Laser Reflection

I thought about this a while ago and finally just got around to posting it. I was thinking about how lasers and light work with reflection and wondered if it was possible that when firing a laser into glass that it might just be reflected off of the glass? This feature proably wouldn't affect the larger lasers due to their power, but proably the pistol.

What do you think? It's okay to disagree, I just want to hear other opinions.

could be interesting, but sounds like something that could modded into the game without bothering the dev team over it

Downside: I'm just getting used to not shooting my own troops in the head, without killing them from firing at windows.

Upside: You can try laser trick shots to kill aliens off of windows.

I was thinking about how lasers and light work with reflection and wondered if it was possible that when firing a laser into glass that it might just be reflected off of the glass?

A weaponized laser would burn through it.

I thought about this a while ago and finally just got around to posting it. I was thinking about how lasers and light work with reflection and wondered if it was possible that when firing a laser into glass that it might just be reflected off of the glass? This feature proably wouldn't affect the larger lasers due to their power, but proably the pistol.

What do you think? It's okay to disagree, I just want to hear other opinions.

Window glass is now absolute reflector? How you look through it then?

There no any "ricochet" mechanic in game to make it possible

It's a mechanic requiring 3D rendering, not a 2D game, and certainly not one with tile grid physics.

On reflection: until you go into x-ray, UV is still subject to reflection by familiar surfaces. Glass total internal reflection won't work with UV though.

Don't see why power should make much difference. If the laser is a single short pulse, it doesn't matter how powerful it is. If it's a longer pulse and glass absorbs some of the energy, it will melt/break (and stop reflecting as well) either way.

It's a mechanic requiring 3D rendering, not a 2D game, and certainly not one with tile grid physics.

did you saw "pong"? As the simplest way we can take relative coordinate of firing point for bounce point and then mirror them relative to that point (mirror plane is perpendicular to bounce plane direction, there only four of them) and send our particle at this tile, Little more complicated will be to send not exacly to tile but at direction(take mirrored tile and bounce point coordinates we got line then take some far tile at about same line and send particle there). I sure guy whow know something about math and coding can do it and maybe better way, I don't but its what first came to mind even to me

Don't see why power should make much difference. If the laser is a single short pulse, it doesn't matter how powerful it is. If it's a longer pulse and glass absorbs some of the energy, it will melt/break (and stop reflecting as well) either way.

It still have some sense for me, no such definition as short - any impulse have some longitivity - power will affect is it will be enough of absorbed energy to melt it. And some portion still pass, and some portion will be reflected anyway.

I was just wandering. Yall do have some good opinions. And yes, when the light hits it right, I can see myself. I also definetly know that light (well, at least some) reflects off of car windows.

I also definetly know that light (well, at least some) reflects off of car windows

Light (well, at least some) reflects off all(anything?)

Difference mostly in amount, wave lenght and amount of scattering

glass for most common angles it's more pass trought, then reflect(not sure about uv, I think it absorbed ). As far sa I know.

I've found some interesting articles online on this subject. Here's one with a lot of maths on the subject, and that's part of a larger introduction to lasers in general. Here's a forum discussing wavelength and reflectivity. And something more readable which introduces laser fundamentals and discusses briefly reflection.

did you saw "pong"?

Well, it wasn't tile-based. And this game has a 3d world, you can be shooting from 4th floor... But that aside, its tile-based mechanics are bad enough that even misses can't be handled properly, much less reflections. It seems to be almost 1d (pick a tile) than proper 2d.

Anyway, reflection mechanics wouldn't even be realistic if they could be handled correctly.

Well, it wasn't tile-based.

Why not? It has maybe 30x80 pixel squares field and all movement and calculation is by this squares, don't understand why you think there is any difference. 3d solution will be same as for flat reflection, if we can send particle from some tile to some tile for shooting then we can make same for bounced, to find where to send bounced particle is not very comlicated. With misses(without talking what do mean is handling properly ) it's complitely different thing - we can send our projectile to this tile but we try to avoid it. For bounce we don't need to avoid - we need to send

Not sure I understand all your 1d, 1d it's if we have only one line of squares. Is chess is going on 1d field?

It will be not precise because big and not same for dimensions quant of space, but it will be correct.

It's just talk, there anyway will be nothing like this

Are we talking refraction or reflection? I was under the impression that most people are talking about how light changes angle as it passes through a medium, rather than bouncing off the medium at an equal angle.

Why not? It has maybe 30x80 pixel squares field and all movement and calculation is by this squares, don't understand why you think there is any difference.

*facepalm*

If you honestly think that then i dare you to code it in. See how far you'll get.

To code pong, set field dimension to 30x80, set ball size 1x1. You got it.

Personally I feel it would be too much hassle and not really feel right to have heavy weapons that can blast holes in walls and tanks bounce off windows.

If the aliens were armed with lasers then reflections from the front of a polished combat shield would be kind of funny though.

Why not? It has maybe 30x80 pixel squares field

Hmm, maybe I'm confusing it with later TV versions that had more resolution.

As it stands for Xenonauts, the grid is too granular, considering in particular limited distances in tiles. And you only get sufficient reflectivity at high angles to normal.

Not sure I understand all your 1d, 1d it's if we have only one line of squares. Is chess is going on 1d field?

AFAIK newer chess engines treat it pretty much that way.

You must be joking if you are saying that chess is not a 2D game just becouse some chess engine might process the information on one string.

process the information on one string.

Who on earth plays chess with strings? Isn't using your hands more practical?

Who on earth plays chess with strings? Isn't using your hands more practical?

Our local park used to have a giant chess set, back when the local drug addicts didn't start trying to sell the giant pieces off for money. When your local law enforcement can't track down a giant rook, then you know you're never going to see your stuff again in the event of a robbery.

Anyway, they were really awkward to carry around, so the thought of strings and pulleys would have been perfect.

Our local park used to have a giant chess set, back when the local drug addicts didn't start trying to sell the giant pieces off for money. When your local law enforcement can't track down a giant rook, then you know you're never going to see your stuff again in the event of a robbery.

Did they check the pawn shops?

Did they check the pawn shops?

+1 </thread>

But seriously: lasers would be more likely to refract than reflect, and refraction physics is kind of weird in real life, to say nothing of creating it in a system as limited as the one in Xenonauts.

If there were laser reflection in, there should be reflective armor too. So in the end only perpendicular shots would do any damage. And rain and fog would make laser weapons useless too.

I would rather have no reflection at all then having lasers getting reflected by mirrors, but going straight through every armor. That would brake the immersion for me.

If your laser can burn through advanced alien armour, I don't see how it could spend more than a picosecond or so reflecting or refracting before your glass window is an exploded molten mess.