Using Springheel's 2.05 Modules [download in OP]

[Goldwell]

 

Thank you. I'm just hoping it will run on majority of computers. I have a 980 ti and I don't have any performance dips just yet.

 

I have the same card so I know how hard it can be to make sure the map is running optimal because it can handle pretty much anything, but there is a way to check the performance of a scene in numbers.

 

While ingame open the console and enter "r_showprimitives 1" then check what the "draws" and "shdw" count is, to turn it off just change the 1 at the end to a 0, plus you'll need to walk to an area and then open the console as I don't know how to get it running permanently.

 

As a general rule of thumb I try to keep my draws around the 2000 mark (with a max of about 4000-5000) and try to keep the shadows at the 80,000 mark (with a maximum of about 100,000). That at least helps to diagnose the performance of a scene a bit until beta testing starts of course.

[Springheel]

And if you're not already using LOD versions of those modules, many exist. That can also help with performance quite a bit for longer views.

 

[refl3ks]

 

I have the same card so I know how hard it can be to make sure the map is running optimal because it can handle pretty much anything, but there is a way to check the performance of a scene in numbers.

 

While ingame open the console and enter "r_showprimitives 1" then check what the "draws" and "shdw" count is, to turn it off just change the 1 at the end to a 0, plus you'll need to walk to an area and then open the console as I don't know how to get it running permanently.

 

As a general rule of thumb I try to keep my draws around the 2000 mark (with a max of about 4000-5000) and try to keep the shadows at the 80,000 mark (with a maximum of about 100,000). That at least helps to diagnose the performance of a scene a bit until beta testing starts of course.

 

 

I have 3 areas that reach 7000-7500 draw. Shadows are an average between 130,000 - 180,000. How can I get that down?

 

And if you're not already using LOD versions of those modules, many exist. That can also help with performance quite a bit for longer views.

 

 

I am using your LOD versions, they help immensely!

Edited June 4, 2017 by refl3ks

[Springheel]

I have 3 areas that reach 7000-7500 draw. Shadows are an average between 130,000 - 180,000. How can I get that down?

 

 

Visportals are your first line of attack. I find this a very useful video on how best to place them:

 

Secondly, you can look for models that can be set to "noshadows" "1". Lots of models in corners, or walls high up that can't be hit by any lights, don't need to have shadowcasting on.

 

Complex models can be set to noshadows and you can make a simple brush out of common/texture/shadow to go inside.

 

You can also put a "hide_distance" on models that can't be directly seen by the player beyond a certain distance. That's explained in the video I posted in the last message.

 

And if you run into difficulty beyond that, I'd be happy to take a look at the map for you and offer suggestions.

[refl3ks]

 

Visportals are your first line of attack. I find this a very useful video on how best to place them:

 

Secondly, you can look for models that can be set to "noshadows" "1". Lots of models in corners, or walls high up that can't be hit by any lights, don't need to have shadowcasting on.

 

Complex models can be set to noshadows and you can make a simple brush out of common/texture/shadow to go inside.

 

You can also put a "hide_distance" on models that can't be directly seen by the player beyond a certain distance. That's explained in the video I posted in the last message.

 

And if you run into difficulty beyond that, I'd be happy to take a look at the map for you and offer suggestions.

 

I would appreciate it if you could take a look at it! I've never had my maps properly critiqued. I need to know if I'm going in the right direction.

Edited June 4, 2017 by refl3ks

[Springheel]

Feel free to PM me the details.

[Obsttorte]

Regarding the fog you could also create lod versions of them. So that at a distance they use a different particle with a lower particle count (but probably bigger ones to get a similar effect).

 

Visportals are something you have to think about before starting to map, so it might not be that beneficial at your current state of progress. I think shadowcasting (both on lights and entities) can be controlled via lod, too, so people with low end rigs can get a performance boost by lowering the lod settings.

 

Once you add ai to the level it can also be of help to use interleaved thinking. This is helpful if you are planning to use a lot of ai. SEED is an additional way to improve performance, see the respective wiki articles.

[Bikerdude]

here is the latest shot with the recommended light sprite.

Regarding the fog thats blowing people away, is that the fog from The Gatehouse? if so its nice to see it getting used so creatively.

