Difference between revisions of "SWHC (File Format)"

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{{research|2|Key parameters need reverse-engineering}}
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{{research|1|Properties beyond MP1 need to be discovered and documented}}
 
The '''SWHC''' [[Effect Script|effect script]] format is used to build swoosh effects in the ''Metroid Prime'' series.
 
The '''SWHC''' [[Effect Script|effect script]] format is used to build swoosh effects in the ''Metroid Prime'' series.
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Swooshes are characterized as dynamically-generated, trailing ''triangle-strips'' "brushed" into space.
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Swooshes are characterized as dynamically-generated triangles "brushed" into space.
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Each swoosh system emits ''particle instances'' once per frame, connecting each new instance with the previous instance.
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The system will not render until it has a history of ''at least'' 2 swoosh particles (2 frames of updates). Swoosh cross-sections may
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form simple planes through space (<code>SIDE==2</code>) or extruded prism shapes (<code>SIDE>=3</code>).
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To smooth out intra-frame geometry, vertices connecting particle instances may be calculated using [[wikipedia:Tricubic interpolation|tricubic interpolation]].
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SPLN defines the number of subdivisions with which to perform interpolation.
  
 
== Properties ==
 
== Properties ==

Revision as of 17:47, 4 June 2017

Morphball render.png This file format is almost completely documented
Properties beyond MP1 need to be discovered and documented

The SWHC effect script format is used to build swoosh effects in the Metroid Prime series. Swooshes are characterized as dynamically-generated triangles "brushed" into space.

Each swoosh system emits particle instances once per frame, connecting each new instance with the previous instance. The system will not render until it has a history of at least 2 swoosh particles (2 frames of updates). Swoosh cross-sections may form simple planes through space (SIDE==2) or extruded prism shapes (SIDE>=3).

To smooth out intra-frame geometry, vertices connecting particle instances may be calculated using tricubic interpolation. SPLN defines the number of subdivisions with which to perform interpolation.

Properties

Particle generator properties are assembled into a particle script file tagged with SWSH. Any of the following properties are loaded into a description class for constructing an arbitrary number of particle generators.

FourCC Type Description Scope Notes MP1 MP2 MP3 DKCR DKCTF
PSLT IntElement Particle System Lifetime System Init Count of frames to emit new particle instances ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
TIME RealElement Time Multiplier Pre Particles Update Factor that defines number of evaluation frames per real frame ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
LRAD RealElement Left Radius Particle Update Radius of swoosh cross-section's left side ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
RRAD RealElement Right Radius Particle Update Radius of swoosh cross-section's right side ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
LENG IntElement Length System Init Maximum history of swoosh sections to retain (must be at least 2) ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
COLR ColorElement Color Particle Creation and Update Modulation color of swoosh surfaces ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
SIDE IntElement Side Count System Init Count of swoosh cross-section sides (2 for plane, 3+ for extruded prism) ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
IROT FloatElement Instance Rotation Particle Creation Rotation bias evaluated for new particle instances (in degrees) ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
ROTM FloatElement Rotation Master Particle Update Rotation bias evaluated per particle instance, per frame (in degrees) ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
POFS VectorElement Particle Offset Particle Creation Local translation bias evaluated for new particle instances ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
IVEL VectorElement Particle Offset Particle Creation Relative velocity evaluated for new particle instances ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
NPOS VectorElement Particle Offset Particle Update Local translation bias updated per particle instance, per frame ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
VELM ModVectorElement Velocity 1 Particle Update Continuous position and velocity source of particle instances ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
VLM2 ModVectorElement Velocity 2 Particle Update Second position and velocity source evaluated after VELM ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
SPLN IntElement Spline Segments System Init Count of intra-frame faces to draw per particle connection, using tricubic spline interpolation ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
TEXR UVElement Texture System Render Texture and UV source for swoosh surfaces ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
TSPN IntElement Texture Span System Render Count of particle instances over which to scale UV coordinate cycle ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
LLRD BoolElement Left Radius for Right System Init Use LRAD value for RRAD ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
CROS BoolElement Cross System Init Intersect surfaces across cross-section verts, as opposed to a non-intersecting prism ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
VLS1 BoolElement Local Velocity 1 System Init Evaluate VELM in particle-local space ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
VLS2 BoolElement Local Velocity 2 System Init Evaluate VLM2 in particle-local space ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
SROT BoolElement Single Rotation System Init Update IROT per particle instance, per frame and ignore ROTM, otherwise once per system update ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
WIRE BoolElement Single Rotation System Init Render surfaces as triangle wireframe ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
TEXW BoolElement Unknown System Init Unused ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
AALP BoolElement Additive Alpha System Init Draw using additive alpha blending ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
ZBUF BoolElement Z-buffer Update System Init Enable Z-buffer updates ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
ORNT BoolElement View Orient System Init Render surface facing view (2-SIDE only, no SPLN) ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
CRND BoolElement View Orient System Init Use current CPU time for random seed, rather than 99 ✔ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
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