Enable Object zBias - Might not be supported by all hardware out there

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CuCuMBeR

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 12:59 Edited at: 5th Feb 2008 13:04

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Related to this post:
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=123291&b=6&p=0

Some people complain that enabling zBias doesnt work as it should by their hardware.

And as this is a more commonly used board i thought ill have some more people to test this thing and see if it works for most of you or not.

Could you please download the project from the link below(small file) and tell me if it works as it should?

http://forumfiles.thegamecreators.com/?i=1420073

And this is a photo, about how it should look like:

chapel should be always visible.
you should see the lightnings behind the chappel all the time
and finally you should see skysphere behind chapel and lightnings

There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

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Kendor

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 16:00 Edited at: 5th Feb 2008 16:01

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I can see neither the sky nor the lightning
ZBUFFER AVAILABLE() returns 1
Graphics card: Geforce 6200

Screenshot:

Theory is when you know something, but it doesn't work. Practice is when something works, but you don't know why.
Programmers combine theory and practice: Nothing works and they don't know why.

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CuCuMBeR

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 16:22 Edited at: 5th Feb 2008 16:26

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Kendor:
Could you please try this code too?
And also try moving around with the mouse, just go backwards and see if anythin changes

EDIT: do you atleast see the lightning effecting the chapel object?

Autocam Off : Sync Rate 60 : Sync On

Load Sound "thunder.wav", 1
Load Sound "thunder2.wav", 2
Load Sound "rain.wav", 3
Load Image "L_01.png", 1, 1
Load Image "L_02.png", 2, 1

Make Object Plain 1, 100, 100
Offset Limb 1, 0, 0, -5, 0
yRotate Object 1, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 1
Texture Object 1, 1
Set Object Transparency 1, 3
Set Object Light 1, 0
Enable Object zBias 1, 45, 1

Load Image "Bad_Weather.tga", 11
Make Object Sphere 11, -500 : zRotate Object 11, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 11
Set Object Smoothing 11, 100
Texture Object 11, 11
Enable Object zBias 11, 45, 2

Load Object "chapel.x", 20
Set Object Light 20, 1

Color Ambient Light Rgb(128, 128, 128)
Set Ambient Light 0
Set Directional Light 0, 0, 1, 0
null = Make Vector3(1)
Make Light 1
Set Light Range 1, 5000

Position camera -250, 5, -250
ax# = -25 : ay# = 50
Do
If Rnd(300) = 1
   lightningFade = 100
   Texture Object 1, Rnd(1)+1

Play Sound Rnd(1)+1
   Position Object 1, Camera Position X()+Rnd(100)-50, Camera Position Y()+10, Camera Position Z()+Rnd(100)-50
   Position Light 1, Camera Position X()+Rnd(100)-50, Camera Position Y()+10, Camera Position Z()+Rnd(100)-50
   yRotate Object 1, Camera Angle Y()

endIf
If lightningFade > 0 Then Dec lightningFade, 2
Set Alpha Mapping On 1, lightningFade
Set Object Emissive 11, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)

Color Light 1, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)
If sound playing(3) = 0 Then Loop sound 3

REM CAMERA STUFF
ax# = WrapValue(ax# + mousemoveY())
ay# = WrapValue(ay# + mousemoveX())
Rotate Camera ax#, ay#, 0.0
If MouseClick()=1 Then Move Camera 1
If MouseClick()=2 Then Move Camera -1

Position Object 11, Camera Position X(), Camera Position Y(), Camera Position Z()
Position Light 1, Camera Position X(), Camera Position Y(), Camera Position Z()
Sync
Loop

+ Code Snippet

Autocam Off : Sync Rate 60 : Sync On

Load Sound "thunder.wav", 1
Load Sound "thunder2.wav", 2
Load Sound "rain.wav", 3
Load Image "L_01.png", 1, 1
Load Image "L_02.png", 2, 1

