AN IDEA FOR GRASS RENDER PROBLEM AT DISTANCES

[DarklyShaven]

So the issue that I have with most fps games with heavy foliage is the fact that foliage only renders close to the player and at greater distances it doesn't render. This makes for easy sniper or long shot kills, as the player being shot at has heavy visual obstruction and the player that does the shooting does not. I know the devs are working on this as they've discussed it in their grass road map. However, I just wanted to add an idea to solve this problem.

I remember playing Operation Flashpoint 2 a long time ago and remembered recently that they had solved this issue. I didn't know how at the time but now I think I've figured it out. I think they used either and alpha mask that only masks the rendering of live characters (men, vehicles, etc) to exclude what is behind where the grass would render if the player was close enough. Either that or they used a form of Z-buffer to not render polygons behind an invisible object. Either way the implementation of the idea would mean that even though the foliage object hasn't rendered at certain distances, it would maintain that which does render at that distance (like another player) is still not rendered if it's calculated view trajectory, from the player, would be obstructed by the same grass object if it were in render distance.

Just an idea... Maybe the devs have already thought of it, who knows...

TLDR; Use z-buffer or an alpha mask to prevent the rendering of character polygons behind assumed render positions of grass. Meaning, at distances where grass doesn't render, it would make other players invisible behind the view trajectory of where grass would render as if the grass had rendered.

[DannyArt]

What is the cost of such shader ;)? Not just for one player, but for 100, vehicles, etc.?

[DarklyShaven]

I'm not sure... All i know is that in OFP2 I noticed that when my friend was playing mp with me, I'd be scoping him at long range and when he went prone in the grass, he was only partially visible, even though no grass had rendered... So if they figured it out, i'm sure the devs can too. Again, this was only an idea and I'm not sure how it would work, but it was worth mentioning... Not one group can think of everything! ;)

[Mollerz]

I spawned in and saw an enemy stalking towards the OP and I shot him outright.


Then the cornfield spawned in around me. I doubt I'd have gotten that kill otherwise.

[Deridealize]

^^ This, I spawn at an OP in a drainage ditch. Killed a guy at the end just crouching and aiming my way having killed my squad.. Then the bush in front of me rendered in. Hax.

[Altair (アルタイル)]

They really need to rework the draw distance and the grass on the game, i kinda find it unfair where some people will tweak their .INI config and make changes to get the advantage out of it, like in foy, hurtgen forest where they can tweak their fog, or other maps that has a lot of grass and foliage where at certain distance it stops rendering which they can see the enemy clearly.

[truffleshuffle]

Originally posted by Mollerz:

I spawned in and saw an enemy stalking towards the OP and I shot him outright.


Then the cornfield spawned in around me. I doubt I'd have gotten that kill otherwise.

Same thing happened to me. I spawn on our OP I saw three enemy by a fence I killed them and then I thought I got teleported or something as it scared the hell out of me when the wheat field spawned around me.

[DannyArt]

https://store.steampowered.com/newshub/app/686810/view/4387022683998944178