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Soft particles

Smoke, dust, fire and explosion sprites fade out as they near the surface behind them, so they no longer cut a hard line into the ground or the buildings they pass through. Needs the Direct3D 9 build and a shader model 2 card.

  • SoftParticles = YesNo draws sprites with hard edges. Also Soft particles on the Shaders page. Needs CheckSoftParticles in OptionsMenu.wnd for the menu control.

Tuned in the mod's GameData.ini:

  • SoftParticleDistance = 12How far in front of a surface, in world units, a sprite starts to fade. 0 turns the fade off.

Notes

  • With anti-aliasing off, sprites fade against everything already drawn. With it on, they fade against the ground only, since a multisampled depth buffer cannot be read.
  • Ground-aligned and alpha-tested sprites keep their edges.
  • Launch with CONTRA_SOFTPARTICLES=2 to fade against the ground only, or 0 to turn the fade off.

Flame shading

Flame weapon fire flickers, licks and breaks up at its edges, and glows white-hot where it is brightest. The air behind it shimmers. Blue, green and other coloured flames keep their colour. Needs the Direct3D 9 build and a shader model 2 card; the shimmer also needs Heat Effects on.

  • FlameShaders = YesNo draws flames as plain sprites. Options.ini only, no menu control.

Picked per particle system in ParticleSystem.ini:

  • FlameShader = AutoDefault. On when the system rides a projectile whose weapon has DamageType = FLAME, such as the Dragon tank, Immolator and flame tower sprays. Yes turns it on for any system, such as muzzle flames, burning buildings and fire fields. No turns it off.

Picked per beam in a W3DLaserDraw module, or per model in a W3DModelDraw module:

  • FlameShader = NoDefault. Yes shades the beam or the model's translucent meshes as fire. On a beam it wins over the laser and electric shaders.

Tuned in the mod's GameData.ini. The same keys in a ParticleSystem block override them for that system alone, and a beam or model takes the six Flame keys the same way:

  • FlameWarp = 0.04How far the noise pushes the texture lookup, in texture widths. Higher licks more.
  • FlameHeat = 2.2How fast bright parts run to white. 0 keeps the flame's own colour.
  • FlameFlicker = 0.3How far brightness swings, as a fraction. 0 is steady.
  • FlameBreakup = 1How much the faint fringe breaks up. 0 keeps clean edges.
  • FlameNoiseSize = 20World units across one tile of flame noise. Smaller gives finer tongues.
  • FlameRise = 0.8Noise tiles the flame pattern climbs per second.
  • HazeBend = 1.2How far the haze bends the scene, in world units at the flame. The main strength control; past about 4 edges smear.
  • HazeSize = 1.5Haze sprite size as a multiple of the flame sprite's.
  • HazeLift = 0.3How far the haze sits above the flame, as a multiple of the sprite's size.
  • HazeNoiseSize = 14World units across one tile of haze noise. Larger gives slower, broader waves.
  • HazeRise = 1.1Noise tiles the shimmer climbs per second.
  • HazeMask = 2How quickly faint parts of the flame reach full haze strength.
ParticleSystem TankDragonMuzzleFlame
  ...
  FlameShader = Yes
  FlameFlicker = 0.5
  HazeBend = 2.5
End

Notes

  • A key a ParticleSystem block leaves out keeps the GameData.ini value.
  • Systems with settings of their own draw apart from other flames, so keep overrides to the systems that need them.
  • The GameData.ini keys reload while the game runs in cheat builds, as described at the top of this page. ParticleSystem.ini overrides take effect on the next launch.
  • Slave systems follow their master, and a system a particle carries follows that particle's system.
  • A streak burns only with FlameShader = Yes, since Auto would turn every trail behind a flame shell to fire. Streaks, beams and models take the flame shading without the shimmer behind it.
  • Projectile streams, volume particles and terrain-conforming particles stay plain.
  • On a card without shader model 2.0a, flames keep their shading but lose the soft fade.
  • Launch with CONTRA_FLAMESHADER=1 to drop the shimmer, or 0 to turn flame shading off.

Electric shading

Tesla, lightning and EMP sparks and flares crackle. Thin arcs jump across each sprite many times a second, in its own colour taken halfway to white, while the sprite jitters and its brightness strobes. Ported from Red Alert 3's tesla shader. Needs the Direct3D 9 build and a shader model 2 card. Each key is pictured on Electric & Laser Shading.

  • ElectricShaders = YesNo draws electric sprites plain. Options.ini only, no menu control.

