Login x
User Name:
Password:
Social Links Facebook Twitter YouTube Steam RSS News Feeds

Members Online

»
0 Active | 73 Guests
Online:

LATEST FORUM THREADS

»
CoD: Battle Royale
CoD+UO Map + Mod Releases
Damaged .pk3's
CoD Mapping
heli to attack ai
CoD4 SP Mapping

Forums

»

Welcome to the MODSonline.com forums. Looking for Frequently Asked Questions? Check out our FAQs section or search it out using the SEARCH link below. If you are new here, you may want to check out our rules and this great user's guide to the forums and the website.
For more mapping and modding information, see our Wiki: MODSonWiki.com

Jump To:
Forum: All Forums : MODSonline
Category: News Around the Web
Comments and news from sites other than ours.
Moderators: foyleman, Foxhound, Mystic, StrYdeR, batistablr, Welshy, DrBiggzz, supersword, playername
Latest Posts
Subscribed Posts
Search
Restricted Access Topic is Locked subscribe
Author Topic: The Truth About The BSP
tourist.Tam
General Member
Since: Feb 2, 2007
Posts: 397
Last: Oct 6, 2009
[view latest posts]
Level 5
Category: News Around the Web
Posted: Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009 03:09 pm
This is more a general gaming topic, but a very interesting reading for someone who's just new to the whole portaling and bsp technique. Recommended. Just bear in mind that Call of Duty is not mentioned, but still use comparable technique for creating the maps.

Quote:
Posted by Shamus on August 31st, 2009

Warning: The following 2,400 words attempt to take very complex 3D rendering problems and reduce them to simple language so that you can peer into the polygon-based sausage factory that is the videogame industry. I’m not sure if I pulled it off.

Yesterday I promised a writeup on “BSP technology”. Except, I was using BSP the sloppy way to mean “general level-optimizing type stuff”, which is not really correct. BSP is a technique of level optimization. What I should have said is “how BSP technology is being marginalized in favor of other optimization techniques”. BSP stands for “Binary Space Partitioning”, which is obtuse programmer talk for “dividing space in two”. We love doing that because it lets us pretend our dull technical skills are a potent form of arcane magic. It’s the same reason we “launch applications” instead of just “running programs” like you simple folk.


rest of the article

Tam
Share |
Welshy
Preferred Member
Since: Feb 16, 2007
Posts: 1810
Last: Mar 22, 2020
[view latest posts]
Level 8
Admin
Forum Moderator
Im a fan of MODSonair
Im a HOST of MODSonair
Category: News Around the Web
Posted: Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009 06:42 pm
Great article Tam (I am assuming you wrote it). Makes for interesting reading.
Go ahead... You Play I Mod : MODSonline.com
Support Modsonline by becoming a PREFERRED MEMBER today
Have you heard the MODSonair Podcast?: www.modsonair.com
MODSonair is a weekly podcast bringing you the news from a modders perspective. Tune in every Sunday at 5pm GMT to listen LIVE.
Share |
tourist.Tam
General Member
Since: Feb 2, 2007
Posts: 397
Last: Oct 6, 2009
[view latest posts]
Level 5
Category: News Around the Web
Posted: Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009 07:11 pm
Welshy writes...
Quote:
Great article Tam (I am assuming you wrote it). Makes for interesting reading.


I wish I was that clever. :p

No it is originating from Shamus Young's blog. He is the smart guy. Worth checking. ;)

