[Terrain height at given point]

I've developed a second iteration of the script, this time utilizing a prefab. This means there are now two scripts in play: the Spawn Manager and the tree itself. 

1. Spawn Manager

Script.terrain = nil
Script.player = nil --Entity "Player"
Script.playerDistance = 30 --Float "Player Distance"
Script.seed = 123456 --Float "Seed"
Script.treeCount = 25 --Int "Trees"
Script.minDist = 25 --Float "Min Distance"
Script.maxDist = 75 --Float "Max Distance"
Script.tree = "" --Path "Model"
Script.treeMinHeight = 0.5 --Float "Min height"
Script.treeMaxHeight = 1.0 --Float "Max height"
Script.aabbCheck = false --Bool "AABB Check"
Script.debug = true --Bool "Debug Mode"
Script.treeData = {}

function Script:Start()
	self.entity:Hide()
	--Find the terrain
	local world = World:GetCurrent()
	for i = 0, world:CountEntities() - 1 do
		local entity = world:GetEntity(i)
		if entity:GetClass() == Object.TerrainClass then
			self.terrain = tolua.cast(entity, "Terrain")
		end
	end

	local treeData = {}

	--Creates the tree data for the pivot tree
	local x = self.entity:GetPosition(true).x
	local z = self.entity:GetPosition(true).z
	local y = self.terrain:GetElevation(x, z)
	local treeInfo = {
		TreeName = self.entity:GetKeyValue("name") .. "_tree_center",
		TreeX = x,
		TreeY = y,
		TreeZ = z,
		TreeScale = 1.0,
		Visible = true,
		HideTime = 0
	}
	table.insert(treeData, treeInfo)

	--Place a sphere at the pivot location
	if self.debug then
		local spehre = Model:Sphere()
		spehre:SetColor(1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
		spehre:SetScale(1.0)
		spehre:SetPosition(x, y, z)
	end

	math.randomseed(self.seed)
	for i = 0, self.treeCount do
		--Calculate the angle and the distance for the new tree
		local deg = 360 / self.treeCount * i
		local radians = math.rad(deg)
		local distance = math.random(self.minDist, self.maxDist)
		local sin = math.sin(radians)
		local cos = math.cos(radians)

		--Calculate the x,y,z cords for the tree
		local x = self.entity:GetPosition(true).x + distance * cos
		local z = self.entity:GetPosition(true).z + distance * sin
		local y = self.terrain:GetElevation(x, z)

		--Calculates the scale for the tree
		local scale = math.random(self.treeMinHeight * 100, self.treeMaxHeight * 100) / 100

		--If AABB Check is enabled check for collision
		if self.aabbCheck then

			for _,item in pairs(self.treeData) do
				if Vec3(item.TreeX, item.TreeY, item.TreeZ):DistanceToPoint(Vec3(x,y,z)) < 0.5 then
					System:Print("Double Point")
					goto continue
				end
			end

			for i = 0, world:CountEntities() - 1 do
				local entity = world:GetEntity(i)
				if entity:GetClass() == Object.ModelClass and entity:GetParent() == nil then
					if entity:GetAABB():IntersectsPoint(Vec3(x,y,z), 1) then
						System:Print("intersect with entity " .. entity:GetKeyValue("name"))
						goto continue
					end
				end
			end
		end

		--Adds the tree info into the table
		local treeInfo = {
			TreeName = self.entity:GetKeyValue("name") .. "_tree_" .. i,
			TreeX = x,
			TreeY = y,
			TreeZ = z,
			TreeScale = scale,
			Visible = true,
			HideTime = 0
		}
		table.insert(treeData, treeInfo)
		::continue::
	end
	self.treeData = treeData;
end

function Script:UpdateWorld()
	--Enables the trees when the player is nearby
	local distance = self.entity:GetDistance(self.player)
	if distance > self.playerDistance + self.maxDist and not self.entity:Hidden() then
		self.entity:Hide()
		self:HideTrees()
	elseif distance < self.playerDistance + self.maxDist and self.entity:Hidden() then
		self.entity:Show()
		self:ShowTrees()
	end
	-- System:Print(self.entity:GetKeyValue("name") .. " Children " .. self.entity:CountChildren() .. " / " .. #self.treeData)
end