As a general rule of thumb I try to keep my draws around the 2000 mark

The old Doom3 max was 1500, for TDM that has been raised that to 3000. If for example a scene is complex but you have already done a few perf passes and the DC never really gets above 3k - call it done.

[Springheel]

You can easily get up to 4000 or even higher. Draw calls are not the real culprit, it's shadow tris. <80,000 is the ideal there.

[refl3ks]

@bikerdude I'm not sure, I was just scrolling through effects until I found what I was looking for. I will send you the name when I get home.

[Bikerdude]

@bikerdude I'm not sure, I was just scrolling through effects until I found what I was looking for. I will send you the name when I get home.

Im fairly sure its the one/s used in The Gatehouse that then got added to the mod after.

 

In any event its nice to see them being used, for a new mapper your work is extremely impressive. Your showing us old mappers new ways of doing stuff.

[refl3ks]

Im fairly sure its the one/s used in The Gatehouse that then got added to the mod after.

 

In any event its nice to see them being used, for a new mapper your work is extremely impressive. Your showing us old mappers new ways of doing stuff.

Thank you, means a lot

 

It's tdm_fog_overcast.prt

[Goldwell]

Here are some screenshots from a little rooftop section i'm currently working on, it makes heavy use of your modules Springheel. Also after seeing how great your screenshots looked refl3ks I decided to add in some fog

 

 

 

 

[AluminumHaste]

Wow, very Thief 4 vibe which isn't a bad thing at all.

Looks great, hope it works out!

[refl3ks]

Here are some screenshots from a little rooftop section i'm currently working on, it makes heavy use of your modules Springheel. Also after seeing how great your screenshots looked refl3ks I decided to add in some fog

Glad I could be of help

Love that atmosphere.

[NeonsStyle]

@refl3ks, Looking at those screenies, you should make that a full map, it looks awesome. Love the aesthetics.

[Bikerdude]

Does anyone know of or can give me the best LOD values for these modules? In my case its to tweak the value for players with low end machines, where I have long sightlines.

Edited November 6, 2017 by Bikerdude

[Springheel]

Does anyone know of or can give me the best LOD values for these modules? In my case its to tweak the value for players with low end machines, where I have long sightlines.

 

 

There are already LOD entities for many, if not most, of the models.

[Bikerdude]

There are already LOD entities for many, if not most, of the models.

Ah ok, ta.

[Obsttorte]

The lod values are specified on the lod entities ("lod_normal_distance, lod_1_distance and so on).

 

These values are then multiplied with the value stored in the cvar tdm_lod_bias. This value is set in the video settings menu and ranges from 0.5 to 3.0. These values can be altered for your fm however by using your own version of the mainmenu_settings_video.gui file (that's the gui where the video settings are setup).

[Bikerdude]

The lod values are specified on the lod entities ("lod_normal_distance, lod_1_distance and so on).

There are a few of the modules that dont have LOD version, so I assume my only option for these is to set the distance at which the model is removed/rendered? I think I can get away with doing this on models that are technicaly in the players view port but obscured or round a corner so wont be visable as it snaps in and out of view.

[Obsttorte]

Models that are out of view will be culled away anyways, so there is little benefit there. Using the lod versions for those models for which they are available and tweaking the lod settings properly should already give a good boost. Another culprit was the vp's, which I will take a look at asap.

[Bikerdude]

Models that are out of view will be culled away anyways, so there is little benefit there. Using the lod versions for those models for which they are available and tweaking the lod settings properly should already give a good boost. Another culprit was the vp's, which I will take a look at asap.

Well I played the latest version of the map on my little HP laptop that uses Core i5 (2.5ghz) & Intel HD 5000 gpu, and the lowest I saw @ 1024*768 was 20fps. and my laptop is far lower GPU spec than yours I think. But Im running stock LOD values, so I can tweak to get some mroe perf.

 

And regarding the out of view models, these are ones that are hidden from line of sight but are in the viewport, so removing these from the viewport should gain us some more perf.

[Obsttorte]

It will, but it is questionable how high the benefit is. It is worth a try, though.

[JackFarmer]

Hello Springheel,

 

Is there a skin for the door module (A) which has the same colour in the upper section as the wall section B to the left or right?

 

 

The folder "matching skins" includes the skin as in the picture which is sligthtly too bright at the top.