Make Object Plain 1, 100, 100
Offset Limb 1, 0, 0, -5, 0
yRotate Object 1, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 1
Texture Object 1, 1
Set Object Transparency 1, 3
Set Object Light 1, 0
Enable Object zBias 1, 45, 1

Load Image "Bad_Weather.tga", 11
Make Object Sphere 11, -500 : zRotate Object 11, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 11
Set Object Smoothing 11, 100
Texture Object 11, 11
Enable Object zBias 11, 45, 2

Load Object "chapel.x", 20
Set Object Light 20, 1

Color Ambient Light Rgb(128, 128, 128)
Set Ambient Light 0
Set Directional Light 0, 0, 1, 0
null = Make Vector3(1)
Make Light 1
Set Light Range 1, 5000

Position camera -250, 5, -250
ax# = -25 : ay# = 50
Do
If Rnd(300) = 1
   lightningFade = 100
   Texture Object 1, Rnd(1)+1

   Play Sound Rnd(1)+1
   Position Object 1, Camera Position X()+Rnd(100)-50, Camera Position Y()+10, Camera Position Z()+Rnd(100)-50
   Position Light 1, Camera Position X()+Rnd(100)-50, Camera Position Y()+10, Camera Position Z()+Rnd(100)-50
   yRotate Object 1, Camera Angle Y()

endIf
If lightningFade > 0 Then Dec lightningFade, 2
Set Alpha Mapping On 1, lightningFade
Set Object Emissive 11, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)

Color Light 1, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)
If sound playing(3) = 0 Then Loop sound 3

REM CAMERA STUFF
ax# = WrapValue(ax# + mousemoveY())
ay# = WrapValue(ay# + mousemoveX())
Rotate Camera ax#, ay#, 0.0
If MouseClick()=1 Then Move Camera 1
If MouseClick()=2 Then Move Camera -1

Position Object 11, Camera Position X(), Camera Position Y(), Camera Position Z()
Position Light 1, Camera Position X(), Camera Position Y(), Camera Position Z()
Sync
Loop

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wh1sp3r

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 16:25

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CuCuMBeR : Same problem

PS: Real programmers aren't afraid of math!.

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CuCuMBeR

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 16:31

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This is really bad news then, enabling zbias works like setting sprite priority, i mean you can give different depths to co-planar objects(which are at the same position), doesnt even matter if they are at the same position or not anyways.

Well, i had my own shadowing technique depending on this zBias, but real bad news comin from you guys.

Hope it will work for someone and we can maybe find what the reason is that its not working for you

There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.

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wh1sp3r

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 16:35

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CuCuMBeR :I know, when something doesnt work ... Look at me and my "effect problem"

Its really frustrating ...

PS: Real programmers aren't afraid of math!.

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spooky

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 16:38

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Brand new Geforce 8800GT

No sky or lightning. Same as Kendor.

Is command being used correctly? Maybe it's working on your machine is a bit of luck. Seems to be all other users with run of the mill cards does not work as you expected.

Good luck on getting it sorted.

Boo!

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Kendor

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 17:02

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Unfortunately, same result as the old code and moving around does not change anything. Regarding the lightning effect on the chapel, it worked correctly on both.

Should check whether it is an Nvidia/ATI thing, since those reporting not seeing the sky have an Nvidia, while yours is working on an ATI card.

Theory is when you know something, but it doesn't work. Practice is when something works, but you don't know why.
Programmers combine theory and practice: Nothing works and they don't know why.

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CuCuMBeR

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 17:04 Edited at: 5th Feb 2008 17:05

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Spooky:

For the correct usage, i follow what the help file says:

Quote: "ENABLE OBJECT ZBIAS Object Number, Slope Scale, Depth"

object number is obvious,
Depth is a number between 0-16 (16 is the greatest distance, 0 is the closest)
Slope Scale is described in DxSDK as follows:

Quote: "Offset = m * D3DRS_SLOPESCALEDEPTHBIAS + D3DRS_DEPTHBIAS
where m is the maximum depth slope of the triangle being rendered.
m = max(abs(delta z / delta x), abs(delta z / delta y)) "

where i suppose m is the slope scale (angle)

With the above information, it all works great on my machine.

maybe im wrong with the slope scale thing but then i wonder why it works for me..

any suggestions?

