**New Map Relase***Siwa_Teuthonia

(gaoesa) #21

Since you’re over the default (56MiB) by only 6 MiB, and this is your first time optimizing, I have full confidence that you will be able shave those megs off without losing too much quality.

(Teuthis) #22

Maybe true but what Speaks for Setting the hunkmegs to 128? I assume around 90% of player have this already anyway

(-SSF-Sage) #23

Yes usually very easy to drop 6 megs. Use lower quality jpgs. Often difference with jpg and tga is not major ingame. Have less alpha channels. Not all blending textures must have alpha channel only one in each. Or none if you dont need shapes. Drop some sound quality. Optimise bsp. Lower lightmap data. Drop lightmapscale on some func_groups or shaders! Often we waste huge amount of lightmap data. Optimise vis. Make all possible brushes detail you can. Reshape structural ones if you can. Reshape any brushes you can in general. Try get rid of tjuncts.

Compile with -info to see bsp size usages. Type /com_hunkusage in console.

I have not checked your map but in all maps I have seen such a hunk drop is easy without noticeable difference in quality. These are general pointers. I would absolutely optimise it.

(Teuthis) #24

Very good Points. Whereas I Refuse to Cut Quality by any means, I will do my best to optimize the Memory usage. I received some valuable comments and will do my best to optimize the Map. But: i want Feedback on gameplay because i do Not want multiple Versions of this map flying around. I will Collect thoughts from the Community and then I will see what I can do to make all Parties happy without lowering the Quality of the appearance of the Map.

(diaboliksmart) #25

V54

I wonder if this 'hunkmegs" is really a BIG problem.

I mean, imagine the server runs a ‘forcecvar com_hunkmegs 128’ at each map beginning (in mapconfigs/default.cfg).
So, the players already present on the server before the map ‘siwa-teuthonia’ begins, have already the good value, so no problem.
The problem will only occur for new players who never visited the server : they will be disconnected if they join when the big-map runs, but will succeed to join when another little-map will run (and when siwa-teuthonia will come, they will have the good value of ‘com_hunkmegs’, and no-disconnection)

I hope it is the correct behavior of forcecvar feature.

V55

(gaoesa) #26

[QUOTE=diaboliksmart;525477]V54

I wonder if this 'hunkmegs" is really a BIG problem.

I mean, imagine the server runs a ‘forcecvar com_hunkmegs 128’ at each map beginning (in mapconfigs/default.cfg).
So, the players already present on the server before the map ‘siwa-teuthonia’ begins, have already the good value, so no problem.
The problem will only occur for new players who never visited the server : they will be disconnected if they join when the big-map runs, but will succeed to join when another little-map will run (and when siwa-teuthonia will come, they will have the good value of ‘com_hunkmegs’, and no-disconnection)

I hope it is the correct behavior of forcecvar feature.

V55[/QUOTE]

Forcecvar can’t change the com_hunkmegs because the memory is allocated only when the game starts. The only time it can be set is when the game initializes the first time, before any mod is loaded.

(tjimboo) #27

[QUOTE=KeMoN;525246]That is not a valid reason to remove the map. It depends on the clientele you want on your server, but if it is more than mindless, human bots, then not running such maps is definitely the wrong way to handle this. If you are running NQ, it even gives you the instructions on how to fix it along with the error message. For the other mods I don’t know, but all one has to do is type the error message into google.
Please put the map back on your server. The community shouldn’t have to suffer from players who don’t know how to use google and probably are below the recommended age anyway.[/QUOTE]

I think it is a valid reason when players don’t know how to fix this. Some players don’t even know copy/paste so believe the will change startup parameters is not happening. We been running server since 2004 and not first time i see this issue.

DRi is always trying to test new maps made but if players can’t play then it will not be on rotation.

(Teuthis) #28

I will try to lower memory usage without cutting quality but I first want feedback on the gameplay. If I have to optimize the map I will only want one additional release. I am not sure if I can solve this problem. If i have to cut quality then I prefer the map as it is and happily accept that this map and all that will follow will not be able to run on all server. I refuse to cut quality in this and future maps. However, i will try tosolve this problem and if I can solve it great, if not you have to stick to the maps that fit your needs and exclude the ones that don’t

(hellreturn) #29

You are little wrong. Players are crazy. You wouldn’t believe but we are still asking players to patch it to 2.6b and now we are asking them to try ET Legacy. Let alone leave hunk megs.

