Mapping Explsprites and Spell Flightsprites

[Burnsaber]

I have mapped a healthy portion of the spell explsprites and flightsprites, but there still is a lot to do and I'm prioritizing CPCS now, so it might take a while before I'm able to compile a full list.

I'll just declare what I've managed to do now so that no poor soul accidentally start to map them while I have a lot of them mapped.

First I'll tell my method for mapping them. I made a cloud spell that uses the flightsprite and explsprite I want see and made a horde mages to use them in a single combat. I watch the battle report, take down my findings. Then I close game (completely), change the spell to use different sprites, save the mod. Then I re-start Dom3 and view the battle again. The modded spell that mages use will show the new sprites. I was able to map a one explspr and flightspr per 1,5 minutes.

It's hideously and horribly tedious, but it works and I'll eventually map the sprites, but on my own scheducle. I love this game, I love modding, but I'll only love it as long as it's fun. If I consistently start Dom3 to do a chore, I know that I'll lose my motivation quickly.

Now the first thing I noticed made my job a lot easier. Open your modding manual on page 6. Notice how sprites 10001-10012 are the same but different colors? The same order of colors is consistent for the most part of explsprs and flightsprs. Hence the first "few falling colors (10041)" is few falling shimmering lights. The following one (10042) is few falling white colors. The one after that (10043) is few falling red colors. This pattern is occasionally broken, but you'll see them once I compile the full list.

The pattern is also longer than the 12 colors listen in the manual, but here's the complete list

1. Colorful Lights
2. White
3. Red
4. Green
5. Blue
6. Light red /in some patters, a "shiny" white
7. Light green
8. light blue
9. purple
10. yellow
11. orange
12. cyan
13. greenish light (sorry, I'm no poet)
14. orangish light
15. XX (these "XX"s seem to be different in each pattern)
16. XX
17. XX
18. Bile (like the green dragon breath)
19. Grey smoke
20. Black Smoke

Here's the gist of what I have done now (so that someone doesn't actually try to map sprites I've already mapped)

Explsprites:
All of the "Falling colors", "Rising Mists", "Explosions" and "Exploding Gases" and the sprites in between them. The pattern breaks after 10140, and I've mapped some from that "final frontier", but there is no pattern of colors or the effect after that. So each one of them must be mapped independently.

10001-10020 Falling colors
10021-10039 Few falling colors
10041-10069 Rising mists
10101-10119 Explosion
10121-10139 Exploding gas
10140-????? The "Final Frontier", the "Void" where logic and pattern of colors and effects have no meaning!

Flightsprites:
Sprites from 10000 to 60 are actually effects that take place on the caster. They follow the afromentioned pattern of colors.
10000 - 10020 -- Falling mists on the caster
10021 - 10040 -- Showers of lights on the caster
10041 - 10059 -- Rising mists on the caster
10060 - 10080 -- long tailed missiles of small light balls, colors follow the pattern
10081 - 10100 -- medium tailed missiles of small light balls, colors follow the pattern
10100 - 10120 -- Large "Auras" (fills the whole square), Follow the pattern
10121 - 10140 --- Some mists spreading from caster, follow the pattern
10140 - ????? --- "Final Frontier", logic of effects and colors break down.

As a finale, I'll reveal some especially awesome effects from my delvings into the "Final Frontiers"

Explsprites:
10172 - Shower of BLOOD!
10175 - Huge shower of flames.
10185 - Light green flamish mist
10199 - Spooky ball of black smoke
10209 - Long pillar of blue light
10223 - Spreading black smoke
10226 - Rising circles of blue lights (like some old scifi teleport effect)

Flightsprites:
10152 - MASSIVE fat-tailed missile of purple transparent light.
10173 - Rising blood mist on caster. Looks hideously evil.
10191 - Exploding ball of light (on caster)
10221 - Aura of Blood
10224 - Rising circle of blue light

[Aezeal]

is there anyway to test this easily? I need some good effects for dom 3k but I can't test them all in the only way I can think of doing it.

is there anything that would just resemble an explosion (which could be used for rocket impacts in dom 3k, 10100 - 10120 -- Large "Auras" (fills the whole square), Follow the pattern rockets are all AoE so if one of these looks explosion like...)
something that could be the impact of a small bullet sparks?

and for flightsprites the same: something rockety, something small bullet like.

and then just some clear fire projectile, shock projectile and their respective impacts. (do the 10081 - 10100 -- medium tailed missiles of small light balls, colors follow the pattern fit this?)

[Burnsaber]

Originally Posted by Aezeal

is there anyway to test this easily? I need some good effects for dom 3k but I can't test them all in the only way I can think of doing it.

This is the easiest way.

First I'll tell my method for mapping them. I made a spell that uses a flightsprite and explsprite and made a horde of mages to use them in a single combat. I watch the battle report, take down my findings. Then I leave game, change the spell to use different sprites, save the mod. Then I re-start Dom3 and view the battle again. The battle replay will use the new sprites. I was able to map a one explspr and flightspr per 1,5 minutes.

Originally Posted by Aezeal

is there anything that would just resemble an explosion (which could be used for rocket impacts in dom 3k, 10100 - 10120 -- Large "Auras" (fills the whole square), Follow the pattern rockets are all AoE so if one of these looks explosion like...)

Let's see. You want an explosion. Explosions are 10101 - 10119. They follow pattern. You probably want yellow explosion, so it's the tenth explosion in the line. Try 10110. If you want to try orange, you know what to do.

Originally Posted by Aezeal

something that could be the impact of a small bullet sparks?

Let's see my captain's log for the "Final Frontier"... There!
Yellow blinky spots 10146 and blinky orange 10182

Originally Posted by Aezeal

and for flightsprites the same: something rockety, something small bullet like.

All the flysprites I've encountered are balls of lights and smokes. Nothing really "corporeal", so to speak. Try copyspelling "flying shards" or "blade wind"

Originally Posted by Aezeal

and then just some clear fire projectile, shock projectile and their respective impacts. (do the 10081 - 10100 -- medium tailed missiles of small light balls, colors follow the pattern fit this?)

Try them out. Clear fire projectile would likely be orange, right? That's 11th in the pattern. So it's 10081. You can probably now figure out which is the number for light blue.

Then you just need same colored explosions. They follow pattern. It's just basic add-on math.

[Burnsaber]

Accidental douple-post. Sorry folks!

[llamabeast]

Awesome work Burnsaber!

[Aezeal]

there are arrows and axes somewhere right?

[Burnsaber]

Originally Posted by Aezeal

there are arrows and axes somewhere right?

In the "Final Frontier"? Yeah, probably. Didn't encounter them yet.

[Edi]

Great post, Burnsaber. A full list would be useful indeed, because then it could be added to the DB. The DB only has weapon flightsprites currently. The full numerical range of spell flightsprites and explosionsprites should be mentioned in the modding manual, but I'm not sure. I can check that when I get home.

[Gandalf Parker]

Is it of any help at all to pull the list from the game of the names it puts to such things? Its usually pretty easy to find the beginning and end of a list if you give me something specific to search for to place me into the middle of a list you want.

[Aezeal]

hmm in the DB there is something (tab) about flight sprites too I see now, seperate from yours.