Tam
Share |
Welshy
Preferred Member
Since: Feb 16, 2007
Posts: 1810
Last: Mar 22, 2020
[view latest posts]
Level 8
Admin
Forum Moderator
Im a fan of MODSonair
Im a HOST of MODSonair
Category: News Around the Web
Posted: Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009 07:22 pm
Oh lol...well in that case...Good find tam, And Great article Shamus.
Go ahead... You Play I Mod : MODSonline.com
Support Modsonline by becoming a PREFERRED MEMBER today
Have you heard the MODSonair Podcast?: www.modsonair.com
MODSonair is a weekly podcast bringing you the news from a modders perspective. Tune in every Sunday at 5pm GMT to listen LIVE.
Share |
playername
Preferred Member
Since: Aug 24, 2006
Posts: 821
Last: Apr 15, 2011
[view latest posts]
Level 7
Forum Moderator
Im a fan of MODSonair
Category: News Around the Web
Posted: Saturday, Sep. 12, 2009 07:42 pm
Nice find Tam! I think I have a better understanding of portaling than I already did. I am going to have to remember this for portaling help!
nullFew tips for coding.
1. Keep the script as short as possible.
2. Don't comment every line. Only comment portions where they may be needed to point something out.
3. Don't over complicate the script, keep it organized and easy to read.

These help you find simple errors and makes it easy to make changes.
Share |
voidsource
General Member
Since: May 5, 2007
Posts: 1513
Last: Sep 1, 2013
[view latest posts]
Level 8
Category: News Around the Web
Posted: Sunday, Sep. 13, 2009 05:41 am
yea this is a good article. I already had the idea down of how portals worked but didnt know all that info as to the bsp and now i know....lets just hope it stays in my brain lol.
Share |
techno2sl
General Member
Since: Aug 5, 2004
Posts: 2977
Last: Oct 14, 2010
[view latest posts]
Level 9
Category: News Around the Web
Posted: Sunday, Sep. 13, 2009 09:43 am
It's good reading but if your working with games like Call of Duty where you have a heck of a lot of detail and large open spaces mixed with small spaces with many entrances then you have to apply some different techniques. You can often come across certain dilemmas and challenges. Portalling in houses is usually applied in a simple and non-effective way.

In COD you might have room A for instance which has a doorway into room B and another into room C, all 3 rooms could be very detailed and the door ways all look through each other, there could also be windows looking into each room.

Now you have a choice, if you have room C opening into an outdoor area then being able to look from room A through B and C and straight outside is not a good idea as your calculating all 4 zones. You could detail the dividing walls of the rooms and have 3 rooms become 1, so now your calculating 2 zones. (1 large room and the outdoor area)

The problem you have then is your loading 2 highly detailed areas. But you are saving your CPU from needless calculations.

The best idea however is to break up the rooms so they don't look directly into each other, so room A can see into room B but from room A you can not see through to room C.

(this next bit relates to a part of the article which should have been removed - as it depends on the game and you level)

If you have a window and a door in room A that look into B then you wouldn't want to make a portal brush in the doorway and in the window, you simply make 1 portal brush across them both and make the door frame and window frame 'detail'. Basically why calculate two separate openings when one will do just fine as of course if you can see the door and there is a window next to it then you can see the window as well.

I like the article but it should be taken as a crash course, the actual placing of portals and how you divide space is reliant on you, the game, the level AND the detail in each area.
Share |
tourist.Tam
General Member
Since: Feb 2, 2007
Posts: 397
Last: Oct 6, 2009
[view latest posts]
Level 5
Category: News Around the Web
Posted: Sunday, Sep. 13, 2009 02:57 pm
I have to agree with what you are saying techno, but I think the article is, like you said, more of a strait forward explanation of the current state of how those engine based on the BSP technique are working than a practical tutorial of what to do and what not to do; like the fact that we have no longer to compile the visibility set, and instead use portal and detail brush to resolve the part of the map that needs to be rendered (drawn).

So in that regard, if you have trouble understanding or simply want to understand why one need to go through the trouble of setting the portals and setting some of the world brush as details, this article is quite relevant on a theoretical level. :)

Tam
Share |
Restricted Access Topic is Locked subscribe
MODSonline.com Forums : MODSonline : News Around the Web

Latest Syndicated News

»
Codutility.com up and runn...
Nice, and there still using the logo and template for the screenshots, which...
Codutility.com up and runn...
dundy writes...Quote:Call of Duty modding and mapping is barly alive only a ...
Codutility.com up and runn...
Mystic writes...Quote:It seems to me the like the site is completely dead? ...
Codutility.com up and runn...
It seems to me the like the site is completely dead?

Partners & Friends

»