Does anyone have any suggestions for how to model/display projectiles? I''m mainly interested pseudo-modern day stuff, not lasers. Obviously, rockets and thel ike are slow and larege enough that it''s probably worth having them represented by actual models. What about bullets/cannon rounds? What I''m working on will involve fairly large amounts of space, it''s not close in action (obviously, this could effect what''s desirable as far as rendering goes) and there may be a good number of rounds going off (especially if multiple machine guns start going off). The projectiles are controlled by a particle physics engine, and are not "instant" point to point lines (I want the player to have to lead targets realistically, etc...). Do people use 3d models or do some sort of billboarding? If using 3d models, how complex are the models and if billboarding, what sort of a technique? Is there another oslution I''m missing out on completely? Any other thoughts on the topic? Unfortunately, search isn''t currently working, as I''m sure this has been discussed before! Onnel

Thanks for the ideas. I''m really not sure it''s worth rendering the bullets themselves (except in cases like missiles, obviously). I do like the GTA3 solution of a simple line with some alpha on it...I guess I''ll have to try both and see if it looks like it''s worth actually using models.

Onnel

Yup..I understand the difference between the instahit and the modelled projectiles (from both a rendering and a physics standpoint). I was thinking of UT as well and the happy face on the flack cannon alt (I think) shell...so they were 3d modelled projectiles....

Onnel