3D Shadows in a 2D Sprite Environment - WIP

[Jasoco]

Enhance your calm, John Spartan. I didn't say change the content. I said update it. Add new content. Add the word "Updated". Nothing wrong with that.

[wssmith04]

Please don't double post (in this case, double^2 post). Just update the thread, not add more posts.

For fucks sake, don't change the the topic content to different content. People like you will get me banned for ranting like this, DIFFERENT CONTENT = NEW TOPIC! Don't mess up the replies to the topic!

Just so I understand this correctly:

1. One person says: update a thread, but don't add any new posts.

2. Another person says: different content means creating a completely new topic. Does "topic," in this case, mean new topic/thread or new post in an existing thread?

Please forgive my confusion, but those two statements above seem to be in conflict, imo.

Can I get a general consensus as to what is acceptable posting procedure in the Love2d forums? Are Work-in-Progress threads allowed? If no, then I sincerely apologize for my infraction. If yes, then what is the acceptable method of posting the most recent version of a work in progress?

Is it:
A) simply edit an existing post in a thread and inadvertently allow the topic to submerge;
B) append the thread with a new post with the most recent content, further illustrating the progression of work accomplished thus far;
or is it:
C) as somebody said: start a completely new topic (or is that thread?) when there is an incremental advancement -- no matter how large or small -- in the work of a project whose earlier incarnations have already been illustrated/discussed in an existing thread?


What if the latest incarnation of the project in progress is a bug fix, a step forward in realizing the completion of an existing project/demo? Does that require:

1) a new thread entirely;
2) just a new post to the existing thread; or
3) no new posts and just an edit to the first post of the existing thread?

Doesn't the description of the Projects and Demos board read: "Showcase your games and demos, and discuss ongoing projects?" Does the term "ongoing projects" include the posting of Work-in-Progress threads?



If Work-in-Progress threads are not acceptable in the Projects and Demos board, than I am more sorry than ever to have posted anything in the first place.



Anyway, clarification would really be appreciated. It seems like quite some time ago when I initially realized that 3D shadows in a 2D sprite-based environment were possible and and felt strongly that this knowledge was worth sharing with other Love2D users. I never imagined that the bulk of replies would be criticism about how one posts, rather than what was actually posted (i.e. the fruits of one's labor -- the results of hours, days, and weeks spent facing programming challenges, hardships, and irresistible coding mysteries.) I'd like to believe that what is written on the love2d homepage is sincere: "... many friendly people are ready to help you at the forums." After getting slammed for my posting habits and having the actual content ignored (not completely, but for the most part), I really do regret posting anything in the first place. I'm apologize for having created this thread. It is with great regret that I watch it morph into a debate that has little to do with the topic of the thread itself.



tl;dr: A simple "Dude, nobody give a **** about 3D shadows" would have sufficed.

[josefnpat]

Can I get a general consensus as to what is acceptable posting procedure in the Love2d forums?

It's rather easy;

If you have a good reason to bump the thread (e.g. to show that there is still progress on a thread that seems dead), bump the thread.

Otherwise, update your last post.

Use your best judgement.

tl;dr: A simple "Dude, nobody give a **** about 3D shadows" would have sufficed.

Ignore the folks that would lead you to be unproductive. Ignore the people trying to slow you down, and create.

My only suggestion here is try and keep chronological order. This is the first time I've read this thread, and it's rather confusing. So much shouting, and editing and everything else.

edit: so I've read over the thread a few times, and you've said you have had some success with "3d realistic shadows".

Care to share some .love, some code, or screenshots?

[wssmith04]

Can I get a general consensus as to what is acceptable posting procedure in the Love2d forums?

It's rather easy;

If you have a good reason to bump the thread (e.g. to show that there is still progress on a thread that seems dead), bump the thread.

Otherwise, update your last post.

Use your best judgement.

tl;dr: A simple "Dude, nobody give a **** about 3D shadows" would have sufficed.

Ignore the folks that would lead you to be unproductive. Ignore the people trying to slow you down, and create.

My only suggestion here is try and keep chronological order. This is the first time I've read this thread, and it's rather confusing. So much shouting, and editing and everything else.

edit: so I've read over the thread a few times, and you've said you have had some success with "3d realistic shadows".

Care to share some .love, some code, or screenshots?

Thank you for the calm clarification and the support. I'd be happy to share code and video samples. My pleasure!

I'd share the .glsl file in its entirety, but it's 450+ lines of code and it's way too messy to share this early. However, first, I can display my latest video which shows that the 3D shadows are in pretty good shape but still buggy. Maybe it will spark other users to ask questions which I can answer with snippets of code? That way, anybody can learn the facets they want, instead of having to decipher a glut of my cryptic and poorly commented code.




About the video: One serious bug is that the avatar (the figure near the bottom left... kind of hard to see, looks like he has a globe for a head) is *not* casting a shadow, while the cube is casting. I don't have a clue why, so I went back to Blender and designed a suite of objects in the hopes that with enough test subjects, I can isolate my mistakes. Note: the figure are partially transparent, but that's not causing the shadow issue... I was tweaking the alphas of the diffuse maps so that the shadows would stand out during debugging.

Here is a link to my YouTube page which shows all my uploads so you can see the progression: 'http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaPoNGv ... 6rg/videos

ACTION ITEM: What I'll do tomorrow is edit this post and add a short video that scrolls through the shader file and shows some of the bitmaps. I'll repeat: the shader file is messy and convoluted, but at least the first glance might shed some light and get people inspired and curious.


Okay... so the video isn't as short as promised. Crap, I spotted a typo!!!! Rrrrr...