[WIPz] Progressive Climate : Fallout 3

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 6:23 am

SO ! :twirl:

Since my last Dynamic Weather release (1.3), I've been working on, what I'm calling a Progressive Climate. It's an entirely scripted weather climate that makes for a more natural progression of weather types, and is something I've wanted for Dynamic Weather since I started work on it. I'm really quite excited that I got it working at all and from a modding/scripting perspective it's something of an achievement (well, for me at least) !

Dynamic Weather 1.4 was only supposed to have a few new weather types and some touching up of the current ones. But, I'm guessing this will be Dynamic Weather 2.0, since there are around 40 weather types (including about a dozen fogged up versions that will only appear in the DC Ruins) and the whole thing just works differently. :nod:

A cool thing I discovered while developing this script was that because of its rather extensive use of globals, was that the current weather type was saved along with your game save, so that when you later returned to the game the same weather was active. Using globals also means that it's a cinch to change the weather volatility (which also now has an element of randomness to it) in the console.

Anyway, for a little taster I'm gonna spew out some code excerpts for your perusal...

Spoiler

if gWeatherGroup == 1 ; Clear

set fRandomPercentValue to getRandomPercent ; (get next weather group)

if fRandomPercentValue < 50
set gWeatherGroup to 1 ; Clear
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 40 && fRandomPercentValue < 90
set gWeatherGroup to 2 ; LightCloud
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 90
set gWeatherGroup to 8 ; Sandstorm
endif

elseif gWeatherGroup == 2 ; LightCloud

set fRandomPercentValue to getRandomPercent ; (get next weather group)

if fRandomPercentValue < 30
set gWeatherGroup to 1 ; Clear
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 30 && fRandomPercentValue < 60
set gWeatherGroup to 2 ; LightCloud
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 60 && fRandomPercentValue < 90
set gWeatherGroup to 3 ; WastelandCloudy
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 90
set gWeatherGroup to 8 ; Sandstorm
endif

elseif gWeatherGroup == 3 ; WastelandCloudy

set fRandomPercentValue to getRandomPercent ; (get next weather group)

if fRandomPercentValue < 25
set gWeatherGroup to 2 ; LightCloud
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 25 && fRandomPercentValue < 50
set gWeatherGroup to 3 ; WastelandCloudy
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 50 && fRandomPercentValue < 75
set gWeatherGroup to 4 ; LightRain
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 75
set gWeatherGroup to 5 ; UrbanCloudy
endif

elseif gWeatherGroup == 4 ; LightRain

set fRandomPercentValue to getRandomPercent ; (get next weather group)

if fRandomPercentValue < 33
set gWeatherGroup to 3 ; WastelandCloudy
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 33 && fRandomPercentValue < 66
set gWeatherGroup to 4 ; LightRain
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 66
set gWeatherGroup to 7 ; Rain
endif

elseif gWeatherGroup == 5 ; UrbanCloudy

set fRandomPercentValue to getRandomPercent ; (get next weather group)

if fRandomPercentValue < 40
set gWeatherGroup to 3 ; WastelandCloudy
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 40 && fRandomPercentValue < 65
set gWeatherGroup to 5 ; UrbanCloudy
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 65 && fRandomPercentValue < 90
set gWeatherGroup to 6 ; Overcast
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 90
set gWeatherGroup to 8 ; Sandstorm
endif

set fRandomPercentValue to 5.0/99 * getRandomPercent ; (get random weather)

elseif gWeatherGroup == 6 ; Overcast

set fRandomPercentValue to getRandomPercent ; (get next weather group)

if fRandomPercentValue < 40
set gWeatherGroup to 5 ; UrbanCloudy
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 40 && fRandomPercentValue < 70
set gWeatherGroup to 6 ; Overcast
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 70
set gWeatherGroup to 7 ; Rain
endif

elseif gWeatherGroup == 7 ; Rain

set fRandomPercentValue to getRandomPercent ; (get next weather group)

if fRandomPercentValue < 30
set gWeatherGroup to 4 ; LightRain
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 30 && fRandomPercentValue < 60
set gWeatherGroup to 6 ; Overcast
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 60
set gWeatherGroup to 7 ; Rain
endif

elseif gWeatherGroup == 8 ; Sandstorm

if GetIsCurrentWeather 0DWSandStorm != 1 && GetIsCurrentWeather 0DWSandStorm2 != 1

setWeather 0DWSandStorm 1

elseif GetIsCurrentWeather 0DWSandStorm == 1

setWeather 0DWSandStorm2 1

set fRandomPercentValue to getRandomPercent ; (get next weather group)

if fRandomPercentValue < 30
set gWeatherGroup to 3 ; WastelandCloudy
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 30 && fRandomPercentValue < 60
set gWeatherGroup to 5 ; UrbanCloudy
elseif fRandomPercentValue >= 60
set gWeatherGroup to 6 ; Overcast
endif

endif

endif

Basically, these are the bits of code that determine what the next weather "group" will be (ie, the really interesting bits

