Storms

A sandstorm or snowstorm stands on the ground inside an upright cylinder. The storm is haze that fills the cylinder and grains or flakes that blow through it, and the shaders make both, so no particle system is involved. The haze follows the terrain, thins out towards the storm's edge and top, and bunches into gusts that drift with the wind. Units and buildings inside it fade with their depth in the haze. Needs the Direct3D 9 build and a shader model 3 card that reads textures in the vertex shader. Older cards draw no storm.

A storm comes from one of two places:

• A Storm block in an FXList starts a storm where the effect plays. It stays there for its Duration.
• A W3DStormDraw module on an object keeps a storm around the object. The storm follows the object and dies down once the object is gone.

Both take these keys. A key left out takes the value GameData.ini holds for the storm's Type. There each key carries the type's name in front, so HazeDensity is SandStormHazeDensity for sand and SnowStormHazeDensity for snow, and the percent keys take a plain number such as SandStormEdgeFade = 35. The two columns list what GameData.ini starts with. A storm reads GameData.ini every frame, so in a cheat build a saved change shows on a running storm:

Key	SAND	SNOW	Meaning
Type			SAND or SNOW. Default SAND.
Radius	300	300	World units from the storm's middle to its edge.
Height	120	150	World units the storm stands above the ground.
EdgeFade	35%	35%	Share of the radius over which the storm thins out to nothing.
FadeTime	3000	3000	Milliseconds the storm takes to build up, and again to die down.
HazeColor	R:194 G:158 B:107	R:217 G:224 B:235	Colour of the haze, before the map's lighting.
HazeDensity	0.8	0.35	How much 100 world units of haze hide. 0 draws no haze.
HazeMaxOpacity	80%	55%	The most the haze may hide, however deep.
HazeNoiseSize	300	350	World units across one tile of gust noise. Smaller is finer.
Gusts	70%	50%	How unevenly the haze and grains bunch up. 0% is an even fog.
WindAngle	0	0	Direction the wind blows towards, in degrees. 0 is east, 90 is north.
WindSpeed	140	45	World units a second.
FallSpeed	4	30	World units a second the grains sink.
Turbulence	5	9	World units the grains swirl off their path.
GrainColor	R:219 G:189 B:140	R:255 G:255 B:255	Colour of the grains, before the map's lighting.
GrainCount	6000	5000	Grains in view at once, up to 40000. 0 draws no grains.
GrainSize	1.0	1.8	World units across a grain.
GrainStreak	0.06	0.02	Seconds of travel a grain smears along. 0 draws round grains.
GrainOpacity	60%	85%

A Storm block also takes:

• DurationHow long the storm lasts, in milliseconds, with both fades inside it.

FXList FX_SandstormStrike
  Storm
    Type        = SAND
    Radius      = 350
    Duration    = 30000
    WindAngle   = 45
    HazeDensity = 1.0
  End
End

Object SnowstormEmitter
  Draw = W3DStormDraw ModuleTag_Storm
    Type       = SNOW
    Radius     = 500
    GrainCount = 12000
  End
  ...
End

Notes

• Storms are visual only. They change no vision, damage or speed. They are not saved, so a loaded game has lost its FXList storms, while W3DStormDraw storms build up again.
• Grains fill a square 640 world units wide around the middle of the view, so GrainCount sets how thick they look on screen whatever the storm's size.
• Sand keeps close to the ground and snow fills the storm's height evenly.
• The haze stops at whatever the scene's depth holds, so it thins in front of tall buildings and hills. Without a readable depth buffer it stops at the terrain alone and draws over objects.
• Storms draw after particles, so effects inside a storm are hazed like the ground under them.
• A W3DStormDraw storm dies down while its object is under the shroud. An FXList storm ignores the shroud.
• At most 8 storms show at once, and further ones do not start.
• Launch with CONTRA_STORMSHADER=0 to turn storms off.

