What would be a very good map type to use for large outdoor maps? I''m not too fond of #D Studio Max files, nor heightmaps.... So does anyone know of a good suggestion?

You should check into using a heightmap system that uses octree for breaking up the map so you can have "sectors" in it so you only render parts at a time. But you said you didn''t like heightmaps so the only other format I can say would be of any use is maybe BSP. But the problem with BSP is that it is best for indoor scenes.

I would kind of like to not use heightmaps because I want to be alot more specific in my maps... or maybe I''m just not familiar enough with them. About heightmaps, I know basically how they work, how simple/difficult is it to place objects in specific positions?

Although if possible I''d still like to not use heightmaps and hopefully keep BSP maps to the "indoor" areas.

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Original post by Arturien
I would kind of like to not use heightmaps because I want to be alot more specific in my maps

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What do you mean by that?

Well.. (I should have probibly askif heightmaps can do this first, but) I would want all types of objects to be placed in certain areas like, uhh, things like caves, ponds....... know that I think of it, I suppose I could use heightmaps, but still, are their equal alternatives?

One way to go would be bsp. Notice the levels in Unreal, for instance - how big they are and a lot of them are outdoors. Unreal uses bsp trees only afaik. UnrealTournament 2003, as I''ve heard, uses heightmaps in some instances.

Now, if you want to create caves and such, there''s really only three ways to go about it:

1) create the level "manually" - use bsp only as stated above
2) create a multiple heightmap level - there are several heightmaps each of which denote terrain data on different altitudes - note that this might become rather tricky when you try to do caves - ledges shouldn''t be that difficult
3) create a single heightmap and add objects to it - this is basically the UT2003 method, only the wording is inverse

The bottom line is - there is no one fast way to do this - your best bet is probably a mixture of methods and your own ingenuity.

Crispy

Ok, Thanks for your help ^_^

BTW in UT2003 bsp culling was totally removed, and in their place are antiportals. Antiportals are basically volumes that block visibility, and keeps the engine from rendering anything totally occluded. The only drawback is that these antiportals have to be placed manually by the level designer, or else everything will be rendered.

As for the terrain, yes they are heightmap based with meshes positioned to make it appear that they are on top of the terrain. The terrain itself is actually inside of a large cube or any other user defined area.

ouch i just came up with anti portals as the ideal solution for my engine and what happens? i find a brief explanation of them in here

damn EPIC did it first *G

ok serious

anti portals are a must for modern 3d engines