- I've pulled out all the SetWeather stuff here, for clarity). Weather groups are made up of weather types with similar cloud textures.

So, starting out with a Clear weather type/group, when it is time for a weather change, the script sets a weather type and randomly picks the next weather group, so that we end up with a progression like: Clear > LightCloud > WastelandCloudy > UrbanCloudy > Overcast, etc. At any point along the progression the climate can revert to a previous weather group, or (depending on weather group/type) skew off to the Rain or Sandstorm groups.

The way I have it set up at the moment, is that upon installing the mod, the script sets the current weather type/group to WastelandClear / Clear - ie, the default weather you see outside Vault 101, Megaton etc. I suppose this could just as well be made to be a random weather type... :shrug:

From a modding/scripting perspective I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on the values that I've chosen, because in testing, the script had the habit of not progressing very far from Clear. During one test it took, literally, days to get some cloud cover or a sandstorm. Then on another test, it was a matter of hours before it was raining... I'm guessing that's because of the value checks on getRandomPercent I've chosen in the first (Clear) weather group, but then at the same time the Wasteland is a bit of desert, so it should be sunny? :shrug:

Once it does get going though, it is pretty awesome and so much less random than using Chance values in a normal Climate like I've used previously. :nod:

What all this does mean however, is that you can no longer create your own custom climate, like you could previously with my Climate Overrider plugin. But, some small voices in the back of head keep whispering "menus, menus, make a menu..." Please make them stop!

Anyway, thats about all I have to say at the moment ! :twirl:

~Xeph'

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:19 pm

Sounds interesting. Your current dynamic weather is already a great addition, can't wait to see this in action :goodjob:

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:44 pm

I'm hoping this doesn't cramp your style, but I've just put together a mod that references real world DC area weather statistics to semi-randomly generate a temperature that's more or less appropriate for the current time of day and month. If you look at the code, I've got an equation that sort of approximates a Bell curve when generating random numbers (I plug getrandompercent into it to get a number between -1 and 1, with a higher probability that the output is close to 0 than at either of the extremes).

http://www.fallout3nexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=13430

I haven't figured out yet how I'm going to make temperature match up with weather though. I could just reference isCloudy or isPleasant, and if its foggy, lower the temperature. The trouble is that that would skew the statistics. And since most weather mods out there add their own custom weathers, if I wanted to try to support all of them it would mean making a million compatibility patches. I'm hoping that someone makes a weather mod that checks my temperature global, and if its hot, makes it sunny, and if its really cold, makes it snow, but apart from that just uses their own randomness to pick the weather pattern. It could even be done via an optional compatibility patch. Check it out, it may be something you could consider supporting.

The .esm that calculates the temperature global does not require FOSE, so other mods, like hunger/thirst/sleep mods that wanted to make you get dehydrated faster on hot days, can use it without having to require FOSE. There's also an additional FOSE dependent .esp that will display the current temperature on the HUD in either Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Here's the temp. data I used as a basis, if you're curious about what DC weather is like. I don't think it snows that much.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/pets/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USDC0001

You might increase the chances of a sandstorm if there have been a number of hot days in a row, for example.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 12:50 am

Brilliant! And here I thought that dynamic weather mod couldn't get any better :drool: Keeping an eye on this for sure!

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:12 am

Yay is right!

Have really grown to like Dynamic Weather.

As for fog in the ruins - I could see certain areas of the wasteland that would be really effective in. And Point Lookout too. ... cemetaries.

Will this fog be low lying or all around?

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:25 pm

Er, I'm confused. A Sandstorm usually happens in the desert, or an area with vastly more sand in it then the DC ruins.
Maybe they should spawn a lot more after you detonate the nuke in Megaton. Because that would change out the weather patterns a bit and kick up a lot of sand.

