Lightning effect

3absh

Hey guys
I have 4 images here
1 cloud only and 3 clouds with lightning at different places
I'm trying to animate this image in a way where lightning appears randomly with no sequence or order (including flashing at the same place more than once)
I need each animation to consist of 2 or 3 frames than restore to original frame the one with no lightning.
I tried using a timer but somehow timers and animations don't go too well.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

That's because you are doing ten frames a second with four frames and. 5 second timer. This will throw off what the last frame is. Go with 8 frames per second, this will assure you end on the last frame. You can always monitor the frame in 1.25 as it now has a frame playing variable for the animation behavior.

3absh

@Lost_Oasis_Games said:
That's because you are doing ten frames a second with four frames and. 5 second timer. This will throw off what the last frame is. Go with 8 frames per second, this will assure you end on the last frame. You can always monitor the frame in 1.25 as it now has a frame playing variable for the animation behavior.

It doesn't matter how many frames per second it doesn't work. I did a different approach using and additional attribute

jonmulcahy

try this to start:

every 5 seconds
display your 2-3 lighting images
animate at 8 or 9 fps (depending on 2 or 3 images)

make sure restore original actor image when done is selected

jonmulcahy

did a quick test, this worked! I created a boolean, and every X seconds I change it to true. When true I run through the animation and chance it back to false.

I claim trademark on my magnificent sky and lighting.

3absh

Amazing work! But since I need different lightning effects each time I used a different approach
This is how I did it.

jonmulcahy

@abuabed84 said:
Amazing work! But since I need different lightning effects each time I used a different approach
This is how I did it.

great!

You can use changeImage to create your own animations too, and have only a single set of rules. Create another attribute called type, and use that in a few change attribute rules

Socks

@jonmulcahy said:
I claim trademark on my magnificent sky and lighting.

Did you do that in a 3D application or is actual video footage of a real storm ?

Socks

If there are only three lightening images, and you want their playback order randomised . . .

With a range of three numbers you can arrange them in a 'circle' (using mod), randomly choose a starting number, and then proceed around the circle in a random direction - going through the remaining two values.

This will give you all possible random combination of three numbers (6).

The_Gamesalad_Guru

@abuabed84 said:

@Lost_Oasis_Games said:
That's because you are doing ten frames a second with four frames and. 5 second timer. This will throw off what the last frame is. Go with 8 frames per second, this will assure you end on the last frame. You can always monitor the frame in 1.25 as it now has a frame playing variable for the animation behavior.

It doesn't matter how many frames per second it doesn't work. I did a different approach using and additional attribute

Okay I only saw one set of rules in the pic.

jonmulcahy

@Socks said:

@jonmulcahy said:
I claim trademark on my magnificent sky and lighting.

Did you do that in a 3D application or is actual video footage of a real storm ?

I paid for a Unreal course and this was my final project. Got an A

Socks

@jonmulcahy said:
I paid for a Unreal course and this was my final project. Got an A

The_Gamesalad_Guru

All that picture needs is tony getting struck by the Lightning

Socks

@Lost_Oasis_Games said:
All that picture needs is tony getting struck by the Lightning

Unfortunately Tony was done in very high-end propriety 3D VR software, to even try and composite him into jon's photorealistic storm scene would need a pretty high end machine linked to a 1400+ machine rendering farm.

PhilipCC

@Socks , @jonmulcahy and @Lost_Oasis_Games Hey guys, I'm just curious... wouldn't it be better, more efficient, to separate the lightening strike from the background instead of animating such large images?

Socks

@PhilipCC said:
@Socks , @jonmulcahy and @Lost_Oasis_Games Hey guys, I'm just curious... wouldn't it be better, more efficient, to separate the lightening strike from the background instead of animating such large images?

Yes, it would be much more efficient.

jonmulcahy

@PhilipCC said:
@Socks , @jonmulcahy and @Lost_Oasis_Games Hey guys, I'm just curious... wouldn't it be better, more efficient, to separate the lightening strike from the background instead of animating such large images?

like @socks said, it would be more efficient. In my magnificent example I cut some corners