Players are reluctant to install ET and most of the ET players base is old. So it’s ongoing process. I am hoping one day everyone will be using ETLegacy instead of ET 2.6b except the ETPRO.

Will be awaiting new version :slight_smile:

(Mateos) #30

And that someday the Legacy mod will be finished and improved to replace ETPro? :stuck_out_tongue:

(hellreturn) #31

OR Bani would just release another compatible version lol… May be if someone can contact him. He did share the code with Chapalja i believe for TZAC or so but then he stopped his AC and all went to limbo.

(Teuthis) #32

Compile with -info to see bsp size usages. Type /com_hunkusage in console.

it says com_hunkusage is an unknown command :frowning:

how do I find out if my changes actually decreased enough Memory to allow a hunkmeg Setting of 56?

(WuTangH) #33

The command isnt hunkusage, but com_hunkused… at least in my ET.:wink:

(-SSF-Sage) #34

Oh woopsie, sorry! :hog:

Btw if you have problems with command names, just write com_h for example and press tab. It will show all commands that has com_h in it. If there is one, it will auto fill the command. I’m sure you know this already thought. I never bother typing whole commands myself. :slight_smile:

I would use this command and compare it to fueldump. Which is something around 50-51 megs on /com_hunkused. I think with big server you cannot go over this.

(Teuthis) #35

after a couple of days ‘optimization’ I now shortened the map by 2000 brushes, made the voice commands lowest Sound Quality possible, substituted some textures with original ones, changed many TGA in Jpg, made sure all textures are 512 x512 max (more than 80% is 256 x 256) the result is : ZERO

this arabic style and the multitude of blending eats more Memory than the european maps with straight walls etc.

the conclusion is that the map will stay as it is. I could eliminate most of the blending but then the map is not what it is now anymore. So I prefer that the map is only played on those Server where more advanced Folks hang around and who know how to manually set the hunkmegs to something higher than 56.

I’m sorry for Those who will need to avoid Playing the Map. If admins are afraid to Loose Folks because of hunkmeg Problems I am sorry but I am sure People like the Game enough to ask for help on the respective Server/Clan Forums and everyone able to install and Patch the Game should also be able to find the config file and change the hunkmegs.

Positively thinking this might mean that my Future Projects will only be played on Advanced server like the Legacy ones. This might at some Point attract More People to Play Legacy, just because there are Other Maps played as compared to other Server.

I Really tried to help but I don’t want to Cut Quality. I still think that map offers Very unique objectives That Players like. But I understand and accept that admins want to Keep as many People as possible on their server.

(-SSF-Sage) #36

Did you check what eats the memory in the map? Like is it light or vis etc. Do you have straight caulk walls behind all those curves? Are those curves detail or structural?

(Teuthis) #37

Can post the VIS Data size later but this doesn’t seem an issue. Of Course I have all non visible Areas caulk and only structural what needs to block visibility (See pictures attached)

image.jpg1024×768 235 KB

image.jpg1024×768 268 KB

image.jpg1024×768 260 KB

image.jpg1024×768 278 KB

(KeMoN) #38

If you read my previous post in this topic, you’ll notice that I’m strictly against changing maps just because some people are too ‘unaware’ to use a thing called google and I can assure you again that I am!
However in both screenshots you posted the structural mesh can be optimised. Especially the 4th screenshot contains quite a lot of unnecessarily small structural brushes, starting with the curved wall in the back. If you are really going to cut down the map, then I recommend to re-read some tutorials on structural/detail and hint brush usage. If not, then I still recommend it for future projects :wink:

//EDIT: you can load the portal (.prt) file in radiant to see the various cuts your structural mesh is creating. These cuts have to be as simple and structured as possible.

(Teuthis) #39

Thanks. Will Check but please Note that i have Here quite a high r_speed with vert values well below 25K. I needed to Place only very Few hints in this map. I also checked the prt file to See Where the cuts are but Based on my r_spped values I concluded that the Organisation of Detail/structurals are Not bad. However, will Check again.

(Mateos) #40

He meant, the amount of leaf nodes, and thus portals generated, increasing BSP size, and thus memory usage to load the map.