feat: Rain particles move straight down, increase acceleration slightly #3369

atomdmac · 2023-01-28T17:09:18+01:00

atomdmac commented

2023-01-28 17:09:18 +01:00

Description

Rain particles will fall straight down (instead of having a randomized x/z velocity) and have a slightly higher acceleration.

Testing

/grantme weather_manager
Ensure you're in a biome that supports rain (i.e. not the desert)
/weather rain

### Description Rain particles will fall straight down (instead of having a randomized x/z velocity) and have a slightly higher acceleration. ### Testing 1. `/grantme weather_manager` 2. Ensure you're in a biome that supports rain (i.e. not the desert) 3. `/weather rain`

atomdmac added 1 commit 2023-01-28 17:09:25 +01:00

7dd0293616 feat: Rain particles move straight down, increase acceleration slightly

kneekoo commented

2023-01-28 17:36:29 +01:00

Have you measured performance benefits from this, or it's purely cosmetic? If it's purely cosmetic, is it at least consistent with the Minecraft rain? What makes this better than what we already have? :)

AFCMS added the

graphics

label 2023-01-28 17:44:10 +01:00

atomdmac commented

2023-01-28 17:50:00 +01:00

@kneekoo 👋 This is purely cosmetic. I have to admit, I haven't played Minecraft proper in quite awhile so this might not be totally consistent but it's definitely more consistent with how actual rain drops fall.

I'll see if I can dig up my copy of Minecraft and compare.

@kneekoo 👋 This is purely cosmetic. I have to admit, I haven't played Minecraft proper in quite awhile so this might not be totally consistent but it's definitely more consistent with how actual rain drops fall. I'll see if I can dig up my copy of Minecraft and compare.

Ghost commented

2023-01-28 17:55:49 +01:00

First-time contributor

It did bother me that the rain fell differently in this game compared to Minecraft.

When it snows, it also seems to fall quite differently compared to Minecraft, so that could be another thing that you could tackle if you want to.

It did bother me that the rain fell differently in this game compared to Minecraft. When it snows, it also seems to fall quite differently compared to Minecraft, so that could be another thing that you could tackle if you want to.

👍 1

kneekoo commented

2023-01-28 20:19:59 +01:00

it's definitely more consistent with how actual rain drops fall.

Provided that there's no wind, yes. But rain drops do move around carried by the wind, and the fall speed can be influenced by air currents too, as well as droplet size/weight, so it's quite realistic how we have it.

Maybe the horizontal movement is too ample, which looks a bit floaty/weird, but some lateral movement is expected when there's wind. We just don't have wind in the game.

"The bigger they are the harder they fall"
-- Physics. :P

Joke aside, I'll take a look. :)

> it's definitely more consistent with how actual rain drops fall. Provided that there's no wind, yes. But rain drops do move around carried by the wind, and the fall speed can be influenced by air currents too, as well as droplet size/weight, so it's quite realistic how we have it. Maybe the horizontal movement is too ample, which looks a bit floaty/weird, but some lateral movement is expected when there's wind. We just don't have wind in the game. *"The bigger they are the harder they fall"* -- Physics. :P Joke aside, I'll take a look. :)

Ghost commented

2023-01-28 20:29:23 +01:00

First-time contributor

Provided that there's no wind, yes. But rain drops do move around carried by the wind, and the fall speed can be influenced by air currents too, as well as droplet size/weight, so it's quite realistic how we have it.

Maybe the horizontal movement is too ample, which looks a bit floaty/weird, but some lateral movement is expected when there's wind. We just don't have wind in the game.

"The bigger they are the harder they fall"
-- Physics. :P

Joke aside, I'll take a look. :)

Well, Minecraft never was a game with realistic physics to be honest with you.

Besides, it looks much better when the rain falls straight down in this game.

