Deform Maps

Deform Maps

Discuss maps & map creation - from concept to execution to the ever elusive release.

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crimson12
Posts: 22
Joined: 24 Oct 2006, 23:18

Deform Maps

Post by crimson12 »

No matter how soft I make the map, normal units i.e. bulldogs, can't make craters in the ground. Only arty and nukes can. However in small divide any unit can make an imprint in the ground. Any help?
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Goolash_
Posts: 201
Joined: 25 Nov 2006, 16:26

Post by Goolash_ »

mess around with map hardness in the smd file.
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Ishach
Posts: 1670
Joined: 02 May 2006, 06:44

Post by Ishach »

The problem is mod side, Caydr changed alot of weapons to not deform the ground and that carried into BA
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Noruas
XTA Developer
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Joined: 24 Feb 2005, 02:58

Post by Noruas »

Use Thar Nukes, or just get Xta units to hit the ground.
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Argh
Posts: 10920
Joined: 21 Feb 2005, 03:38

Post by Argh »

Map deformation is icky, from a game-developer standpoint. I suspect that most games made with Spring in the future will avoid using this feature.
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FLOZi
MC: Legacy & Spring 1944 Developer
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Joined: 29 Apr 2005, 01:14

Post by FLOZi »

Most you're involved with, perhaps.
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smoth
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Joined: 13 Jan 2005, 00:46

Post by smoth »

I use it.
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hunterw
Posts: 1838
Joined: 14 May 2006, 12:22

Post by hunterw »

Argh wrote:Map deformation is icky, from a game-developer standpoint. I suspect that most games made with Spring in the future will avoid using this feature.
:?:
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smoth
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Post by smoth »

Hunter, it is the general consensus that the ground deforming can cause lag for some users.
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Argh
Posts: 10920
Joined: 21 Feb 2005, 03:38

Post by Argh »

It causes the pathfinder to have to re-calculate paths, which, in games that feature lots of units moving around, can cause very large CPU spikes (listening, FLOZi?), even if the units can still walk over this area, because the pathfinder wants to find the "most efficient" path (i.e., the one with the fewest areas of wasted velocity due to height).

It doesn't matter if the change in height-level is nearly 0, either. The pathfinder still will calculate again. You can see this for yourselves, very easily, by removing the terrain-deformation fixes I put into NanoBlobs, and see what it does to performance over time.

It's not a big deal, if the only weapons that can deform terrain are giant, slow-firing cannons, or whatever.

It's a really stupid idea, if you attach it to a machinegun. IOW, it's a feature to be used with large amounts of caution. I'm not saying that it shouldn't ever get used, mind you- but I think that the gameplay "benefits" are a lot less than the drawbacks, for any of the projects I've worked on.
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hunterw
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Joined: 14 May 2006, 12:22

Post by hunterw »

roger that

in summary,
Argh wrote:
It's not a big deal, if the only weapons that can deform terrain are giant, slow-firing cannons, or whatever.
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PicassoCT
Journeywar Developer & Mapper
Posts: 10454
Joined: 24 Jan 2006, 21:12

Post by PicassoCT »

It made really Funny Maps like the Swamp possible... so keep the Deform Feature...
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Argh
Posts: 10920
Joined: 21 Feb 2005, 03:38

Post by Argh »

I'm not asking for it to be removed. Don't get me wrong here- I don't have to like everything that's in Spring, lol!

I just don't use it, because I like games with large numbers of units, and I don't like watching them get progressively slower, irregardless of changes in unit-count, simply because of the terrain deformer code. It's not that big of a deal, just a preference.
manored
Posts: 3179
Joined: 15 Nov 2006, 00:37

Post by manored »

I think he is right. Only big weapons cause considerable deformation, so recalculating everthing each time a peewee shot hits the ground sounds waste...
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TradeMark
Posts: 4867
Joined: 17 Feb 2006, 15:58

Post by TradeMark »

I also noticed that ground deformation is very slow when i shot with 50 vulcans at same time to one target... I agree with argh, units which doesnt make big ground deformations should not make them at all.

Could we have some option to make the ground deformation faster? Like lets forget the path calculations, maybe the game should make path calculations like once in 10 seconds, not every time when you shoot? Or then it would be too slow again, and create annoying 10 seconds interval lag...

BUT, i just want those ground deformations faster, because the lag removes fun in my vulcan based map. It becomes much faster when you turn the ground deformation off, and when its on again, and you shoot with 100 vulcans, FPS will be like 1, when normally it is around 50...
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