Map speed optimization

Apathyman

<div class="IPBDescription">Hoping to expand on design guidlines</div>I've really been enjoying the spark editor (except for the lack of opacity masks! Although the grating textures help out with that). I've mapped in UE3 and Source, as well, and was wondering what kinds of tricks I can use to optimize load times and framerate in spark?

In those engines, for example, maximizing the number of meshes while minimizing custom geometry really helps speed levels up. Same thing with minimizing the number of different meshes (props, I think, in here, although I don't know if they're treated in the same way), and re-using chunks of geometry and textures.

SgtBarlow

Engine is subject to constant change so there is no real solid tips yet. There are tests & changes being made at this moment in time.

Insane

Like Barlow said, we're still finding out the best ways to optimise maps at the moment.

One of the problems with knowing which tricks are the best right now is that engine and game code are being optimised at the same time, so it's not always clear if something you changed made a difference, or if it was one of a whole bunch of other changes.

Thaldarin

I've noticed you've made some rectangular faces in to triangular faces on some of the walls of Rockdown now barlow. Any optimisation reason for this or?

SgtBarlow

Not sure, our internal build reports on surface errors on load , I been doing a lot of debugging in this area Identifying faulty faces by the way their sides behave on select and how they intersect with the sides of other faces. I been fixing these issues as i find them but like Insanse said there is no way of telling if these issues cause a slowdown or give an improvement when they are fixed.
Hoping some day Max might be able to make the editor take you to and highlight the faults so i can bulk fix them all in one go and see what happens.