Need some dts SORT:: advice
by Zach · in Technical Issues · 04/26/2005 (12:10 pm) · 6 replies
Earlier today I started drawing what will be a simple tree and got everything set up in max but I cant for the life of me get the transparency to sort right when I export the dts.
I'm using a transparent png file applied to 9 planes that intersect each other. I noticed Ben "Djaggernaut" Chavigner was having this same problem with sorting the leaves in the trees from his rts tree pack and I was wondering if he or anyone else knows how I can get this to work.
heres an image of what I'm working with.
Is this just too complex to sort? I'm wondering if I should just try something else. This is what it looks like in game atm.
I've tried all of the sort features and changing my hierarchy isnt going to help me because of the way the planes intersect. If anyone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it.
-Zach
I'm using a transparent png file applied to 9 planes that intersect each other. I noticed Ben "Djaggernaut" Chavigner was having this same problem with sorting the leaves in the trees from his rts tree pack and I was wondering if he or anyone else knows how I can get this to work.
heres an image of what I'm working with.
Is this just too complex to sort? I'm wondering if I should just try something else. This is what it looks like in game atm.
I've tried all of the sort features and changing my hierarchy isnt going to help me because of the way the planes intersect. If anyone could help me out I would greatly appreciate it.
-Zach
About the author
#2
04/26/2005 (12:48 pm)
I'm pretty sure its auto slicing the planes on export from what I've heard. The problem is the engine just doesnt know what plane to draw to the screen first and neither do I because I've got planes going in every direction. 
#4
05/13/2005 (9:22 am)
Its pretty rare that developers use transparency for foilage because the transparent geometry has to be sorted seperately to everything alse and produces a lot of overdraw slowing your game down a lot. Most of the time you would use a simple 1bit clip/mask which leaves pixelated edges but isn't all that noticeable when the games animated and your too busy paying attention to whats going on.
#5
05/25/2005 (12:18 pm)
If you own the SDK, some hacking inside the shapeInstance class can allow you to use alpha-test instead of alpha-blending in some models. I'm doing that for all vegetation in our game, and for the characters' hair (before I can come up with a proper way of rendering alpha0blended haird that doesn't suck). 
Associate Orion Elenzil
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(And would that even help?)