Weather Effects System for OHD Modders (CANCELED)

[tepid narwhal]

Hi all, I've decided OHD mods could really use improved/dynamic weather, so I'm putting together an asset pack for modders to use in their levels.

I plan to release this on GitHub for free sometime shortly after the release of the game in February. Let me know your thoughts, and if you have any feature requests let me know now!

Current Features:

• Falling rain and snow Niagara particle systems. Performant, minimized overdraw / material complexity. Occluded inside buildings / under cover dynamically on the GPU using distance fields.
• Blowing dust and mist Niagara particle systems, follow terrain, effected by wind. Performant, minimized overdraw / material complexity. Not occluded, but uses distance field opacity falloff to reduce sharp clipping.
• Volumetric ground fog/dust that follows the terrain and is affected by wind (performant, not ray marched).
• Thunder/lightning, built in Niagara (sounds not included) and serialized, so they play at the same time across all clients.
• Post process lightning flash effect. This is performant, more flexible and better than many other solutions I've seen, but could use some improvements.
• Dynamic landscape material example with rain puddles, water drops and snow accumulation. Able to be easily integrated with custom landscape materials using included material functions.
• Dynamic master material with wetness and snow accumulation. Can replace existing material parent, or be integrated with custom materials using included material functions.
• Rain sounds (not provided) are occluded inside buildings/under cover.
• Weather controller blueprint that can be added to streaming level, compatible with random weather used in OHD levels.
• Dynamic weather controlled using Curves, so you can easily have weather change during the game.
• Compatible with Ultra Dynamic Sky (UDS) and able to be integrated into any custom skybox shaders by using included Material Parameter Collection.

[glass notch]

[safe plover]

Regarding rain sound effects, frying bacon can be nice a goto as recommended by effects artists out there. 🥓

[tepid narwhal]

But it rains almost every day in Florida, and I have I microphone! 👀

I'll do a narrated demonstration and tutorial video for release, but here is my old video of the rain, lightning and thunder effects. It is already vastly improved from this.
https://youtu.be/ZkjtBxowZG8

[worldly bison]

yoooo

this is sick

[tepid narwhal]

The dust/volumetric effects will be same as what I'm working on for the Mars mod, but with considerable improvements once I back-port changes from my game in UE5, you can see a demonstration of those here (dust devils will not be included).
https://youtu.be/g7FUmmkKxDM

I'm hoping this will be a nearly drop-in solution for modders, I've put a lot of thought into how this will work for art direction so it should be fairly flexible and easy to use.

[icy lichen]

I'm going to have fun with this when it comes out 👀

[tepid narwhal]

Well, any feature requests? 👀

[icy lichen]

A sky effect with randomly placed explosion (Like AA fire) https://youtu.be/WWtiIyLTlgg?t=146

[mint pilot]

Sandstorms=thermal vision......Good one bro

[tepid narwhal]

Hmm, I have done stuff like that before, however I think those kinds of VFX would be outside the scope of this asset pack.

[mint pilot]

Since there is sandstorm, what about snowstorm

[tepid narwhal]

Snow will be included

The dust/fog/mist can be used for storms where particles are blown along the ground, that could easily be a snowstorm/blizzard

Modders will have to limit the intensity though, otherwise many levels would become unplayable

[glass notch]

@icy lichen oh ull love snow for ur snowy argonne

[chrome grove]

Facts

Awesome stuff as always chief 💪🏻

[merry bobcat]

How about different effects for water?

there is the ocean in omaha beach, some ponds and rivers

so maybe different water effects for storms, wind, calm, etc?

It could be tricky visually speaking, but even having different sound effects depending on weather/wind could do the trick

[tepid narwhal]

In terms of an ocean shader that is a rabbit hole I don't want to go down right now (because I'm too much of a perfectionist), but in terms of water planes for lakes and ponds, absolutely! The material functions already include the rain drop and ripple effects, which is procedural and modifies the normal output, and can be used in any material, so that alone works for anyone who knows how to create or modify a shader.

[merry bobcat]

awesome, what about sound effects?

[tribal bough]

Yeah for me I made a river using a plane and a texture because the water planes folded was blank

[tepid narwhal]

My weather blueprint has the ability to add sound effect cues which will be used for the various effects, but I can't distribute the sounds effects I'm using

[tepid narwhal]

Spline river shader with distance field modified velocity effects are something I've wanted to work on for a while 🙂 Another day...

