Thunder, Lighting, & Rain: Dynamic Weather

Renfail

While the bulk of our game is set in a temperate zone that doesn't see snow (never fear, iceophiles: there are mountainous zones in the game and you'll be coming up against snow and ice during your adventures in the realm), weather is still an important element, especially in the long-term plans for our game and how it will affect travel, combat, and characters themselves. 

A lot of people on Twitter have been talking about the random thunder and rain storm that cropped up during Saturday's test on April 30th, but no one caught it on video! I was running around on Sunday and another storm rolled by, and I was able to catch the tail end of it after I loaded up the recorder. 

It's a late afternoon/early evening storm, so the lighting is a bit too dark to see the wind whipping the rain into misty sheets, but it's pretty groovy Looking forward to seeing this expand as we move deeper into alpha. 

AngryElf

Love the realism.  Time delay between light and sound is pretty good.  Would love to see if lightning has an effect on the terrain (special glass/metals, fires, eating struck?).  Possibly make it safer (or not) to travel, as many people/animals tend to seek shelter, or maybe come out?  Rarely does zone weather change have an effect on the mechanisms in play in most games.  Would be interested to see if this is different. 

Renfail

AngryElf said:

Love the realism.  Time delay between light and sound is pretty good.  Would love to see if lightning has an effect on the terrain (special glass/metals, fires, eating struck?).  Possibly make it safer (or not) to travel, as many people/animals tend to seek shelter, or maybe come out?  Rarely does zone weather change have an effect on the mechanisms in play in most games.  Would be interested to see if this is different. 

We want it to affect travel, for sure, at least as far as it concerns player characters. That's an interesting idea about working in so that maybe some mobs come out in the rain, while others hide? Hmmmm.....

Renfail

coretex666 said:

What is the chance that my character gets struck and killed by lighting

That's an epic idea  

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Lokero

Nice, I see we have the next greatest internet mystery on our hands:

Who turned on the lights?!


BTW, totally saw that "pop" at 0:32 right before Guard Jim appeared :winky:
What happened there on the side of that house?  Did the texture change or was that just a lighting shift from recording at different times/camera positions? Your camera shifted about a millimeter to the right at that time, also.

Watching every move you make, Renfail... Every... single... move. <creepy stare>

Nice video, though.  Good job on the composition;  getting that swaying branch in the frame.

coretex666 said:

What is the chance that my character gets struck and killed by lighting

Metal armor would make a nice lightning attractor, one would think.  Just saying, Renfail... just saying.

Renfail

blueturtle13 said:

weather is an under utilized feature in MMOs. Love the ambient feel it gives to your world. I look forward to spending time in it

Cheers  

Renfail

Lokero said:

Nice, I see we have the next greatest internet mystery on our hands:

Who turned on the lights?!


BTW, totally saw that "pop" at 0:32 right before Guard Jim appeared :winky:
What happened there on the side of that house?  Did the texture change or was that just a lighting shift from recording at different times/camera positions? Your camera shifted about a millimeter to the right at that time, also.

Watching every move you make, Renfail... Every... single... move. <creepy stare>

Nice video, though.  Good job on the composition;  getting that swaying branch in the frame.

coretex666 said:

What is the chance that my character gets struck and killed by lighting

Metal armor would make a nice lightning attractor, one would think.  Just saying, Renfail... just saying.

LOL the slight shift is Guard Jim pushing me to the side as he collided with me; we're turning off colliders for the next build, because as of right now players can push NPCs around and vice-versa. 

I never even saw the actual flash of lightning on the skyline until my fifth watch-through....was like hell yeah!

Renfail

And metal armor attracting bolts would be a groovy feature!!!! Add another level of "take shelter, storm's coming!" to it. 

SBFord

Renfail said:

While the bulk of our game is set in a temperate zone that doesn't see snow (never fear, iceophiles: there are mountainous zones in the game and you'll be coming up against snow and ice during your adventures in the realm), weather is still an important element, especially in the long-term plans for our game and how it will affect travel, combat, and characters themselves. 

A lot of people on Twitter have been talking about the random thunder and rain storm that cropped up during Saturday's test on April 30th, but no one caught it on video! I was running around on Sunday and another storm rolled by, and I was able to catch the tail end of it after I loaded up the recorder. 

