model clipping

(Siemnov) #1

Is there any easy way on how to make a good clipping brush for a model? I’ve just started making maps for ET and the only possibility i’ve read about so far is drawing your own brush around the model. But that will either lead to people’s shots blocked just next to the model or a lot of very precise drawing work :eek3: .
Any help would be very much appreciated

(MuffinMan) #2

well i do it the brush-way, it’s not that difficult as you don’t have to make the clip fit perfectly, it just has to have the basic shape of the model so that people don’t walk in the air when standing on its edge …

if you really don’t wanna do it like that there is a way to autoclip it, you have to set a key for the model and that’s all, the engine creates a clip that fits to the model - but: it will make a way more complex clip than you would do and i don’t know if it really works fine already, i read a thread here about it some time ago maby you should do a search for autoclip or something

anyway i suggest to do it by hand, should give lower rspeeds and no problems…

(Siemnov) #3

Thanks, I’ll just see what I choose for each model. Some very difficult ones out in the open will offcourse have to be as precise as possible and I’ll use the autoclipping there then. :slight_smile:

(Shallow) #4

Autoclip is good but don’t use it just 'cause you’re lazy :smiley:

MuffinMan, clip brushes are irrelevant to r_speeds because they don’t get rendered.

(MuffinMan) #5

you learn something new every day here- thanks Shallow! do you know any cons then for autoclip? i mean if detail it won’t affect vis and besides that i can’t see any problems then…?

(Shallow) #6

Well, if you autoclip a complex model that has a lot of slightly non-axial planes in it, instead of clipping it by hand, I imagine it will add an assload (that’s a technical term, there) of unique planes into the BSP. That could really add quite a lot to the size of the BSP, especially if you’re using the model(s) several times, and could push you closer to compiler/engine limits.

I dunno how well autoclip works for small models, I used it on a massive cave map for Quake 3 (unreleased at present) where basically 95% of the visible geometry was built in 3DS Max 5. For that it was OK but there were a few ledges and things with acute angles that had odd clipping effects, I think because the generated clips for one surface might have been sticking through an opposite face? So it’s OK for big stuff but I’d make an educated guess that it’s not a good idea to use it on models with a lot fiddly details on them. Those are probably the exact sort of models that you should make simple clip structures for.

Might be a good idea to ask ydnar… maybe he’ll stop by this thread and it’ll turn out I’m wrong about everything, and q3map2 can now calculate an optimally proportioned cuboid for small complex mapobjects :slight_smile:

(sock) #7

Shallow is correct, autoclipping complex models can cause alot of problems because of the way the autoclip works. It calcuates a central point in the surface and then drags that point backwards away from the face normal. This then creates a nice little solid pyramid which is then converted into a clip brush of sorts. (I’m sure ydnar will give a much more technical description than me)

If the model contains alot of small fine detail then the autoclip feature will create clip brushes poking out of the model in the wrong direction. The autoclip feature works well on big, chunky rock structures but a nightmare on small fine detail models.

Alot of the rock models we used in ET were autoclipped because of bullet issues. Big rocks act as good cover and the clipping does need to be fairly good. Also some strange effects can happen with some of the rocks in fueldump where you can fall into them and die instantly. This is a strange bug and may be related to the autoclipping.

Sock
:moo: grass

(SCDS_reyalP) #8

I’ve noticed in RTCW small sharp corners of geometry can gib you instantly when you step into them. There is one of these in the well on keep. I also had one on my murderhill map, though I’m not sure it is still there.