Say I ran a track contest....

[yzmxer608]

I guess no one caught that one DD haha. I think when people start realizing what lod's can do (or what they are) is when more detailed tracks will come out. I think most of the people that don't make tracks don't realize that lod's can have a huge impact on how the game runs.

[FactoryBR21]

you freaking hilarius buddy !

[jlv]

So I guess my 30,000 poly hay bale is gonna have to need a lod huh? dang dude, it was freakin lifelike!

A 30,000 poly tree that drops down to under a hundred at a distance would actually be pretty reasonable.

[yomo]

JLV anyway we could get some out lined rules?
Im keen to make a start!

[ddmx]

A 30,000 poly tree that drops down to under a hundred at a distance would actually be pretty reasonable.

might have to see how far i can take this then

[Voutare]

So I guess my 30,000 poly hay bale is gonna have to need a lod huh? dang dude, it was freakin lifelike!

A 30,000 poly tree that drops down to under a hundred at a distance would actually be pretty reasonable.

So what your saying is that with LOD's we can make pretty much anything, as long as here are LOD's.


Sick. I might need to start making some highpoly shit.

[yomo]

JLV when you have your graphics on 10 does that mean LOD levels don't take effect?

What about an object such as a Supercross stadium... It can be seen from everywhere.
Would you just have it at a medium poly count or split it up into sections (quarters or eighths??)

In any case what would a reasonable poly count be for an object such as a stadium that can be seen from anywhere?

[DJ99X]

Correct, when Model Geometric Detail is set to 100, LOD's do not appear. That is why people should have it set on a Maximum of something like 85.

If you have a stadium as one object, LOD's will be useless, as you will move away from one end, but closer to the other. So yeah, separating it may be the best idea, although, I'm not sure what you would reduce the definition on.

[yomo]

Well i was going to make a stadium made for higher end computers... but then i dont want it to cause MASSIVE lag or for people to have to delete it...

[Garasaki]

As long as you make low detail versions of your models you will be fine. The geometry limit will just prevent you from blowing 10,000 polygons on something halfway across the map.

A track that wastes thousands of polygons on something that is 10 pixels high on the screen isn't a polished track. If you look at a well optimized track like Broadmeadow, you will see it uses LODs to get good detail while still getting a solid 128 fps.

I'll post the rules soon. But first I'm going to make the game output geometry stats so I can set a reasonable limit on track complexity.

Then you are putting a limit on OBJECT complexity. Right?

You aren't counting faces on the disp, as your original posts made it sound...

right....?

You guys are all talking about object issues. Why don't we have an object contest, then a track contest...

[jlv]

So what your saying is that with LOD's we can make pretty much anything, as long as here are LOD's.

Not exactly. What LODs let you do is focus the detail on objects that are close to you. Say you have an object that has 5,000 polygons that is on the track 10 times for a total of 50,000. If you used a 500 polygon version for the distant objects and a 20,000 polygon version when you're close and only one of the objects is ever close to the camera at a time, you would be using half the geometry (24,500) but getting more detail when you need it.

Then you are putting a limit on OBJECT complexity. Right?

You aren't counting faces on the disp, as your original posts made it sound...

right....?

You guys are all talking about object issues. Why don't we have an object contest, then a track contest...

I'm less concerned about terrain complexity since you can easily turn down the track detail in the game. I have the game tracking terrain polygons, model polygons, billboards and decals drawn per frame now. If all of the tracks that run slow have the same problem I'll just limit whatever the culprit is. If anyone remembers which tracks cause trouble for slow computers let me know.

[FactoryBR21]

PineCreek , Farm MX? Basically all my tracks

[yzmxer608]

Lierop is pretty bad for lag.

[jlv]

I just tried PineCreek and Lierop_GP. PineCreek was around 50,000 model polygons and Lierop was about 160,000. The terrain, decals and billboards were normal. Right now I'm thinking a 25,000 limit when the model detail is at 50 would be pretty reasonable. I'll post a new snapshot soon so you can see the rendering stats for yourself.

[rgaede]

danke's anahiem 1, birmingham, sometimes indy, valkenswaard (hope I spelt that near right), whenever I'm near 3d solid trees I get lag, occasionally old goldberry (sp?), all I can think of at the moment. Tired so I apologize for spelling errors.