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Sotha's mapping thread

Sotha

By Sotha
in TDM Editors Guild

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Melan

Melan

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Very melan'esk... :D

No, not very, it is a different style. :)

Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum. -- Collected letters of the Smith-in-Exile, Civitas Approved

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Sotha

Sotha

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Thanks guys!

 

My favourite comment was this:

I love corners even in RL where you can look down two roads at the same time, usually triangular blocks. It's like looking into two worlds at once and each oblivious of the other - but you can see both - kind of split screen.

 

I like the philosophical contemplation on crossroads, but you forgot the mysterious element of choice: which path to step on, what could be the ramifications of choosing either one of the paths? :D

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

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Fidcal

Fidcal

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Yes the wise guru at the turning point of your life:

 

"Which way will you choose my son?"

"To the right lies absolute love for all but no happiness."

"To the left, everyone is always happy but there is no love."

 

"Oh wise one! Can you advise me!"

 

"No, I've not decided myself yet. Why do you think I'm still sitting here?"

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Melan

Melan

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Fortunately, in most Dark Mod missions, you can sneak down both roads and steal whatever folks down there have on them.

 

Now that's enlightment! :laugh:

Edited by Melan

Come the time of peril, did the ground gape, and did the dead rest unquiet 'gainst us. Our bands of iron and hammers of stone prevailed not, and some did doubt the Builder's plan. But the seals held strong, and the few did triumph, and the doubters were lain into the foundations of the new sanctum. -- Collected letters of the Smith-in-Exile, Civitas Approved

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Sotha

Sotha

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Here is an optimization puzzle for you.

 

Mappers func_staticify decorative brushes. When they are bunched together this way, tris are saved.

 

Usually when looking at func_static brushwork with r_showtris 4, there are no excess tris there.

 

The question arises from this image:

8066200.png

 

See how the square blocks on top cause massive amount of this. The same applies to the corner of the patchwork seen in the lower part.

 

Why does this happen? The entire object possessing the excess tris is one single func_static. How should I optimize this?

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

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Sotha

Sotha

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Make all the blocks one func_static, same for patches if they cause so many excess tris. Leave the wall world geometry.

 

This was the right approach:

Big walls -> worldspawn

Small details -> func_statics

 

Extra tris -> gone.

 

You live and you learn: up till now I always thought func_staticifying = good, but it seems to be very situation specific.

 

Thanks gentlemen.

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

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Sotha

Sotha

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When adding patches to make the terrain seem non regular, which one is better performance-wise?

  • One single big patch for one 'room.'
  • Multiple smaller patches per room.

If I have a single terrain patch, it will be hit by multiple lights

If I have multiple smaller ones, they only catch a few lights per patch.

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

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Baal

Baal

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It depends on what the map compiler does with intersecting patches and brushes. I'm not sure right now so use the "r_tris" command to see what dmap does.

I don't think the whole patch is affected by a light but its triangles. "r_showLightCount" can show this but you have to google how that command works.

One or more patches per room is better if you make them func_static to keep the triangle count lower (prevent cutting of brushes).

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Sotha

Sotha

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Hey, any idea why cylinder patch leaks light in this screenshot?

 

8175218.png

 

See that the straight cylinder leaks and there are some ulgy stripes on the lit side as well. The same cylinder was cloned and bended to make the upper part of the of the vaulting, but that does not exhibit any leaks. Confused. :wacko:

Any ideas how to fix this?

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

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Sotha

Sotha

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Hey I fixed it!

 

8175791.png

 

The left one looks borked ingame. The right one looks perfect ingame.

 

So if the patch is sunk inside the object below, it looks borked for some reason. Hopefully this is useful for others.

Clipper

-The mapper's best friend.

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Johannes Burock

Johannes Burock

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Hey I fixed it!

 

...

 

 

The left one looks borked ingame. The right one looks perfect ingame.

 

So if the patch is sunk inside the object below, it looks borked for some reason. Hopefully this is useful for others.

 

sorry, have senn this topic only now...

 

i also often had such problems...if a patch is sunk inside a brush or patch or if ther is a small leak between them it could happen...not every time but sometimes, dont know where to search or find the limiting value...

best way is that the patch perfectly fits all flanking patches and brushes.

Edited by Johannes Burock
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Johannes Burock

Johannes Burock

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i think the left street very cool smile.gif, thats also my prefered style...(i also have the loundry in my roads, and i think i will be the first one...mad.gifwink.gif)

 

i think two or three little things on the street itself can reach some more detail ( some broken wallparts / a wagon modell)

 

@ shadowhide: you know that it is not so easy to create a not so boring map...so give suggestions or advices...

Edited by Johannes Burock
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Shadowhide

Shadowhide

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@ shadowhide: you know that it is not so easy to create a not so boring map...so give suggestions or advices...

 

first,this is looks very clean

 

bridgeport is steampunk city,so its be nice to see electrical lamps with projected lights instead of many torches

 

also make some walls broken,because city is old

 

light rays from windows will looks good too

 

and like Johannes said some models like carts and so

 

some more old/dirty textures won't harm too

 

ect...

 

 

Proceed with caution!

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