Okay, maybe a dust storm/dust bowl, like in the 30s.

Also, fog works, but it depends on how it's done. If it's like the fog (Seriously, fog caused by a nuclear explosion?) caused by the Megaton nuke, it would be rather annoying. Not to mention that fog made the London Fog look easy to see through.

I must admit my knowledge of weather in the DC area isn't the best, but Blizzards should happen in the winter months. Not that anyone's going to play that long.

Actually, to be honest, nuclear war would cause Blizzards to happen more often. Yes, it would alter the temperature that much. Well, for awhile.

I don't know, Sandstorms aren't common, even after a nuclear war. Should I be saying "We have worm signs!"

I'm all for rain though. Let it rain a lot more often. I mean, the Earth kind of needs lightning strikes. We actually lose the magnetic Field if we don't have a lightning strike somewhere on the Earth every second at maximum. Or was it 2 seconds? And you thought Radiation from nukes was bad.

The sun would fry the Earth like an egg.

I'm not making that up, and that's pretty scary.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 12:16 am

I'm hoping this doesn't cramp your style, but I've just put together a mod that references real world DC area weather statistics to semi-randomly generate a temperature that's more or less appropriate for the current time of day and month...

I haven't figured out yet how I'm going to make temperature match up with weather though. I could just reference isCloudy or isPleasant, and if its foggy, lower the temperature. The trouble is that that would skew the statistics. And since most weather mods out there add their own custom weathers, if I wanted to try to support all of them it would mean making a million compatibility patches. I'm hoping that someone makes a weather mod that checks my temperature global, and if its hot, makes it sunny, and if its really cold, makes it snow, but apart from that just uses their own randomness to pick the weather pattern. It could even be done via an optional compatibility patch. Check it out, it may be something you could consider supporting.
...

You might increase the chances of a sandstorm if there have been a number of hot days in a row, for example.

That's actually really interesting. I think this weather group system I'm now using allows for more control than isCloudy and isPleasant, because, well that's all there is in the Geck - isCloudy, isPleasant, isRaining, isSnowing is all there is. So I don't think you need worry about compatibility patches, rather the other way round, with weather modders supporting your mod. :nod:

Is the AmbientTemperature global all I would need to reference?

I'll have to have a think on this though, and see if/how it could be implemented. Thanks for the heads up!

Yay is right!

Have really grown to like Dynamic Weather.

As for fog in the ruins - I could see certain areas of the wasteland that would be really effective in. And Point Lookout too. ... cemetaries.

Will this fog be low lying or all around?

Also, fog works, but it depends on how it's done. If it's like the fog (Seriously, fog caused by a nuclear explosion?) caused by the Megaton nuke, it would be rather annoying. Not to mention that fog made the London Fog look easy to see through.

When I say fog, it's more of a view distance thing. In vanilla FO3, DC Ruins weather types use a low fog distance (~25000) and in developing weather types for Dynamic Weather I needed more consistancy (because any weather type could appear anywhere) so I was using a very large (250000) fog distance value. Weather types with a lower fog distance also had a tendancy to have this wall-of-colour effect, which didn't look very nice out in the Wastes.

What I then discovered, was that in using such large fog distances in the DC Ruins, I was losing the decreased view distance effect that vanilla FO3 had (with the side effect that night time in DC wasn't as dark as it used to be, depending on weather type). So, the "fogged up" versions I spoke of are really just duplicates of the weather that would appear in the wasteland but with a lower fog distance.

I do have dedicated weather(s) for a proper foggy effect, however.

Er, I'm confused. A Sandstorm usually happens in the desert, or an area with vastly more sand in it then the DC ruins.
Maybe they should spawn a lot more after you detonate the nuke in Megaton. Because that would change out the weather patterns a bit and kick up a lot of sand.

Okay, maybe a dust storm/dust bowl, like in the 30s.

...

I must admit my knowledge of weather in the DC area isn't the best, but Blizzards should happen in the winter months. Not that anyone's going to play that long.

Actually, to be honest, nuclear war would cause Blizzards to happen more often. Yes, it would alter the temperature that much. Well, for awhile.

I don't know, Sandstorms aren't common, even after a nuclear war. Should I be saying "We have worm signs!"

I'm all for rain though. Let it rain a lot more often. I mean, the Earth kind of needs lightning strikes. We actually lose the magnetic Field if we don't have a lightning strike somewhere on the Earth every second at maximum. Or was it 2 seconds? And you thought Radiation from nukes was bad.