Headlights

At night a model shows every mesh whose name holds HEADLIGHT, such as HEADLIGHT01. With this feature those meshes stay hidden and a shader draws each headlight in their place, as two parts:

• The beam is a soft cone in the air. It dims along its length and towards its edge, and fades out where it meets the ground or a model.
• The pool is the light the lamp throws. It brightens the terrain, models and buildings inside the lamp's cone, by their own colours.

Each headlight takes its place and size from its mesh. The beam runs along the side of the mesh that is long and leads away from the model's middle. The narrow end of a cone is the lamp, and a shape with no narrow end has its lamp at the end nearer the model's middle. In both cases the cone's width gives the beam's width at the far end. A mesh may hold several cones. Each cone that stands apart draws as a lamp of its own, and cones that lie within half their radius of each other, such as twin lamps set side by side, draw as one. The models need no INI change, and headlights still show only at night. An opaque HEADLIGHT mesh, which blends nothing, is a lamp body rather than light, so it keeps its own look and throws no beam. With RotrHack = Yes, an additive HEADLIGHT mesh does the same. Rise of the Reds draws lit windows and glows that way. HeadlightPerConeAim = Yes instead gives each cone its own direction, for meshes whose lamps aim different ways, such as a floodlight rig on a roof. The lamp is the middle of a cone's narrow end, and cones that aim the same way with lamps within one radius of each other draw as one. A mesh with a lamp that has no narrow end keeps the rule above.

Needs the Direct3D 9 build and a shader model 3 card. Elsewhere, and with HeadlightShader = No, the models show their headlight meshes as before. The pool has no shadows, so a lamp also lights ground that a hill or building hides from it.

The keys live in GameData.ini. All but HeadlightShader, HeadlightShaderForbiddenKindOf, HeadlightPerConeAim and RotrHack reload in cheat builds:

Key	Default	Meaning
HeadlightShader	Yes	No keeps the headlight meshes. Read at launch.
HeadlightShaderForbiddenKindOf	none	Objects of any of these kinds keep their headlight meshes, such as STRUCTURE for buildings that use HEADLIGHT meshes as lit windows. Read at launch. GameData.ini only.
HeadlightColor	R:255 G:242 B:209	Colour of the beam and the pool.
HeadlightBeamIntensity	0.35	Brightness of the beam. 0 draws no beam.
HeadlightBeamLength	1.0	Beam length, in mesh lengths.
HeadlightBeamWidth	1.0	Beam width at the far end, in mesh widths.
HeadlightBeamFalloff	1.5	How fast the beam dims along its length. 1 dims evenly, more dims sooner.
HeadlightBeamSoftness	8.0	World units over which the beam fades into what it touches.
HeadlightPoolIntensity	0.8	Brightness of the pool. 0 draws no pool.
HeadlightPoolRange	2.5	How far the light reaches, in mesh lengths.
HeadlightPoolAngle	26	Degrees from the middle of the light to its edge.
HeadlightPoolPitch	11.5	Degrees the light tilts down from the mesh, so a level lamp reaches the ground.
HeadlightPoolFalloff	1.5	How fast the pool dims with distance.
HeadlightPoolClampBrightness	Yes	Where pools overlap, the ground takes the brightest one alone, so lamps side by side do not burn it white. No stacks them. GameData.ini only.
HeadlightPerConeAim	No	Yes aims each cone of a HEADLIGHT mesh its own way, as above. Read at launch. GameData.ini only.
RotrHack	No	Yes keeps additive HEADLIGHT meshes, such as Rise of the Reds' lit windows, as they are, with no beam. Read at launch. GameData.ini only.

A model can override any of these for itself. The same keys go in its W3DModelDraw module, or in a module built on it such as W3DTankDraw, beside OkToChangeModelColor. A key left out takes the GameData.ini value, so a module names only what differs. HeadlightShader = No there keeps that model's headlight meshes while the rest of the game uses the shader. It cannot turn the shader on for one model while GameData.ini has it off. A negative HeadlightPoolPitch tilts the light up. Module keys are read at launch.

