How big is too big? How much is too much?

[A_Huge_Sweaty_Baboon]

How many brushes/polys would you say a map should have max?

Also, how do you find out how many polys your maps has in Ued2, i did it in Ued1 but i cant find the window in 2.

[NVerxion]

Well for older systems, the polycount shouldn't go over 200, while for newer, more powerful systems it's cool to go over that, but not over 400 if you want it to stay relatively smooth. In the system console (command bar in the editor) type stat fps to show the polycount (polys being surfaces).

[A_Huge_Sweaty_Baboon]

well, at the moment my level is going to be around about 600+ brushes
each at 6+ polys

ill just see how it turns out.

[NVerxion]

You can have as many as you want, but no more than 200/400 polys should be visible on-screen at one time...:)

[Arkive]

You also need to bear in mind the nodecount as well. It's my understanding that nodecount actually has a greater impact on performance then polycount does. Don't forget to keep an eye on that as well.

Jeff

[A_Huge_Sweaty_Baboon]

i have checked my level, and i never get a polycount over 200 at once, but i havent finished yet (bout 200/700+ brushes done)

just incase you are wondering how i can come up with such estimates, i already have 330 polys done in another file, which will be inserted twice into my current file.

yummy

[TaoPaiPai]

Hey can anybody give me a good explanation or point me to a good tutorial about what is 'nodecount'?
Is it related to the bsp tree?

[Bogdon]

Nodecount and poly count these seem to be the my biggest problem now, I like outdoor maps (more open areas) and all 3 attempts are giving me node counts in excess of 700 and poly counts at around 455 when looking from a distance on my map (which is to high as fps is suffering). I've Finished the layout on my most recent attempt but haven't added any actors or pathnodes yet so that'll probably make it worse.
I learned the hard way to be religious about lining up brushes and grid usage is rarely under 4.I've tried putting in more zone portals but that doesn't help.
CTF Hall of Giants is a large open space with ploy's that
are way under 200 and nodes max around 425 give or take.
What is it that mapper did right and I'm doing wrong. Is it texture usage,grid,scaling. I'm losing hair fast any 1 got any thoughts.
Thanx

[A_Huge_Sweaty_Baboon]

That the poly's in that level are rather big, very big infact. So, you never see many cause there arent many.

[irongull]

The trick to keeping your stats low on an outdoor map is to either make it very simple or throw in stuff that occludes part of the map. The poly count in 'Hall of Giants' is playable because those broad walkways cut off your view of the level below and above you. The BSP tree eliminates a lot of surfaces that aren't visible - which is why BSPs are so useful for making dungeon-type levels. You can make a level with thousands of brushes and polys if it consists of lots of narrow corridors with no open areas. No problem at all - it will run very fast. When you start making large open maps where all the polys are visible all the time, the framerate will drop. Look at CTF-LavaGiant - nice open areas, lots of polys. The framerate is good because you can't see a lot of the detailed cliff polys from the open area on top, you can't see the bases on top from the walkways below, and the large island in the middle occludes your view of the base on the other side. CTF-CivilWar manages to keep the polys low by keeping the terrain VERY simple. Its still a fun map, the terrain just looks a little blocky.

Try searching google for terraedit. There are some good tutorials out there for keeping polycount low - stuff about merging polys in flat areas, and other tricks. And check out CTF-Projectx1-1 over at Nali City for an unbelievably cool example of terrain done right.

Make sure you check out http://www.planetunreal.com/nalicity/images.asp?potd/bnb-lg.jpg huhuhuhuhuh. huhuhuhuh.

Epic's next game is based on a terrain engine. If you want to do big outdoor levels without thinking about occlusion or polycount, you'll have to wait.

[Fuzzpilz]

There's a nice terrain tutorial (http://planetunreal.com/utcity/outdoor.html) on UT City.

[Bogdon]

thanx irongull puts this in better focus.I supected some of what you said is my problem I have discarded half of the buildings in the open area and left the essentials. I am moving them under the terrain.
Already there is a difference things are moving towards an acceptable performance.

[Bogdon]

Good link Fuzzpilz been using Photoshop for years I'm going to give that tutorial a try Thanx