de_bridge2far - optimisation and testing Created 16 years ago2007-06-28 08:53:46 UTC by Hammah

We (me and Psychokilla) are working on a map which we hope will be released in August.

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4
Pic 5
Pic 6
Pic 7
Pic 8

Some of the pics are a little out of date, but the video below is pretty much up to date.

A short video of the map

Before someone mentions it we know the soundscapes are wrong but that will be one of the last jobs done.

What I would like help with is being able to optimise the more open areas of the map, we really can't build upon it with more buildings because it would be too much and we like the design as it is.

We would love a clan to help out with beta testing - if interested, please email Psycho for details.

many thanks

A bridge too far?

Doesn't look like Arnhem to me.

thanks, that's very helpful

Sorry.

Just Arnhem is one of my very favourite historical campaigns. So I can't help but think of it when I hear the phrase "A bridge too far" which is a common nickname for it.

I'm assuming you've func_detailed as much as you can already and put the obvious hint brushes in.

You could also use occluders and triggers to stop models being drawn when they don't need to be. I am not sure how this works in multiplayer, but you don't really have a lot of options with wide open spaces other than making your brushwork as efficient as possible, and not using very demanding entities.

Or you could use fog.

we tried fog, but it didn't seem to make much difference to the fps.

we have also func_detailed as much as possible and we are just looking in to occluders and area_portals now.

what do you think of the design ?

I think it looks pretty neat. The buildings look nice, although I'd put a little more detail into some of the roofs.

It seems a bit empty, but this isn't as much of a problem in multiplayer, as it will be filled up by other players. And of course, I realise you may already have plans to add more stuff.

I think you have too many individual lights in pictures 5 & 7. You could light the areas more realistically with only one or two lights.

I think some of it looks at bit too open, and needs more props and maybe some more brushes and such. There doesn't seem to be much cover for those firefights...

we tried fog, but it didn't seem to make much difference to the fps.

How did you use the fog? The fog on it's own won't help performance, but what you do is effectively set a maximum draw distance for the map so that only things within a certain distance of the player are rendered. You then use the fog to hide this happening from the player.

If you knew this already, sorry. If you didn't and you would like more specific help, then PM me.