mdoyle
11-02-2005, 04:39 AM
Hey people
I am currently with a guy in work creating a stress test and then a 3d tool for use with w3d's and shockwave. It shouldn't be application oreintated so in the end the tool should be versatile to work with either lightwave or max etc. The stress I should be able to give to u all but because the tool is going to be project specific and is getting paid for then I don't know how long it will be before I can let go of the tool for others to use.
I am here just asking what people think should be in the stress test and what should be in the tool. Here is a run down of what we have done so far.
THe stress test is a an 3d world which will allow you to load and take away mulitple objects and give the poly count.
Add/remove textures over those same mulitple objects
Add/remove animated texture maps
Add/removealpha maps
Add/remove shadow maps (or a 2nd texture layer)
Add/remove double sidedness
Change render format
Change render type (ie open gl, direct x 5, 7 etc)
Add/remove sound channels
Add/remove characters with bones
Add/remove different or multiple animations across those characters
Add/remove background calcualtions (ie update an overlay every second etc)
All of these things items will be displayed in a overlay onscreen to let you know how many you have etc It will also give you the frames per second which you are currently experiencing on that pc. You will be able to walk about the world to see where you are getting slow down, or look at if from a distance and rotate (if u want) so u can get every item in the world in front of the camera)
It should be easy to do as eacxh add remove will just be a keypress and it works automatically. This is so I can test a world on the target pc and have guildines to go by for definite as to what I can use before building the world. In my head I have a rough idea of what is good and not through experience but have also realised that through to tight deadlines etc I can come across slow down etc near the end and not being able to pin point where exactly it is. Hopefully with this I and others will have an idea to go by and realise that it will be elsewhere in the app if the stress test works and u have the same poly count/texture memory size in the world.
The stress test is just about down and I don't know how accurate it is, but soon I will be creating an actual world from its feedback and see how it compares.
In the next week or so I will be starting a tool, that will allow 3d artists to load and place objects into a world without using director. It will basicalyl allow you to dictat and change maps, level of detail render format, physics etc across all objects and whether they should load or not. We are also going for a level of detail thing to get more out of the worlds that can be used generically, so to create a walkthrough, you basically will not need a programmer unless its for interactions and feedback or writing to a database. Hopefully u will have the option to give objects/nulls event triggers so teh programmer can look at the file and just see what is going to be needed for them.
Hope that makes sense. And if anyone can think of anythign to add or might be useful for otehr versions of the tools then let me know. We are starting to think of ways to use and change characters and interactions in the world, but trying to get this bit done first.
Will try and get the stress test up for people to look at soon
M
I am currently with a guy in work creating a stress test and then a 3d tool for use with w3d's and shockwave. It shouldn't be application oreintated so in the end the tool should be versatile to work with either lightwave or max etc. The stress I should be able to give to u all but because the tool is going to be project specific and is getting paid for then I don't know how long it will be before I can let go of the tool for others to use.
I am here just asking what people think should be in the stress test and what should be in the tool. Here is a run down of what we have done so far.
THe stress test is a an 3d world which will allow you to load and take away mulitple objects and give the poly count.
Add/remove textures over those same mulitple objects
Add/remove animated texture maps
Add/removealpha maps
Add/remove shadow maps (or a 2nd texture layer)
Add/remove double sidedness
Change render format
Change render type (ie open gl, direct x 5, 7 etc)
Add/remove sound channels
Add/remove characters with bones
Add/remove different or multiple animations across those characters
Add/remove background calcualtions (ie update an overlay every second etc)
All of these things items will be displayed in a overlay onscreen to let you know how many you have etc It will also give you the frames per second which you are currently experiencing on that pc. You will be able to walk about the world to see where you are getting slow down, or look at if from a distance and rotate (if u want) so u can get every item in the world in front of the camera)
It should be easy to do as eacxh add remove will just be a keypress and it works automatically. This is so I can test a world on the target pc and have guildines to go by for definite as to what I can use before building the world. In my head I have a rough idea of what is good and not through experience but have also realised that through to tight deadlines etc I can come across slow down etc near the end and not being able to pin point where exactly it is. Hopefully with this I and others will have an idea to go by and realise that it will be elsewhere in the app if the stress test works and u have the same poly count/texture memory size in the world.
The stress test is just about down and I don't know how accurate it is, but soon I will be creating an actual world from its feedback and see how it compares.
In the next week or so I will be starting a tool, that will allow 3d artists to load and place objects into a world without using director. It will basicalyl allow you to dictat and change maps, level of detail render format, physics etc across all objects and whether they should load or not. We are also going for a level of detail thing to get more out of the worlds that can be used generically, so to create a walkthrough, you basically will not need a programmer unless its for interactions and feedback or writing to a database. Hopefully u will have the option to give objects/nulls event triggers so teh programmer can look at the file and just see what is going to be needed for them.
Hope that makes sense. And if anyone can think of anythign to add or might be useful for otehr versions of the tools then let me know. We are starting to think of ways to use and change characters and interactions in the world, but trying to get this bit done first.
Will try and get the stress test up for people to look at soon
M