[tribal bough]

I’ll make do

[merry bobcat]

Yeah of course, just asking for the logic behind different water sound effects depending on wind/weather, etc

[tepid narwhal]

Yep, that's all implemented, and serialized

[chrome grove]

[merry bobcat]

awesome

I might go to the beach soon with some recording equipment

So some recording of beach ambience could be useful

especially for omaha

[tepid narwhal]

Rain would be awesome, particularly on different surfaces, and possibly with impulse response revert for interiors 😄

[tribal bough]

It would be fun

[chrome grove]

Low pass filter it and reverb it up

[merry bobcat]

yeah, Convolution Reverb is probably the thing i'm most familiar with

[merry bobcat]

the place is pretty rainy too, So i might actually get some recordings

[tepid narwhal]

If you do that would be awesome, because I cannot include the sounds I have

[merry bobcat]

I wonder how material dependent rain sounds would work

like, a stereo ambience sound? or a spatialized sound for each place with a different material

Right now we plan on adding forest, field, indoor and urban reflections for the gunshots, but the same ambience switch could apply for the rain sound effects too

[tepid narwhal]

I use stereo sounds, they are cheaper in terms of performance and implementing spatial rain is no easy task for a modder

[merry bobcat]

So instead of having a ton of different surface sounds we could just work with those more general soundscapes and switch a stereo ambience sound

[tepid narwhal]

I do however use one spatial rain sound source, which allows the level designer to place actors and size them to buildings, these will emit spatial sounds of rain on rooftops, which is very distance and easier to tell if it is spatialized, while rain all around you I just assume is not spatial

[merry bobcat]

I see, so a variety of sound files for rooftops could be useful

[tepid narwhal]

Useful yes, but also up to the modder

[merry bobcat]

things like tin, wood, those plastic sheet roofs

[tepid narwhal]

Including maybe two for metallic and non-metallic would be more than enough

But I mean, if you're out recording.... GO TO TOWN! 😄

[merry bobcat]

wonder how I can safely record though

the ZOOM H6 is not a cheap recorder

and using an umbrella might make too much unwanted noise

same thing with the Protective Case

[chrome grove]

Some sort of waterproof fabric?

[tepid narwhal]

If I had a list it would be:

Light rain on ground
Heavy rain on ground
Light rain on water
Heavy rain on water
Heavy rain on asphalt/road
Heavy rain on metal (spatial)
Heavy rain on wood (spatial)

[merry bobcat]

I mean, the recorder already comes with a protective case

[tepid narwhal]

I've seen people do it, there are techniques for protecting your equipment that shouldn't be too hard, but yeah don't break your gear

[merry bobcat]

what ground though

lol

[tepid narwhal]

soft, like dirt

[merry bobcat]

grass?

dirt

okay

[tepid narwhal]

Dirt grass, I don't expect them to sound much different and I don't have a way to consistently differentiate between them in game

[merry bobcat]

to be honest some of these could simply be recreated with a water hose instead of actual rain lol

[tepid narwhal]

I can check if it is ground, road or water, and then the smart objects are used for spatial sound sources placed by hand in the level

[merry bobcat]

actual rain would be necessary for the general ambience noise

but the spatial sound sources could be recorded with a common water hose

[tepid narwhal]

I honestly expected that is how you would do it 🙂

[chrome grove]

https://tenor.com/view/hose-down-directing-pointing-giving-instructions-turn-around-gif-14814417

[tepid narwhal]

Running around in the rain with a microphone would be funny though, if you do please take a video and send it to us

[merry bobcat]

Yeah, I was thinking about going under specific roofs while raining

and record that lol

[tepid narwhal]

Roofs that would be great, especially since they are spatial

They you can use convolution reverb to make an "inside" version of each

I have two methods currently of changing audio inside buildings, one is using line trace and the other is by box intersection with player on client

[merry bobcat]

exactly

[tepid narwhal]

Line trace will handle levels without any hand placed actors, but the box intersection is more consistent and requires the level designer to do a lot more work

[merry bobcat]

I even have some "room next to microphone" impulse responses which would give a very similar sound

[tepid narwhal]

Do you get lightning and thunder there often?

