9 réponses à ce sujet

[Languard]

Just for the heck of it, I decided to try and create a basic 2048x2048 exterior level

The toolset didn't appriciate this.  Took several minutes to load all the chunks, camera control was slow, and when I tried to build pathfinding.....

picasaweb.google.com/languard/DragonageToolset#5405495523751896786

Do check out the memory usage

[indio]

Heh...I tried creating a 512x512 and noticed a severe slowdown. You must have a nice system.



Level size is interesting. Looking at BioWare's area layouts it seems they've often chosen to use 256x256, sometimes larger, but then only allowed a fraction of it to be walkable.



I've made 4 or 5 exteriors, but not one of them has resulted in anything I like. I miss YATT terribly. But then yesterday I noticed an option I'd not seen before in the palette options of the raise/lower tool. It's called Noise...by setting it to True and playing with the settings of it, I create nice valleys and hills without too much reliance on artistry.

[FalloutBoy]

indio wrote...

I've made 4 or 5 exteriors, but not one of them has resulted in anything I like. I miss YATT terribly. But then yesterday I noticed an option I'd not seen before in the palette options of the raise/lower tool. It's called Noise...by setting it to True and playing with the settings of it, I create nice valleys and hills without too much reliance on artistry.

I haven't messed with the terrain editor yet but the way I used to do it in NWN2 is to use the plateau tool to set all the approximate elevation levels for the area. Then use the smooth tool to erode the edges. Then repeat the process until it looked good. I hardly ever used any of the other brushes. When I was happy with it I would do a quick noise pass and call it good.

[Sunjammer]

We've got a couple of 512x512 levels on the go that we were working on during the Beta and we've not had any problems with them.  Part of the reason for making them that size was to test what was realistic for the average modder.  Obviously a lot depends on you kit (my laptop would struggle a bit even with smaller areas (like 128x128))

Some of the processes seem to have a drastic effect on level performance.  I've noticed I get a boost after generating/turning on Light Maps and after exporting.  It may be worth going through each of the processes in turn and seeing the effect they have on (perceived) peformance.  Certainly I can go from sluggish to zippy after a couple of export tasks.

Finally I've always found that you can whiz around in the area editor pretty much regardless of size: the only downside it the time to load the area to begin with.

Modifié par Sunjammer, 18 novembre 2009 - 09:32 .

[indio]

Sunjammer wrote...
Finally I've always found that you can whiz around in the area editor pretty much regardless of size: the only downside it the time to load the area to begin with. 

Yeah, I've noticed this too. Having loaded up most of the BioWare layouts, after load times which can take 20 seconds or so, the Area editor handles areas similarly, largely irrespective of size. 

[Languard]

Hmm, well maybe the camera just seemed slower because it takes longer to cross a 2048 zone than it does to cross a 128 zone

But in all seriousness, I don't think such a level size would be practical.  First I don't think computers could handle it in game, even if I could get posted.  Second, the level file is 187 megs, and all I did was randomly toss in a few hills.  Third, it would be massive.  A 256x256 level can feel large if done right, a 512x512 could be made to feel huge.

All that said, still fun to try

[Nodrak]

If you were wondering:

Modifié par Nodrak, 19 novembre 2009 - 04:32 .

[Sunjammer]

You realise that when you actually increase the tessellation by two levels (the setting there doesn't actually do anything) your file size will quadruple?

[Languard]

Was thinking the same thing. A resolution of 8 meters is way to big. It gives you very edgey terrain. You might be able to get away with it for a city, but even then you'd have to be careful. So the moment you start piling on the tessellation...ouchies.

[Jassper]

Personally, I see no need for huge areas other than not "zoneing" all the time. I find it dawting to fill in all the space. I'm sure there are exceptions but I feel cross-country should be handled in the area map for the most part.



Which brings me to another question - How do MMO's get away with it? Is this data loaded as you move across the area opposed to data all at once?