Picked per particle system in ParticleSystem.ini:

  • ElectricShader = AutoDefault. On when the system's ParticleName texture is listed in GameData.ini's ElectricParticleTextures. Yes turns it on for any system, No turns it off.

Picked per beam in a W3DLaserDraw module:

  • ElectricShader = NoDefault. Yes shades the beam as electricity instead of as a laser, for tesla and lightning bolts. The beam keeps its texture, which tiles along it as before.

Picked per model in a W3DModelDraw module:

  • ElectricShader = NoDefault. Yes shades the model's translucent meshes as electricity. The module takes the six tuning keys below.

Listed and tuned in the mod's GameData.ini:

  • ElectricParticleTextures = TeslaBlast.tga ...Textures whose systems turn electric. Each line adds to the list, so a long list can span several lines. Read at launch.
  • ElectricArcs = 1.5Arc brightness. 0 turns the arcs off.
  • ElectricArcSharpness = 10Lower gives broad glowing bands, higher thin threads.
  • ElectricNoiseSize = 40World units across one tile of arc noise. Smaller gives more, closer arcs.
  • ElectricJitter = 0.03How far the texture jumps each crackle, in texture widths.
  • ElectricFlicker = 0.6How far brightness swings, as a fraction. 0 is steady.
  • ElectricRate = 15Crackles per second. 0 freezes the arcs.
  • ElectricParticleScale = 100%How large electric sprites draw, as a percentage of the particle's own size. With electric shading off they keep their own size.

A W3DLaserDraw module takes the six keys from ElectricArcs to ElectricRate. Each one it sets overrides GameData.ini for that beam alone, and the keys it leaves out keep GameData.ini's values. A ParticleSystem takes ElectricParticleScale alone, and uses GameData.ini's other keys.

ParticleSystem EMPRing
  ...
  ElectricShader = Yes
  ElectricParticleScale = 80%
End

Draw = W3DLaserDraw ModuleTag_Draw
  ...
  ElectricShader = Yes
  ElectricArcs = 2.5
  ElectricRate = 30
End

Notes

  • Arcs lie in the view plane and are sized in world units, so ground-aligned rings and bolts, which the pitched camera sees at a slant, crackle with the same arcs as upright sprites. Big effects carry more arcs than small sparks.
  • Past the default camera's distance, CameraHeight over the sine of CameraPitch, arcs widen with depth, so they stay visible at the top of the screen and when zoomed out.
  • A system that is both flame and electric draws as flame.
  • Streaks such as TeslaTrail.tga, volume particles, terrain-conforming particles and multiplied sprites stay plain.
  • Launch with CONTRA_ELECTRICSHADER=0 to turn electric shading off.

Laser shading

Laser beams burn white-hot along their axis and glow out in their own colour. The core wavers in width, pulses of brightness run along the beam towards its target, and the flat edges of the beam melt into glow. Beams also fade where they meet the ground, like soft particles. Needs the Direct3D 9 build and a shader model 2 card. Each key is pictured on Electric & Laser Shading.

  • LaserShaders = YesNo draws lasers plain. Options.ini only, no menu control.

Beams from W3DLaserDraw get it by default. Turned off per beam in the draw module:

  • LaserShader = YesDefault. No draws the beam plain, for beams that are not lasers, such as the hacker's EXBinaryStream32.tga data stream.

Laser streaks from particle systems are picked in ParticleSystem.ini:

  • LaserShader = AutoDefault. On when the system is Type = STREAK and its ParticleName texture is listed in GameData.ini's LaserParticleTextures. Yes turns it on for any streak system, No turns it off.

Listed and tuned in the mod's GameData.ini:

  • LaserParticleTextures = EXRedLaser.dds ...Streak textures whose systems draw as lasers. Each line adds to the list, so a long list can span several lines. Read at launch.
  • LaserCore = 1.2Core brightness. 0 turns the core off.
  • LaserCoreWidth = 0.25Core width, as a fraction of the beam's half width.
  • LaserShimmer = 0.3How far the core's width wavers, as a fraction. 0 keeps it steady, 1 at most.
  • LaserPulse = 0.4How far brightness swings along the beam, as a fraction. 0 is steady.
  • LaserPulseSize = 120World units across one tile of pulse noise. Smaller gives more, closer pulses.
  • LaserPulseSpeed = 400World units a second the pulses travel. 0 freezes them.
  • LaserDebug = NoYes subtracts shaded beams from the scene instead of adding them, so they show dark on any background. Plain beams stay bright, which also shows which beams are shaded.

