Hey guys,

I’m wondering something, related to workflow I’d say.

How would you go about representing a 3D “fluid” (currents actually) with a level editor tool ? I’m not talking about the fluid algorithm, but the “level editing” aspect of it.

Ok, I’ll use an example.

Let’s say the player evolves underwater. There are currents moving in 3 dimensions and those currents are actually part of the gameplay experience. Designing them falls under the level editing category.

I would like to know how you guys would go about representing them in a level editor so the designer has an intuitive view of what the level will look like, since currents are an important aspect of this example game.

The level editor can be AwayBuilder, Prefab3D, but also any visual tool that can output something usable with Away3D.
It can also be an hypothetical tool that does not exist. I am ready to create it myself if a clever use of AwayBuilder or Prefab3D doesn’t cut it. (Or I could modify AwayBuilder since it’s open source)

Thanks for your suggestions

I wouldn’t know where to start to be honest. Fluids, gas, currents etc are very complex. That’s why weather/sea studies often require super computers.

Of course, as we talk about a game here, it’s likely to be more simple. Do you have any representations/concepts that you could show?

Thanks for the fast reply

Unfortunately I don’t have a graphical representation of it. Considering my drawing skills compared to my descriptive skills, we are better off with words anyway :D

It’s rather easy to imagine though. First, keep in mind that currents themselves are NOT graphically represented in game: They are only a 3D field of data; a direction and a magnitude at a given position.

Also, forget the idea of fluid simulation. These currents are part of the level design and as such they will all be designed by hand. Furthermore, their data will not be animated in early prototypes. Hence there is no fluid simulation per se… Currents only affect objects that are caught into them.

To get a better visual picture in your mind, imagine that the player is a jellyfish or some sort of creature that can move freely but needs current to do real travelling. Underwater, any point in space relates to water current data at that location, so from the big picture you could draw a 3D representation of all currents within the level.
If it was 2D it would be very easy: paint a coloured bitmap for direction and use the alpha channel or a second black and white bitmap for magnitude. But it is 3D.

I’m wondering how you would represent the 3D currents in a level editor so that:
- It is easy and fast to create the data through a graphical interface (with data being position, direction and magnitude)
- It is easy to understand the flow at a glance
- It must be possible to make the visual representation of the data unselectable and/or invisible so that it’s easy to edit actual game objects

As a sample solution, I have seen Halo 4 use “gravity volumes” in a similar way. These are semi-transparent boxes that are placed on stage and apply a force to you when you jump into them.
Upside: With colour it is easy to see magnitude.
Downsides: Direction is harder to see at a glance. It is also very tedious to create, position, tint and edit hundred of boxes manually.

I hope what I’m saying is understandable

There is a massive entry in market in terms of graphical representation which is in addition to 3D charting with support of best html5 chart.