The sun would fry the Earth like an egg.

I'm not making that up, and that's pretty scary.

Sandstorm? Duststorm? I'm not entirely sure which my weather type is - I guess it's more of a duststorm, but I named the actual weather type in the Geck, Sandstorm (for want of a name) so that's what refer to it as. :shrug: Don't worry though, they don't show up very often.

That's actually quite funny/cool about the Lightning Strikes, I didn't know that. :lol:

Fortunately, Dynamic Weather has a Lightning Storm ready to go (well, lightning flashes at least).

~Xeph'

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:24 pm

I'm all for rain though. Let it rain a lot more often. I mean, the Earth kind of needs lightning strikes. We actually lose the magnetic Field if we don't have a lightning strike somewhere on the Earth every second at maximum. Or was it 2 seconds? And you thought Radiation from nukes was bad.

The sun would fry the Earth like an egg.

I'm not making that up, and that's pretty scary.

Well, you must be making that up. The Earth's magnetic field can be explained by dynamo theory, or you could just call it "geodynamo". The magnetic field is replenished from deep within the Earth, unaffected by lightning strikes.

There IS a gap in the Van Allen belt called the "safe zone" caused by radio waves, which are potentially generated by lightning strikes. There is no scientific consensus on that data, so it only remains a possibility. However, this gap has no bearing on our terrestrial safety... I think it's just useful for sticking satellites.

Anyway, I look forward to Dynamic Weather 2.0. It all sounds very exciting.

Edit: And, that's not to say I don't welcome more stormy weather. I quite enjoy the lightning in game.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 3:04 am

Is the AmbientTemperature global all I would need to reference?

That's pretty much up to you, but there are some internal quest variables that might be useful. One is the base temperature, based solely on month. Another is how many degrees to add or subtract based on time of day, so it's hotter in the afternoon than the middle of the night, etc. A third number is a randomly generated number of degrees, usually between -20 and +20, that's responsible for the day to day temperature variation (otherwise it would be the same all month). So you might want to look at the base temperature and random adder to determine if its a hot day, rather than the final temperature, which will swing around by several degrees throughout the course of the day. There's also a fourth bit of randomness that makes the temperature fluctuate by a couple of degrees every few seconds, but that one can definitely be ignored.

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:48 pm

This looks sweet - Dynamic Weather is awesome and my favorite weather mod - the temperature thing would be really cool as well.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 12:29 pm

Well, you must be making that up. The Earth's magnetic field can be explained by dynamo theory, or you could just call it "geodynamo". The magnetic field is replenished from deep within the Earth, unaffected by lightning strikes.

You know, this isn't the right topic for this, but I will post a topic in the Community Discussion forum later. So we can figure out who is correct.

OP, Xepha, Thank you for explaining what you meant by fog, and the sandstorm/duststorms.

I look forward to this mod.

And I was wrong about lightning.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:03 am

Here's the temp. data I used as a basis, if you're curious about what DC weather is like. I don't think it snows that much.

It snowed a lot this past winter (I don't live too far from DC), but generally speaking no, but it does get HOT, 107F today.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 7:44 am

Ooooh! Do sandstorms hurt? I feel like they should be the kind of weather that force you search for a place to take cover.

This looks amazing btw, gotta love anything dynamic!

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 10:43 pm

Ooooh! Do sandstorms hurt? I feel like they should be the kind of weather that force you search for a place to take cover.

This looks amazing btw, gotta love anything dynamic!

They dont. But I guess they could? Interesting... I might have a play with this.

I have only an vague idea how to implement right now, but I imagine it shouldn't be too hard. The more important question would be what a good damage/frequency ratio be? -1HP every 10 seconds? :shrug:

I'm open to suggestions!

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 1:16 am

They dont. But I guess they could? Interesting... I might have a play with this.

I have only an vague idea how to implement right now, but I imagine it shouldn't be too hard. The more important question would be what a good damage/frequency ratio be? -1HP every 10 seconds? :shrug:

I'm open to suggestions!

That would be welcome. I use Sknigrad24's radioactive rain plugin with your dynamic weather mod, and it adds an interesting (and sometimes quite annoying) survival element to the wasteland. Of course with FWE's rad regeneration perk, a little rain is a life saver

As i lack imagination i would suggest similar effect to sandstorms as rain, 1rad/second, with the idea being that the storm blows radiactive dust from the more badly irradiated regions into the air. Not immediatly lethal, but discourages you to stay outside.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:36 am

As long as it's optional ability, that's fine.
If we're going for a realism aspect, then no rain should be radioactive at all. Especially 200 years after a nuclear war.