[merry bobcat]

Yeah

[tribal bough]

I may have a video of a couple large thunderstorms

[tepid narwhal]

He has really good audio recording equipment, I have a good microphone, but nothing like his setup

[tepid narwhal]

If you can record some thunder that would be fantastic, I currently use 6 near and 6 far thunder sounds

Luckily, snow has no sound 😄

Just wind

[merry bobcat]

Imagine I'm just standing there with the recorder waiting for thunder and fucking die by lighting

[tepid narwhal]

Under cover buddy, under cover

Although you might get some reverb 😄

[tribal bough]

Dam ok I was not expecting that

[merry bobcat]

That's gonna be tricky though, lot's of hours of recording

I have a lot of gb's left on my sd card so it should be alright

[tepid narwhal]

The way thunder is here in Florida it would only take about 10 minutes in a good storm 🤣

I have a RODE with a deadcat and a decent recorder, I can try too, but your quality will be much better

[merry bobcat]

Yeah, but not all of them are gonna be useful

the longer the recording the better

[tepid narwhal]

I found even 6 is enough to not hear repetition too bad, 12-16 is optimal though

Thunder sounds a pretty unique, so you need more than a few

Funny because the audio pack I'm using I hear in games now, and it drives me crazy

[merry bobcat]

I was thinking about bringing my condenser shotgun mic too along with the Zoom H6 ones

[tepid narwhal]

Mic it up! 😮

Just be safe

I mean, live dangerous, take risks

[merry bobcat]

Yeah, bringing expensive equipment to one of the most dangerous countries in south america seems like a great idea

[chrome grove]

[tepid narwhal]

Just wrap yourself in a garbage bag and act some some homeless dude pointing a stick at the sky, you would fit right in in most metro downtowns in the US 😄

[chrome grove]

Scream random philosophical type nonsense and people will stay clear

[tepid narwhal]

Exactly

Maybe a sign ranting about some theological conspiratorial nonsense like the end of the world in 5 days, you'll be fine

[chrome grove]

https://tenor.com/view/the-end-is-near-homer-simpson-its-coming-the-simpsons-gif-4804767

[tepid narwhal]

Perfect. I think that's a plan, meeting adjourned?

[merry bobcat]

I think that saying "I have friends in the cartel and i'm gonna kidnap your whole family" seems more effective

[tepid narwhal]

You do you

[chrome grove]

You did say South America so yes

😂

[tepid narwhal]

Crazy dude on the street corner is what people avoid around here though

[merry bobcat]

"Do you wanna become famous on gore websites? "

[chrome grove]

“Ever heard of liveleak2.0? Bout to be the first upload, better move on”

[tepid narwhal]

[safe plover]

this thread after a few harmless messages :

https://tenor.com/view/explode-train-train-wreck-gif-15622571

[safe plover]

(This was in response to a removed message regarding using generalized audio for the environment and how the natural environment may not sound as varied as a man made one of concrete and steel, which I agree with, but it does vary)

If you ever have a chance to sit quietly in a forest during the rain you can pick out all of the different surfaces, or hear the difference between rain on grass versus the bare soil and then as it collects it pools in the soft spots of the ground so now it's water on water at varying depths. I do agree with your point and the above method of general ambiance is far more efficient than something as intense as simulating water droplets on every leaf (lol), not that such a thing is even remotely practical, but the more efficinet effort that could be put it in the more the environment comes alive.

[tepid narwhal]

That sounds like the next Unreal Engine 5 demo, "Raindrops on Every Leaf" 😮

[safe plover]

Accurate simulated 3d audio to me is more next generation than better light simulation

[tepid narwhal]

I tend to agree, UE5 audio capabilities are insane

[tepid narwhal]

Weather Effects System for OHD Modders

[celest hare]

Raytraced audio yaaay

[dim fossil]

better than tarkov audio 😏?

[tepid narwhal]

16 times the audio as Tarkov

[dim fossil]

dayum

[tepid narwhal]

If @merry bobcat doesn't get jacked or struck by lightning that is 😂

[dim fossil]

might have a look (i mean listen) at this later

feel also like audio was the area where improvement is lacking in games

Ps5 made a big deal of their audio

but havent heard about it much since then

[tepid narwhal]

UE 5.1 can procedurally place audio sources throughout the level... IT IS AMAZING!

