Alliedassault - View Single Post - New map update

Ydiss · 04-24-2003, 01:52 PM

Here are some pics of a few alterations I had to use to improve the performance. This doesn't show the dozens of minor brush changes and repositionings but it shows how the performance is and how the structures are now.

First up, 4 shots from the centre of the map, the bridge. In the bottom right corner of all these pics is an overview with the POV highlighted in green.

Note that I have also included the FPS counter in the bottom left.

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image2.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image3.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image4.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image5.jpg

Opposite ends of the bridge:

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image6.jpg

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image7.jpg

Next up is a view of the Library with the new walls surrounding it. Note the FPS is 30 here, as low as it gets on my machine. This will dip below 20 on lower end machines but it's pretty much isolated to this particular area (more on that later).

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image8.jpg

This pic shows the higher walls much clearer and a nice 70+ FPS to go with it:

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image9.jpg

The above image is mostly down to the interior of the Library being dedesigned to enable better vising (so the inside of the library is only drawn for players inside it, for whom none of the outside will be drawn). The higher walls were included in an effort to section this area of the map from the rest of it. I may be able to reduce these walls a little (I'll test this tonight).

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image10.jpg

Other side of the library.

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image11.jpg

The above shot suffered low FPS before this revamp, even when fully compiled. Now it runs at a decent 45 FPS. Again, I am showing you worst case scanarios in these long shots.

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image13.jpg

Above is an example of a best case scanario... This area was horribly slow before I revamped it. Now it runs over 80 FPS. The whole garden runs much smoother now thanks to 2 simple walls (seen middle shot). Before, you could see clear to the car park (South West corner of map).

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image14.jpg

This is the old wine room. Removed the wine casks (Static models cause horrid FPS lag - I decided a while ago to not use many models in this map - They may look good but I prefer a playable map to a model-clogged one). The crucial part of this room is the 2 wall partitions (right and left). From this angle they conceal the door and window. If you look on the bottom right at the over-view you can see this room is quite centrally located. Effectively it failed to prevent Line Of Sight (LOS) from all angles around it. These two walls shut off a lot of that LOS. This rooms runs uber fast now, except when you go to the window (where it still runs well).

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image15.jpg

I'm not 100% sure this addition makes a lot of difference (The next shot shows why). I may remove it. Effectively I wanted to block LOS from the Park to the Town Hall but I don't think it does that. What it does do though is block LOS from the North edge of the map to the South.

Reason I added this is because below and behind the camera is a door and middle shot behind the wall is a window. You can't see the window. That's what the wall's supposed to do biggrin: It works. This room is uber fast, now.

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image16.jpg

This pic is a case of where VIS isn't working too well still. The problem here is, although I've effectively blocked LOS through the Pub and Restaurant (last pic) from here to the Town hall, this show clearly shows LOS to the Town Hall. Sadly this means this area will be laggy for most players (as I mentioned above, in the pic taken from this spot looking at the Library).

This is actually the worst spot in the whole map. I could break it up some and add some walls and increase FPS somewhat. I'd probably have to cut out the road on both sides of thr Pub.

I may do this as a test. With a little artistic hacking of structures I could still make this area flow gameplay-wise.

It'll reduce sniping a lot, though.

Last pic:

http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image17.jpg

An example of what I did to acheive this result. No more windows. I will add detailed windows to make it look more like a town hall but they won't be windows you can stand at and shoot through.

Before the revamp this front face had tons of LOS leaks in it. This allows you to see all the way into the gardens to the rear and caused bad performance (and also linked all the portals -- areas of VIS data -- so the compiling process took ages). Now, this front face is one solid LOS blocker (behind the door is another partition - doors leak LOS like windows).

That's it! Aside from a few more walls and touches that's what I had to do to get this map to work.

Now, back to work for me. I'll be touching up the details you've seen and hopefully reworking the lights.

After that's done...

Test time.

