Level Design MyLevel (staticmeshes) and it contents

[tumbleweed]

can anyone explain why :

1) if i open another map than the one i work on, for example to look how the other mapper did it,
the contents of that maps myLevel s.meshes get copied to my own myLevel
file.

2) if i use a s.mesh from the existing (TW) s.mesh library it also gets copied to my myLevel library (thing gets f****ng HUGE)

My problem is that my rom file is exceding the 100MB and i think that is because it stashes all the origional s.meshes in there.
is there any way to force the map to use the content allready on everyones harddrive instead of putting all the s.meshes in the myLevel/rom file?

 

[sandorski]

If you don't place what's in "Mylevel" into your Map, it automatically is removed from "mylevel" when RO-Ed is closed.

If your Map is 100mb after closing RO-Ed, either you have added tons of new content to your Map or didn't compress your Custom Textures.

 

[tumbleweed]

hmmm the map is rather big and has lots of custom content, and i'll check the custom textures, but i see all the standard static meshes used in the map in the myLevel library everytime i look in it.
even if i just opened the the editor and than open my map they are there...

i believe that was not the case in earlier maps

this makes me think all staticmeshes used in the level are stored in the mylevel/rom file.

but i think the game has to load the standard meshes used in any map from the staticmesh-folder and not from the mymap.rom file (correct me if i'm wrong, i want to know how it works)

could i have unintentionaly(not sure that is correct english) set an option in the editors config that makes it store everything in the myLevel file?

or does the editor see an standard mesh with altered dimensions as custom content?

 

[tumbleweed]

can i compress decolayer height and densitymaps?

or better said, what can i NOT compress to dx1,2 or 3 and which is used when?

 

[spraduke]

You certainly shouldnt be seeing stock textures/smeshes in mylevel. How you have managed to do this i am not sure.

AFAIK you shouldnt compress the textures to do with terrain/layers but i maybe wrong.

Pretty much anything can be compressed to dxt1 unless it has fancy moving textures/alpha channels etc.

 

[sandorski]

Are you confusing "mylevel" with the "In Use" tab? "In Use" will show everything you are using in your Map regardless of what Package it is in.

 

[ExoCet-NAW]

Are you confusing "mylevel" with the "In Use" tab? "In Use" will show everything you are using in your Map regardless of what Package it is in.

Thats true of Textures but not Statics, Seems like you may have saved your mylevel package with some Stock statics in there somehow ?.

 

[Reservoir Dog]

can anyone explain why :

1) if i open another map than the one i work on, for example to look how the other mapper did it,
the contents of that maps myLevel s.meshes get copied to my own myLevel
file.

2) if i use a s.mesh from the existing (TW) s.mesh library it also gets copied to my myLevel library (thing gets f****ng HUGE)

My problem is that my rom file is exceding the 100MB and i think that is because it stashes all the origional s.meshes in there.
is there any way to force the map to use the content allready on everyones harddrive instead of putting all the s.meshes in the myLevel/rom file?

You should always close the editor for each map you are working on. If you open one map and then load another, the custom content (mylevel) stuff is temporarily in your second map (cache). This is an old Unreal editor trick for getting custom content from one map into another.

Sandorisk is right. If you are not using these meshes then they will drop out of the mylevel of the map. (Have you done a rebuild all and save?) If you have used these meshes from the mylevel then they will be stored in there. Try to delete the meshes you don't think you are using (highlight and "edit" "delete"). If it is telling you the map is using them, then that's your problem. You can always go into one of the questionable meshes and look at "properties" and "display". Look at the mesh used and it should have a path as part of the name. It should be the standard package and not mylevel.

Hope this helps.

 

[tumbleweed]

this is very usefull, i was already wondering if i could go and delete all i dont use (or think i dont)
i'll just try this:

delete a mesh from the mylevel file i dont think belongs there, rebuild and than save the file with a seperate filename and than compare the origional filesize with the new file size, which should now be smaller.

also i will have to comfirm nothing i want in the level has disapeared

gona try this right away

thanks for the close editor before opening a new map tip, i think that is what hapened and maybe i saved the mylevelfile at some point although i know from the 3dbuzz VTM's not to do this, but i do happen to edit my maps till i fall asleep on my keyboard so i just might have.......

these cache files u speak of , how long do they get saved? because i already lost some custom content from maps i did not open for months and than when i did some meshes just were gone with the editor saying it could not find the files.

(time to become more tidy on my naming of files and make more backups i think)

 

[tumbleweed]

did a test and know now i'm f*****d.....

all staticmeshes of my level are and stay in my level saving rebuilding or reopening the editor does not change this.

only way i get em out is delete staticmesh from level save delete s.mesh from myLevel library, put it back from TW package ..... .. . .

and that for all 1200 of em......

and maybe the next day they will all stay in the mylevelpackage again..

this must also be the reason the loading time of my levels are so long and i have a hard time optimising my level (might even be the game loads both TW and myLevelmeshes)

well lets see.. why did i .. when did i....

im ....

time for another hobby maybe...

 

[tumbleweed]

hmmm ok .

tried to get some meshes out that were not in use.
saved.
closed editor.
editor crashed during exit with this :

Build RedOrchestra_Build_[2005-11-27_10.48]

OS: Windows XP 5.1 (Build: 2600)
CPU: GenuineIntel PentiumPro-class processor @ 2243 MHz with 2047MB RAM
Video: RADEON X800 XT (6683)

General protection fault!