>Provided that there's no wind, yes. But rain drops do move around carried by the wind, and the fall speed can be influenced by air currents too, as well as droplet size/weight, so it's quite realistic how we have it. >Maybe the horizontal movement is too ample, which looks a bit floaty/weird, but some lateral movement is expected when there's wind. We just don't have wind in the game. >"The bigger they are the harder they fall" -- Physics. :P >Joke aside, I'll take a look. :) Well, Minecraft never was a game with realistic physics to be honest with you. Besides, it looks much better when the rain falls straight down in this game.

kneekoo commented

2023-01-29 00:21:42 +01:00

Well, Minecraft never was a game with realistic physics to be honest with you.

When apples fall from oak trees, reality can be thrown out the window. :))

Besides, it looks much better when the rain falls straight down in this game.

I liked our rain all along, and I like this change too. I'm ok with either. :)

> Well, Minecraft never was a game with realistic physics to be honest with you. When apples fall from oak trees, reality can be thrown out the window. :)) > Besides, it looks much better when the rain falls straight down in this game. I liked our rain all along, and I like this change too. I'm ok with either. :)

😆 1

atomdmac commented

2023-01-29 15:58:20 +01:00

Provided that there's no wind, yes. But rain drops do move around carried by the wind, and the fall speed can be influenced by air currents too, as well as droplet size/weight, so it's quite realistic how we have it.

Right now, the X/Z movement is randomized which would imply that every single rain drop is being effected by a separate wind current. I'm not especially well-traveled but I've never personally seen that happen 🤷‍♂️ 😜

In any case, if you're concerned about consistency with Minecraft proper, this random video (while somewhat compressed) seems to show the rain falling in a manner more consistent with what is in this PR.

> Provided that there's no wind, yes. But rain drops do move around carried by the wind, and the fall speed can be influenced by air currents too, as well as droplet size/weight, so it's quite realistic how we have it. Right now, the X/Z movement is _randomized_ which would imply that every single rain drop is being effected by a separate wind current. I'm not especially well-traveled but I've never personally seen that happen 🤷‍♂️ 😜 In any case, if you're concerned about consistency with Minecraft proper, [this random video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTO0Qy0LDWU) (while somewhat compressed) seems to show the rain falling in a manner more consistent with what is in this PR.

😆 2

Ghost commented

2023-01-29 17:03:09 +01:00

First-time contributor

I heard from a fire chief that in one place in California, at the correct time, you can see the flags on a single flag pole blow in two different directions at the same time.

kneekoo commented

2023-01-29 18:13:39 +01:00

Right now, the X/Z movement is randomized which would imply that every single rain drop is being effected by a separate wind current. I'm not especially well-traveled but I've never personally seen that happen 🤷‍♂️ 😜

It's definitely not something the average person spends time documenting, but air currents are not uniform in nature, depending on a lot of factors. I agree, though, that randomizing every single rain drop is overkill. That's why I said that a less ample lateral movement would look less weird.

My only concern about randomizing their lateral movement was performance, but as far as I can tell after a quick look at our source code, that seems baked into the engine's particle spawner, so I'm not sure how much of a (if any) performance saving we can expect by disabling the lateral movement.

In theory, no lateral movement would save some CPU cycles. In practice... only benchmarking would reveal the difference, and that would have to be done in a very clean environment, without mobs and anything else happening around the player, for relevant results. But considering there's no huge drop in performance with rain, even on fairly old PCs, it doesn't seem worth doing. :)

Either way, as I said, I'm fine with the proposed change here. This might improve the game's performance.

> Right now, the X/Z movement is _randomized_ which would imply that every single rain drop is being effected by a separate wind current. I'm not especially well-traveled but I've never personally seen that happen 🤷‍♂️ 😜 It's definitely not something the average person spends time documenting, but air currents are not uniform in nature, depending on a lot of factors. I agree, though, that randomizing every single rain drop is overkill. That's why I said that a less ample lateral movement would look less weird. My only concern about randomizing their lateral movement was performance, but as far as I can tell after a quick look at our source code, that seems baked into the engine's particle spawner, so I'm not sure how much of a (if any) performance saving we can expect by disabling the lateral movement. In theory, no lateral movement would save some CPU cycles. In practice... only benchmarking would reveal the difference, and that would have to be done in a very clean environment, without mobs and anything else happening around the player, for relevant results. But considering there's no huge drop in performance with rain, even on fairly old PCs, it doesn't seem worth doing. :) Either way, as I said, I'm fine with the proposed change here. This **might** improve the game's performance.

atomdmac commented

2023-01-30 15:06:25 +01:00

@kneekoo So to summarize your position:

Provided that there's no wind, yes. But rain drops do move around carried by the wind, and the fall speed can be influenced by air currents too, as well as droplet size/weight, so it's quite realistic how we have it.

