RustyNaps wrote:Well you could some how make the overmind the source of the dynamic geological change some how.
Because of limitations of the engine, actually modifying map geometry is (practically) out of the question. Dynamically creating geometry on top of map geometry is, however, quite possible.
WhiteTech wrote:Well maybe perhaps something like the Zerg (starcraft) creep. The creep colonies grows the creep in a radius around them, and you can build on it. This would give the alien look and be functional.
StarCraft 1 could draw large areas of creep fairly easily by just repeating ("bit blitting") an image over an area. The edges of the creep naturally require a different image. In a 3d world, however, we'd have to come up with some way of dynamically creating creep geometry, which is more difficult. The engine does already have facilities for rendering procedurally generated geometry (what the engine refers to as "tess" geometry); the challenge that remains (aside from asset creation) would be, again, the procedural generation of that geometry.
ViruS wrote:I think a problem with the jerky stuff might be whether the engine supports 'animation smoothing.'
The correct terms for that are "frame interpolation" or "tweening". We do now have (linear?) frame interpolation for MD5 models, and I believe inbetween frames for MD3 models was inherited from Quake 3.