Expensive Fog

[Tutorial]

category
General Half-Life 2/Effects

description
It looks really nice but can also lag the map somewhat, so be careful when and where it's used.

keywords
expensive, fog, fog_controller, controller, func, dustcloud, func_dustcloud.

We will be producing this effect:



This is very easy technique, using a fog_controller & func_dustcloud, make sure you drag a brush over the intended area for the func_dustcloud.

Apply the func_dustcloud to a "nodraw brush"



The stats for the func_dustcloud are

Particles per second= 500
Min particle size = 100
Max particles size= 200

And don't touch any of the other settings for the func_dustcloud


Now the fog_controller

Just add the fog_controller and set active= yes



And that should about do it you should be ready to compile your map and run it..


Also can be used to make a nice ground fog by lowering the dustcloud in height.



Just lower the size of the particles to:

Min particle size = 50
Max particles size= 75

And lower the brush size to about 2 feet and move the brush about 2/3 under the ground leaving 1/3 above the ground to give the effect of ground fog.

I hope this helps

Alminie

[specialboy]

right, the first bit seemed pretty simple but with the fog controller where am i supose to add it to?
thanks

[9f1062f623f9]

Anywhere in your map.

[specialboy]

when i did this and exported the map and played a bit on it my fps dropped to about 15
any ideas why?

[Mikey]

because its expensive fog... try optimizing as much as possible in the area...

[Opterpwn]

just a quick question, do all the fog entities need the env_fogcontroller entity. and if so what ones? Also, can I see the fog with just a basic vbsp compile?

[Alminie]

just a quick question, do all the fog entities need the env_fogcontroller entity. and if so what ones? Also, can I see the fog with just a basic vbsp compile?

you don't need the env_fogcontroller
it just adds to the effect of fog.
you can just use the nodraw brush tie it to env_dustcloud.
and that is basicly all you need...

and you should be able to see the fog with just a vbsp compile but I have not tried it..

[Grantax]

By using env_fogcontroller, and func_dustclouds, can I get the exact same effect that I do by only using env_fogcontroller, but only place it where I want it?

[Alminie]

By using env_fogcontroller, and func_dustclouds, can I get the exact same effect that I do by only using env_fogcontroller, but only place it where I want it?

hmm, well no the reason for using a nodraw tied to a func_dustcloud is because it makes the fog look more real..

and you can place the func_dustcloud anywhere,

but not the "env_fogcontroller"
since that will effect the whole map..

[Simon]

Hello, I'd like to share some fog settings that look great in my eyes.

Class: func_smokevolume
Particle Color1: 254 236 194
Particle Color2: 248 239 175
Material: particle/particle_smokegrenade
Particle Draw Width: 180
Particle Spacing distance: 150
Density Ramp Speed: 1
Rotation Speed: 1
Movement Speed: 1
Density: 0.2

I used this in DoD in combination with the volumetric light model (sorry I have to bring up this picture again ): http://users.skynet.be/simonlaleman/scr ... 00001a.jpg

Might upload a video later...

[waisted menkey]

hey all. i realize this is a really old tut and all, but i tried this, specifically for the low lying ground cover fog, and i'm not sure if i did it right because my fog cover is WAY more than the fog in the last image. all of the settings match what was described, but it's not nearly as little fog as in that last image. what do you think needs adjusting? perhaps the particles per second?

i'd post a screenie but i'm at work

and btw, it totally nuked the map. dropped fps to the teens so unless thinning it helps, it probably wont be implemented which is a bummer because that's a really cool looking effect.

[Oakley]

I couldn't manage to achieve the effect in the last picture. I used a func_dustcloud entity to do ground fog. I can't remember the exact settings but to be honest having an effect like this in a map is always going to be expensive to performance if you want it to look good. Try playing around with the different ways 'cause there are two or three.

Okay this is the effect I got.


It's quite hard to see as I have also used a sky box fog effect and dust motes floating around. Along the ground is a fog that floats across the ground lightly, with mine I do have it quite large, so its not quite like in the last picture above. I do know that it is possible as I originally had that exact effect with the same method as I have the fog now I just decreased the particle size.
Also I should add that the brush that you tie to func_dustcloud should be made thin and along the ground that makes life easier too.

[waisted menkey]

after playing around I found cutting the Particles per Second drastically gave more of the effect shown in the last image. however, the fog floats way above the brush size (i'm assuming due to how far they were allowed to move). i'd cut the movement distance back some but don't want to hinder the horizontal movement too bad.

I'll continue to mess around with it and when i get something i'm happy with i'll post settings and a pic for future tut readers.

as a side note: i tried it with setting the Frozen property to true (well, "Yes") and it actually looked quite nice and didn't impact performance all that much (i imagine that's because it didn't have to keep track of particle movement). one thing i didn't like was how it turned any distance structural brush white. perhaps a visiable distance setting issue?