Nameless Voice on 9/6/2007 at 13:57

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Doesn't DOSBox support MPU-401 sound?

Nameless Voice on 10/6/2007 at 12:07

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I've found that MPU-401 / "General Midi" is usually the best setting.

kodan50 on 15/6/2007 at 18:53

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Quick note:

I've received an e-mail from a user who was complaining about OpenGL on my map, and that my map is "too complex" for OpenGL. He was also saying that the problems with OpenGL rendering was a clear case of my incompetant mapping, and a clear sign that I'm a new mapper. Yes, I am new, but I've also set it this way to discourage OpengL rendering. Here is why.

I thought this would be a good time to finally take care of the evil OpenGL problems with my map. I've known about the problems forever... The issue is under software rendering, it will show the texture without a problem, it will show it transparent as it is supposed to. Under OpenGL, it doesn't make it transparent. This created an ugly looking wall. Here are 2 screen shots of the same area, one is software and the other is OpenGL. This is why I set the OpenGL to be unviewable.

(http://anyon.no-ip.org/Half-shock/HL1/trans_software.jpg)
(http://anyon.no-ip.org/Half-shock/HL1/trans_opengl.jpg)

(The texture was thrown in during the experimentation, that is why it is not scaled to fit)

The first is software mode, the correct transparent between the texture.
The second is what OpenGL is doing.

This was only because I wanted people to use software rendering to see it transparent, so no one complains that it was supposed to be, and it's not.

With that said, I've decided to go ahead and allow OpenGL rendering on the map. You should have a decent PC to run it. On my comp, it stays constant 99 FPS most of the time, sometimes it drops to a low of ~30 FPS, I'm on a 1.8 GHz AMD Sempron, w/ 1.5 GB Ram, ATI All-in-wonder 9600XT graphics card, FYI.

On the next release, if I don't manage to get this problem fixed, then I will at least have software rendering it properly... The OpenGL will be allowed on my next map release, so wait patiently for that.

kodan50 on 16/6/2007 at 05:06

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Could you be more specific? I don't know what you mean by issues, aside from OpenGL not rendering transparent walls like software does, I don't have any problems at all. Also, HL1 never ran faster than 99 FPS for me, ever. That seems to be max for it, or at least that is what it is telling me, and I tested it with a simple room, 6 sides, fullbright, and the FPS was constant 99, so it's not my map .. I think it's a limitation in the engine. I played HL2 with the same map, it ran between 350 and 400 FPS. With that said, I also tried HL1 on a standard mission, it too, gave me a steady 99 FPS, so my level is giving me the same result as a standard mission, as I move it, the framerate drops. If a standard mission is giving me the SAME framerare results, how is this a reflection on my mapping? How is this similarity of results linked to poor mapping? By this logic, Valve's maps are also the same.

Yes, the OpenGL is something I need to work on, the OpenGL problems are probably a combination of both my mapping and the engines implimentation of it, but regardless I'm working on it, to make it as good as I can.

Finally, if im making the structure close to the original, how can I have too much complexity? SShock levels are complex, a lot of the time the textures are different, sometimes each wall will have a different allignment. How can I possibly improve on an such a map?!

My rant is over, I need to get ready for work tomorrow morning. I don't want to get into a mapping war with you. All im gonna say, is if you think my map is too complex, I won't stop you in making your own map, and if you choose to make your own recreation, I wish you the best!

kodan50 on 16/6/2007 at 13:44

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As I've said, this is more than likely a limit in the engine itself. I should load up the Steam version of HL1 and see if that functions any better, it might have some more fixes that the non Steam version never had.



No, but each wall can have a different texture, and alignment, etc... in order for you to do the same on a poly based engine, you need to make a new poly for each new aligned texture you make. You cant split a poly in 2 and use that, because it simply doesn't work that way on my editor. I have to create a new poly, each and every time something looks different, this creates a lot of polies, thus making it look complex. With that said, HL1 normally doesn't have as many narrow corridors as System Shock has, therefore the HL maps are cleaner, simply for this reason.



I would be interested in opening GTKRadient to track down all the reported errors. I might give that a try.



Let me start by saying the clipping plane is a map setting called MaxRange. On a low setting, it will cause the anomaly as you witnessed on the map. While I removed the MaxRange, making it render the world, I am actively trying to fix the texture being see through problem. You were saying texture problem? Are you referring to the same texture as above, or something else? If it's something else, please elaborate for me, so I can review it, and take care of the issue.

I want to get back to the texture issue that im working on. So far, every attempt to making OpenGL render that blasted thing see-through have failed, but it works just fine in software mode. I'll end up working on it tonight to see if I can make it work, I've still got some more ideas I would like to try, but that will have to wait until I get off work.