Hi Dave:
Perhaps one may test if FS Effect (Fx file) '
Particle' textured sprite object "surface normals" are displayed in a manner comparable to "
Normals" in a MDL file via these parameters in the MS FSX / MS ESP Special Effects Tool SDK:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526969.aspx#MainDialog > [Particle
N tab] > Facing Pitch, Bank, Heading:
"
To have the particles remain perpendicular to the ground but still turn and face the user, set them to 0,0,1."
And perhaps one also might find some additional clues in the example Fx files listed in the farthest right-hand column adjacent to:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526969.aspx#ParticleAttributes > [Particle.0] > Facing Pitch, Bank, Heading:
"
To have the particles remain perpendicular to the ground but still turn and face you, use 0,0,1."
Of particular note:
fx_dirtspray_l.fx( Face=0, 0, 1 )
...is listed as an example in the farthest right-hand column
BTW: For those readers interested in using
flat (2D) "rotate to user / aircraft" Effect 'Particle' objects in FSX:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc526969.aspx#InsertMenu > Sprite:
"
Particles use 2D square sprites as the basic element."
Another pertinent consideration (...and caveat !) discussed by an ACES blogger:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/torgo3000/archive/2006/01/25/418037.aspx
"Q:
How come I can't see all of the sprites in the incredibly elaborate and perf intensive effects that I've created?
A: Being the effects artist for Flightsim (among many other duties), this one has bothered me to no end. We have a sprite limit cap that is determined by your effects quality settings (in the display setting dialog). This is for performance reasons, because it is incredibly easy to kill perf using tons of facing sprites. Unfortunately, because
the volumetric cloud system are volume clouds of facing sprites, they got thrown into this budget (this is a bug, and our bad). So here's how you hack it. Put an "
effects.cfg" file in your effects folder with the following contents:
[Sprite Limit]
Medium=500
High=9999999999
Low=100
Then set your effects settings to high and watch the billions of particles bring your system to its knees.
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any fried hardware or lost wages caused by the minutes per frame display you may achieve using this trick. However, I will be fully responsible if you end up with beautiful visuals and not much of a performance hit. [
]"
Some additional info related to performance when using Effects with an
Effects.Cfg file:
http://www.fsdeveloper.com/forum/threads/street-lights-like-ultimate-terrain.6674/#post-238798
FYI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)#Synonyms
"
Billboard or
3D Sprite is a term often used to refer to sprites that are essentially texture mapped 3D facets that always have their
surface normal facing into the camera."
Hmmm... one might wonder whether there is a way to use Normal maps with
2D textured Effect particles / sprites instead of some 3D objects ?
http://www.alkemi-games.com/a-game-of-tricks/
"If it looks like 3D, why bother ? Let’s do real 3D ! Well, with actual 3D objects you still have to display a heavy load of polygons if you want decent silhouettes. With
normal mapped sprites your silhouettes are defined by an
alpha channel and not real time polygons. Your only limitation is similar to any other 2D games : resolution and memory usage. In Transcripted, organic backgrounds with the same visual quality would have required millions of polygons.
Ok, so with normal maps you can have dynamic lighting but you can also have specular effects on sprites"
PS: An interesting example of this concept involving Normal-Mapped 2D Sprites with Dynamic Lighting etc:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2dee/sprite-dlight-instant-normal-maps-for-2d-graphics
Hmmm... one might wonder it it isn't already possible to implement "specularity" and/or dynamic lighting on
ex: FS cloud sprites ?
Hope this info helps in troubleshooting the interesting scenario above, as well as in developing possible other uses for Effect sprites in FS !
GaryGB