Option to use higher detail models / textures

[Emdek]

Currently it's advised to create models with less than n polygons, which is good for people with less powerful hardware (like mine ) but has some drawbacks, like not rounded barrels etc. Currently Jorzi is working on some models which looks great even with that polygon limits. Maybe we could have kind of option to switch models quality? Like texture size. We could have low quality (current models, or simpler), normal (currently made, with polygon limits) and high quality (currently made but with more details, mostly rounded barrels etc.). As far as I know it is probably possible to do this by using mods but maybe it would be worth to have something built in (at least normal and high quality)?

[milo christiansen]

This would be great but for one thing, who is going to make the different models? LODs are much more likely any way.

[Emdek]

This would be great but for one thing, who is going to make the different models? LODs are much more likely any way.

They are done when creating normal ones.
As you can read in that topic first it's created high quality model and number of polygons is lowered to fit limits.
These higher quality models would have only these details improved, (would be good if could share textures witj normal ones).
Would be usable also for creating artwork (videos, wallpapers etc.).

[milo christiansen]

Exporting and texturing are just as much or more work then making the actual geometry, and the rendering engine can't handle high poly models well.

[Emdek]

Exporting and texturing are just as much or more work then making the actual geometry

But really changing the hexagon barrels to rounded will make so much trouble (this is the only change needed for models presented in that topic, all other things are very detailed already - very impressive for so small amount of polygons)?

the rendering engine can't handle high poly models well.

But thats software limitation or it just doesn't do it optimal and wastes too much resources?
And still these could be used for creating for example new videos etc. (don't need to be rendered using game engine).

[Terminator]

why dont you use simple mods for better game look ? put everything you like in one file & play. But I think you were talking about MP game I suppose.....well all players have to use it, I think you know that well.

[Olrox]

Currently it's advised to create models with less than n polygons, which is good for people with less powerful hardware

This is true just as far as the game engine can handle. Going too far over the limits we are arbitrating for AR models would cause the game to lag even on the best computers - it's not just a question of how powerful your machine is or how many polygons your GPU can handle.

Making additional models for use with LOD is off our capacity (think that we have few members on AR) - it's obvious that we have the necessary skills to do this, but there's already a whole lot of work for us.

As for the barrels, imagine that we have 3.n-2 triangles, where "n" is the number of curve steps. For every additional curve step we have, there is an increment of 3 triangles. If we have a simple barrel with 12 curve steps, we have 34 triangles, which is already one third of the total number we're using for a weapon. The problem doesn't lie there - the problem lies where we have 30, 40, 50 of those.

What we are trying to do is to remove every polygons that we won't miss if we zoom to a medium distance (default starting zoom), so that we can have only polygons that we can actually see in most of the game - But having any normal weapon model with anything over 150 polygons is madness, given the reality of Waronze's engine.

The whole point of AR is to improve the game look so that it isn't so far as it is from modern standards. Making our models with poly counts similar to the current ones is silly, IMO

~Olrox

[Zarel]

N.B. Any normal weapon model with over 150 polygons is madness because that wouldn't even be visible with max zoom.

[MaNGusT]

LOD for RTS games isn't really necessary because of zoom.(necessary only for a terrain).
We can make 2 or 3 variatins of textures: with 256,512,1024 size.(at min zoom I can see a distortions on 256 textures ) Also, to improve models geometry would be nice to use geometry shaders.

[Emdek]

OK, but there is problem with models which will be needed in case of creating new videos (which will be needed on some point) where hexagonal barrels won't look good (currently as fa as I remember there is visible cannon, trucks and maybe some other vehicles).

[Olrox]

OK, but there is problem with models which will be needed in case of creating new videos (which will be needed on some point) where hexagonal barrels won't look good (currently as fa as I remember there is visible cannon, trucks and maybe some other vehicles).

Well, AR isn't about creating models for videos, but for the game - and that's top-priority. That could maybe change after we're done with all the game's models. Before that we are keeping our focus on what our project is all about

But maybe if someone else wants / is able to make good models and animations and render it to good enough vidoes to replace the originals, of course it'd be good

~Olrox

[Emdek]

But couldn't these models be created as byproduct of creating models for use in game?
If model is created by simplifying higher detail one then maybe that higher detailed one could be saved elsewhere for time (and later finished / improved) when someone will start working on videos?

[Olrox]

But couldn't these models be created as byproduct of creating models for use in game?
If model is created by simplifying higher detail one then maybe that higher detailed one could be saved elsewhere for time (and later finished / improved) when someone will start working on videos?

Mesh > UVW Map > Lighting map > Normal Map > Textures > Specular Map > Complementary Normal Map > Model.

If we make everything to the right of "mesh" for a low-poly model, it probably wouldn't make for good results, to use that for high-poly ones. What we are currently doing is making high-poly models to render lighting maps and normal maps only, and everything else is specifically made for a low-poly model.

But of course we are saving the high-poly models. Doing otherwise would be madness, risking of loosing hours of work needlessly, as we usually need the high-poly models to render modified normal/lighting maps.

~Olrox

[Emdek]

But of course we are saving the high-poly models. Doing otherwise would be madness, risking of loosing hours of work needlessly, as we usually need the high-poly models to render modified normal/lighting maps.

So this should be enough probably.
By the way, are these "sources" uploaded to repository later? It's good to have sources in safe and available for all place.

[Crymson]

But of course we are saving the high-poly models. Doing otherwise would be madness, risking of loosing hours of work needlessly, as we usually need the high-poly models to render modified normal/lighting maps.

So this should be enough probably.
By the way, are these "sources" uploaded to repository later? It's good to have sources in safe and available for all place.

It would be if you guys place the models into the repository for all to play with!