BSP level, is it OK?
Blitz3D Forums/Blitz3D Programming/BSP level, is it OK?
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| i need to ask this: 1. how to use LOD for my level (my level is not a terrain, but huge mesh level exported directly from Max using pipeline). is it EntityAutoFade acting the same function as LOD 2. when i LoadAnimMesh (instead of LoadMesh) the level, it will slowdown the game, but i need to LoadAnimMesh in order to FindChild which mesh i wanna autofade later. Is it the right way to export in different entity, let's say ground, trees, huts, goodies, props in separated files and load it back again all of them within B3D. or any other ways out there? 3. my friend ask me wether im using the right way of rendering processing for level, because he said that BSP is the best at the moment for speed issue especially for MMORPG type of game, my question is, if i loadmesh the level exported within Max in b3d format, is it still process the rendering like it render the BSP format (u guys know what im saying, render the thing in front of you and not render the thing behind the wall) |
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| 1. LOD = Level-of-detail, usually meaning that you swap faraway objects to more simple ones to speed up rendering. Autofading just fades / hides faraway objects so it's quite different, you "lose" things visually. 3. BSP is copyrighted, so you are not really allowed to use it in commercial games. And it is best suited for indoor enviroments... and BSP is these days bit obsolete way to do things because 3D cards render stuff faster than it takes to try to figure out VIS info. LoadMesh does not use / function like BSP... you should consider portals / occlusion methods instead of BSP for indoor enviroments. |
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| re 1: LOD reduces a mesh based on distance, autofade is something else -- Setting EntityAlpha=0 will remove an entity from the rendering pipeline -- I wonder if EntityAutoFade past the max distance has the same effect, and if there is any cost using autofade on a large number of entities (100s or 1000s). re 2: Its a trade off -- if you want to do all the design work in 3ds, and not use another mapping app to assemble the pieces, its going to cost speed. However, it sounds like you have some test maps already, and if you are still anyplace over 80-100 fps, that leaves some cpu time for other processing (dont let fps get below 60) re 3: no, its not acting like BSP when you use LoadMesh or LoadAnimMesh.. Blitz does have BSP support, and there is ongoing discusion about visibility systems that will work with LoadAnimMesh... Project Plasma is doing some very serious work on Cubic Space Partioning (CSP), and I'm working on a similar system for my games. what kind of MMORPG ? I'm working on an RPG using terrains since most activity is outdoors, using LoadAnimMesh for all terrain and buildings on the terrain (some quite complicated internally) because of the visibility system I'm using. BSP is best for "interior games", running around inside buildings and other closed spaces (i.e. there is no "outside") -- wether or not BSP is best for your game depends on the play environment... Personally, I'm avoiding BSP because of the tools my arists are using, and how the artwork is going to be assembled to create a level for my game. But if you have entire levels that are "indoors", using BSP for those levels can really help.. however, creating BSP correct geometry in 3DS can be a challenge. |
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| Mustang BSP isn't copyrighted. id software's compiling tools are, but not the BSP structure itself. And BSP is used for more than just visibility. It's a spacial partioning structure so you can use it to find where you are in the world, line traces, etc. |
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| BSP isn't copyrighted. id software's compiling tools are, but not the BSP structure itself. Yup, but effectively it's the same as there are no free BSP tools available? |
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| there are Zoner Tools |
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| Besides there are enough articles and resources on the web that you should be able to put together your own BSP compiler if worse came to worst. |
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| Blitz does not load Half-Life BSP files directly (this is the BSP format that Zoner's Tools generates), but you can use BSP Factory to convert it to .b3d. BSP Factory has been currently withdrawn from sale, if you are interested on it, you should wait until I announce its release again. I have had some issues with the publisher, Binary People, and even although you can still purchase it from the site, they will probably not send the program to you :P |
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| Why not set up a PayPal address or set yourself up on Share-It or something? I wouldn't bother waiting on your current publisher any longer... If I received that kind of service, I would have been gone a long time ago. |
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| what i meant on BSP is not the one with licensing issue, but only on their type of visibility calculation. i really hope that the mesh xported by the pipeline also can be treat as BSP or CSP calculation so the game going faster no matter how huge the level are. |
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| CSP works on any mesh.. BSP only on closed spaces |
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