Large Outdoor Map Questions

[darthzappa]

hi folks;

 

i need some clarification on a few topics to help me finish up my Naboo Hills v2.0 map.

 

first, whats the difference between _farplanedist and _distancecull? When should you use these?

 

If you've seen the previous version of this map, you'll know its a large outdoor area. Well this new version is twice as big so i upped the visible distance using _distancecull to 12000 but im getting a smearing HOM effect on the skybox. It's not consistent; but tends to pop in and out and is quite annoying. I DONT want to add fog to this map; but i would like to be able to see farther than the default distance without any of this smearing.

 

Should I make a _foghull key that just points to my normal skybox without using the big fog brush?

 

second, is there a maximum number of misc_models you can have in one map? in one vis node? I had problems compiling this map until i took out quite a few trees, which was a disappointment. I can't find any documentation on using misc_models but it seems i should be able to use more than what i have now (around 60 total in the map i think). I was getting this bizzare disco effect with huge washes of bright color popping in and out on various surfaces, and none of the misc_models or patch meshes would appear, and sometimes the lightmap would be completely black. When i took out a bunch of trees, everything was ok again. Any ideas?

 

thanks,

darth zappa

[wedge2211]

_distancecull just cuts off visibility at the given limit. ie, the engine stops drawing. So anything beyond that number isn't rendered, and when the engine doesn't render stuff, you get HOM.

 

_farplanedist is used in conjunction with _foghull <path to sky shader>. It does essentially the same thing, stop drawing at the given distance, but instead of not drawing ANYTHING at that limit, the game draws the specified skybox. Check here for more explicit instructoins on how to use these keys with a foghull.

 

You can use a foghull skybox without actually putting in a fog brush or a global fog, but it might look wierd...remember, the game will stop drawing things at the specified distance! It's best to have objects FADE out into the distance instead of just disappearing suddenly. You could disguise such an effect by having a canyon-like terrain instead, with bends and twists positioned such that any given open space is always smaller than the _farplanedist. But if you want a FLAT open terrain, fog is really the best way to go to use a distance-culling technique. You might be able to get along without it...try it and see.

[darthzappa]

i got it working with distancecull and setting the foghull to the skybox without making a fog brush. the catch with this method is that on cheaper video cards it still uses the fog shader pass; so stuff that doesnt composite well with fog comes out funny. for example, the water brush in the map is now 'clear' but still acts like water. on better cards, it looks fine.

 

i can live with the distance popping in vs fading on this particular map; fog looks really out of place on naboo hills in the afternoon. had i done a naboo swamp map (hmmmmm...) then it would be all sorts of foggy. the rolling hills tend to hide alot of the popping in, just not all of it.

 

anyhow, if you want to check out the map its up at pcgamemods - Naboo Hills 2.0

 

thanks!

[darthzappa]

based on my experience with this map, i think you have distancecull and farplanedist mixed up Wade; i got the opposite behavior from what you said (distancecull is behaving like you said farplanedist would and vice versa. odd.)

[WadeV1589]

I haven't posted....it was Wedge

[wedge2211]

Hmmm, that is exactly how my understanding of those keys works (distance cull = cut drawing at distance; farplane dist = distance at which to draw "farplane").

 

You know, a really light bluish-white fog might be fine...it would just look like haze on a hot day. Especially if you put q3map_nofog in your sky shader.