History: UObject::GetPathName <- UObject::GetPathName <- UObject::GetPathName <- UObject::GetFullName <- DispatchDestroy <- UObject::GetPathName <- UObject::GetPathName <- UObject::GetPathName <- UObject::GetFullName <- DispatchDestroys <- UObject:urgeGarbage <- UObject::StaticExit <- appPreExit

seems to mee it could not purge the cache

 

[Reservoir Dog]

hhhmmmm

hhhmmmm

Not sure why deleting smeshes from your map would cause a GPF error. First possibility is that your map might have been already corrupted (hope you have made back-ups). I'm not sure but it sounds like you checked a standard mesh and it was linked to mylevel? You can right click and under select use "select all of the same smesh" or something like that, then delete. Get rid of all the wrong meshs and then try to delete the mesh from mylevel. If you get this error again, click on the log button on the bottom and it will show you the log window. Scroll up from the error till you get to where something wasn't loaded or missing, it should stand out. This will show you were the error lies. I hope your not altering the original standard smesh packages! If you did, time for a new install from steam.

 

[tumbleweed]

nah never saved the " package xxx has been aletered do u wish to save"

map seems alright i think that is has happened after a crash and i did not notice.

i think that replacing all by hand is the only option..

last meshes count in the search tool is 3123.. and ofcourse all have to be replaced... should take a while.. or i cuold just leave it.

and have a 66MB map =)

at least compressing the custom textures saved 30MB from the origional 90MB rom file..

think i go search the unreal wiki and UDN for this thing, must be a solution i hope

 

[spraduke]

When closing ROed when it pops up "package2 has been modified save now" just click close (ie dont save the package) this might be your problem.

 

[Reservoir Dog]

Somthing to try, not sure if it works or not, I haven't tried it. But if it does, it will save you some time.

Put the original smesh from the standard package into your map. Go to properties, display and whatever field is there that tells you the mesh's name with path. Write that info down. Delete mesh.

Go to the same mesh on your map that is in the mylevel. Right click and select all meshes of that mesh. Click on object properties (you should see the number of them selected on top of the window). Go to display and enter the info you wrote down into that field. In theory it should change your existing meshs path to the correct standard package without replacing each one. Not sure if this will work but worth a try. If it works do it for all standard meshs in mylevel. Rebuild and save and mylevel should be cleaned out as well. Good luck.

 

[tumbleweed]

before i go try what you said, first a closer look too what we are talking about.

to illustrate what i mean a pic of my roedstuff.


as you can see there are tons of stockstatic in my list WITH the same path as is used in the stock packages and they do NOT go away when i rebuild save restart the editor, anything i place in the level always gets added to the myLevelpackage and it suxx,

so maybe there is a flag somwhere in the settings i accedently set to keep it there.

already tried a fresh roed install on a seperate computer, but no luck tried all i could think of but the files keep in the myLevel package.

is this normal, and do the files just get not wiped from the mylevelpackage when i close the editor, or do they not belong there in the first place?

 

[tumbleweed]

ok!!! i fixed some of it.

i opened the editor, loaded a stockmap, went into mylevel staticmeshpackage.
closed the editor, reopened it loaded my map and voila the list of stockmeshes was gone.!! that simple pffeeew

but the level is still 66 MB. now i have read that the lightmaps take the most space, and i have used 3 terraininfo's (big level) with each about 10 texturelayers and 3/4 decolayers. can i compress those lightmaps or alter their resolution in any way to decrease their size?

 

[Reservoir Dog]

I'm glad your static mesh problem is solved. Not sure why opening a standard map and closing it before opening your's in the editor helped.....but cool.

I have read that increasing your terrain texture layers too much is a real stress on the rendering process. I have read that each time you increase it beyond a multiple of 3 it starts really affecting the resources on rendering the map. For example if you have 4 texture layers you should consider rolling it back to 3 for better optimization. For 7 you should consider 6. I read that you should consider 5 to 6 most of the time, tops. The article said that more than that might make the terrain look real nice but it will suffer in fps and system resources.

I'll refer your question to someone who has more experience with multiple terrains and lots of terrain layers. I try to keep mine very simple and can't offer that much advise.

 

[spraduke]

66 mb is a very large file indeed and the number of layers you have will certainly contribute to this. As will having more static meshes placed in a map (as this adds to lightmap complexity).

Might be better to try and combine your 3 terrain layers into a larger single one if at all possible

 

[tumbleweed]

i was already afraid i might be overdoing layers and meshes.

maybe messing around with dropshadow of the meshes and i read something about the differend degrees of shadow/lightmap accuracy (resolution?).
i believe the less accurate, the less filesize.
cannot find where i read it, might just even be this forum , but probably an UED2004 forum.
its a shame there is no PDF manual with some indeep info about ued.. (hint epic) sort of the one TW made for the RO actors, that is realy a clear manual.

and if all fails , 66MB compressed is about 15Mb and thats not so big these days
but it wont hurt to search for a way to get the filesize down without degreasing staticmesh intensity.

i'll go find me that topic about the lightmap resolution/filesize
after all RO levelediting is realy cool , i am puttting my spare time in it for the last ... eh year and still i find new stuff to feed my brains every day.
and seeing u guys build those awsome levels even gets me more motivated to do so.

thanx