It's a late afternoon/early evening storm, so the lighting is a bit too dark to see the wind whipping the rain into misty sheets, but it's pretty groovy Looking forward to seeing this expand as we move deeper into alpha. 

http://mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/1310/view/news/read/39603/Saga-of-Lucimia-Sing-It-With-Me-Stormy-Weather-Latest-Video-Arrives.html

Renfail

coretex666 said:

Renfail said:

And metal armor attracting bolts would be a groovy feature!!!! Add another level of "take shelter, storm's coming!" to it. 

Imagine if players had to call off raids / events due to thunderstorms as their melee warriors would not be able to get outside wearing their full plates

That would be pretty epic!

blutm8

raid result:

6 broken limbs, 2 chopped hands, many bruises and 2 tanks struck by lightning

Lokero

blutm8 said:

raid result:

6 broken limbs, 2 chopped hands, many bruises and 2 tanks struck by lightning

Bit off-topic, but your post reminded me of this article from last year in Florida.

Eldaran

It would be great if guards went in their guard houses during storms and there was no one to save the players from trains outside outposts :chuffed: 

Renfail

Eldaran said:

It would be great if guards went in their guard houses during storms and there was no one to save the players from trains outside outposts :chuffed: 

That's an awesome idea. 

"Piss off, there ain't no way I'm getting wet to save some pansy adventurers." 

SlyLoK

Would help if the sound of the rain didnt sound like the kitchen sink / bathtub running. 

Quazal.A

Must admit weather and true day night cycles are very important to me , it adds massive sense of realism, and its what i most enjoy in BDO the fact that some weopans / some crafting cant be done when its wet or when its windy you can do other crafting etc..
It all adds up.. MMO worlds are about realism (forget the fantasy storyline etc) but having a world that lives and breaths makes it far more immersible.
keep up good work 

Renfail

SlyLoK said:

Would help if the sound of the rain didnt sound like the kitchen sink / bathtub running. 

Early alpha, first iteration, herp derp 

Sounded great on my end! Could have been the recording or your audio that gave you the kitchen sink sound. 

Renfail

Quazal.A said:

Must admit weather and true day night cycles are very important to me , it adds massive sense of realism, and its what i most enjoy in BDO the fact that some weopans / some crafting cant be done when its wet or when its windy you can do other crafting etc..
It all adds up.. MMO worlds are about realism (forget the fantasy storyline etc) but having a world that lives and breaths makes it far more immersible.
keep up good work 

Immersion and a "world" feel as opposed to a "game" feel are indeed, very, very important. 

Renfail

@AdricLives was recording during the Saturday session I was mentioning....he just gave us the link in Discord, so here's the video...including my surprise as Richard and Robert had kept the weather hidden from me and snuck it into the build at the last minute. 

Also you can see a couple of really good lightning bolt blasts in this video!

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Renfail

blueturtle13 said:

Love the flock of birds in the Background. Thanks for sharing

You bet!

We gotta change the timing on those birds as they fly past a little too "regularly", and we've got some more types we're adding in at some point. But they add a nice level of immersion to things!

Franciscourant

Renfail said:

@AdricLives was recording during the Saturday session I was mentioning....he just gave us the link in Discord, so here's the video...including my surprise as Richard and Robert had kept the weather hidden from me and snuck it into the build at the last minute. 

Also you can see a couple of really good lightning bolt blasts in this video!

Ouuhhhh I love the fog + rain + thunder effects and sound.

edit: forgot the birds, pretty cool too

waynejr2

Renfail said:

While the bulk of our game is set in a temperate zone that doesn't see snow (never fear, iceophiles: there are mountainous zones in the game and you'll be coming up against snow and ice during your adventures in the realm), weather is still an important element, especially in the long-term plans for our game and how it will affect travel, combat, and characters themselves. 

A lot of people on Twitter have been talking about the random thunder and rain storm that cropped up during Saturday's test on April 30th, but no one caught it on video! I was running around on Sunday and another storm rolled by, and I was able to catch the tail end of it after I loaded up the recorder. 

It's a late afternoon/early evening storm, so the lighting is a bit too dark to see the wind whipping the rain into misty sheets, but it's pretty groovy Looking forward to seeing this expand as we move deeper into alpha. 

Weather may or may not be interesting.  Really depends on what you do with it.  That being said, I would prefer a procedural approach.