LOD Of Baked-In Static Meshes
by Scott Doerrfeld · in Constructor · 04/11/2007 (10:45 pm) · 8 replies
For static DTS objects that are 'baked in' with the DIF...do they retain their LOD meshes when running in TGE? Will LOD still function the same for these objects?
Pardon all the acronyms...
Pardon all the acronyms...
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#2
04/12/2007 (5:41 am)
Hmmm...so I'm trying to wrap my head around the performance trade-off of the baked-in meshes. What can you suggest in terms of choosing which DTS objects to bake in and which ones to place in the Mission Editor? 
#3
04/12/2007 (10:42 am)
Once PORTALS work, my early experiments have shown- when used correctly the portals will help occlude sections of the map. So one may use the DTS objects that are 'baked in' and as long as it is INSIDE the building, LOD would not even be worth bothering about (in most situations). If your DTS decoration is on the OUTSIDE, might be best to use the Mission Editor. 
#4
Generally static meshes are going to be inside smaller spaces where you really wouldn't get much LOD changes anyway (like pipes in a hallway). The only time LOD would be a big win is for very large interior spaces (like a giant warehouse or arena) or on meshes on the exterior of the DIF. For the meshes on the exterior of the DIF you could easily bake in different LOD versions of the mesh into the different LOD versions of the DIF.
The benefits of using static meshes are that they get lightmapped (have nicer lighting) and they have their collision baked into the bsp tree of the DIF (so it is a *lot* faster than a stand-alone dts placed by the Mission Editor).
The problem with doing LOD on the static meshes is that we would have to calculate the lightmaps for each LOD which would greatly extend the amount of time it takes to export and would hugely increase the DIF file size (which is already increased by the static meshes to begin with). You would also run into odd situations where the smaller LOD meshes didn't match the shadows that are baked into the brushes around it (which would look really odd). Instead, having the DIF LOD and the static mesh LOD tied together avoids this problem and can allow for greater flexibility.
04/12/2007 (2:12 pm)
Caylo is correct.Generally static meshes are going to be inside smaller spaces where you really wouldn't get much LOD changes anyway (like pipes in a hallway). The only time LOD would be a big win is for very large interior spaces (like a giant warehouse or arena) or on meshes on the exterior of the DIF. For the meshes on the exterior of the DIF you could easily bake in different LOD versions of the mesh into the different LOD versions of the DIF.
The benefits of using static meshes are that they get lightmapped (have nicer lighting) and they have their collision baked into the bsp tree of the DIF (so it is a *lot* faster than a stand-alone dts placed by the Mission Editor).
The problem with doing LOD on the static meshes is that we would have to calculate the lightmaps for each LOD which would greatly extend the amount of time it takes to export and would hugely increase the DIF file size (which is already increased by the static meshes to begin with). You would also run into odd situations where the smaller LOD meshes didn't match the shadows that are baked into the brushes around it (which would look really odd). Instead, having the DIF LOD and the static mesh LOD tied together avoids this problem and can allow for greater flexibility.
#5
04/12/2007 (3:12 pm)
I agree it is a worthy tradeoff. What can we expect in terms of when Constructor will support portals in addition to the baked-in meshes?
#6
04/12/2007 (5:05 pm)
It will be supported with Constructor 1.0.1 which should be out in the near-ish future (read weeks not months). It largely depends on how much trouble zones gives me =P
#7
(sorry posted the question twice, but I asked to delete my other thread).
04/19/2007 (9:31 pm)
Silly question, how can I make DIF LOD with baked in dts shapes, couldn't find a way.(sorry posted the question twice, but I asked to delete my other thread).
#8
What's most likely to be faster:
1. -- Import it into Constructor as a baked in mesh
2. -- Import into the game using mission editor as a .dts with LOD
mind you, my collision mesh in Constructor is pretty simple. its a one room house.
06/24/2009 (6:57 pm)
Ok, so I have a house with 600 triangles in Max. It's a simple one room hut. One door. What's most likely to be faster:
1. -- Import it into Constructor as a baked in mesh
2. -- Import into the game using mission editor as a .dts with LOD
mind you, my collision mesh in Constructor is pretty simple. its a one room house.
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