Draw = W3DTruckDraw ModuleTag_01
  HeadlightColor         = R:190 G:215 B:255
  HeadlightPoolIntensity = 1.4
  HeadlightPoolAngle     = 34
  DefaultConditionState
    Model = AVOmega
  End
End

Planar mirrors

Chosen meshes of a model act as level mirrors. They reflect the scene above them: units, buildings, trees and the sky. Suited to polished floors, wet plazas, metal decks, puddles, pools and glass.

• An opaque mesh keeps its texture, lighting and shadows. The reflection blends over it.
• A translucent mesh shows what lies under it, bent by its normal map, below its own texture. The reflection lies over both.
• The reflection's share is PlanarMirrorReflectivity seen from above and rises towards all of it at a grazing angle.
• A <texture>_nrm.dds normal map beside the mesh's texture ripples the reflection and what shows through. Without one the mirror is flat.

The game mirrors the scene in at most two heights each frame, those of the mirrors nearest the middle of the view. Mirrors within half a unit of each other in height share one. A mirror at any other height reflects the sky alone. The mirror's height is the top of the mesh, so the mesh should be flat and level. A mirror that turns up on screen shows the sky for its first frame.

Each height costs one more draw of the scene at half resolution, cut down to the mirrors' part of the screen. Water reflections are separate and cost their own draw.

Needs the Direct3D 9 build and a pixel shader 2.0a card. Elsewhere, with PlanarMirrorShader = No, and with water reflections turned off in the options (WaterReflections = No in Options.ini), the meshes draw as before.

Mark the model in its W3DModelDraw module, or a module built on it, beside OkToChangeModelColor:

Key	Default	Meaning
PlanarMirror	No	Yes makes the meshes below mirrors. It wins over FlameShader, ElectricShader and CryoShader on those meshes.
PlanarMirrorMeshes	every mesh	Mesh names, without the model's name, such as FLOOR01 POOL. Case does not matter.
PlanarMirrorOverrideTexture	No	Yes draws the meshes as clear glass in place of their texture, whatever the mesh. They show what lies under them, bent by the normal map, with the reflection over it. A mesh drawn with alpha keeps its texture's alpha as its outline.

The look keys live in GameData.ini. All but PlanarMirrorShader reload in cheat builds:

Key	Default	Meaning
PlanarMirrorShader	Yes	No draws every mirror mesh plain. Read at launch.
PlanarMirrorReflectivity	0.35	Share of the reflection seen from straight above, 0 to 1.
PlanarMirrorTint	R:255 G:255 B:255	Multiplies the reflection. Darker for tinted glass or dull metal.
PlanarMirrorDistortion	0.01	How far the normal map bends the reflection and what shows through, in screen widths.
PlanarMirrorFrost	0	0 clear to 1 frosted. Blurs the reflection, and blurs and clouds what shows through glass and translucent mirrors.

The same four look keys in the model's module override GameData.ini for that model. Module keys are read at launch.

Glass draws after the opaque scene, from one copy of the screen taken at the first glass or translucent mirror. An object that draws later and stands under the glass does not show through it. A glass mesh takes no shadows or highlights on itself, though it still casts its shadow.

Draw = W3DModelDraw ModuleTag_01
  PlanarMirror             = Yes
  PlanarMirrorMeshes       = FLOOR POOL
  PlanarMirrorReflectivity = 0.6
  DefaultConditionState
    Model = CBPlaza
  End
End

HQ sky

Cloud shadows drift softly over the ground, change shape as they go and never repeat, in place of one tiled cloud texture sliding across the map. Each frame a shader draws the clouds into a map over the ground the camera sees, and terrain, roads, bridges, units and buildings darken from it. Two cloud shapes at unrelated sizes and angles add up to each cloud, a slow warp bends them, and a finer layer frays their edges. Each layer drifts at its own speed, so clouds form and fade instead of sliding as one sheet. Needs the Direct3D 9 build and Cloud shadows on.

