"Low Lying Fog"

[Ticj]

So I just saw something in the interview on the front page about this, do we have any pictures of this? I tried googling it and I wasn't coming up with anything.

[Destinas]

Well, here's the transcript from Wowhead.

Q: Is there a feature that was in development for Legion that we will now see in Battle for Azeroth instead?

Steve: Nothing jumps to mind.

Chris: There was low-line fog that is now going to be in 8.0.

So, no, there wouldn't be any pictures of it, since it doesn't exist until next expansion. It's a bit odd, though, since fog affects have been around and been used since Wrath - Stormheim had some as well. Perhaps they mean a newer version of it.

[derpkitteh]

i hope this doesn't hurt performance.

at least, i hope it can be turned off, and zones aren't built with it in mind so that they look kinda wrong with it.

[doot]

No pictures that I'm aware of, but maybe they're thinking something that has a more subtle transition than what we have with what fog we have now?

[Zentail]

Low line fog is that fog effect that happens over the surface of water, the low-key fog that makes cemeteries creepy looking. Basically it's the effect where fog is close to the ground, not throughout the air. We don't really see that in WoW (that I can think of anywhere, anyway). If it is somewhere, I'd assume they're just improving on it.

[pokcmvmxckm]

There is an example of Low laying fog in the Feature Overview trailer for Battle for Azeroth that was shown during the opening ceremony at Blizzcon.



I also believe there is a similar effect in Tidescorn Harbor In Stormheim.

[Jalham]

There is an example of Low laying fog in the Feature Overview trailer for Battle for Azeroth that was shown during the opening ceremony at Blizzcon.



I also believe there is a similar effect in Tidescorn Harbor In Stormheim.

That is pretty cool, helps with the immersion of sea locations.

[Eurhetemec]

No pictures that I'm aware of, but maybe they're thinking something that has a more subtle transition than what we have with what fog we have now?

Yeah, I wonder too.

WoW has volumetric fog right now (as can be seen very easily in a number of locations, not least flying in/out of the DK Naxx - I can't remember it's name!), and presumably they either now just have a method to easily apply this to areas quickly and easily, or it transitions better or something.

[Steampunkette]

Put simply: Fog is something the game has had for years. It exists, but it's simple and generic. Fire a fire-bolt through the game's fog and it sends a firebolt forward. Recently they added a general Volumetric Fog that fills an area.

Volumetric Fog isn't a visual filter over the world keyed to a specific bounded zone, but is a physical "Object" in the world which does not block line of sight or line of effect, but does interact with light sources on an individual basis. Ever see a candle in fog and how the glow of the candle refracts off of the cloud itself? Up 'til this point in WoW's history, that's a light-aura trick being applied to the candle when a specific set of factors are in place. You can see this difference in-game by going back to Wrath Content where fog was present and comparing it to Stormheim's fog.

With volumetric fog, the light-sourcing is independent and unique, which is -very- cool.

Low-lying volumetric fog takes things a step further by giving the developers the ability to shape the fog's height while decreasing its density. A lot of engines, particularly older ones, have volumetric fog as a Fixed-Density effect. Essentially a cloud contains X number of particles, total, with Y% at the center graduating to only Z% at the edge. When you change the shape of the cloud, it still has the same total number of particles, so that Y% stays the same and the cloud goes from "Fog" to "Marshmallow" really quickly.

By allowing the developers to adjust the density scales in the center of the cloud and the relative external density as well, Volumetric Low Lying Fog can allow for everything from a thin mist creeping around your ankles to a soupy fog that can hide a street-level encounter while those above the fog-level get an awesome view of fog-shrouded explosions.

So... It's pretty swank.

[leggomydairy]

So... It's pretty swank.

I already thought this would be cool but your description of it makes it seem even cooler.

[Soulwind]

Put simply: Fog is something the game has had for years. It exists, but it's simple and generic. Fire a fire-bolt through the game's fog and it sends a firebolt forward. Recently they added a general Volumetric Fog that fills an area.

Volumetric Fog isn't a visual filter over the world keyed to a specific bounded zone, but is a physical "Object" in the world which does not block line of sight or line of effect, but does interact with light sources on an individual basis. Ever see a candle in fog and how the glow of the candle refracts off of the cloud itself? Up 'til this point in WoW's history, that's a light-aura trick being applied to the candle when a specific set of factors are in place. You can see this difference in-game by going back to Wrath Content where fog was present and comparing it to Stormheim's fog.

With volumetric fog, the light-sourcing is independent and unique, which is -very- cool.

Low-lying volumetric fog takes things a step further by giving the developers the ability to shape the fog's height while decreasing its density. A lot of engines, particularly older ones, have volumetric fog as a Fixed-Density effect. Essentially a cloud contains X number of particles, total, with Y% at the center graduating to only Z% at the edge. When you change the shape of the cloud, it still has the same total number of particles, so that Y% stays the same and the cloud goes from "Fog" to "Marshmallow" really quickly.

By allowing the developers to adjust the density scales in the center of the cloud and the relative external density as well, Volumetric Low Lying Fog can allow for everything from a thin mist creeping around your ankles to a soupy fog that can hide a street-level encounter while those above the fog-level get an awesome view of fog-shrouded explosions.

So... It's pretty swank.

And as seen in Kil'jaeden, they can alter the player's ability to view enemies through the fog with buffs.

It's probably just a combination of a "view distance" radius around the character, which hides the fog immediately around you, and phasing, which hides or shows the enemies themselves. Still, neat effect.

[Deleted]

So I just saw something in the interview on the front page about this, do we have any pictures of this? I tried googling it and I wasn't coming up with anything.

See this video, I believe this is the Fog.
https://youtu.be/QzrvgyPCUV4?t=397

[In Ogres We Trust]

Weather effects aide in the immersion factor, so bring on the rain, snow, sleet, sand storms, fog, tornadoes, etc.

[Saroc]

Weather effects aide in the immersion factor, so bring on the rain, snow, sleet, sand storms, fog, tornadoes, etc.

Accumulating snow would be awesome. And changing seasons, and droughts and.. *drool*

[TheEaterofSouls]

can we disable it for lower performance pc's? Fog always tanks my performance on my laptop