models that always get drawn on top

[Rick]

Using the framework is there a way to make models always draw on top of everything? For example with doing a 3D gui or something like the red/yellow/blue axis in editors?

 

I see the transparency world which I assume is like a foreground world, but it still has depth to it.

[cocopino]

I think not, that would be weird.

But you can parent them to the camera at a really close distance.

[Rick]

I'm pretty sure it can be done with another world and buffer, but I'm not 100% sure. Been playing around but not getting far. For the GUI it wouldn't look weird at all really if you parent the plane to camera like you said, but you'd still want that plane to always be on top of all other 3D stuff so no 3D things can come between you and the GUI and you don't really want to have the GUI planes really really close to the camera as that might create some scaling and artifacts.

 

There must be a way to do this. I'm pretty sure it's something with not clearing a camera to another world and maybe removing the depth buffer from that worlds buffer or something.

[cocopino]

I'm pretty sure it's something with not clearing a camera to another world and maybe removing the depth buffer from that worlds buffer or something.

 

But if you would succeed doing that, would the models still be pickable (being a GUI and all)?

[Rick]

If they were in a different world I would think/hope so because in the picking you have to give the camera and that world would have it's own camera. I think

[isidisi]

If they were in a different world I would think/hope so because in the picking you have to give the camera and that world would have it's own camera. I think

 

I think you can do in a similar way as Framewerk does to draw main world over background world.

Create a world with top entities. After draw normal entities, do a

 

ClearBuffer(BUFFER_DEPTH);

 

then set top world and render it. As tou have cleared depth buffer all thing are drawn on top. (See DrawBackground function of Renderer.cpp)

[Canardia]

You should put 3D GUI models in the foreground world, then they are always on top of other models, and the transparency works correctly (including cascaded transparency and shadows through them).

[isidisi]

You should put 3D GUI models in the foreground world, then they are always on top of other models, and the transparency works correctly (including cascaded transparency and shadows through them).

 

Is there a foreground world in framewerk? I have 2.28 version of Leadwerks, in my version only background, main, and transparency worlds exists...

[Rick]

Yeah, I don't see a foreground world in framework either.

[Canardia]

Transparency world is the foreground world.

[Rick]

Hmm, I'll have to play around with a C example, because in C# it didn't seem to work. I assume the only thing I have to do is set the transparency world as the current world, load my models that I want to be in that world, then set the world back to main and then let framework do it's thing?

 

I also didn't think the transparency world worked that way in the framework because in the past when I've asked for wanting models to fade away I was told I would need 1 in the main world and the same model in the transparency world and that it would still have depth in the transparency world, which in this case isn't what we want.

[Canardia]

Ah yes, you need also zsort=1 or something like that in the mat file.

[isidisi]

I think render last doesn't mean render top.

 

To render a world on top of another is necessary to clear zbuffer between renderworld calls.

 

After rendering background world zbuffer is cleared, so main world and transparency world are always on top of background.

 

But after rendering main world zbuffer is not cleared, so transparency (foreground) world is not rendered on top of main world, only is rendered later for good transparency drawing.

 

I think the better is to create a 4th top world that renders after transparency world, and clear zbuffer before rendering it. This will be a topmain world. We can also create a 5th toptransparent world to render top transparent objects after top objects...

[Rick]

Hey isidisi, have you done this before? Do you know how to get it working along side the framework?

[isidisi]

Hey isidisi, have you done this before? Do you know how to get it working along side the framework?

 

 

I have done some time ago but outside framewerk in a simpler way, hidding top objects and rendering others, clearing zbuffer, and then hiding normal objects and rendering top objects... but is the same idea, clear zbuffer and then all thing you render is on top.

 

I checked my code, I used this to draw on top coordinate axis... I rendered main world, lights, then cleared zbuffer and draw axis... but the axis was drawn with only ambient light... that was ok for me... is ok for you too? I'm not sure how to add other kind of light to top objects, but for me was ok only ambient...

