Line of Sight issues....

[Wolf]

I find this happening all the time in rvr - I've got a damned nice shot lined up on an enemy and can't fire do to LOS interference.

Do you guys think the current LOS system is cool? I don't know if it's any diffeerent for casters, but lately it seems unless I'm on dead flat ground level with my target, I can't shoot. I'd understand if there was a whole stinking mountain between me and my target, but take a look at this shot:

My target is the big chunky Troll(the one casting in the center of the hilltop), and try as I might from several angles I just could not shoot this guy. And yes, 3/4ths of his fat body were still visible even in first-person view.

Anyone else running into this a lot? If so, what do you think? And does it affect spellcasting too?

[I_B_Bangin]

Yep, i can't say that it is all the time, but any time I am on a hill, i totally expect it to tell me I can't see my stupid target a million times. It makes fighting from a distance difficult sometimes.

[Morety]

I believe line of sight is a foot to foot thing.

[Allison]

The line of sight issues have improved slightly. It used to be that I couldn't cast at all from the top of a keep, unless I jumped up on the ledge so that my feet could see the target. (Line of feet code) But now, I can usually do it without getting on the ledge.

So, it is getting better. But obviously still needs a little work.

[Boom]

LINE OF FEET! Boomie's head and feet aren't too far from each other, so the line of feet problem isn't quite as much of an issue. Boomy's head is in a different weather system from his feet, so the line of feet problem makes him crazy. He can sometimes see bad guys perfectly and still not be able to root them.

But I have noticed that it isn't as bad lately.

[Rooster]

I bet if you used 1st person view, the LOS issue would make more sense. :D

[I_B_Bangin]

Well how on earth do we change the view?

[Boom]

press F11 twice to change the view.

First press like locks your camera in place. So you can watch yourself walk off the set. Really freaky. Second press gives you the UT view. Third press goes back to where you started.

And going to first person view really doesn't make the LOS make sense, cuz Mythic has it coded as line of feet! I guess its easier to code it that way, but its just really lame from a player's point of view (hey there is a pun in there somewhere). I can be in first person, and see a troll from head to foot, and when I click my root button it says "Target is not in view" I'm like "Whaddaya mean its not in view?! I can see his whole damn body!" But since my feet can't see his feet, the LOS doesn't work. Really frustrating. If my eyes can see the enemy, then its in view. If they remodel the toons so that our eyes are in our feet, then the way they have it set up now would make more sense. But it would still have problems. Because even if my feet can see an enemy, I can't cast a spell on him unless my feet can see his feet.

[Hammer]

Here's my 2 copper. DOAC is built on top of NetImmerse or some such third party 3D development environment. All of these tools offer some sort of primitive function that let's you draw a line from object 1 to object 2 and will tell you if that line passed through any surface. Most the time this wouldn't be a problem if the function allowed you to pass the actual coordinates (x1,y1,z1,x2,y2,z2) because then you could pick any point on the model to pass to the LOS check. But, if it only allows you to pass (object1,object2) and always does the check from the lower left corner then you are screwed. Screwed being a relative term, because they should still be able to roll there own routine to do the exact same check, and just not use the free one. The fact that this really hasn't been addressed tells me that they don't keep any real 3D programmers on staff. That and the fact that the colision detection routines are done in 2D. That 's why ole Zuhex can stand in the KL room and PBAOE everybody in the tower. Only the x,y coordinates are used to detect distance;)