A W3DLaserDraw module takes the six tuning keys from LaserCore to LaserPulseSpeed. Each one it sets overrides GameData.ini for that beam alone, and the keys it leaves out keep GameData.ini's values. Laser streaks from particle systems always use GameData.ini's.

ParticleSystem Red_BurstLaserTrail
  ...
  Type = STREAK
  LaserShader = Yes
End

Draw = W3DLaserDraw ModuleTag_Draw
  ...
  LaserCore = 2
  LaserPulseSpeed = 800
End

Notes

  • A beam's own texture still gives it its colour and shape. The shader adds the core, the pulses and the soft edges on top.
  • Beams made of several NumBeams layers get a core in every layer, so the axis runs brightest.
  • Pulses are fixed along the beam in the world, so they keep flowing smoothly while the shooter moves.
  • Sprite particles, such as laser muzzle flares, stay plain.
  • Launch with CONTRA_LASERSHADER=0 to turn laser shading off.

Laser ground glow

Laser beams light the ground per pixel, with one light shaped like the beam. The light fades with the distance to the nearest point on the beam, so a beam skimming the ground lights a bright strip and a beam climbing into the sky lights only the ground near the shooter. Slopes facing the beam catch more light, and the laser shader's pulses brighten the ground as they pass. Beams drawn plain, electric or cryo light the ground steadily, and cryo beams light it in their ice colour. The Direct3D 8 build keeps the strip of dynamic lights described in Laser ground glow. Needs a shader model 2 card. Each key is pictured on Electric & Laser Shading.

Uses the same switches and keys as the Direct3D 8 glow: LaserRef, DynamicLights, LaserGroundGlowColor, LaserGroundGlowIntensity, LaserGroundGlowRadius, and GroundGlowColor, GroundGlowIntensity and GroundGlowRadius on the W3DLaserDraw module. Shaped further in the mod's GameData.ini:

  • LaserGroundGlowFalloff = 2How fast the light fades with distance from the beam, as a power. Higher gives a tight bright core, lower a broad wash.
  • LaserGroundGlowWrap = 0.5Light on ground facing away from the beam, from 0 to 1. 0 lights only slopes facing it, 1 lights all ground evenly.
  • LaserGroundGlowDebug = NoYes darkens the ground by as much as the glow would light it, so the light's reach and shape show as a shadow.
  • LaserGroundGlowOverlap = YesYes lights the ground under overlapping beams in one pass, so the overlap brightens modestly. No lights each beam on its own, and overlaps compound.

Notes

  • The light lights the ground's own colour, measured against the map's terrain lighting, so red ground turns redder and a dark night map lights up as much as a bright day.
  • The light reaches GroundGlowRadius on the module, else LaserGroundGlowRadius, else 1.25 times the laser's OuterBeamWidth, at least 15. It is counted from the beam in three dimensions.
  • Beams whose glows overlap light the ground together. Each colour channel takes the root of the sum of the beams' squared light, so two equal beams light 1.4 times as much as one, three light 1.7 times, and crossing beams leave no crease. A lone beam lights as before.
  • Up to seven overlapping beams combine. Past that, the seven brightest light the spot and the rest go dark. Combining needs a shader model 2.0a card. Without one, or when the overlap covers too much ground for one draw, each beam lights on its own.
  • Lasers no longer take dynamic lights, so the per-pixel lights stay free for explosions and muzzle flashes.
  • Water covers the glow on ground beneath it. Units and buildings are not lit.
  • Launch with CONTRA_LASERGLOW=0 to go back to the dynamic lights.

Cryo shading

Freeze rays turn to ice. The beam's colour is pulled toward an ice tint at its own brightness, a blue-white core runs along its axis, frost bands drift slowly towards the target, and jagged ice teeth cut into both edges. Frost trails from particle systems draw the same way. Frost puffs and flares take the tint, thin cracks split their faint fringe into shards, and glints twinkle across them. Cryo wins over the laser, electric and flame shaders wherever it is on. Needs the Direct3D 9 build and a shader model 2 card.

  • CryoShaders = YesNo draws cryo effects plain. Options.ini only, no menu control.

Picked per beam in a W3DLaserDraw module:

  • CryoShader = NoDefault. Yes shades the beam as ice, whatever its LaserShader and ElectricShader.

