[Static] New House [WIP]

[Rhino]

looking very nice

For the underside of the stairs, I would just have a single face for that, let me find an example.

[Rudd]

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/9089 ... tacked.jpg

Have you considered making versions that are closed off but allow passage to upper floors? The point being to give mappers the option to have non-performance intensive sections yet a tall, mostly enterable building?

[Elirah]

Have you considered making versions that are closed off but allow passage to upper floors? The point being to give mappers the option to have non-performance intensive sections yet a tall, mostly enterable building?

What do you mean? =)
Currently its like the T-Buildings.
Do you mean I should make them like one, so the mapper cant choose the hight of the building himself?

[Rudd]

I love the T buildings, they are awesome.

But look at them from a gameplay perspective

a 6 man (or X man) squad will usually spread out amongst say...the top 2 floors (that changes depending on situation, but I'd say that is the most common). If the building is 8 stories tall, then that's 6 floors that are empty. However because they are enterable, they are high performance impact statics; however they aren't contributing to gameplay as much as the top 2 floors.

My solution to that would be to close off 4 of those floors to become non enterable apart from the stairway; this would decrease the performance impact of the entire building considerably; both in what needs to be rendered, and what colmeshes the server has to load. This would surely be more efficient, and allows mappers to have tall buildings without as much fear of causing trouble for client FPS Being closed off, but with a working stairway means the tall enterable bits are still reachable.

[Rhino]

Basic example of what I would would suggest you do for the underside of your stairs

Have you considered making versions that are closed off but allow passage to upper floors? The point being to give mappers the option to have non-performance intensive sections yet a tall, mostly enterable building?

Ye, a fully closed off or semi-closed off versions of the floors is always a good idea, as well as alternative versions with different colour rooms etc. I will also talk about interior objects at some point but that can wait for a bit, right now need to focus on getting the main building done

But ye, having every single floor, with every single room you can enter is very performance intensive , requires a lot of lightmap space and polys, and closing off a few rooms and even an entire floor is a good idea

A over extreme example of this, although without stackable floors is the vBF2 TV station building, which has most of its floors and rooms closed off, but the odd one open you can go into:


Also it has a better example on the stairs of what I meant

[Elirah]

Ahh, now I understood. Thats obviously no big deal do make them semi-enterable.
But one thing: Where this current model is the base, should I start texture them, and than make the non/semi-enterable parts or what would you recommend.

[Rhino]

But one thing: Where this current model is the base, should I start texture them, and than make the non/semi-enterable parts or what would you recommend.

Ye, I would first texture, then make the non/semi enterable floors, and also alternative versions with different colour rooms etc because since one floor is done with its UVs, then to re-colour it, its just a matter of moving around some of the colour texture UVs, perhaps adding a few different crack textures in here and there and to close them up, just a matter of deleting faces, blocking off the door ways then UVing the doors

[LITOralis.nMd]

Watching this process as Elihar learns to model from zero background in 3d modelling up to what is now a quite impressive building is absolutely fascinating to watch and follow Elihar on his journey.

Now to make Rhino and Rudd mad,
consider not only creating semi/non enterable alternative versions, but also to create a floor that is pre-interior carpentry finishing.

That is, (for example) the construction contractors:
HAVE installed the concrete pillars and the flooring,
HAVE NOT installed the stairwell, interior walls, 50% of the exterior walls , and none of the balcony walls.

This way, this building can be an additional construction site building, adding a pair of construction site buildings to any new maps.

The future:


Top level: Roof
Top Floor: under construction static (with ladders and plywood walls)
4th floor: under construction static (with ladders and plywood walls and construction stuff)
3rd floor: completed static
2nd floor: semi-enterable static
US 1st floor/ European ground floor: ground floor static
Elihar: Modelling god all future mappers bow before.

[Rhino]

Now to make Rhino and Rudd mad,
consider not only creating semi/non enterable alternative versions, but also to create a floor that is pre-interior carpentry finishing.

That is, (for example) the construction contractors:
HAVE installed the concrete pillars and the flooring,
HAVE NOT installed the stairwell, interior walls, 50% of the exterior walls , and none of the balcony walls.

This way, this building can be an additional construction site building, adding a pair of construction site buildings to any new maps.

The future:


Top level: Roof
Top Floor: under construction static (with ladders and plywood walls)
4th floor: under construction static (with ladders and plywood walls and construction stuff)
3rd floor: completed static
2nd floor: semi-enterable static
US 1st floor/ European ground floor: ground floor static
Elihar: Modelling god all future mappers bow before.

That's not a simple conversion... Your better off making a new static for that.

[lucky.BOY]

Litoralis, its not a common sight to have people living in lower floors, while upper floors are being constructed, at least where I live.

Also I want to explain what i meant here:



I meant the green one to be polygon, not a quad. So basically what Rhino showed you, only he has it all cut into tris. Im sorry I didnt express myself more crearly first time.

Also for everybody, how should the blocked off floor windows look like? Just plywood bloking those windows? Or a simple box-like room behind each window?

[Rhino]

Also for everybody, how should the blocked off floor windows look like? Just plywood bloking those windows? Or a simple box-like room behind each window?

There are a few ways of doing this.

Box like room with nothing (/little in the case of ground floor rooms you can see into) in it with possibly some curtains on the windows is the standard way for BF2, but dose take up a bit more LM space.







But its generally better (performance wise) to close them off where you can, with either shut windows/blinds/curtains or as you suggested, plywood (but can look odd overdone for plywood).





There is also the reflective glass way BF2142 did but not seen this attempted in BF2.

[Elirah]

Just to give a short update. I'm struggling with 3Ds Max and the UV mapping.
But I just don't wont ask for detailed help without trying hard before by myself.
So, I'm still working on it. =)

BTW, I like the closed windows much more than those open ones with an empty box behind it.

Greetings Elirah

[BloodyDeed]

That already looks good and is very promising. Glad to see you starting on something like this!

[baltimore]

looks good

[lucky.BOY]

Any news here? It looked promising so far