function Script:ShowTrees()
	System:Print("Show Trees!")
	for _, item in pairs(self.treeData) do
		local tree = Prefab:Load(self.tree)
		tree.script.treeData = item
		tree:SetPosition(item.TreeX, item.TreeY, item.TreeZ)
		tree:SetScale(item.TreeScale)
		tree:SetKeyValue("name", item.TreeName)
		tree:SetParent(self.entity)
		if not item.Visible then
			tree:Hide()
		end
	end
end

function Script:HideTrees() 
	local t = self.entity:CountChildren()
	for i = 0, self.entity:CountChildren() -1 do
		local child = self.entity:GetChild(i)
		child:Release()
	end
end

2. Tree Script

Script.treeData = nil
Script.respawn = 10 * 60000

function Script:UpdateWorld()
	if self.entity:Hidden() then
		local now = Time:GetCurrent()
		if now > self.treeData.HideTime + self.respawn then
			self.treeData.Visible = true
			self.entity:Show()
		end
	end
end

function Script:Collision(entity, position, normal, speed)
	if entity:GetKeyValue("name") == "player" then
		if Window:GetCurrent():KeyDown(Key.E) then
			self.entity:Hide()
			self.treeData.Visible = false
			self.treeData.HideTime = Time:GetCurrent()
		end
	end
end

As you can see, the trees are no longer created within the Start function. They are dynamically generated when the player is nearby and released when the player moves away. This enhancement greatly improves performance. For example, if you have 10 spawners each with 50 trees, the old script would add 500 entities to the scene. With the new script, you only add the 10 pivot points, and create the entities for the trees only when the player is nearby.

I hope this will help anyone within the future  

[Terrain height at given point]

Ah okey this sounds very nice. I finished my script for a tree spawning based on a pivot
 

Script.terrain = nil
Script.player = nil --Entity "Player"
Script.playerDistance = 30 --Float "Player Distance"
Script.seed = 123456 --Float "Seed"
Script.treeCount = 25 --Int "Trees"
Script.minDist = 25 --Float "Min Distance"
Script.maxDist = 75 --Float "Max Distance"
Script.tree = "" --Path "Model"
Script.treeMinHeight = 0.5 --Float "Min height"
Script.treeMaxHeight = 1.0 --Float "Max height"
Script.debug = true --Bool "Debug Mode"

function Script:Start()
	--Find the terrain
	local world = World:GetCurrent()
	for i = 0, world:CountEntities() - 1 do
		local entity = world:GetEntity(i)
		if entity:GetClass() == Object.TerrainClass then
			self.terrain = tolua.cast(entity, "Terrain")
		end
	end

	--Sets a tree at the pivot location
	local x = self.entity:GetPosition(true).x
	local z = self.entity:GetPosition(true).z
	local y = self.terrain:GetElevation(x, z)
	local tree = Model:Load(self.tree)
	tree:SetPosition(x, y, z)
	tree:SetParent(self.entity)

	--Place a sphere at the pivot location
	if self.debug then
		local spehre = Model:Sphere()
		spehre:SetColor(1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
		spehre:SetScale(1.0)
		spehre:SetPosition(x, y, z)
	end

	math.randomseed(self.seed)
	for i = 0, self.treeCount do
		--Calculate the angle and the distance for the new tree
		local deg = 360 / self.treeCount * i
		local radians = math.rad(deg)
		local distance = math.random(self.minDist, self.maxDist)
		local sin = math.sin(radians)
		local cos = math.cos(radians)

		--Calculate the x,y,z cords for the tree
		local x = self.entity:GetPosition(true).x + distance * cos
		local z = self.entity:GetPosition(true).z + distance * sin
		local y = self.terrain:GetElevation(x, z)

		--Calculates the scale for the tree
		local scale = math.random(self.treeMinHeight * 100, self.treeMaxHeight * 100) / 100