• HQSky = YesNo brings back the tiled cloud texture. Also HQ sky on the Shaders page, greyed out while Cloud shadows is off. Needs CheckHQSky in OptionsMenu.wnd for the menu control.

Tuned in the mod's GameData.ini:

• SkyCloudSize = 600World units across a typical cloud.
• SkyCloudCoverage = 0.45Share of the ground in shadow. 0 is a clear sky, 1 overcast.
• SkyCloudSoftness = 0.25How wide the fade at a cloud's edge is. Low gives crisp edges.
• SkyCloudShadowStrength = 0.35How dark a thick cloud's shadow is. 0 for none. The default matches the old clouds' darkest.
• SkyCloudShadowTint = R:235 G:242 B:255The shadow's hue. White gives neutral grey.
• SkyCloudWindSpeed = 11World units a second the clouds drift. 0 holds them still.
• SkyCloudWindAngle = 56Degrees the clouds drift towards, 0 along the map's x. The default matches the old clouds.
• SkyCloudChurn = 0.3How fast shapes change as they drift. 0 slides them as one sheet.
• SkyCloudBillow = 0.5How far shapes bulge and curl. High values twist them into streaks.
• SkyCloudDetail = 0.4Ragged detail at the edges. 0 gives smooth blobs.

Notes

• Night keeps the clouds off, as before.
• Trees and the water's reflected sky keep their old look.
• CONTRA_SKYCLOUDS=0 keeps the tiled texture, to rule the HQ sky out of a rendering fault.

Colour grading

A colour table gives a map its look: warm for a desert, cold for snow, muted for a city. After each view's 3D scene is drawn, a shader reads every pixel's colour and replaces it with the colour the table holds for it. The interface, the cursor and the health bars draw afterwards and keep their colours. The grade changes no lighting. It recolours the lit picture, so it applies alike to terrain, units, effects and team colours. Needs the Direct3D 9 build and pixel shader 2.0a.

Set in the mod's GameData.ini for every map, or in the GameData block of a map's map.ini for that map alone:

The table:

• ColorLut = NoneThe table's file name, such as lut_desert.tga. None uses no table.
• ColorLutStrength = 1How much of the table's result is taken. 0 leaves the scene as it is.
• ColorLutChroma = 1How much of the table's hue is taken. 0 takes only its brightness.
• ColorLutLuma = 1How much of the table's brightness is taken. 0 takes only its hues, so units stay as bright or dark as they were.

Colour, before the table:

• ColorLutBrightness = 1Multiplies the scene.
• ColorLutContrast = 1Spreads the scene around mid grey. 0 is flat grey.
• ColorLutSaturation = 1Colourfulness. 0 is black and white.
• ColorLutTint = R:255 G:255 B:255Colour the scene is multiplied by.
• ColorLutVibrance = 0Saturates dull colours more than vivid ones, so terrain gains colour and team colours hold. -1 to 1, and negative mutes them.
• ColorLutTechnicolor = 0Strength of the two-strip Technicolor film look, 0 to 1.

Levels, after the table:

• ColorLutBlackPoint = 0Level that becomes black. Raise it to crush the shadows.
• ColorLutWhitePoint = 1Level that becomes white. Lower it to brighten the highlights.
• ColorLutGamma = 1Midtone brightness. Above 1 brightens and below 1 darkens.
• ColorLutOutputBlack = 0What black comes out as. Raise it for the lifted, matte look. The shroud lifts with it.
• ColorLutOutputWhite = 1What white comes out as. Lower it to dim the highlights.

