Alpha IPO / VAR don't work on GLSL

I’m trying to make smoke for a game with GLSL, but I don’t get any way to control the alpha value of the smoke particles. Switch to Texture face mode and you’ll see it works well. In GLSL alpha just won’t change, I also tried using Var in the materials with IPO but it doesn’t work.
Thanks in advance.

Attachments

smokingun.blend (157 KB)

Hi D3B00,

Var works. You didn’t pack the texture but it does work with GLSL. I used haidme’s smokepuff.tga

Clark

Attachments

smokingun1.blend (57 KB)

I’m sorry but it isn’t working for me. Something like this already happened to me with replace mesh not replacing textures, but it worked on another person’s computer.

I think your smoke seems to be disappearing because you are using scale IPO channels

I found a solution to this:

You still have to use ObColor. However, you can make a material for it and set the “ob color” in the material. Then you use the Object ColR, ColG, ColB, and ColA values to animate.

I attached a file that shows this.

Attachments

animatedAlphaGLSL.blend (63.9 KB)

TheSambassador:
thanks a lot. we were beginning to feel despair when we realized that blender doesnt support glsl material animation…

your’s a brilliant solution, as least until glsl animation support is integrated into (hopefully) blender 2.5.

thanks again, i am amazed about the blender comunity.
finally a program where i feel pride simply because i am using it :slight_smile:
greetings
manarius

Thank you, TheSambassador.

How do you add ColA, ColR, ColB, ColG keys?

2 ways:

In the IPO curve window, add a new IPO (little arrow at the bottom – add new), select which kind of key you want to add (ColR, ColG, ColB, and/or ColA), and hold ctrl while you click where you want to add keys.

More complicatedly, you could do your color/alpha animation in the material as you normally would. Then you can locate the material IPO curves in the IPO window (by changing the drop down meno to “material” rather than “object”). You can then select hte RGB and A values and copy them into the buffer via the arrow button. Then you can make a new object IPO, select ColR, ColG, ColB, and ColA and hit the paste.

Hope that helps…

-Sam

Thanks Sam, that helped me a lot!

Thank sam, this is helpfull:yes::yes:

This is an alternative way:

To create a curve in the IPO window you can select the channel e.g. ColR at the right list. Than <ctrl>+LMK into the curve window. That creates you a key at the clicked point and a curve through this point. Now you can start adjusting the curve.
This is an alternative way

Sorry, I’m a beginner at this stuff. The whole thing doesn’t work for me except for the .blend file, can you please give me a clear step by step tutorial on how to do this? Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

@cuzmanbro animate the alpha value of textures by ticking A and adding keyframe to the alpha value (A) in the textures panel. i dont know maybe a related vid on a link on my sig might help.

For multi tex add keyframe to the ztransparency and for glsl add keyframes to alpha values of textures.

I’m using version 2.49b of blender in GLSL and i did exactly what you said but it still doesn’t work :frowning: Yes, i think a video tutorial would be very helpful. Thanks.

I would recommend using 2.5 as it’s faster, has gotten game engine improvements, and is easier to work with. Particularly in this area. You would go into the Animation view, highlight the color and press the I key to make a keyframe, do the same for the Alpha slider, move the animation frame (by hand, or by the left or right arrow keys), switch the color and alpha, and then press the I key again to make new keyframes.

I do use 2.59 but i primarily use 2.49b because im used to it and most of the useful gamescripts are not available yet on 2.5.