The current implementation is "quite realistic"...

We just don't have wind in the game

...Even if wind doesn't exist in the game...

Maybe the horizontal movement is too ample, which looks a bit floaty/weird

...and even if it doesn't look realistic because it's "floaty and weird" and should be toned down...

It's definitely not something the average person spends time documenting, but air currents are not uniform in nature, depending on a lot of factors

...and horizontal movement is more realistic anyways since air currents are not technically uniform in nature (mmmmmm... sweet delicious technicalities!) and effect individual rain drops differently but it's generally imperceptible to most people.

And finally:

Either way, as I said, I'm fine with the proposed change here.

Whew, what a ride! 😂

@kneekoo So to summarize your position: > Provided that there's no wind, yes. But rain drops do move around carried by the wind, and the fall speed can be influenced by air currents too, as well as droplet size/weight, so it's quite realistic how we have it. The current implementation is "quite realistic"... > We just don't have wind in the game ...Even if wind doesn't exist in the game... > Maybe the horizontal movement is too ample, which looks a bit floaty/weird ...and even if it doesn't _look_ realistic because it's "floaty and weird" and should be toned down... > It's definitely not something the average person spends time documenting, but air currents are not uniform in nature, depending on a lot of factors ...and horizontal movement is more realistic anyways since air currents are not _technically_ uniform in nature (mmmmmm... sweet delicious technicalities!) and effect individual rain drops differently but it's generally imperceptible to most people. And finally: > Either way, as I said, I'm fine with the proposed change here. Whew, what a ride! 😂

kneekoo commented

2023-01-30 16:04:06 +01:00

Nitpicking much, sir? :))

Minecraft doesn't have wind, neither does Minetest. So considering that, and the fact that we can't expect such a game to be close to reality, the lateral movement of raindrops is quite realistic even without wind. :)

...and horizontal movement is more realistic anyways since air currents are not technically uniform in nature (mmmmmm... sweet delicious technicalities!) and effect individual rain drops differently but it's generally imperceptible to most people.

If people look, they can notice. Also, I said this:

randomizing every single rain drop is overkill

To reiterate, I'm fine with either kind of rain in the game, but I favor one that potentially saves us some CPU cycles (this proposal).

Nitpicking much, sir? :)) [Minecraft doesn't have wind](https://feedback.minecraft.net/hc/en-us/community/posts/360019629292-Winds-in-Minecraft-), neither does Minetest. So considering that, and the fact that we can't expect such a game to be close to reality, the lateral movement of raindrops is quite realistic even without wind. :) > ...and horizontal movement is more realistic anyways since air currents are not _technically_ uniform in nature (mmmmmm... sweet delicious technicalities!) and effect individual rain drops differently but it's generally imperceptible to most people. If people look, they can notice. Also, I said this: > randomizing every single rain drop is overkill To reiterate, I'm fine with either kind of rain in the game, but I favor one that potentially saves us some CPU cycles (this proposal).

atomdmac commented

2023-01-30 18:21:32 +01:00

Nitpicking much, sir? :))

Sorry, I didn't realize I was the one that was nitpicking 😂 Just trying to follow along. In any case, I'm glad you approve of the changes.

> Nitpicking much, sir? :)) Sorry, I didn't realize I was the one that was nitpicking 😂 Just trying to follow along. In any case, I'm glad you approve of the changes.

Ghost approved these changes 2023-01-30 19:06:55 +01:00

Ghost commented

2023-01-30 19:07:17 +01:00

First-time contributor

Looks good to me.

epCode approved these changes 2023-01-31 20:25:19 +01:00

ancientmarinerdev approved these changes 2023-02-02 05:48:19 +01:00

ancientmarinerdev left a comment

It looks good to me. Thanks for working on this.