arcana imperii on 19/8/2005 at 17:35
Ok I see, I just get frustrated easy. :angel:
ascottk on 19/8/2005 at 18:10
Okay, I tried the additive sheet which is only visible on one side, but when I go into wireframe mode the rooms inside still get rendered! I even tried putting two of those sheets on the windows. Is there other right-click texture properties that would help? I'd hate to lose the ability to look outside.
potterr on 19/8/2005 at 18:35
I'm playing through quite happily now, I agree with Ziemanskye that there is alot of rooms with nothing in, even a few rugs may break them up a bit.
Noticed that the invisible guys turn visible when you KO them and pick them up (may be by design though).
[SPOILER]Also I have a habit of knocking people out so that I don't get them screaming the place down...er I knocked out the sleeping guy....then got the objective to wake him up....don't suppose thats possible now? :erg: yelling at him didn't help either ;) [/SPOILER]
Did you know that you can sit inside the display cases :D ...and then spend ages trying to get out. :(
Personally I think some kind of map is required for this though as due to the rooms being sparse and looking similar you could get a bit lost (even if the map is just for some of the level).
So far though its looking very good and works well with GL (or at least the next release of GL), although have you considered a GLTitle.jpg image? (I can do one for you if you want out of the screenshots you posted?)
Also I didn't vote as I don't really have any problems with it yet...[SPOILER]appart from the sleeping guy[/SPOILER]
ascottk on 19/8/2005 at 19:46
Quote Posted by potterr
I'm playing through quite happily now, I agree with Ziemanskye that there is alot of rooms with nothing in, even a few rugs may break them up a bit.
Noticed that the invisible guys turn visible when you KO them and pick them up (may be by design though).
Rugs, paintings, etc. Invisible guys are by the design.
Quote Posted by potterr
[SPOILER]Also I have a habit of knocking people out so that I don't get them screaming the place down...er I knocked out the sleeping guy....then got the objective to wake him up....don't suppose thats possible now? :erg: yelling at him didn't help either ;) [/SPOILER]
There's a routine to wake him up.
Quote Posted by potterr
Did you know that you can sit inside the display cases :D ...and then spend ages trying to get out. :(
I'm working on that.
Quote Posted by potterr
Personally I think some kind of map is required for this though as due to the rooms being sparse and looking similar you could get a bit lost (even if the map is just for some of the level).
I thought about a map for the upper level. The lower level could have a generalized layout.
Quote Posted by potterr
. . . have you considered a GLTitle.jpg image?
I thought about it.
Ziemanskye on 19/8/2005 at 21:22
couple more little suggestions for the outside area to consider:
A) move the gate closer, and have it under an arch and gatehouse thing, like at the start of Thief2 - that way the visibility isn't quite so vast, which might help a little.
B) if you've got portals on both insides and outsides of the windows, maybe taking one set away might help a little, less tests to pass through that way, and with that many portals it might increase performance (excellent example of somewhere we could use antiportals, dammit)
C) fewer fires around the graveyard (but make the ones that remain a bit brighter), and possibly have it with a small sub-wall around it?
D) having fallen down the hole, I haven't tried it yet, but is the front door passable? If it remains locked so you have to go down the hole (or through any other entrance I didn't find) you could make the hall a little shorter but make the doors on each side up against a solid base, so you can't see through there.
E) odd one someone suggested a while back, but I suppose you could place two huge volumes across the world to hide/reveal the stuff in the skybox, since it seems to get rendered all the time, and maybe bOutOfWorld would save you a few more fps inside.
F) reduce the particle counts - a lot of the particle emitters look alright if you reduce the amount of stuff they give out, and shaving 5 per emitter when you've got lots visible might help out a little. Also maybe only having one fountain outside, but the path splits around it?
G) another one I haven't really experimented with, but if the building facade is mostly in shade, maybe reloading the texture as a plain tex might improve performance by not bothering with a mostly flat Normal Map pass?
===
And a really complex gameplay suggestion if you wanted to get real fancy - when the remote doors and things open, have a little 'mini-cut-scene' camera flyby and fade-in/out by what's changed. Probably more effort than it's worth, but it would be kinda cool.
===
Heh, not bad considering I sat down to type only the first two suggestions above... Hope some of it helps, cause it looks to be a quite unique, if scarily big FM (65Mb ibt already!)
:thumb:
ascottk on 19/8/2005 at 21:39
Wow! Great suggestions. I'm experimenting with the texture properties of the window brush adds. Instead of using sheets, I have cubes in their place & hopefully I'll still be able to see outside.
Giant scripted volumes, interesting idea . . .
Quote:
having fallen down the hole, I haven't tried it yet, but is the front door passable? If it remains locked so you have to go down the hole (or through any other entrance I didn't find)
There are 3 ways to get in & I'm not telling you how :ebil:
I thought about a fly-by when I enter the east halls area. But I also want the player to figure out what's going on.
Ziemanskye on 19/8/2005 at 21:57
I thought there'd be more ways in...
Oh well, just have to test it at bit more, the horror, the horror
:rolleyes: :joke:
Ziemanskye on 19/8/2005 at 23:28
Okay, back again, having cheated massively and explored much of the level as a disembodied head:
[SPOILER]The twisted corridor is a great piece of art, very American McGee's Alice, but since I love that game it's not an insult from me. Given me an eeeeeeviiiiiiiil idea for a set piece if I can ever import my own smeshes as well :ebil:
The twisted room though, um, I must have been missing something because there doesn't seem to be anyway across it. Not sure about the moving puddles either, what're they all about? (nice effect though)
The final room - too big, too many particles, and too many lights. Or more specificly, since it looks great - there's too much going on and my system can't cope with it.
Also, up to two ways in, since I didn't notice the rope thing up the side of the building last time, though I had noticed the missing battlements from the top when I'd got there (so I had some hint to look more this fly through)
oh, and why is there a boat in the bathroom?
[/SPOILER]
ascottk on 19/8/2005 at 23:47
Quote Posted by Ziemanskye
[SPOILER]I must have been missing something because there doesn't seem to be anyway across it. Not sure about the moving puddles either, what're they all about?[/SPOILER]
[SPOILER]There's a way to down on to the floor(wall). It's too hard to get down though. Look for a rope. I call those moving puddles "Floor Bugs". They're an extra magical protection for that room. In this revision of Labyrinth they're harmless though. I'll need to make a note of that with Keeper Dameus' Krellek Journal.[/SPOILER]
Quote Posted by Ziemanskye
[SPOILER]why is there a
boat in the bathroom?[/SPOILER]
[SPOILER]I was going with a boating/sailing theme. It seemed appropriate at the time . . . [/SPOILER]
potterr on 20/8/2005 at 11:02
There is a torch in the room with the ladder upstairs that is not giving off light.
[SPOILER]Ok once getting the objective for the chalice...how do you get out the building again as I was sure that the waters were the ones outside?[/SPOILER]
