fallen one
This is the point fallen one, you need to see it for yourself on screen with different transparency values applied to see the difference because its hard to describe the effects which come with each value.
You have a point when you mention the transparency showing a one dimentional view but it is possible to see (somewhat) the reverse side of the object (trans value = 2) by keeping the model 'unjoined'
with a gap as you say but this all changes depending on the subject matter of the model itself.
The effects of transparency will change depending on where on the model you wish it to be shown and what type of model it is and how it was constructed, so the results will change with every different model.
I asked about transparency in another post recently and found out that my modelling software has (as far as I can see - Milkshape) not got a particular feature which would help more with this subject when exporting to .X file. So software used can be an issue too when trying to ahieve transparency in certain ways for models.
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=200087&b=24
I wish I could explain further but you would have to see the resulting effects for yourself by changing the values yourself to get a better understanding on what is and isn't possible at the moment with transparency in FPSC.
For the benefit of others, don't forget to delete the '.BIN and .DBO' files generated by FPSC before testing the model with the new changes made.
Transparency values tested were, 1,2,3,4,5
Cheers
Ross