I mean, Hiroshima recovered not that long after the bombing.

Also, yes, Sandstorms, or rather dust storms, we're not in Vegas or in Dune, after all,

, would do some minor damage, if you stood in them for about an hour.
Depending on the type. Look at Morrowind's Ashstorms, yeah, that would do some damage if you stood in it for too long.

Again, it's up to you, but it depends, do you want realism, or do you want Falloutism?

You could make them radioactive only if you detonated the Megaton nuke.( Which would realistically make you go Owww! from the blast wave, standing at Tenpenny Tower.)
I mean that will really cause a radioactive dust storm.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 5:37 am

Also, yes, Sandstorms, or rather dust storms, we're not in Vegas or in Dune, after all,

, would do some minor damage

...

You could make them radioactive only if you detonated the Megaton nuke.

^Yesss, make the damage something that the player can choose (none, light, or heavy, I would go with heavy just so that there's still something to run from once you're level 30 and can kill everything with ease)

I would also highly suggest (depends on how in to it you want to get, and the scope of the mod) making it so that the damage is mitigated directly by DR, so that if you were in you're undergarments in the sandstorm, you'd be losing quite a bit, and if you were in Power Armor you wouldn't be losing any. Also, even more awesome would be making goggles/helmets with eye cover be necessary otherwise you get a -5 Perception and a screen effect to make it harder to see, could be cool. But again, only if you feel like putting that kind of time into one aspect of your mods, I'd love you for it though.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 2:12 am

I've only just upgraded to 1.3 the sandstorms are really great but they lag my pc. Fighting just one raider in it was pretty difficult, I tried resting in an interior for a day to change the weather but ended up saving and reloading the game to trigger a change. I like the sandy weather but would the sandstorms that follow the player be able to be made optional.

With 1.3 if I made a patch that disabled the script would that work or would it mess something else up.

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 11:57 pm

I finally tried out your Dynamic Weather mod yesterday, and I gotta say it's by far my most favorite atmosphere overhaul. :thumbsup:

I'm also glad to hear 2.0 will make the weathers transition more smoothly, and I'm wondering if this will also fix my one annoyance with your mod... Will the weather type carry over as you move between cells??? I love your mod, but exiting a sunny Megaton to find a heavy rain storm right outside is kind of immersion breaking...

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:42 am

I've only just upgraded to 1.3 the sandstorms are really great but they lag my pc. Fighting just one raider in it was pretty difficult, I tried resting in an interior for a day to change the weather but ended up saving and reloading the game to trigger a change. I like the sandy weather but would the sandstorms that follow the player be able to be made optional.

With 1.3 if I made a patch that disabled the script would that work or would it mess something else up.

Shouldn't be any problems disabling the 0DWSandStormScript - Just remove the Start game enabled flag from the 0DWSandStormQuest. The weather type will still appear, sans the player-following dust particle effects.

You got me thinking now. When I originally developed the Sandstorm Script it was in an esp that I later merged with the esm. But if I decide to take on the damage/radiation features discussed a few posts back, it might be worth while pulling the sandstorm script back out again and putting it in it's own esp.

Hmm...

I finally tried out your Dynamic Weather mod yesterday, and I gotta say it's by far my most favorite atmosphere overhaul. :thumbsup:

I'm also glad to hear 2.0 will make the weathers transition more smoothly, and I'm wondering if this will also fix my one annoyance with your mod... Will the weather type carry over as you move between cells??? I love your mod, but exiting a sunny Megaton to find a heavy rain storm right outside is kind of immersion breaking...

What you've described there is actually, most likely, a load order problem.

In case you missed it:

LOAD ORDER: To avoid conflicts with other mods (even if you don't think there will be any), it is important that you adjust your load order like so:

Load Xepha's Dynamic Weather.esm as your *last* esm.
Load all other Xepha's Dynamic Weather - xxx.esp's very late/last in your load order.
For further advice on load order, read the appropriate readme contained within the downloaded .zip file.

But yeah, the climate and weather transitions are far less random in DW 2.0. Also, the weather no longer changes on fast travel nor will reloading force a weather change - giving the whole mod a more solid and stable feel.

