Quake3World

So it seems these days I can't map without hitting a limit of some sort.
My level is very detailed. I've got a lot of patches, models and func groups with silly hi res lightmaps .
I intend at some point to use some external lightmaps, but I've already hit this limit .My question for idtech experts is how can I get around it? I thought about making my patch structures models..but do you think I will still hit the memory limit? Would lowering the lightmap scale and using external lightmaps work? Would just compiling with lomem be the answer.
I'm in no rush, but I didn't want to spend two weeks heading in one direction, only to hit a wall again .

Turn your patches into models. Use vertex light on most of them, like all your railing that is outside for example. I guess those are patches?

Send me the map and I can fix it

Kitten lol

Sounds like a Italian auto Mechanic.

KittenIgnition wrote:Send me the map and I can fix it

..soo Good!
Reminds me on the Q3Map2Build Option:
-MakeMyMapNotSuck
Hehe

The limitations of the old engine are quite irritating at times.
I can compile with lomem AND patchshadows, assuming I've got two days to wait for lighting to finish, then to discover I've a misaligned texture somewhere.
I did a quick test with the railings modeled, only to discover the smoothing is broken. I guess I need add a shader script for the texture. At least then maybe I can UVWmap the texture more correctly.
I think I need to go back through the entire level and turn all of my patch geometry into models. I've got quite bad LOD tearing in a few places, and I can't fix it with patchmeta because that breaks q3map2 as well.
Models it is then....this project takes longer and longer and longer.

I like those limitations, I like to work with that, you can make it look pretty good anyway. I have over the years decreased my compile times even if the levels got better looking with more details, not only because I have bought new hardware, but also because I've learn to optimize both in the compile and build stage.

The compile times on rustgrad, final compile was ~1700 sec, that is with 100 (stops at 8) bounces. That level has lightmaps on a lot of things, from trees to ivy, railway tracks etc. The idea is to play around with mixed vertex light and lightmaps and to use the _cs and _rs entries well.

Yep yep, you are right . I've not thought enough about optimizing lighting . I've thought for too long that lighting was serendipitous . I optimize vis, aas creation, but I've not thought enough about lighting.

dONKEY wrote: Models it is then....

There's only one problem with using models, entity lights don't properly light up models, with or without the forcemeta flag on (from my experience anyways, a lot of maps I have are made completely out of models)

I finally got some time to look at this map again. Thanks for input Hipshot. Func_group ing patches and switch shadows on and off fixed my issues, and optimized the light compile . I think I may actually be able to release this soon.