Finish, last:

• ColorLutVignette = 0How dark the view gets towards its edges, 0 to 1.
• ColorLutVignetteRadius = 2Distance from the view's centre, in half its height, where the vignette reaches full strength. 2 reaches the corners of a 16:9 view.
• ColorLutGrain = 0Film grain over the scene, new every frame. 0.1 to 0.2 is a light grain.
• ColorLutDither = 1Noise that breaks up the banding a grade leaves in smooth gradients, in 8 bit colour steps. 0 is off.

Every key but ColorLutStrength, ColorLutChroma and ColorLutLuma works without a table, so a map can take a small correction alone. The dither draws only while some other key grades the scene.

A map.ini that grades one map:

GameData
  ColorLut = lut_snow.tga
  ColorLutStrength = 0.8
  ColorLutSaturation = 0.9
End

Preset tables, in Art\Textures:

File	Map style	Look
lut_desert.tga	Desert	Warm midtones and highlights over cool shadows.
lut_snow.tga	Snow	Blue shadows, clean whites and muted colour.
lut_naval.tga	Naval	Deep blue-teal shadows and midtones under neutral highlights.
lut_island.tga	Island	Vivid colour, lush greens and warm sunlight.
lut_urban.tga	Urban	Muted colour with hard contrast.
lut_future.tga	Future	Violet shadows, cyan highlights and hard contrast.
lut_neutral.tga	None	Changes nothing. The starting point for a new table.

Seventeen more looks come from the MultiLUT atlas of OtisFX, a ReShade shader pack by Frans Bouma under the MIT licence:

File	Look
lut_otis_hollywood.tga	Teal shadows and warm highlights, as in action films.
lut_otis_blue.tga	Strong cold blue cast.
lut_otis_coollight.tga	Slight cool cast with soft contrast.
lut_otis_flatgreen.tga	Flat and green-grey, a military drab.
lut_otis_redliftmatte.tga	Lifted, reddish shadows with a matte finish.
lut_otis_crossprocess.tga	Cross-processed film: yellow highlights over blue shadows.
lut_otis_azurered.tga	Two tones, warm red over azure.
lut_otis_vogue.tga	Pale and clean, with cool shadows.
lut_otis_sepia.tga	Brown monochrome, for old footage.
lut_otis_bw.tga, lut_otis_bwcontrast.tga	Black and white, at medium and high contrast.
lut_otis_color1.tga, color2, color5 to color8	Six mild colour casts, warm to cool.

A ReShade lut.png of 1024 by 32 has the same layout, so it works once saved as a TGA.

A table is a 24 or 32 bit TGA strip of N slices, N*N wide and N tall, with N up to 64. The presets are 1024 by 32. Red runs across a slice, green down it and blue from slice to slice. To make one, paste lut_neutral.tga beside a screenshot in an image editor, grade both together, and save the strip alone under a new name in Art\Textures. The game reads the file as it is, so the texture detail setting never shrinks it.

Notes

• The render tuner's Colour grade tab previews each key on a screenshot and saves the keys into GameData.ini or a map.ini. lut_presets.py beside it writes the preset tables and splits a MultiLUT atlas.
• Vibrance and Technicolor follow the SweetFX shaders of the same names, and the hue and brightness shares follow ReShade's LUT.fx.
• The dither hides steps up to its own size. A strong contrast or gamma can widen the scene's own 8 bit steps past that, and a higher ColorLutDither trades them for visible noise.
• A map's value holds until the next map loads. A map.ini that sets no ColorLut key takes the GameData.ini ones.
• View filters, such as the black and white one, draw first, and the grade applies over them.
• WorldBuilder shows no grade.
• A file that is missing or has the wrong shape draws no table, and a cheat build names it in d3d9render.txt.
• A loose table saved again under the same name shows within half a second, so a table can be graded with the map running.
• CONTRA_COLORLUT=0 turns the grade off, to rule it out of a rendering fault.

Shader water

Lakes, seas and rivers are shaded per pixel, with refraction, reflection, sun glint, foam and vertex waves. Its options and Water.ini parameters are on Water.