DLC addons are also mostly done, and were far simpler than I'd imagined in my head. Now, I just have to make some (rather laborious) amendments to my scripts to add the extra weather type that comes with the Operation Anchorage addon, play around with a new custom cloud texture and (probably) tweaking here and there, before DW 2.0 is done.

~Xeph'

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 8:44 pm

I finally tried out your Dynamic Weather mod yesterday, and I gotta say it's by far my most favorite atmosphere overhaul. :thumbsup:

I'm also glad to hear 2.0 will make the weathers transition more smoothly, and I'm wondering if this will also fix my one annoyance with your mod... Will the weather type carry over as you move between cells??? I love your mod, but exiting a sunny Megaton to find a heavy rain storm right outside is kind of immersion breaking...

yea, thats the one thing that really turned me away also

still a very good mod though

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 7:16 am

Shouldn't be any problems disabling the 0DWSandStormScript - Just remove the Start game enabled flag from the 0DWSandStormQuest. The weather type will still appear, sans the player-following dust particle effects.

You got me thinking now. When I originally developed the Sandstorm Script it was in an esp that I later merged with the esm. But if I decide to take on the damage/radiation features discussed a few posts back, it might be worth while pulling the sandstorm script back out again and putting it in it's own esp.

Hmm...

What you've described there is actually, most likely, a load order problem.

In case you missed it:

But yeah, the climate and weather transitions are far less random in DW 2.0. Also, the weather no longer changes on fast travel nor will reloading force a weather change - giving the whole mod a more solid and stable feel.

DLC addons are also mostly done, and were far simpler than I'd imagined in my head. Now, I just have to make some (rather laborious) amendments to my scripts to add the extra weather type that comes with the Operation Anchorage addon, play around with a new custom cloud texture and (probably) tweaking here and there, before DW 2.0 is done.

~Xeph'

I had it sorted with BOSS, but I'll take another look when I'm at my computer again. 2.0 sounds awesome, thank you! :icecream:

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 8:31 am

Hey Xepha,

nice work with the dynamic weather mod, and i'm really looking forward to Progressive Climate since DW does have a few small issues.

The first thing is the abrupt weather changes that you already fixed judging by your posts, the second issue is that the weather change happens too fast. The best example is foggy weather: As soon as i realize that fog sets in it only takes about 5 more seconds to finish the process. I can literally watch terrain and objects getting engulfed in the fog which kind of destroys the immersion. So i hope you'll at least add a way to adjust the speed for that, would be nice.

» Sat Nov 13, 2010 10:23 am

Hey Xepha,

nice work with the dynamic weather mod, and i'm really looking forward to Progressive Climate since DW does have a few small issues.

The first thing is the abrupt weather changes that you already fixed judging by your posts, the second issue is that the weather change happens too fast. The best example is foggy weather: As soon as i realize that fog sets in it only takes about 5 more seconds to finish the process. I can literally watch terrain and objects getting engulfed in the fog which kind of destroys the immersion. So i hope you'll at least add a way to adjust the speed for that, would be nice.

Yeah, there should never be any "abrupt" weather changes - this usually down to load order.

I'll check through the Trans Delta settings (ie, weather change speed), but if they're set fast it's usually for a reason. The "fog" weather type was sped up to try and conceal the fact that that particular weather type had some pretty nasty "banding" effects going on during transition. This weather type will actually no longer be used because of this (Just not good enough!). There's a couple of others that might need looking at though.

It might also be the case that you have your Timescale set as default? With the default Timescale setting of 30, all weather changes are pretty quick. Setting this to a lower setting not only has the effect of lengthening days but also draws out the time that it takes for weather to change.

There's a good link here: http://amito.freehostia.com/Fallout/FO-mods05.htm#Timescale that explains what it is and how to change it.

Incidentally, I'm writing ReadMe's at the moment!

~Xeph'

» Fri Nov 12, 2010 9:45 pm

I'm using FWE which utilizes a pretty lengthy timescale (only a 6th of vanilla FO3), so this can't be the reason.

The fog weather change is not that bad that i want it removed though. On the contrary, i was intrigued by the effect and it would be a real shame to miss it in your update. I'm not sure what you mean with "banding", i guess the concealment of objects? I myself haven't seen any issues with it yet (haven't played that much though), might it actually be a graphics card thing? In the end though i think you should keep it or make it an optional part of the mod. Seriously, i want you to keep it