Picked per model in a W3DModelDraw module:

  • CryoShader = NoDefault. Yes shades the model's translucent meshes as ice, the way a cryo sprite draws. The module takes the nine tuning keys from CryoTint to CryoShardSize.

Picked per particle system in ParticleSystem.ini:

  • CryoShader = AutoDefault. On when the system's ParticleName texture is listed in GameData.ini's CryoParticleTextures. Yes turns it on for any system, No turns it off. Streaks draw as freeze rays, sprites as frost.

Listed and tuned in the mod's GameData.ini:

  • CryoParticleTextures = CryoFlare.tga EXCryoRing.tga ...Textures whose systems turn to ice. Each line adds to the list, so a long list can span several lines. Read at launch.
  • CryoTint = R:150 G:215 B:255The ice colour. Only its hue counts, so the effect keeps its brightness.
  • CryoTintStrength = 0.8How far the effect's own colour moves to the tint, from 0 to 1. 0 keeps the texture's colour.
  • CryoCore = 1Core brightness. 0 turns the core off.
  • CryoCoreWidth = 0.3Core width, as a fraction of the beam's half width.
  • CryoFrost = 0.5How strongly the frost bands whiten the beam. 0 turns them off.
  • CryoFrostSize = 200World units across one tile of frost noise. Smaller gives more, closer bands.
  • CryoFrostSpeed = 60World units a second the bands drift towards the target. 0 freezes them.
  • CryoShards = 0.4How far ice teeth cut into a beam, as a fraction of its half width, and how far cracks reach into a sprite's fringe. 0 keeps edges whole.
  • CryoShardSize = 8World units from one tooth or shard to the next.
  • CryoGlints = 2Glint brightness on sprites. 0 turns glints off.
  • CryoGlintSize = 1.5World units between glints.
  • CryoGlintRate = 2About how many times a second each glint twinkles. 0 freezes them.
  • CryoParticleScale = 100%How large cryo sprites and trails draw, as a percentage of the particle's own size. With cryo shading off they keep their own size.

A W3DLaserDraw module takes the nine tuning keys from CryoTint to CryoShardSize. Each one it sets overrides GameData.ini for that beam alone, and the keys it leaves out keep GameData.ini's values. A ParticleSystem takes CryoParticleScale alone, and uses GameData.ini's other keys.

ParticleSystem FrostPuff
  ...
  CryoShader = Yes
  CryoParticleScale = 60%
End

Draw = W3DLaserDraw ModuleTag_Draw
  ...
  CryoShader = Yes
  CryoTint = R:120 G:200 B:255
  CryoShards = 0.6
End

Notes

  • The beam's texture still gives it its shape. With CryoTintStrength below 1 its colour shows through the tint.
  • Teeth and frost bands are fixed along the beam, counted from the shooter, so they travel with it.
  • Cracks and glints are fixed in the world, so they hold still while the camera pans and shift as the sprite drifts through them.
  • The ground glow under a cryo beam holds steady and takes the beam's tint. With cryo shading off the beam and its glow keep their own colour.
  • Terrain-conforming particles, volume particles and multiplied sprites stay plain.
  • Launch with CONTRA_CRYOSHADER=0 to turn cryo shading off.

Disruption shading

A shape ripples the scene behind it and pulls its colours apart, like a jammed video signal. The shape can be a model's translucent meshes, a particle system's sprites, a strip along a laser beam, or a plain disc from an FXList. Its texture is the mask, so the scene bends most where the texture is brightest and not at all where it is black. Three movements add up, each with its own strength:

  • Rings travel outwards through the shape.
  • A noise field wobbles the scene, like strong heat haze.
  • Bands across the screen jump sideways in fits.

Red bends further than green and blue less, which fringes every bent edge with colour. Needs the Direct3D 9 build, a shader model 2 card and Heat Effects on.

Picked per entry in a W3DModelDraw module, a W3DLaserDraw module or a ParticleSystem:

  • DisruptionShader = NoDefault. Yes bends the scene behind the shape and draws the shape's own art over it. Only bends the scene and leaves the art undrawn, so the shape is a pure mask.

A W3DLaserDraw module also takes:

  • DisruptionWidth = 0Width of the strip that bends the scene, in world units. 0 takes the beam's widest width, which is often too thin to see.

