Waterfall Tutorial

-Waterfall Tutorial-
By: Valmassoi

Psn: valmassoi
Level: Waterfall Tutorial

~Introduction~

There's a few ways in making a waterfall, and as you know they can really add to the environment of the level. I'm sure you've all seen the "all-mighty" gas waterfall, but in addition to that, I'll explain how to make a "Piston Waterfall." Sure the steps may be a little time-consuming, but so is making any decent level in LBP!

~Gas Waterfall~

Gas waterfalls are the most commonly used forms of waterfalls, simply because they're the easiest. They can also be corner-edited to make interesting fantasy levels.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1226.jpg

Step 1: Create

Use the goodies bag to draw a static object. It has to be even (no corner editing), and vertical to be realistic; that is of course if you're not making a fantasy-based level. It doesn't matter what material you use. Also, make sure it's the thinnest layer and moved to the back.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1227.jpg

Step 2: Gas Tweak

Under the tweak menu, change the material into horrible gas. It doesn't matter what color you use.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1228.jpg

Step 3: Material Change

This has to be the most commonly used "glitch" in LBP for PSP: Go to the tweak menu again, and use the material-changer to choose a water-looking material. I recommend the Aqua Carpet material, but that's just me. There are also many other water-looking materials out there, but it really is your opinion.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1230.jpg

What NOT To Do

In this kind of waterfall, there's two main things to avoid.
1. NEVER use a material that doesn't correspond to the environment or story of your level, this is pretty self-explanatory.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1231.jpg

2. Gas takes up a lot of memory in PSPs, over-usage or too big of gas waterfalls will make automatic lag in your level, and nobody likes a laggy level!

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1232.jpg

~Piston Waterfall~

Piston waterfalls look great!!! But require a lot of work. Figures. Personally I've only seen these in one level but that's just me. The bad thing about these is that if a person puts a sticker on it while playing your level, it can reveal the secret of making these and look awful banging up and down repeatedly. The photo below doesn't really show what it's like because it's not moving so be sure to download the level if you want to see what it really looks like.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1233.jpg

Prestep 1: Must Knows

This is a must know about these waterfalls before making one: They are only used in large environments, and the top and bottom cannot be visible to the players eye. Also, you cannot corner edit these. Another useful thing to know would be that this technique can be used to create scrolling backgrounds.

Prestep 2: Troubleshooting Piston Waterfalls

I haven't found out about this until recently. Steps 2 and 3 below only work for the aqua carpet material!!! So don't try using the same tweakage for different material waterfalls!

Step 1: Create

Pay attention here, every part matters! Start by making a dynamic, wide (to your preference), thinnest (moved to back layer), water-material object. As I've mentioned before, I recommend Aqua Carpet material, but it's totally your choice. Above that, make another object of any material (nobody's going to see it). Make sure it's static and the same layer as the dynamic one. Also, you have to make this high (at least 50 "LBP" inches) above the dynamic object. You can measure how high above it is by attaching a temporary rod and look at maximum length under tweak.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1234.jpg

Step 2: Piston Time!

Attach a piston from the top object to the bottom one. Tweak: Under basic settings, make sure the minimum length is exactly 50 "LBP" inches less than the maximum length. Example: Your maximum length is 80, your minimum length should be 30.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/a...5/IMG_1235.jpg

Step 3: More Tweakage

Under timing, the time should be 1.0 seconds (or to your preference). Everything else under timing, should be 0.0. Is it stiff? Yes. Flipper Motion? In. Visible? Your choice, doesn't really matter considering nobody should see up there. Make sure you have music or sound effects around the waterfall because flipper motion makes a sound.

What NOT To Do
1. Allow the player to see either the top or bottom
2. Put stickers on the waterfall
3. Have no music or SFX around the waterfall

~Conclusion~
Well that's pretty much it, I'm semi-sure those are the only ways in making a waterfall, and they really do add to the atmosphere of a level. If you have any feedback or questions feel free to post them down below. Thanks!

Hey Fantastic Tutorial!!! I've always wondered how people made that piston one. I'll have to give that one a shot.

Thanks for that!!

Great tutorial man! I actually used the piston technique in my LBUP magical forest level a while back. It took me alot of experimenting and tweaking though so this will help me so much!

Oh and I originally saw this done in a few sha-ja levels
check out his canyons level. his waterfall there is epic. why? because its not straight. its corner edited!

Nice tutorial man! you can also make waterfalls with lots of emiting falling shapes.

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Originally Posted by SketchNZ

Nice tutorial man! you can also make waterfalls with lots of emiting falling shapes.

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I've never heard of doing it that way, but maybe I'll put that in there sometime!

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Originally Posted by ali985

Great tutorial man! I actually used the piston technique in my LBUP magical forest level a while back. It took me alot of experimenting and tweaking though so this will help me so much!

Oh and I originally saw this done in a few sha-ja levels
check out his canyons level. his waterfall there is epic. why? because its not straight. its corner edited!

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Yeah I've played all sha-ja's levels, all his levels are epic! I've seen a corner edited waterfall in Lleonard's Garden of Golden Apples level too.

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Originally Posted by brimostudios

Hey Fantastic Tutorial!!! I've always wondered how people made that piston one. I'll have to give that one a shot.

Thanks for that!!

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No Prob!

This is a great trick; if you get your values right, there is completely no seam at all. On the PS3 this trick doesn't work because of the blur effect, but on PSP the movement is instantaneous so it works well.

Think of other applications for this; you can use it to make a scrolling background! I had a go at making a Pole Position level once, where Sackboy was hidden between two buttons that moved a piston left/right in front of a scrolling road. It worked pretty well, actually, but I never go around to making it presentable.

What a nice tutorial! Hopefully this will help beginner creators (and veterans for that matter) with adding these wonderful flowing sights into their levels! :)

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Originally Posted by SketchNZ

Nice tutorial man! you can also make waterfalls with lots of emiting falling shapes.

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While that method may work, you then have the possibility of players seeing the lines that separate each piece, as well as heating up the thermometer fairly quick with those nasty emitters! :grr:

Hey valmassoi,

Thanks for putting this together. I've added it to the Tutorial Spotlight. As you can see, it makes it that much more accessible to a wider audience, and it's also easier to follow as a reference if someone is in create mode. I'm also really glad you mentioned adding sound effects because that is really important. ;)


Jumping off the waterfall,
jeffcu28

don't forget the math of minimum length less then 50, one more "inch" and it looks horrible

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Originally Posted by jimydog000

don't forget the math of minimum length less then 50, one more "inch" and it looks horrible

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Yup. That's why i put it in the tutorial. (it's explained in the level)

thankyou i shall use this to create an awesome level if i can think of a plot and theme

Woah! Thanks for the tutorial! Could I know which level uses the piston technique?

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Originally Posted by Kelemonopy

thankyou i shall use this to create an awesome level if i can think of a plot and theme

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Great to hear!

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Originally Posted by eagerneph

Woah! Thanks for the tutorial! Could I know which level uses the piston technique?

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My level A Bubbly Garden uses it, and so does a few of Sha-ja's levels. That's all I can think of off the top of my head