[dim fossil]

rofl OFC

thx

[tepid narwhal]

There is currently no actual demo using this in 5.1 that I know of, but I believe it was implemented in the new Fortnite update with all the 5.1 features

I'm specifically talking about the Soundscape system

That was a bad video, and I stand corrected, SoundScape is actually in the Matrix awakens city demo
https://youtu.be/99uP2WuU2Jo

But it is even better in 5.1

[dim fossil]

thx ill check that later

[merry bobcat]

Couldn't record rain since it wasn't that present, so I just recorded beach sounds lol

Coming to Omaha

[tepid narwhal]

Oh don't you worry, I checked your annual rainfall already 😄 It is inevitable

[dim fossil]

ah i thought soundscape was raytraced(maybe im wrong and it is, but from not looking at it^^ it just sounds like a procedural soundscape thingy), and i cant stand developer 1hour presentation, im sorry they dont know how to make it interesting ^^

[dim fossil]

i guess i should have picked up on this ^^

[safe plover]

If I recall correctly it allows developers to have more control over ambient sound in their levels without placing trigger like areas or custom made systems.

[dim fossil]

yeah

[safe plover]

I think it may help reduce some sounds that should occasionally be heard by players near specific areas, which may reduce level based trigger effects.

[dim fossil]

i was more talking about raytraced audio (as in better audio when in stairs or with different floors)

what tarkov strugle hard and has always

[safe plover]

Yeah unfortunately I think that's still custom based

Vertical sound is just tough in general I think, overlaps with left/right directional frequency usage or something - hardware channels with positioned speakers I assume help, but yeah great, everyone else pound sand

[dim fossil]

i mean, either raytracing which would calculate it more realistically

or fake it, if it's upstairs, just muffle it, more bassy, and also when you look up , the sound increase, a bit like when you turn around and volume change on L/R channel

i mean its not rocket science oO

[safe plover]

Of course not, it's acoustics science!!!

It really isn't easy though, upstairs bass makes sense, but what about something outside above you?

[dim fossil]

outside, no bass

[safe plover]

The best iterations of this get pretty close, but it's still a little confusing and it is quite literally an "immersion" break

Because now you are trying to figure out what the game is trying to tell you, instead of it feeling natural in the game world

[dim fossil]

my point is, instead of implementing steam audio which was either a bad system or badly implmented

or the new audio , binaural bs or whatever

they should have kept the previous audio, it was better

[safe plover]

Binaural is just hit or miss, and mostly miss for me

[dim fossil]

a simpler system is better than a more comple badly implmented

[tepid narwhal]

https://shaderbits.com/blog/ue4-volumetric-fog-techniques

http://asher.gg/?p=2600
@jovial wasp @finite crypt

http://asher.gg/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/VolumetricFogDemos.zip

[tepid narwhal]

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_GYh8KDyInlwvJuuklCam0JQTX-PQGQb/view?usp=sharing

Here are the volumetric textures from the UE 4.26 VolumetricContent exported for 4.25

You just need to place this folder in the Content folder

[open token]

this would be dope in the starship troopers mod!

[tepid narwhal]

Yeah I plan to release this for anyone to use in their mod 🙂

[open token]

he he awesome

thank you bro

you've been doing a lotta stuff for modders

[tepid narwhal]

Hoping 2-3 weeks from now for the weather system, it will be fairly basic for the first version

[open token]

niice

here's hoping if they add this in the base game the quality settings work on it so my fps doesn't drop below freezing

[tepid narwhal]

below freezing would be great, above boiling, maybe not so much! 😄

[open token]

celcius

sorry

[tepid narwhal]

But yeah, they are fairly optimized

[open token]

great

<3

[chrome grove]

💪🏻

Appreciate ya chief

[mellow dagger]

following

[tepid narwhal]

On hold until after the Mars mod is released

[lavish steeple]

sick

[lavish steeple]

could i use this for the ukraine map?

[dim fossil]

i mean id assume so, he release it so people can use it

[tepid narwhal]

OHD doesn't support Niagara particles, and I'm not going back to the old particle system, so this is effectively cancelled until it does

Weather Effects System for OHD Modders (CANCELED)

[dim fossil]

oof

[dim fossil]

u did have it (some of it ?) working though ?

[tepid narwhal]

Works in editor, not in packaged mod 🤷‍♂️

[dim fossil]

the worst