Tuned in the mod's GameData.ini:

  • DisruptionRingStrength = 3How far the rings push the scene, in world units. 0 turns them off.
  • DisruptionRingSize = 40World units from one ring to the next.
  • DisruptionRingSpeed = 60World units a second the rings travel outwards. 0 freezes them.
  • DisruptionWobble = 1.5How far the noise pushes the scene, in world units. 0 turns it off.
  • DisruptionWobbleSize = 30World units across one tile of wobble noise. Smaller is finer.
  • DisruptionWobbleSpeed = 1.5Noise tiles the wobble crosses per second.
  • DisruptionGlitch = 4How far a band jumps sideways at most, in world units. 0 turns the bands off.
  • DisruptionGlitchSize = 12Height of a band, in pixels on a 1080p screen, scaled to other resolutions.
  • DisruptionGlitchRate = 12Jumps per second. 0 freezes the bands.
  • DisruptionChroma = 0.5How much further red bends than green, and how much less blue does, as a fraction. 0 keeps the colours together.
  • DisruptionChromaSpread = 0.5World units red and blue part along the rings' direction even where nothing bends. 0 fringes only bent pixels.
  • DisruptionMask = 2How quickly the shape's brightness reaches full strength. Higher lets fainter parts of the texture bend the scene.

Every entry that takes DisruptionShader also takes these twelve keys. Each one it sets overrides GameData.ini for that entry alone, and the keys it leaves out keep GameData.ini's values.

Draw = W3DModelDraw ModuleTag_01
  DefaultConditionState
    Model = EXGLAJammer
  End
  DisruptionShader       = Yes
  DisruptionRingStrength = 5
  DisruptionGlitch       = 8
End

ParticleSystem JammerSparks
  ...
  DisruptionShader = Only
  DisruptionWobble = 3
End

Draw = W3DLaserDraw ModuleTag_Draw
  ...
  DisruptionShader = Yes
  DisruptionWidth  = 30
End

An FXList draws a disc with no art through a Disruption block. The disc is brightest at its middle and fades to its rim.

  • RadiusThe disc's radius, in world units.
  • DurationHow long the disc lasts, in milliseconds.
  • Fade = 20%Share of the duration spent fading in, and again fading out.
  • The twelve tuning keys above.
FXList FX_JammerPulse
  Disruption
    Radius                 = 425
    Duration               = 1200
    Fade                   = 20%
    DisruptionRingStrength = 5
  End
End

Notes

  • Disruption bends a copy of the scene taken before anything translucent draws. Particles, beams and translucent models stay crisp over it, and overlapping shapes do not bend each other.
  • On a model only translucent meshes take part, the ones with an additive or alpha-blended material. With Only, the whole model goes undrawn.
  • A model's rings start at each mesh's own origin, a sprite's at the middle of its texture, and a disc's at its middle. On a beam they run along its length and push across it.
  • Rings keep time with the game clock, so an effect that is replaced every second ripples without a jump.
  • A beam needs a Texture, which masks its strip. Without one it draws as a plain beam, even with Only.
  • On a particle system, ALPHA_TEST and MULTIPLY sprites, streaks, volume particles and terrain-conforming particles take no disruption, and draw their own art even with Only.
  • The bend follows the mask at the size the sprite draws, so CryoParticleScale and ElectricParticleScale scale it too. On a model it fades with the object's opacity.
  • An FXList disc lies flat and ignores depth, like a shockwave. At most 32 show at once.
  • With Heat Effects off or on the Direct3D 8 build, Yes and Only both draw the plain art, so the effect never vanishes.
  • Launch with CONTRA_DISRUPTSHADER=0 to turn disruption off.

Shockwave (FXList.ini)

An expanding ring on the ground that bends everything behind it, like the air a big blast pushes out. Needs the Direct3D 9 build, a shader model 2 card and Heat Effects on.

  • RadiusHow far the ring travels, in world units.
  • WidthHow thick the ring is, in world units.
  • StrengthHow far it bends the scene, in world units. Around 2 to 6 reads well. In world units the bend shrinks on screen as the camera pulls back, and is lost when zoomed far out.
  • StrengthInPixels = NoYes counts Strength in pixels on a 1080p screen instead, scaled to other resolutions, so the bend looks the same at every zoom. Around 6 to 12 reads well.
  • DurationHow long the ring takes to reach Radius, in milliseconds. It fades as it goes.
FXList FX_NukeExplosion
  Shockwave
    Radius           = 300
    Width            = 40
    Strength         = 8
    StrengthInPixels = Yes
    Duration         = 900
  End
End

Notes

  • At most 16 rings show at once; a new one replaces the oldest.
  • The ring lies flat at the effect's height, so on steep ground it is centred but not draped.