		--Creates the tree within the scene
		local tree = Model:Load(self.tree)
		tree:SetPosition(x, y, z)
		tree:SetScale(scale)
		tree:SetParent(self.entity)

		--Creates a debug sphere at the tree location
		if self.debug then
			local spehre = Model:Sphere()
			spehre:SetColor(1.0, 1.0, 0.0)
			spehre:SetScale(1.0)
			spehre:SetPosition(x, y, z)
		end
	end
end

function Script:UpdateWorld()
	--Enables the trees when the player is nearby
	local distance = self.entity:GetDistance(self.player)
	if distance > self.playerDistance then
		self.entity:Hide()
	else
		self.entity:Show()
	end
end

 

[Terrain height at given point]

Ah, okay. Thanks anyway. I'll give it a shot with C++. If that doesn't work, I'll have to explore alternative methods to add wood to the player's inventory. Perhaps by incorporating additional prefab trees placed around a pivot, similar to the suggestion by @Alienhead.

----

1 hour ago, Josh said:

In Ultra this is quite a lot more flexible.

For example, will it be possible to access individual vegetation objects in the Ultra Engine?

 

 

[Terrain height at given point]

ok, so there is no way to get the position from the trees? I found within the article linked from @klepto2 something like this

 

AABB aabb = world->aabb;
std::vector<Mat4> instances;
layer->GetInstancesInAABB(aabb, instances);

 

[Terrain height at given point]

Is there a documentation about the terrain class in lua? 

[Nuclear Frontiers]

The new dev diary is online  i also found a name for the project "Nuclear Frontiers" i think the name fits well. Here is the logo for it

 

an you can watch the new dev diary here: 

 

[Nuclear Frontiers]

Tomorrow the new dev diary will be available  here is some sneek peek out of one building

[Nuclear Frontiers]

First Real House will included into the game today  It as not easy to create because i was need to create some own materials for substance

[Pick is working realy wired]

Im not sure anymore tbh. But i think it was the editor.

[Pick is working realy wired]

I think it has something to do with the model. After I fixed the issue on the zombie model today, the hit registration on it is now perfect. It might be due to the surface size.

[check if an entity still collides with another]

Thanks for the anwesers. 

On 10/3/2023 at 2:59 AM, Alienhead said:

Check out AABB.

i will check this

 

 

On 10/3/2023 at 3:17 AM, reepblue said:

If it's physics related, use the Collision function instead of UpdatePhysics Use the entity argument to filter what entity or type it needs to trigger your event.

yeah i set a boolean variable to true within the method and set it to false within UpdatePhysics. So at the moment its working fine. 

[Pick is working realy wired]

5 hours ago, Josh said:

Picking does not work on animated models because the vertices only move around on the GPU. In my AI scripts I handled this by using the box pick mode on all children of the model, then disabling picking on the model itself:

Thank you, this is very helpful. I believe I've properly configured the parameters in my pick function to acquire the closest target. However, there's a chance I may have misunderstood something.

self.cam:Pick(p.x, p.y, pickinfo, pickradius, true, Collision.Prop)

-----

I also edited the model a bit because at some parts of the body was no hit registration. So i added some spheres and asign them an invisible hitbox material. Works great so far 

[Pick is working realy wired]

I got another problem with pick. It seems pick is ignoring animations. 

Without animation 

with the idle animation

[Widgets and Editor plugins for Ultraengine]

ah ok  i dont know this. Its a nice feature

[Widgets and Editor plugins for Ultraengine]

 

Hello :),

I believe that incorporating widgets and plugins for the new engine would be a fantastic addition. This would enable users to customize and enhance their workflow with personalized "features" and also allow for easy sharing within the community.

For instance, if you wish to generate random elements within a scene, you could design a custom widget for the right tab bar. This widget could be programmed to create these elements and seamlessly integrate them into the active scene. Another example could be the implementation of a "road" tool designed to efficiently construct roads.

