[MAP] Canals v1.8

[Dratz-_C]

Ulukai,
I thought you might like to know that for 1.6 by lowering the clip of the ceiling and raising it for the floor I reduced the number of PVS cells from 4000+ to 1916 at size 128 and 6794 at size 64. Moving these clip boundaries, especially the bottom, might reduce the size of the PVS and map file and would shorten the time it takes for the player to die after jumping off the side. I didn't complete the generation of the PVS because of how long it would have taken my computer to do so.
Cheers

[D.A.M.I.E.N.]

Yeah, shorter time of falling would be better for this map. Otherwise.. I'm glad you understood and accepted some of my thoughts. It looks much better and now even with the new textures for symbols, good.

[Ulukai]

OK, I will adjust the clipping and generate a PVS of 64 for 1.7 later this weekend. Thanks for the tip.

[Dratz-_C]

Ulukai,
Wonderful; you're welcome! Please remember to lower the ceiling clip to just above a double rocket jump from the highest point in the map as well to minimize the number of PVS cells in the top of the map. This change would also restrict jetpacking to a reasonable height for better performance for those folks due to the low viewing angle. Please try to deliberately adjust the top and bottom clipping until you can get a maximum of 6794 cells at size 64. Do this by adjusting the clipping; typing /clearpvs then /genpvs 64, looking at the number of cells; if it is not 6794 or lower, pressing escape to adjust the clipping more; afterward entering /clearpvs then /genpvs 64 to check the number of cells and, if it is 6794 or lower, let it generate the PVS. I just want to assure that the number of times you get to generate the PVS is a low as possible.
Cheers

[Ulukai]

Here comes v1.7, in which I have lowered the fall distance with death material and narrowed down the clip box around the map (sides, ceiling and bottom). The pillars are less long-stretched to the ground which gives a better look. The DTF flags in the red and blue base are moved to the lowest level too, to keep it consistent with the green and yellow bases. And some clipping to the outside walls of the green and yellow bases is added as well. Oh, there is a new preview image of the map in the zip as well. It's similar, but reflects the changes of the last versions.

Download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?dp6pz6an2a6dt3l

For the record: I once again used PVS cull size 128 in this upload because in my tests, there was not any improvement in FPS over a PVS cull 64. Filesize stays 2.7 MB instead of 4.5 MB like this which is more important when loading the map. With a PVS cull of 128, I have like 3400 view cells and a PVS cull of 64 gave me 13400 or so. I don't want to narrow the clip box even more because I think this space is necessary for jetpack mode, otherwise it feels weird when you immediately hit the ceiling when you're on top of a building and power on your jetpack. So I hope this will be the last revision for RE 1.3 unless a showstopping bug pops up. Please consider this as a final release. If someone would like v1.7 with a PVS cull of 64, you can find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?l5494c52mp85vck

And once again, a personal note to Quin
- I tested SVN r4001 and Canals does show up in regular and multi CTF games now, but not yet in regular nor multi BB games.
- And the mode specific mutator behaviour is still there... Dunno if you had time to take a look at it yet, but just wanted to give you some feedback.

[qreeves]

There's no bomber-ball affinity in canals, I took it out of the BB rotation because regression tests picked that up.

[Dratz-_C]

Ulukai,
Thanks, I'll go take a look. Edit: the bomberball affinity used to be in the center; I'll also check for that. Edit 2: size 128 and 64 are close to the same performance for me and the reduced fall and support column length under the map is better than before. Edit 3: however, although there is a bomberball affinity in the center and bomberball goals placed in the bases, there appear to be no multi mutator bomberball goal affinities set in the bases. I'll experiment with some changes and get back to you. Edit 4: here is a fix adding mutator 1 multi bomberball goals for each of the 4 bases in more or less equal spots. I'll upload the PVS 128 one next, probably after dinner.

Canals-v1-7-1-PVS64.zip

Edit 5: here is 1-7-2 which makes all multi bomberball goals exactly the same height because 1-7-1 had the red and blue multi goals slightly higher than the green and yellow ones, and has a more optimal PVS cell size of 128. Please get 1-7-2, not 1-7-1 unless you know what you are doing.

Canals-v1-7-2-PVS128.zip

Cheers

[Ulukai]

There's no bomber-ball affinity in canals, I took it out of the BB rotation because regression tests picked that up.

Since v1.0 there have been BB affinities in Canals for all teams. Maybe something went wrong with one of the later versions like what happened with the DTF affinities. Anyway, the v1.7 I uploaded plays fine in BB with 2 or 4 teams. I just tested it again and watched a whole multi botmatch afterwards to make sure and there are no problems with the affinities for this gamemode.

