Skybox Question - Radomization

[Kill_the_Bug]

Hi, Don't know if this has ever been done or if it can be done.

Can you make things appear on and off inside a skybox - yhis would give the impression that the outer environment is changing.

For example the convoy map with the two huge vechilces yo battle is out on.

Could you make a skybox with a camera inside it attached to a func_train so that it would appear that your two cars were going through a canyon or something? you could put objects etc, change the terrain. and then it would look like the whold map is moving.

 

[A Boojum Snark]

It's been done (I think the map was ctf_convoy). Only thing is the sky_camera can't be attached to anything, so every object needs to be instead, and you need scrolling textures for the ground.

 

[YM]

Its very difficult, you can't move the sky camera, or displacements so that rules out dynamic ground without using models. Even then its dynamic so lighting gets trickyer.
Using dynamic (animated) models is fine though, as is turning models on and off so you can see different things at different times.

There are quite a few skyboxes (well included) that have little trains running through them, its quite a nice touch.

 

[Kill_the_Bug]

the trains going through them - it that how they also did the flying planes in aerospace?

 

[Big Lou]

The skybox is simply a room off your main map. You can pretty much put anything in there and it will be projected in the sky. Be careful you don't have objects move around within the actual play area as they will get lost behind real-world geometry.

 

[Ezekel]

why can't you parent the skycam to a func_train?

 

[A Boojum Snark]

Because it's not a parentable entity. Why else

 

[Big Lou]

Though you may not be able to move displacements, you can apply a scrolling texture that gives the illusion of movement, ie ctf_convoy.