getting a object to flicker

[Master chief]

ok this would be easyer to explain to some one who has played the game "Sword of the stars" one of the playable races called the "liir" ( or as i like to call "Space fishy") anyways there ships have a unique way of moving in such that they teleport forward bit by bit hundereds of times a minute giving a flickering effect , i was woundering if there is a way to make a model flicker in and out like that with out having to set its transperancey every .5 of a frame.

[robcat2075]

i was woundering if there is a way to make a model flicker in and out like that with out having to set its transperancey every .5 of a frame.

 

you can keyframe "Active" on and off . In the properties for the model bone.

 

But it will take keyframing to do it.

[Master chief]

ok is there a way to say set an action to set transpaerancy to 0% ( ie you can se it ), move frame, set transperancy to 100% ( its gone) / repeat

[robcat2075]

make an action that keyframes that once and repeat the action in the chor.

[Rodney]

Hmmm... I haven't seen the effect you mention but there is another approach that doesn't require keyframing (Disclaimer: You actually keyframe A:M's renderer)

 

The idea is to use A:M's custom render settings to render out the frames you want visible (Say frames 1, 2, 5,6, etc.). Then insert/replace the other frames with invisible/transparent/altered images (3, 4, 7, 8 etc).

 

Note: You could just as easily adjust these images in some way to get a fade out/color change... whatever effect you need.

 

I'll explain the process later if interested. Its pretty simple so if all files made it through you should be able to see via the project file attached.

CutInOutProject.zip

[someawfulbridge]

Alright--I'm way ignurnt here, so ignore me if that shows, but could object transparency be linked to an expression that gives it a (pseudo?)random value, so the flickering is somewhat automated but not obviously cyclical?

 

 

 

 

Hmmm... I haven't seen the effect you mention but there is another approach that doesn't require keyframing (Disclaimer: You actually keyframe A:M's renderer)

 

The idea is to use A:M's custom render settings to render out the frames you want visible (Say frames 1, 2, 5,6, etc.). Then insert/replace the other frames with invisible/transparent/altered images (3, 4, 7, 8 etc).

 

Note: You could just as easily adjust these images in some way to get a fade out/color change... whatever effect you need.

 

I'll explain the process later if interested. Its pretty simple so if all files made it through you should be able to see via the project file attached.

[johnl3d]

you can use an expression to turn model active on or off with if statement

 

here is an example

 

this one with flare inside model that shows when model goes transparent and the other with just the on /off flicker the amount of flicker can be controled by changing the value in the pose used to add the expression on/off

 

 

flash.mov

 

flashnolight.mov

 

v15d project flash.zip

[heyvern]

there ships have a unique way of moving in such that they teleport forward bit by bit hundereds of times a minute giving a flickering effect

 

Hah! Larry Niven wrote an essay in 1969 ago discussing teleportation:

 

From, "Speculation: The Theory and Practice of Teleportation" by Larry Niven

 

... We'll call this peculiar object the "end-teleport drive," and we'll say

that it teleports itself onto its own front end. I invented it many years ago, but I never had the nerve to

write a story about it.

 

Notice that if you push the button, the ship teleports onto its own front end; but if you hold the

button down, it will teleport repeatedly, in a steady stream of images. One jump brings the ship to

position 2; but the moment it begins to occupy position 2 it wants to be at position 3; as that image starts

to form the ship wants to be at position 4, et cetera. If teleportation is rapid enough we can use it for

transportation.

You refuse to believe in my ship? Then think of it as an exercise in speculation. Ridiculous as it

may seem, we do get results.

1) Rate-of-travel of the ship is limited only by mechanical difficulties, that is, by the rate of

successive teleportation. The end-teleport drive does not affect the ship's kinetic energy. We change

only the position. So there is none of this nonsense about relativity.

2) We must assume a mechanical limit on rate-of-travel. Otherwise the ship goes off the edge of the universe.

3) You can take your ffinger off the button. Kinetic energy is teleported along with everything

else; and as a perfect image you have free will.

4) The longer the ship is, the faster it will go, with a given rate-of-teleportation. But: the longer

the ship is, the greater is the danger of getting too near a large mass. To land on Earth the ship would

have to be less than two feet long.

In fact, you can't land it anywhere with the end-teleport drive....

 

It goes on a bit...

 

 

-vern