 

[Nuclear Frontiers]

Some Ingame footage here  also check out the first dev diary from the game 

 

[check if an entity still collides with another]

Hello

I would like to inquire if it's possible to use an Lua function to determine if one entity collides with another. My objective is to verify whether the player remains within a trigger area. At present, I accomplish this by setting a boolean variable to true in the event of a collision with the player using Script:Collision. Then, in Script:UpdatePhysics(), I repeatedly reset this variable to false.

[how to remove an single post effect from the camera]

Here is my effect manager script. It's really simple to use. Just create a pivot in your map and add the script. Then assign your camera to the script.

Script.effects = {}
Script.camera = nil --Entity "Camera";

function Script:Start()
	self:AddEffect("bloom", "Shaders/PostEffects/bloom.lua", true)
	self:AddEffect("ssao", "Shaders/PostEffects/ssao.shader", true)
	self:AddEffect("godrays", "Shaders/PostEffects/godrays.lua", true)
	self:AddEffect("grayscale", "Shaders/PostEffects/grayscale.shader", false)
	self:BuildEffectChain()
end

--Adds a new effect to the effect chain
function Script:AddEffect(name, file, enabled)
	local effect = {
		name = name,
		file = file,
		enabled = enabled
	}
	table.insert(self.effects, effect)
	if enabled then
		self:BuildEffectChain()
	end
	return #self.effects + 1
end

--Disables the effect at position n
function Script:DisableEffect(index)
	if self.effects[index].enabled == true then
		self.effects[index].enabled = false
		self:BuildEffectChain()
	end
end

--Enables the effect at position n
function Script:EnableEffect(index)
	if self.effects[index].enabled == false then
		self.effects[index].enabled = true
		self:BuildEffectChain()
	end
end

--Returns the effect index with the given name
function Script:GetEffectIndex(name)
	for i, item in ipairs(self.effects) do
		if item.name == name then
			return i
		end
	end
end

--Returns the effect with the given name (untested)
function Script:GetEffect(name)
	local effectIndex = self:GetEffectIndex(name);
	return self.effects[effectIndex];
end

-- Rebuils the effect chain
function Script:BuildEffectChain()
	self.camera:ClearPostEffects()
	for i, item in ipairs(self.effects) do
		if item.enabled then
			self.camera:AddPostEffect(item.file)
		end
	end
end

You can call the functions from the script when you assign the pivot as the entity. For example:

and use

local effectIndex = self.effectManager.script:GetEffectIndex("grayscale");
self.effectManager.script:DisableEffect(effectIndex);

[how to remove an single post effect from the camera]

oh ok  so in this case i write an effect manager script. I will share it tomorrow here if anyone else needs it.

[how to remove an single post effect from the camera]

Hello, i want to ask how i can remove a single post effect from the camera with lua. I was looking in the documentation but there is only a function to remove all. 

[Shader Tutorial]

Thanks   i starting to read all the tutorials  i think if im able to create own shader in leadwerks and afterwards in ultimate it would be realy helpful.

[Ultra engine profesional edition steam]

yeah i know. I just want know if its possible to pay with paypal because i dont have a credit card.

[Ultra engine profesional edition steam]

Is it possible to buy the non steam version with paypal ?

[Pick is working realy wired]

Hello  the camera pick is working realy wired for me. You can see it within the video 2023-09-30 02-36-14 (streamable.com). This is my code

 

function Script:Shot()
	--Create a sphere to indicate where the pick hits
	local pickradius = 0.1;

	picksphere = Model:Sphere()
	picksphere:SetColor(1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
	picksphere:SetPickMode(0)
	picksphere:SetScale(pickradius * 2.0)
	picksphere:Hide()

	picksphere:Hide()
	local pickinfo = PickInfo()
	local p = window:GetMousePosition()
	if (self.cam:Pick(p.x, p.y, pickinfo, pickradius, true, Collision.Prop)) then
		picksphere:Show();
		picksphere:SetPosition(pickinfo.position);
		local name = pickinfo.entity:GetKeyValue("name");
		pickinfo.entity:Hide();
		System:Print(name);
	end
end

 

[Shader Tutorial]

Hello  i want to ask if there is any tutorial to create own shaders with GLSL in Leadwerks?