epoly Created 20 years ago2004-10-12 10:28:13 UTC by gotrick

how high can the epoly count be???

depends on teh mod.

HL SP - 6000 ish

HL DM - 4000 ish

CS - 3500 to 4500 ish - preferably below, but can be higher in non-combat areas

HI - 6500 non combat area, 6000 combat area.

DoD - not 100% sure, but I'd imagine around 3000, for a smooth running map you'd want less. But DoD uses models alot, to help teh w_poly levels =/

TS, no idea, I'd imagine around 3500

NS, not a clue. probably low. 3000 perhaps. I know CS and HL and HI are pretty accurate

lol didn't know, its for the new mod called The Trenches

Actually Counter Strike has a huge epoly max. Some of my custom models boot my epoly to around 7000 without lag.

It totally depends on what system specs these mods are aiming for. Higher-end system obviously can handle more polygons.

It's also highly dependant on the amount of w_poly's in a certain area. Both w_ and e_poly's impact your fps, this should be concidered when creating multiplayer maps (e.g. where do you suspect most combat, thus most player models? Then keep these area's low on w_poly's so you can handle more e_poly's there).

Best is, to have your map tested on several machines to see where you still can add polygons, and where you need to cut on them.

As for The Trenches, you'd better ask on their forums for the poly limit guidelines their designers used. That'll be the most accurate information you can get...

wait, shouldnt they all be the same? They are all built off the same engine how can each game have different epoly limits?

My guess would be different weapon and player models == different polies, but i'm not too certain.

Worldcraft dude, that's a good remark. Though some mods may use certain effects more, so e_poly's should be kept lower since there's more that affects fps, but basically, the engine is the same. It's just very dependant on the situation.
For example, when there's a particle system in effect in a part of your map, this affects fps, so you should keep your w_poly's and e_poly's lower as in a similar area without a particle system, to keep the same performance.

And different weapons and player models give different e_poly amounts. Quite obvious since nearly no model consists of the same amount of polygons...

Unless you're using loads of world models and prop models, you don't really have to worry about epoly.

Im saying all Half Life mods have the same epoly limit, why you all are telling me an essay on hwat models do has nothing to do with me stating that all mods have the same limits. Yes I know models affect epoly but Im not stating that now am I?

My HL with super-high-def models doesn't start lagging until 25,000epoly.

1. Bind Q as impulse 102 (bind q "impulse 102")
2. Turn your render speeds on (r_speeds 1)
3. Start hitting the Q till the game starts to lag

All I say is, the e_poly limit is something you have to dynamically determine for yourself, depending on the situation. The engine stays the same, a mod however might have it's specific situations.

Say, a mod uses ragdoll physics (yes, this is being done in a HL mod). I can imagine this can be very computionally expensive. So, it also affects fps, in wich case the mapper should go with less w_poly's and e_poly's to keep the same performance. Unless they're aiming for higher-end computers, in wich case they could go with higher limits.
And when you have a lot of w_poly's, you should have less e_poly's in that area, where a place low on w_poly's allows much more e_poly's.

It's just very dependant on the situation and the aim of the mapper.

And that's a very good solution, jaardsi. I wouldn't have thought about that myself...

dont bind it to q! thats the pwn button! (switches your weapon back to the last one you were using)

well, what i posted where rough guidelines for some if teh well known mods, and guidelines written by teh gusy themselves, i just guessed at HL tbh, but I knew someone could correct me.

Coolfat, teh deal with the HL engine, as CP said, is taht it's very flexible to what you can get out of it, considering what you put in.

take HI, multiplayer gamer, with more detailed player models tahn cs, and higher poly weapon models.
The maps are also much bigger and more detailed.

Reason is: they used certain tricks, liek removing teh HUD (for realism etc blah blah) but it left teh creen very blank, meanign there's less for teh comp to be thinking about, they also didn't make teh rifle stocks of alot of guns, leaving models looking real, but not rendering unseen areas, also teh mapping in soem of teh maps is really clever.

but cs, the fast paced action means it uses alot of poly, and it was designed for crapppy pc's, whereas HI etc was designed for teh better machines.

There si no standard poly limit, it's all about what you can do, and what you can get out of it.

Imagine you're flogging a dead donkey.