[isidisi]

I have done some time ago but outside framewerk in a simpler way, hidding top objects and rendering others, clearing zbuffer, and then hiding normal objects and rendering top objects... but is the same idea, clear zbuffer and then all thing you render is on top.

 

I checked my code, I used this to draw on top coordinate axis... I rendered main world, lights, then cleared zbuffer and draw axis... but the axis was drawn with only ambient light... that was ok for me... is ok for you too? I'm not sure how to add other kind of light to top objects, but for me was ok only ambient...

 

Look I modified framewerk, add some object (as axis) to new TopWorld and it will be rendered on top of all (with ambient light) hope it helps al little at least...

Top.zip

[Rick]

That works great! I'll play around to get something working with C#. Would be cool if the framework could be more flexible to allow us to define our own layers on the fly and decide in what order they are processed.

 

 

This doesn't seem like you are doing anything with the depth buffer like you were talking about though?

[isidisi]

That works great! I'll play around to get something working with C#. Would be cool if the framework could be more flexible to allow us to define worlds on the fly and decide in what order the worlds work without editing the framework source.

 

Yes look at DrawTop new function(). Is a copy of the other for other layers.

 

But it has

ClearBuffer(BUFFER_DEPTH);

 

line :-)

 

And it would be nice to be possible to tweak the new Framework embedded in the engine... the one we have modified is de 2.28 version code and with time it will get older and without updates of the other...

[Rick]

I see you have Renderer:DrawTop() that does the drawing. By having it where it is, wouldn't the top layer be subject to post processing effects? It looks like it's drawn after all of that. If this was use for a GUI you wouldn't want that I would think.

 

I assume we can just do the code in the RenderTop() after the normal framework render code runs though.

[isidisi]

I see you have Renderer:DrawTop() that does the drawing. By having it where it is, wouldn't the top layer be subject to post processing effects? It looks like it's drawn after all of that. If this was use for a GUI you wouldn't want that I would think.

 

I assume we can just do the code in the RenderTop() after the normal framework render code runs though.

 

Yes I think so, is run this code after normal stuff... And sure is not be subject of postprocessing efects, is after...

[Rick]

OK, I was able to get this working with a normal C project and without the framework. Now to get it in C# and with the framework. I think I need access to the global buffer create by the Renderer class so I can change the current buffer back to the global buffer from the back buffer. Not sure if that's exposed though

[Soamp]

Hi,

I'm trying to do the same thing in LUA. abstraction of my code is something like this :

 

I create a new world and camera :

FSRfw={}
FSRfw.top={}

local wrld=CurrentWorld()
FSRfw.top.world=CreateWorld()
SetWorld(FSRfw.top.world)
FSRfw.top.camera=CreateCamera()
CameraClearColor(FSRfw.top.camera,Vec4(0,0,0,1))
CameraClearMode(FSRfw.top.camera,BUFFER_DEPTH)
SetWorld(wrld)

 

loading a model in new world :

    SetWorld(FSRfw.top.world)
   object.test=LoadModel("abstract::Environment_CharityBox.gmf",model)
   SetWorld(fw.main.world)

 

and it's my rendering loop:

while KeyHit(KEY_ESCAPE)==0 do    
   fw:Render()

   local wrl=CurrentWorld()
   SetWorld(FSRfw.top.world)
   SetEntityMatrix(FSRfw.top.camera,GetEntityMatrix(fw.main.camera))
   ClearBuffer(BUFFER_DEPTH)
   RenderWorld()
   SetWorld(wrl)

   fw:Update()

   wrl=CurrentWorld()
   SetWorld (FSRfw.top.world);
   UpdateWorld( AppSpeed() );
   SetWorld(wrl)

   Flip(0)
end

 

but it doesn't make any difference!

it's funny! if I remove "RenderWorld()" line, my test-model renders anyway!

 

what is wrong in my code?