6 réponses à ce sujet

[Phelissa]

Hmm, well, what is the 'trick' to working with large map sizes?   I'm currently working on a 256x256 map that contains only the terrain itself, a few small water meshes and a few models like vege and waterfalls. When the level is loaded, I hit 2.75gb to start then slowly build up to 3gb or so then CRASH  I do have portions of the map tesselated up to 3x but probably no more the 25% of the map. I also have most elements (trees etc..) 'hidden' until I need them. I have also tried the 'Chunk Management' tool and its option to 'hide' selected chunks but they they are still visible (maybe they only disappear ingame?) I'd love to have the whole map at a tess. level of 3 but it appears it is not possible.. even a level of 2 seems to push the limits.

So, what can I or other users do to help ease the pain while working with large maps? Is there a way to work with selected sections/portions of the map? Is there a way to cut down on memory usage, such as 'removing' textures while working with terrain (as to save memory by not loading them etc..)? How about other settings such as Atmo settings or Fog settings; any way to disable or dump the memory usage when we turn these options off? (I've noticed that there is no change in memory after turning them off but might be using memory nonetheless..) Is there a way to remove or completely stop the 'constent refresh' feature? Although the setting is off, it still 'refreshes' every 5 seconds or so and I've noticed that it will refresh even faster when the toolset is using higher memory (around 3gb or so..)

Anything else one can do here? I feel like Im at a lose as I cant really finish the map, heck I cant even finish the terrain meshing let only add vege or props.. Are large maps just not the way to go with this type of toolset? I've tried all I can, from changing the mem space in the .exe to running the toolset on XP (which, btw, it does run better.. currently run it on Win7..) I do have a fairly descent PC, the usually 4gb, 750gb HDD, 1gb GPU (9800gt), and dual core CPU.. Any and all help is more then welcome, and thank you in advance for the help!

Phel

Modifié par Phelissa, 14 janvier 2010 - 07:30 .

[Hammer Fang]

you need to increase the chunk size of your terrain. I read some where, (lost in post) that recommended setting are





make a new level



hit the 'advanced' button



Mesh Cells Per Chuck 16

Base Mesh 8m

Blend Texel 320



this gives you a chunk size of 128 meters. I found that 8m is just to big, so I tried

Mesh Cells 32

Bash Mesh 4.



I've found that at this resolution, I can make a 768x768m (6 x 6 chunks) that runs very smoothly, and have had no problems exporting the center 4x4 chunks (512x512m) as a playable area.



at this resolution, don't forget to increase you 'UV tile' value on your material palette (that one you use to paint the terrain with) from '4' to something like '16' so that cobble stones will look like cobble stones and not boulders



gg

[Phelissa]

ahh, cool! I'll double check the chuck settings, dont think we can change them after the fact can we? Nonetheless, I will prolly make a new map with the adjusted settings

Ya, had taken me a sec to figure out UV tiling, got that down right away tho lol


EDIT:
Ok, im trying those settings now but it wants to increase my map size to 4096 or something when I increase mesh cells per chunk..

ok, here goes a screeny of the settings.. If there is anything else I can do here plz let me know!
http://i192.photobuc...dgepiece/ex.jpg

hmm, the chunk size is at 128x128.. My last level (one mentioned in OP) has many more chunks, must have been set to a lower value etc.. So, is it better to have more or less 'chunks' in a large map (or any map..)??

Modifié par Phelissa, 14 janvier 2010 - 05:06 .

[Hammer Fang]

increase your chunks to '6x6' (mesh size 768 x 768 meters) from '2x2'. Don't export more than the center 4x4 center area, (512 x 512 meters). The surrounding 8 Chunks you use to 'blend' your terrain into you vista. I've been able to export areas larger then 512 x512, but the toolset gets close to choking on anything greater.

on a side note, I've redone several of my levels with these settings, and noticed an immediate 500 or so meg savings on the Toolsets memory usage on maps of the  same size, but with differant chunks sizes.


*edit

your going to want to up the blend mask on your center 4x4 with the 'chunk' management tool. (one of the icons next to right of the 'exported area' name on the tool bare.

gg

Modifié par Hammer Fang, 14 janvier 2010 - 07:22 .

[Phelissa]

hmm, I was exporting the whole map area.. I havent tried the 'blending' effect you speak of, I usually use the map edges as my border etc (I add mountains around the edges etc..) I'll try the newer settings and blending and see how it goes

Also, what value should  I set the blend mask to?

Thanks again in advance for the help!

Modifié par Phelissa, 14 janvier 2010 - 08:01 .

[Hammer Fang]

The higher the value, the more memory, I've been using, threw the chunk tool, 256 on my inner 4 chunks, and leaving the outer 8 'vista' chunks alone.



DON"T export and area larger then 512 x 512 m, or with these setting 4x4 chunks inside the green. anything larger and you run the risk of the Toolset crashing, and a sometimes a BOD.



side note, when designing your level, treat each chunk as a 'room', Try to break line of sight across chunk boundaries. On the tool bar there is a icon to 'highlight chunks'



gg

[Phelissa]

ok, so I tried the settings. A default map loads at 2gb nearly lol The tessalation issue will still be present, once I raise it up 2 or 3 levels the memory will go thru the roof :/ Im thinking that I may need to drop down to a 512x512 map size (total size, before adding export area etc) I really want to have a tess level of 3 and the 512 map might be the only way to go..I'll check it out and see how it goes