RenderStyle Shadow quiestion

[EmperorGrieferus]

This is rather self-explanatory. I want to manipulate the the level of translucency of Shadow renderstyle because it's too opaque for my taste.

[Player701]

Here is what the wiki says about the RenderStyle property (irrelevant parts omitted, emphasis mine):

• 'Stencil' - actor is drawn as a single color. Use StencilColor property to set the color to use. Note that internally this sets the actor's renderstyle field to STYLE_Stencil, but if the Alpha value is set to something below 1.0, renderstyle will be set to STYLE_TranslucentStencil instead, and translucency will be enabled on the actor.
  ...
• 'Shadow' - equivalent to black translucent stencil with an alpha of 0.3.

So, apparently, you should start with the following code:

Code: Select all

class TestShadow : Actor
{
    Default
    {
        RenderStyle "Stencil";
        StencilColor "Black";
        Alpha 0.3;
    }
    
    ...
}

and tweak the alpha value further depending on your tastes. However, the problem is that the above code is not exactly equivalent to just setting the renderstyle to shadow, as the actor will be drawn as a single color regardless of its alpha. I'm not sure that this is a bug, perhaps it's just the phrasing in the wiki that is somewhat confusing, which could also be due to English not being my first language.

And no, just setting the alpha when renderstyle is set to shadow won't work (unless it is set to 0, in which case the actor will not be drawn at all).

[Professor Hastig]

From looking at the code it seems this was merely done as a distinct style to help keeping the CheckFuzz function clean, because it operates on a render style alone and has no access to other fields. So the only choice to keep this style of fuzz rendering working was to make a new style out of it.

[EmperorGrieferus]

Here is what the wiki says about the RenderStyle property (irrelevant parts omitted, emphasis mine):

• 'Stencil' - actor is drawn as a single color. Use StencilColor property to set the color to use. Note that internally this sets the actor's renderstyle field to STYLE_Stencil, but if the Alpha value is set to something below 1.0, renderstyle will be set to STYLE_TranslucentStencil instead, and translucency will be enabled on the actor.
  ...
• 'Shadow' - equivalent to black translucent stencil with an alpha of 0.3.

So, apparently, you should start with the following code:

Code: Select all

class TestShadow : Actor
{
    Default
    {
        RenderStyle "Stencil";
        StencilColor "Black";
        Alpha 0.3;
    }
    
    ...
}

and tweak the alpha value further depending on your tastes. However, the problem is that the above code is not exactly equivalent to just setting the renderstyle to shadow, as the actor will be drawn as a single color regardless of its alpha. I'm not sure that this is a bug, perhaps it's just the phrasing in the wiki that is somewhat confusing, which could also be due to English not being my first language.

And no, just setting the alpha when renderstyle is set to shadow won't work (unless it is set to 0, in which case the actor will not be drawn at all).

Would it work if partial invisibility is picked up?

[Player701]

Would it work if partial invisibility is picked up?

If you want to change the render style applied by partial invisibility, you will need to adjust its properties accordingly:

Code: Select all

class MyBlurSphere : BlurSphere replaces BlurSphere
{
    Default
    {
        Powerup.Mode "TranslucentStencil";
        Powerup.Strength 70;
    }
}

The alpha value in this case is calculated as 1 - Strength/100, so a Powerup.Strength of 70 is equivalent to an alpha of 0.3 (30% opaque).

[EmperorGrieferus]

I see. It's kinda annoying that partial invisibility for spectre and blur sphere are regulated separately.

[Player701]

partial invisibility for spectre and blur sphere

Actually, you can set it in the hardware renderer options (look for "fuzz style"), but I don't think it allows you to adjust the alpha...

[EmperorGrieferus]

partial invisibility for spectre and blur sphere

Actually, you can set it in the hardware renderer options (look for "fuzz style"), but I don't think it allows you to adjust the alpha...

I mean, if it allowed for alpha adjustment, I wouldn't create this topic in the first place.
I've just thought that "Shadow" fuzz style is shader-based.