Thanks for your patience biggrin:

	(#45)
Ydiss is Offline Senior Member Posts: 2,377 Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Nottingham, England	04-24-2003, 01:52 PM Here are some pics of a few alterations I had to use to improve the performance. This doesn't show the dozens of minor brush changes and repositionings but it shows how the performance is and how the structures are now. First up, 4 shots from the centre of the map, the bridge. In the bottom right corner of all these pics is an overview with the POV highlighted in green. Note that I have also included the FPS counter in the bottom left. http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image2.jpg http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image3.jpg http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image4.jpg http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image5.jpg Opposite ends of the bridge: http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image6.jpg http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image7.jpg Next up is a view of the Library with the new walls surrounding it. Note the FPS is 30 here, as low as it gets on my machine. This will dip below 20 on lower end machines but it's pretty much isolated to this particular area (more on that later). http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image8.jpg This pic shows the higher walls much clearer and a nice 70+ FPS to go with it: http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image9.jpg The above image is mostly down to the interior of the Library being dedesigned to enable better vising (so the inside of the library is only drawn for players inside it, for whom none of the outside will be drawn). The higher walls were included in an effort to section this area of the map from the rest of it. I may be able to reduce these walls a little (I'll test this tonight). http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image10.jpg Other side of the library. http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image11.jpg The above shot suffered low FPS before this revamp, even when fully compiled. Now it runs at a decent 45 FPS. Again, I am showing you worst case scanarios in these long shots. http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image13.jpg Above is an example of a best case scanario... This area was horribly slow before I revamped it. Now it runs over 80 FPS. The whole garden runs much smoother now thanks to 2 simple walls (seen middle shot). Before, you could see clear to the car park (South West corner of map). http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image14.jpg This is the old wine room. Removed the wine casks (Static models cause horrid FPS lag - I decided a while ago to not use many models in this map - They may look good but I prefer a playable map to a model-clogged one). The crucial part of this room is the 2 wall partitions (right and left). From this angle they conceal the door and window. If you look on the bottom right at the over-view you can see this room is quite centrally located. Effectively it failed to prevent Line Of Sight (LOS) from all angles around it. These two walls shut off a lot of that LOS. This rooms runs uber fast now, except when you go to the window (where it still runs well). http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image15.jpg I'm not 100% sure this addition makes a lot of difference (The next shot shows why). I may remove it. Effectively I wanted to block LOS from the Park to the Town Hall but I don't think it does that. What it does do though is block LOS from the North edge of the map to the South. Reason I added this is because below and behind the camera is a door and middle shot behind the wall is a window. You can't see the window. That's what the wall's supposed to do biggrin: It works. This room is uber fast, now. http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image16.jpg This pic is a case of where VIS isn't working too well still. The problem here is, although I've effectively blocked LOS through the Pub and Restaurant (last pic) from here to the Town hall, this show clearly shows LOS to the Town Hall. Sadly this means this area will be laggy for most players (as I mentioned above, in the pic taken from this spot looking at the Library). This is actually the worst spot in the whole map. I could break it up some and add some walls and increase FPS somewhat. I'd probably have to cut out the road on both sides of thr Pub. I may do this as a test. With a little artistic hacking of structures I could still make this area flow gameplay-wise. It'll reduce sniping a lot, though. Last pic: http://www.btinternet.com/~ydisss/Debug/Image17.jpg An example of what I did to acheive this result. No more windows. I will add detailed windows to make it look more like a town hall but they won't be windows you can stand at and shoot through. Before the revamp this front face had tons of LOS leaks in it. This allows you to see all the way into the gardens to the rear and caused bad performance (and also linked all the portals -- areas of VIS data -- so the compiling process took ages). Now, this front face is one solid LOS blocker (behind the door is another partition - doors leak LOS like windows). That's it! Aside from a few more walls and touches that's what I had to do to get this map to work. Now, back to work for me. I'll be touching up the details you've seen and hopefully reworking the lights. After that's done... Test time. Thanks for your patience biggrin: