just wondering... if I've got an object that I want in my map that is of medium complexity... something like a chair or a table... is it easier on the game/radiant to export a maya model, or to build it as a prefab with a bunch of patches and brushes. to me theyre both about the same amount of work.

It really depends on the model it is, but Maya models won't count to the complexity of the map so much (being single entities), and you can get more accurate measurements/angles with Maya.

well an exported model is more demanding on any system no matter how minute the size is. if you can do something in radiant you probibly should.

when you use imported models you need to consider two things about how its going to be used, if its going to react with physics and dynamics it needs to have a custom collision mesh (more memory) and if its static you're going to be useing noclip brushes anyway.

models should only really be added in a deatil phase anyway just to reduce the ammount of strain they come with. not only do they kill your compiling time but they also slow down the game due to the volume of onscreen geometry assostated with individual files.

i usually fit in with the thinking convention of prepairing a map for the person who dosent have optimal hardware. it works both ways when building and playing a map ^^;

edited on Feb. 20, 2008 01:41 pm by ryokukitsune

perfect... thanks

What are the general rules for collision meshes built outside of radiant (in maya or elsewhere)? I know for unreal they have to be a closed mesh, and cannot be concave... If they need a cavity, they should be broken up into pieces that are individually convex, but as a whole make the shape you want (make sense?).... do these rules apply to radiant?

Are you able to create a collision mesh out of brushes in radiant instead of making it in maya if you wanted? I'm still very new to radiant so forgive me if my terminology is off. I've got about a 1000 questions reguarding the technical side of radiant (mostly tool texture usages).

well the two ways to create collision information are to have a collision mesh and use a noclip brush over the geometry. unless the information is packaged along with the model animation is near impossible or requires an obsene amount of scripting.

collision meshes made in maya are pretty similar to working with brushes except they are usualy cube or cylinder primitives to fill out the shape. (I recomend you look into collision mesh tutorials for Half-Life source because the process is probibly similar, i haven't tried for COD yet but I assume there is little diffrence) the benifit you get from creating a collision mesh is that it is animatable or at least bindable to the rig[skeleton] of the character this is usualy used in rag dolls and such when connected to a rig.

models imported that dont have Col data are considered fairly light weight since they do not have extra information. working in radiant these models are static and you can create a NoClip brush to do the job. as simple or as complicated as you want it but the more complicated you make it the bigger your map is and the more of a chance for things to screw up and it takes longer to compile.

if you'de like an example of a static model with a no clip brush shell take a look at the bulldozer in backlot. its a prefab model and brush which is very simple. if you've tried shooting through it you'll notice that you lose some power in the bullet but thats because it has a clip to it. they could have made it a tad more complicated to facilitate sharp shooters but it just came down to optimizing the map.

Well I didn’t answer your question and I spent ten minuets farting around with another post.

Simple answer yes. Col meshes made in maya need to be convex shapes. You can do the same thing in radiant by creating a "shell" out of NoClip brushes. Just remember that if your associating Col meshes with the radiant pipeline remember that you can't animate with the ones in radiant unless you do a lot of unnecessary scripting.

cool, thx, I figure if the object is something someone might be using for cover a more detailed collision mesh is worthwhile to avoid those clipping errors (bullets appearing to be blocked by nothing)

well remember on top of that there are several diffrent types of clipping from visual clipping to weapon and AI clipping. you could make a thick brush act like a piece of papper with the rite clip brush. remember to establish the difference between cover and concealment.

when uesing a col mesh in a model you can also establish this (I'm not entierly sure how because i have the wrong version of maya)