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Testing map, frame rates killing slower...


SunBurN

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While testing my map, the framerates were killing the machine that was testing it with me. I think he has a p3 550 with 256mb ram, cable connection to my 1.5mb cable connection and a gforce4mx video card. He says the the playability of the map in some areas slows down or gets laggy such as when near glass for example. Is there anyway to fix this or increase the FPS for the map?

 

specs for my machine:

 

AMD Athalon 1.5Ghz

256 DDR ram

Gforce2 Ultra 64mb DDR

1.5mb Cable

 

When I test the map on my machine, I have no lag or slowdown areas, and the FPS's stay between 30 - 60 fps.

 

It is a large map, so I know that could be part of it, but if anyone knows anyway to help me with this, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

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sounds like a simple case of too much detail in the map.

 

without knowing what the map layout is like it's hard to make suggestions, so you'll just have to live with generic advice.

 

Basically amounts to lowering brush count, combine brushes wherever you can.

 

Learn to use caulk (try a search engine), and again, use that wherever you can.

 

Learn what r_speed is (search engine time), what it means, and from that you should start to figure out where the problems are in your map.

 

Lean what vis is (you guessed it, search engine), and learn how to tweak it so less of your map is visible at one time.

 

Learn what hint brushes are (yup, search), and how to use them. Learning this can improve both r_speed and tweak vis, so they're really important to know about.

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I don't have anywhere to post screenshots...if you know of anywhere...I'll post them so you can see my map and what I'm talking about. Yes it does have a lot of detail...it's a pretty cool and fun map. I really want to finish it so I can post it.

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im helping sunburn test his map and im running a p3 550... yes framerates are strugglin in certain parts of his map if yer on a computer as slow as mine... but i still play maps with near perfect framerates so his can be fixed... the map is big, but ive played much bigger maps with no framerate loss... i'll give you an example of parts of his map that are choppy... in his hangerbay there is a big ol forcefield... when you look at it (being right up against it ) then turn around the sound of the forcefield trails with you and framerates drop to 5 all this time mad choppiness... i dont know if it has anything to do with the huge pit a foot away either. But i think i read somewhere that forcefields cause FPS loss. Also in his dining area are a bunch of glass windows and fixtures... when i break the big one mad choppiness... the little ones arent that bad... what can he do to fix these problems?

 

Lord Wrath

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r_speeds are a more universal test than what your given FPS might be. FPS will change from computer to computer, chipsets, video cards, ram, a wide variety of problems, however r_speeds will always remain the same, and your ideal number that you are shooting for should always be the same.

 

Check this tutorial, good information on R_speeds.

 

http://www.claudec.com/lair_of_shaders/tutorials/rspeeds_claudec/rspeeds_claudec.shtml

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Hubris, thanks for the link, that is great information! I'll try that immediately. And thanks everyone else for your comments and suggestions. I'll try all of this and let you know how things progress. I'd like to release my map sometime this weekend...but I have a few things to work out first. Thanks again and if you have someplace I can post a few screenshots, my email is myownweatheredprison@hotmail.com or just let me know here...I'll be checking both pretty regularly.:D

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No problem, FYI, I think that JK2 can handle a bit more than what Claudec indicates the Q3a engine can handle (His 10k to 12k) I remember reading somewhere that Raven raised the poly count on a number of things without it hitting performance.

 

Don't quote me though, I can't confirm that, and I can confirm that 16k+ r_speeds makes for an interesting slideshow on low end machines. :p

 

Regardless, I think the acceptable r_speed number is a wee bit higher in JK2 than what he indicates for Q3A.

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doesn't hurt to be conservative on r_speeds though, every triangle that doesn't get drawn makes the game just that much faster.

 

The star wars world is decidedly low poly anyways, even in the movies there's very little decoration, textures tend to be single colors, et al. The most detailed surfaces are generally reserved for the computers.

 

Unless you're trying to render every last pixel it can't be that hard to keep r_speeds under 10k.

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