All About: env_beam & env_laser
Difficulty: Beginner |
| Category: CS > Mapping | Author(s): |
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env_laser
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Description:
The env_laser allows you to setup damage-causing beam effects. It is very similar to the env_beam entity.
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Usage:
o Name (targetname) - This entity can be triggered on and off. If you give it a Name, it will start off unless you enable the Start On flag (see below).
o Target of laser (LaserTarget) - The actual laser will extend from the env_laser location to the object specified by this value.
Note: Generally the laser target will be an info_target entity, but you can use other entities. Anything that can have a name can be a target. If you are going to use a non-point entity as a target (a func_wall, for example), you need to include an origin brush as part of the entity. An origin brush is a brush that is covered with the texture named ORIGIN, and it will be invisible in the game. The exact center of the origin brush will be used as the laser target.
If you have several objects with the same name as the laser target, the env_laser will jump from point to point randomly. However, the laser will always originate at the env_laser location.
o Render FX (renderfx) - See rendering properties for information on Render FX.
o Brightness (1 - 255) (renderamt) - This sets the brightness of the beam. It acts the same way transparency does - a higher number equals a more "solid" beam.
o Beam color (R G B) (rendercolor) - Use an RGB value to set the color of the beam.
o Width of beam (width) - This can be a value between 0 and 255. In game, it will equal (n * 0.1) pixels in width.
o Amount of noise (0 - 255) (NoiseAmplitude) - The amount of noise determines how "active" the laser beam will be. This is used to simulate the arcing movement of an electrical beam. A noise value of 0 will produce a flat straight laser.
o Sprite name (texture) - This is the sprite used as the laser texture. The default sprite is sprites/laserbeam.spr.
o End sprite (EndSprite) - This sprite will be placed at the end of the laser strike.
o Texture scroll rate (TextureScroll) - This is the scroll rate of the sprite texture. Adjust as needed.
o Starting frame (framestart) - This allows you to start the sprite on a different frame in the event that you're using a number of env_lasers in the same area. This will prevent them from looking the same.
o Damage / second (damage) - If you want your laser to do damage (and who wouldn't?), give it a damage value here.
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Flags: There are a number of flags you can use on the env_laser entity.
o Start On (1) - If the env_laser has a Name, it will start off by default. Enable this flag to make the laser start on.
o Start Sparks (16) - If this is enabled, sparks will emit from the env_laser location.
o End Sparks (32) - If this is enabled, sparks will emit from the target location of the laser.
o Decal End (64) - When this is enabled, there will be a burn mark at the laser target location.
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env_beam
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Description:
This can be used to create a number of beam effects ranging from electric effects to lasers.
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Usage:
o Name (targetname) - This entity can be activated by another trigger. If this is what is being done, a name must be entered here.
o Start Entity (LightningStart) - Then env_beam flows between two entities. This is the starting point. For a stationary beam, an info_target works fine.
o Ending Entity (LightningEnd) - Then env_beam flows between two entities. This is the end point. For a stationary beam, an info_target works fine. If this points at a group of entities with the same name, the env_beam will target one of the entities at random.
o Render FX (renderfx) - See rendering properties for information on Render FX.
o Brightness (1 - 255) (renderamt) - This sets the brightness of the beam. It acts the same way transparency does - a higher number equals a more "solid" beam.
o Beam color (R G B) (rendercolor) - Use an RGB value to set the color of the beam.
o Life (seconds 0 = infinite) (life) - This is the number of seconds the beam will be active. To make a beam always stay on, enter a value of 0 here.
o Width of beam (BoltWidth) - This can be a value between 0 and 255. In game, it will equal (n * 0.1) pixels in width.
o Amount of noise (0 - 255) (NoiseAmplitude) - The amount of noise determines how "active" the laser beam will be. This is used to simulate the arcing movement of an electrical beam. A noise value of 0 will produce a flat straight laser.
o Sprite name (texture) - This is the sprite used as the laser texture. The default sprite is sprites/laserbeam.spr. By browsing the Sprites directory in pak0.pak, you can find a number of suitable sprites. (Use SprView to view individual sprites).
o Texture scroll rate (TextureScroll) - This is the scroll rate of the sprite texture. Adjust as needed.
o Frames per 10 seconds (framerate) - This value allows you to control how fast the beam texture animation is displayed.
o Starting frame (framestart) - This allows you to start the sprite on a different frame in the event that you're using a number of env_lasers in the same area. This will prevent them from looking the same.
o Strike again time (secs) (StrikeTime) - If the beam Life is not infinite, the value here determines how often it will strike.
o Damage / second (damage) - If you want your laser to do damage (and who wouldn't?), give it a damage value here. The beam must have a start and end point for the damage to occur.
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Flags: There are a number of flags available to this entity.
o Start On (1) - If the env_laser has a Name, it will start off by default. Enable this flag to make the laser start on.
o Toggle (2) - If this is enabled, triggering the env_beam multiple times will toggle the beam on and off.
o Random Strike (4) - When enabled, it makes the delay between strikes a random number between 0 and the specified delay (based on the Strike Again Time in the entity properties).
o Ring (8) - (? - possibly not implemented fully)
o Start Sparks (16) - If this is enabled, sparks will emit from the env_laser location.
o End Sparks (32) - If this is enabled, sparks will emit from the target location of the laser.
o Decal End (64) - When this is enabled, there will be a burn mark at the laser target location.
o Shade Start ([i128) - If this is enabled, the start of the beam will be faded out.
o Shade End (256) - If this is enabled, the end of the beam will be faded out.
Some of the above flags do not appear to work correctly (random strike, ring, start sparks, end sparks, and shade end).
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Special Uses:
It is possible to have the beam target random points. If you leave the end entity undefined, the beam will fire from the start entity to a random direction until it hits a wall. This is very usefull for example on teleporters because you don't have to define loads of target points. If you leave both the start and end entity undefined, it will trace a line in a random direction from the actual env_beam entity for a start point and an another one from this point to get the end point. The beam will project between the points. This is totally random but could be used to create some kind of energy storm effect or something. |
| Added: 2 years ago | Tags: about, beam, laser |
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