Techniques to improve framerate

[MightyMidget]

I don't know any, but i'm making this thread so everyone can post any techniques they know that are important to employ in order to keep framerates up. I'm making a really big level so i'm trying to collect info on all the things i need to do to make it play faster. At the same time, this might help someone else too! So post all your ideas and techniques and things to remember!

[Lil Killa]

1. use area portals in your doors.

 

2. Don't make huge uversized rooms inless there is a big structual brush in the center to break the vis.

 

3. if u can make a desighn out of a texture... plz do.

 

4. once i remember more I'll post them;)

[Leslie Judge]

There was a thread about this, so you can search for it if you are interested.

[Eldritch]

Hint brushes.

 

Foghull Clipping (thanks to rgoer for informing me of this one) - for really large open spaces.

[MightyMidget]

Ok well i have some REALLY large open spaces in my map how do i use foghull clipping, and how do i use area portals in doors?

[Emon]

Foghulls are only good for big, huge terrain, and I don't like it because it shows you're using fog to make it go faster, unless on a level like Yavin where it's acceptable.

 

Enemy Territory has big open areas with no foghulls and they run fine.

[Emon]

Originally posted by Lil Killa

2. Don't make huge uversized rooms inless there is a big structual brush in the center to break the vis.

 

That's nearly useless.

[MightyMidget]

Yes, no fog would not do. My level is a 30 story skyscraper, and 30 stories is probably underestimating it... in terms of character hieght the building is about 50 times the height of the character, for those of you who have done maps, the level is: 3500x3500 on the base, its a 10 sided building, or decagon, and it is 4096 high.

 

Before you say i'm crazy, my computer is a P4 2.4B with 1 gig error-correcting ram and a Raedon 9700 PRO, but regardless, what would you suggest to imrpove performance on this map?

 

The center of the building going the full height and about 2/3 the base is completely open, with catwalks and and other architecrtural feats going all the way up. In the other third of the building will be rooms and secret passages, and below the building will be a labyrinth with lots of traps in it, that connects to the network of secret passages.

 

Now that you have some idea of what i'm planning, what do you suggest? I do use caulk although i'm hoping I havn't accidentally messed some of it up... cause I somtimes accidentally shift click brushes and then texture them... but anyways. Thanks to anyone who replies.

[Emon]

If fog is really necessary, then use it.

 

Foghulls are a way to make the engine cull anything behind the opaque distance, so it isn't rendering what you don't see.

[MightyMidget]

fog in a building? I'm more interested in figuring out this area portals thing for doors? Also somthing of my own to add since no one has added it... dunno if this speeds the level up but it speeds up compile times. Make sure to make everything that isn't a major structure like floor and walls and ceiling a "detail" but like curves, the engine will interpret this as a leak so make sure no details are major walls or somthing.

[Eldritch]

Actually, choosing what detail brushes isn't as simple as that, but they can be used correctly with structural brushes to help improve FPS.

 

As for foghull clipping... if you have a building that tall, it'd be a real drain on regular systems if there was anything other than that building in the map.

It's not regular fog... it's sort of similar to older N64 games where stuff beyond a certain distance looks like it's in fog, but as you get closer it becomes clearer. With a long enough distance, you wouldn't notice the fog inside your building, but it would definitely help people's framerate looking up at it from the outside.