So Dratz-_C, no need to make changes to v1.7 I had uploaded. The multi flag is not necessary on those affinities since they won't spawn in 2 team games anyway, only in multi.

[Dratz-_C]

Ulukai,
That sounds logical, but in my tests it does not work that way in the 1.3 SVN. Only by expressly making those 4 goal affinities multi mutator enabled by typing a 1 in the mutator slot like you did for all the weapons and items in the green and yellow bases does the map work in multi bomberball. Otherwise none of the goals show up and no-one can score. I tested 1-7-1 and 1-7-2 and the goals do show up now in a multi bomberball game, unlike my previous test of 1.7. Also, do not worry about crediting me, because it was a minor edit. All you did was forget to type in the multi mutator on the bomberball goal affinities. Think of the ground-floor multi bomberball goal affinities in the red and blue bases as my attempt to balance the multi bomberball mode among the 4 bases while leaving the harder upper bomberball goals in place for regular bomberball. I just put my name in the text file to cover my behind. On the bright side, now Canals will register in the game for multi bomberball. Edit: here is 1-7-3 where I've changed the map title and filename to match your other versions of Canals making it easy to place into the game, unless you object.

Canals-v1-7-3.zip

Edit:
qreeves,
If you still can't find multi bomberball goal affinities in your tests with 1.7 as I can't, please try 1-7-3 in which I've added them.
Cheers

[Ulukai]

With the version that's uploaded to the SVN now, BB works fine in regular and multi mode, except that it doesn't list in the BB rotation.

[Dratz-_C]

Ulukai,
Indeed it does. I don't know why it doesn't show up in the rotation yet but that's not a big deal because if this problem really does exist it will probably be addressed soon in an SVN update.
Cheers

[Ulukai]

Ulukai,
Indeed it does. I don't know why it doesn't show up in the rotation yet but that's not a big deal because if this problem really does exist it will probably be addressed soon in an SVN update.
Cheers

Which is weird, because I have checked the vars.h file and there canals is listed in all map rotations, except duel and timetrial, which is normal. So what's causing this then?

[Ulukai]

On my Linux machine with SVN Canals IS in the rotation for BB and multi BB, but on my Windows machine with SVN not. So I think I found the answer to my own question: vars.h is a header file and the changes in here are only reflected when the game is recompiled. So as long as there are no new Windows binaries in SVN, it probably won't work. But on Linux I recompile after every SVN update, so there is no problem...

[Dratz-_C]

Ulukai,
I thought it would just take a little time to get back into the rotation and now I know why. Thanks for showing the method with which that will occur. At least it works in Linux for the present. I have to admit that it still bothers me that players serving as keepers are harder to hit in the Alpha and Omega bases then ones playing keepers in the Kappa and Sigma bases. This would not show up with bots but I worry that it does and will with actual players. Take a brief look at my solution to this mater in 1-7-3 and tell me if you are repulsed by it. It seems fair to me. I appreciate your consideration and let me just say a big thank you for making this multi enabled in the first place, perhaps listening to me or maybe having planned it from the beginning. Off topic: I bought Outcast a while ago, before I noticed anyone with Ulukai as their name around here. I was having fun with it until I got killed by a giant spider near the start of the game. Of course I still have it and may go back to playing the game when I feel inclined.
Cheers

[Calinou]

Edited canals map for better performance:
viewtopic.php?f=72&t=3065#p34261

[Ulukai]

v1.8 is out. In a final attempt to make this map runnable on low-end hardware as well, I have removed the water from the map. This was the only remaining culprit for low framerates. To make it look OK without the water, I had to change some wall and ground textures, check the pisctures below to see the result. It may be less pretty, but the water was only a visual aspect anyway. It doesn't change the gameplay of the map at all. When watching the bots in the middle of the map, my FPS doesn't drop under 175 and that's with 4x FSAA turned on.

Download link: http://www.mediafire.com/?91xsxejd763o01e

Changelog:
- Water removed.
- Texture changes.
- Pillars removed, we're floating again This makes for a much better PVS cull (less cells).
- PVS cull of 64, which increases the framerate by another 15 FPS when standing on top of the red / blue base and looking at the middle of the map.
- Small changes to the BB affinities (BB goal locations of red and blue teams in multi games) to provide easier scoring. BB goals still spawn on the bridge in the bases when in non-multi games.

On a sidenote: without the water a new name may be in place, unless Quin would like to stick with it to match the release notes of v1.3. I was thinking about Clover (or Limb? or Passage?). Tell me what you think about it.

I hope I make some people happy with this version. Enjoy!