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wh1sp3r

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 17:07

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CuCuMBeR : btw: I have nvidia card .. perhaps, on ATI card your code works

I dont know

Iam going to test it on notebook, there is the ATI card.

PS: Real programmers aren't afraid of math!.

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chunks chunks

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 17:16

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ive tried it seems to be an nvidia problem..

i disabled the object zbias and the lightning appers but the chapel objects distorted and disapears when you move away

nvidia go 7300 256 mb

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wh1sp3r

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 17:17

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CuCuMBeR : Results: On my laptop with ATI card you demo work correctly !

PS: Real programmers aren't afraid of math!.

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Toz

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 18:14

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@Cucumber

I tried changing the depth values of the zbias command a bit but nothing seems to change. The chapel still doesn't appear. Like wh1sp3r I also have a laptop with an ATI card in it (Mobility x1600). Judging from other peoples results I don't think it has anything to do with a card being from ATI of nVIDIA.

Don't read this, read the above.

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Roxas

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 18:26

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I have ATi and it works

Click For Details!

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CuCuMBeR

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Posted: 5th Feb 2008 18:36 Edited at: 5th Feb 2008 18:39

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Okay after googling about this issue, i came across the OGRE forum with the same problem, guys over there think it is somethin to do with the poor documentation of dxSDK

according to their solution, the below should work for any card which supports zbuffering, please try this one:

Rem ***** Main Source File *****
Autocam Off : Sync Rate 60 : Sync On

Load Sound "thunder.wav", 1
Load Sound "thunder2.wav", 2
Load Sound "rain.wav", 3
Load Image "L_01.png", 1, 1
Load Image "L_02.png", 2, 1

Make Object Plain 1, 100, 100
Offset Limb 1, 0, 0, -5, 0
yRotate Object 1, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 1
Texture Object 1, 1
Set Object Transparency 1, 3
Set Object Light 1, 0
Enable Object zBias 1, 0.0001, 9

Load Image "Bad_Weather.tga", 11
Make Object Sphere 11, -500 : zRotate Object 11, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 11
Set Object Smoothing 11, 100
Texture Object 11, 11
Enable Object zBias 11, 0.0001, 10

Load Object "chapel.x", 20
Set Object Light 20, 1

Color Ambient Light Rgb(128, 128, 128)
Set Ambient Light 0
Set Directional Light 0, 0, 1, 0
null = Make Vector3(1)
Make Light 1
Set Light Range 1, 5000

Position camera -250, 5, -250
ax# = -25 : ay# = 50
Do
If Rnd(300) = 1
   lightningFade = 100
   Texture Object 1, Rnd(1)+1

Play Sound Rnd(1)+1
   Position Object 1, Camera Position X()+Rnd(100)-50, Camera Position Y()+10, Camera Position Z()+Rnd(100)-50
   Position Light 1, Camera Position X()+Rnd(100)-50, Camera Position Y()+10, Camera Position Z()+Rnd(100)-50
   yRotate Object 1, Camera Angle Y()
   ang# = angleYObjToObj(1)

endIf
If lightningFade > 0 Then Dec lightningFade, 2
Set Alpha Mapping On 1, lightningFade
Set Object Emissive 11, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)
`Set Object Emissive 20, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)

Color Light 1, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)
`Set Light Range 1, lightningFade+1
If sound playing(3) = 0 Then Loop sound 3

REM CAMERA STUFF
ax# = WrapValue(ax# + mousemoveY())
ay# = WrapValue(ay# + mousemoveX())
Rotate Camera ax#, ay#, 0.0
If MouseClick()=1 Then Move Camera 1
If MouseClick()=2 Then Move Camera -1

Position Object 11, Camera Position X(), Camera Position Y(), Camera Position Z()
Position Light 1, Camera Position X(), Camera Position Y(), Camera Position Z()
Sync
Loop

