How to use the composition layer?

[Wonky]

If I understand the description correctly, I can use it to apply effects only to chosen layers, but I can't figure out how to do that. I would like to apply certain effects to all layers except the first one, which I'm using as a background.

If that's not something I can do with a composition layer, what can I do with it? And how to apply effects only to chosen layers?

[Biohazard]

It doesn't support that yet, I just wrote the text that way so that the translations already match (this is the only place where I did that sort of thing though).

Image effects are always applied only to the selected layer though, so you could split the image in two and only apply effects to the foreground. But I'm guessing you already know that and actually mean something else?

[Wonky]

Thank you for your reply. I have many different layers (thirteen of them, each one a different part of a character) and hoped I could save some time by applying effects to all of them at once without touching the background, but I can still just set the same effects on each layer separately.

[Biohazard]

Okay, yeah the composition layer could help with that when I get around to implement it properly.

(Just to note, thirteen layers might be a lot, are they all covering the whole screen too? The GPU performance would probably be impacted by so many layers if they cover the whole screen too.)

[Wonky]

I finished the wallpaper not too long ago and yeah, it used more than 1 GB of video memory :D
I'm working on optimizing it now, doing pretty good so far.

EDIT: Alright, my optimizations are a success! Now my wallpaper uses only about 300 MB of memory, should be fine for anyone who's not using very old integrated graphics cards.

[Biohazard]

Using DXT5 might interest you as well then: https://steamcommunity.com/app/431960/discussions/1/3211505894117082861/#c3211505894118308516 though 300 MB is pretty good. Depending on screen resolution and MSAA setting, the driver already has a minimum requirement of 100 - 200 MB VRAM anyway.

[Wonky]

Thanks for letting me know, it'll help a lot!

[butcho]

Dammit ^^ ...i was hoping this discussion would enlighten me how to attach objects as children to the composition layer or am i missing something and this is implemented by now?

Cannot figure out how to do that. My goal is i want to use the blur effect on only one single layer (a bubble particle fx layer) but this layer has to be before my main background layer. So when i´m putting the composition layer with blur before the layer with the bubble it is also before the main background an blurs it too.

Cannot figure out how to do this correct.

[Biohazard]

It's not implemented yet, but yes, that's exactly the idea of parenting something to layers and 'clipping' their children to them.

[butcho]

Ok, would be a real helpfull feature. Is this on the list for the next update maybe?

[Biohazard]

Originally posted by butcho:

Ok, would be a real helpfull feature. Is this on the list for the next update maybe?

It won't be in the next update. I think it's on the todo list but this is likely going to be a big task again so at this point I still can't say when I add this.

[Armez]

Sorry to bring up this topic, but I wanted to say this feature would be much appreciated !

I'm currently trying to put an effect on a particle system (a shake on a glyph, to be precise), but it seems there is no way of doing that. (well, for shaking it is possible by working with the particle tool) but it would be way better to be able to apply "effects" (like shake, rotation, blur, nitro...) on "particle". I thought the composition layer was a way to go, but since it apply to everything under it for now, it's not really a viable solution.

[Biohazard]

Yes, we are still going to add this together with a general "hierarchy" system. There is still one other big feature which we need to finish first but it's almost done.