ATLAS
by Duey Oxburger · in General Discussion · 02/02/2009 (11:46 pm) · 4 replies
Hey All,
I was just about ready to dive into development (TGEA 1.8) when I started hearing talk about Atlas having issues and not being supported. (I'm making a flightsim and was hoping to use Atlas). Here's my questions:
1. What are the problems with Atlas?
2. Is Atlas 'usable'?
3. How does this affect the Grome->Atlas terrain generation pipeline?
4. What are the implications looking forward to Torque 3D?
Any guidance you could offer would be appreciated.
Thx,
D
I was just about ready to dive into development (TGEA 1.8) when I started hearing talk about Atlas having issues and not being supported. (I'm making a flightsim and was hoping to use Atlas). Here's my questions:
1. What are the problems with Atlas?
2. Is Atlas 'usable'?
3. How does this affect the Grome->Atlas terrain generation pipeline?
4. What are the implications looking forward to Torque 3D?
Any guidance you could offer would be appreciated.
Thx,
D
About the author
#2
L3DT and Grome take a lot of the headache out of it.
Only blended atlas terrains support lighting at the moment.
You cant do ingame real time editing like for the legacy or mega terrains.
Depending on the kind of terrain you need it can produce some rather large atlas files.
2. Yes.
3. Don't know
4. Torque3D will not have atlas in it. Little detail has been released about what the "new" terrain system will offer.
Right now I would stick to 1.7.1 if atlas was your main concern.
@Brandon - Fast moving vehicle is not an issue if you properly "tune" you vehicles.
Atlas is still in 1.8.0.
02/03/2009 (6:47 am)
1. The content pipeline is a bit hard to deal with sometimes.L3DT and Grome take a lot of the headache out of it.
Only blended atlas terrains support lighting at the moment.
You cant do ingame real time editing like for the legacy or mega terrains.
Depending on the kind of terrain you need it can produce some rather large atlas files.
2. Yes.
3. Don't know
4. Torque3D will not have atlas in it. Little detail has been released about what the "new" terrain system will offer.
Right now I would stick to 1.7.1 if atlas was your main concern.
@Brandon - Fast moving vehicle is not an issue if you properly "tune" you vehicles.
Atlas is still in 1.8.0.
#3
1) The only real problem with Atlas in my mind is that it can't be edited in-game.
2) Atlas is totally usable. You just have to wrap your head around the process of creating and Atlas terrain, which is infinitely easier ever since L3DT supported exporting directly to Atlas.
3) Not familiar with it so I can't say.
4) Hard to say really.
The collision bug Brandon mentioned about crashing through the terrain is not an "Atlas bug". Its an old bug from TGE, but really you'll get that in any engine. Just about any collision routine can be broken by ratcheting up an object's speed to excessive levels.
02/03/2009 (7:02 am)
Atlas was not removed from 1.8. They added Mega Terrains which are basically multiple Legacy Terrains stitched together.1) The only real problem with Atlas in my mind is that it can't be edited in-game.
2) Atlas is totally usable. You just have to wrap your head around the process of creating and Atlas terrain, which is infinitely easier ever since L3DT supported exporting directly to Atlas.
3) Not familiar with it so I can't say.
4) Hard to say really.
The collision bug Brandon mentioned about crashing through the terrain is not an "Atlas bug". Its an old bug from TGE, but really you'll get that in any engine. Just about any collision routine can be broken by ratcheting up an object's speed to excessive levels.
#4
2. Definitely
3. Should still be usable... don't really know. Never used Grome.
4. Improved Legacy and Mega-terrains maybe?
02/03/2009 (7:48 am)
1. Some people think it's too hard to learn how to use. I love it! You can do more with just about any outside terrain editor than you can with the in-game tools anyway. The only real problem in my opinion is that lighting and shadowing for Atlas is lacking. 2. Definitely
3. Should still be usable... don't really know. Never used Grome.
4. Improved Legacy and Mega-terrains maybe?
Quote: i read if you are moving to fast and you have a Atlas map once you hit what ever speed it is you go right though the atlasThat happens on all terrains. High speed impacts with Interiors and some objects will even crash the game.
Torque Owner Brandon Baker
World Core Studios