Function angleYObjToObj(o As Integer)
Local a As Float
    xd# = Camera Position X() - Object Position X(o)
    zd# = Camera Position Z() - Object Position Z(o)
        a = Atanfull( xd#, zd# )
EndFunction a

+ Code Snippet

Rem ***** Main Source File *****
Autocam Off : Sync Rate 60 : Sync On

Load Sound "thunder.wav", 1
Load Sound "thunder2.wav", 2
Load Sound "rain.wav", 3
Load Image "L_01.png", 1, 1
Load Image "L_02.png", 2, 1

Make Object Plain 1, 100, 100
Offset Limb 1, 0, 0, -5, 0
yRotate Object 1, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 1
Texture Object 1, 1
Set Object Transparency 1, 3
Set Object Light 1, 0
Enable Object zBias 1, 0.0001, 9

Load Image "Bad_Weather.tga", 11
Make Object Sphere 11, -500 : zRotate Object 11, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 11
Set Object Smoothing 11, 100
Texture Object 11, 11
Enable Object zBias 11, 0.0001, 10

Load Object "chapel.x", 20
Set Object Light 20, 1

Color Ambient Light Rgb(128, 128, 128)
Set Ambient Light 0
Set Directional Light 0, 0, 1, 0
null = Make Vector3(1)
Make Light 1
Set Light Range 1, 5000

Position camera -250, 5, -250
ax# = -25 : ay# = 50
Do
If Rnd(300) = 1
   lightningFade = 100
   Texture Object 1, Rnd(1)+1

   Play Sound Rnd(1)+1
   Position Object 1, Camera Position X()+Rnd(100)-50, Camera Position Y()+10, Camera Position Z()+Rnd(100)-50
   Position Light 1, Camera Position X()+Rnd(100)-50, Camera Position Y()+10, Camera Position Z()+Rnd(100)-50
   yRotate Object 1, Camera Angle Y()
   ang# = angleYObjToObj(1)

endIf
If lightningFade > 0 Then Dec lightningFade, 2
Set Alpha Mapping On 1, lightningFade
Set Object Emissive 11, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)
`Set Object Emissive 20, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)

Color Light 1, Rgb(lightningFade, lightningFade, lightningFade)
`Set Light Range 1, lightningFade+1
If sound playing(3) = 0 Then Loop sound 3

REM CAMERA STUFF
ax# = WrapValue(ax# + mousemoveY())
ay# = WrapValue(ay# + mousemoveX())
Rotate Camera ax#, ay#, 0.0
If MouseClick()=1 Then Move Camera 1
If MouseClick()=2 Then Move Camera -1

Position Object 11, Camera Position X(), Camera Position Y(), Camera Position Z()
Position Light 1, Camera Position X(), Camera Position Y(), Camera Position Z()
Sync
Loop


Function angleYObjToObj(o As Integer)
Local a As Float
    xd# = Camera Position X() - Object Position X(o)
    zd# = Camera Position Z() - Object Position Z(o)
        a = Atanfull( xd#, zd# )
EndFunction a

EDIT: and another solution is;

Rem ***** Main Source File *****
Autocam Off : Sync Rate 60 : Sync On

Load Sound "thunder.wav", 1
Load Sound "thunder2.wav", 2
Load Sound "rain.wav", 3
Load Image "L_01.png", 1, 1
Load Image "L_02.png", 2, 1

Make Object Plain 1, 100, 100
Offset Limb 1, 0, 0, -5, 0
yRotate Object 1, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 1
Texture Object 1, 1
Set Object Transparency 1, 3
Set Object Light 1, 0
Enable Object zBias 1, 0.0001, 2

Load Image "Bad_Weather.tga", 11
Make Object Sphere 11, -500 : zRotate Object 11, 180 : Fix Object Pivot 11
Set Object Smoothing 11, 100
Texture Object 11, 11
Enable Object zBias 11, 0.0001, 3