Ns_penumbra redux

Yamazaki

<div class="IPBDescription">An hltv image and some ideas</div>Ns_Penumbra is at 65% planes, so I can add a fair bit of detail to the map. However the clipnode count is at 99.2%, which prevents me from adding detail.

Anyways, what you see below is an HLTV image of the map as it is now.

- The large rooms at each end of the map are the start points. Marines start in the south, Aliens start in the East, West and North.
- The rooms just prior to the T-intersection outside each spawn (Look like W shapes, actually) contain a resource nozzle.
- The large oval rooms to the north and south of the map's inner circle contain resource nozzles
- The rooms on the outer edge of the diagonal corridors are just for show. They are washrooms (Upper left, and only represented as locked doors), boardroom (Upper right), operations (lower right), and lounge (lower left).
- The circle within a circle within a circle design was intended to reduce r_speeds by blocking visibility (Which it did admirably), and to improved the flow and speed of such a large map (Which it does also).

Now for my decision. I really want to spruce up the diagonal corridors, but in order to do that I need to axe something. I was thinking of axing those outer edge decoration rooms (The ones that go nowhere) and consolidate my clipnode savings into some additions. I thought of putting airlocks, passenger gates, cargo conveyors, and other things along the diagonal halls. A different theme for each hall, while still keeping the basic shape (The additions would be placed on the edge facing into space). Then I just add some battle damage to the hallways to make them harder to navigate, so that it isn't a simple matter of travelling in a straight line.

Anyone else have suggestions or comments?

Yamazaki

BTW, the HLTV image doesn't show the vents that connect the diagonal hallways with some of the inner rooms. They're not very extensive, and removing them might save me some clipnodes also. To make a proper network of vents would cost me too much, considering the size of the map. Also the map is heavily connected as-is, so if the enemy is controlling one route you can always take 1-2 other routes around.

chalupamonk

The innermost circle doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose at all.  Perhaps that might free up some space.

KungFuSquirrel

I recall hearing that placing clip brushes around complex architecture will reduce clip node count -- I'm assuming you already know this, but in the chance that you may not, it might be something to try. Layout looks great; I'm a big fan of octagonal architecture. <!--emo&:)--><img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'><!--endemo--> I just suck at it, heh.

Cremator

that is an awsome looking structure

Yamazaki

Problem with using clip brushes is that aliens can't crawl on them. So the only brushwork I can clip off is stuff that isn't accessible... which I've already clipped.

At this moment I'm thinking of yanking out the center circle, as Chalupamonk suggested.

KungFuSquirrel

Doh. I forgot about Bob! Well, yeah, then your best bet may actually be removing the center circle... Realistically I don't see anything else (major at least) that you could remove without causing some severe flow changes.

Muu

With the new compile tools func_illusionary dosent dosent affect the clip node count - so you could make complex arcitecture into that and put as simpler func_wall around it with render amount 0...its a lot of work though and would pump up both your faces and visible entity count!

KungFuSquirrel

Also, you might run into problems with too many brush entities if you end up with 2 for what used to be 1 before -- I have a map of comparable size (Helix/Tortuosity) where that ended up being a catastrophic problem despite the entity count being well within the overall limit.

Yamazaki

I'm currently using 1.5 of Merl's compile tools, so clipnodes aren't being generated for non-solid entities at the moment.

Here's what I found when experimenting with a copy of my map:

- Removing the center circle gave me 2% clipnodes
- Removing the vents gave me less than 1% clipnodes
- Removing an entire diagonal corridor gave me 3% clipnodes
- Removing a hive area gave me 20% clipnodes

So, the real culprit is the start points and their connecting lobbies. Imagine that... 80% of the clipnodes are being used for the north/south/east/west areas, and only 20% is being used for the rest of the map. Insane.

Anyways, here is what I plan on doing with the layout.


1. Remove the center circle completely.
2. Remove the outer edge rooms that are on the diagonal corridors.
3. Remove the existing vents which don't travel very far anyways.

4. Make the diagonal corridors more complex, with added details and 'clutter'
5. Place impassable areas on two of the diagonal corridors (Upper left, lower right). Only jetpackers, careful wallcrawlers, and gliders will be able to traverse the impassable area. This partially cuts those two corridors in half. These impassable areas will be like collapsed catwalks over a dangerous area, or a raging fire, or a depressurized bulkhead. Something dangerous that will kill you if you try to pass it on foot.
6. Add a network of vents where the center circle used to be, as a shortcut route for small aliens only (Vents will travel up and down, so crawling is necessary).

InZaneFleaArmy

How do you tell the % of clip nodes n stuff?

realityisdead

I think you're on the right track with your current plans, Yama. It can be hard to remove so much stuff, but it will benefit the map in the end. I imagine the removal of some of those areas could also make the map a bit more easy and less confusing to navigate around in on ground.

I think this one is going to work out really really well.

IFA, as someone pointed out recently, you can add the -chart parameter to your compile tools to display a bunch of nice info like that at the end.