear/ disappear. Try to have fog in clusters where you don't immediately see it when you enter them, so you won't see it turning on or off.
I am working on having more then one type of fog in a single bsp, and finding out where " -32768" comes from, and finding out if it's possible to have non-planar fog planes (probably not). I'll keep you posted.
You can also adjust the sky the same way by changing it's property above "fog" in guerrilla.

One more thing, depending on the fog tag, the fog will become water below a certain level. This has the effect of making the water entering/ splashing noises when you go below/ above this level, and splashed when you shoot it. It may also be connected to your weapon firing bubbles underwater, but I havn't gotten them to work. Anyway, check your fog tag. if it has "is water" checked and a value for "distance to water plane", that is the destance in world units below the fog plane that there will be water. In max, if you want to have water appear, make a render only water plane with a water material applied under the fog plane this distance (times 100 to convert from halo to max units). This would be how yopu have fog above water, like in 343 guilty spark's swamp.

There are some (as far as I can tell), unavoidable glitches involved with this. One is that the weather particle system will go UP under the water level. Another is that if you shoot or throw greades up from below the water, and are very close the the water level, they may collide with it and harm you. Bungie's fault.

Sorry that's so long. Hope it helped.

Edited by Vick Jr on Jan 11, 2009 at 07:54 PM