[Starman01]

While upgrading our models, I wonder what will be the best way of creating those and keep the best performance options for later players in mind.

So, if some of you coding guys could give me a little more inside in the code, thanks in advance

I'm currently upgrading the hangars of the models (WC = fly through hangar with lot's of stuff in it )

Would it be better, to create an empty model and insert the stuff (mostly parked fighters, let's say 10 ) as seperate models using Goobers multidocking system (so that means the engine has to render the 10 fighters with their own lods)

or

would it be better for the performance merging  them into the mainmesh (or better explained, they are subobjects later ingame), including highres fighters in LOD0, lowres in LOD1 and none in LOD2 and above (that's the way I do it now).

What would be better , or will it be more or less equal ? (though Version 1 is more work for the fredder).

[Kazan]

put them in the main mesh, and for the love of reality USE LODS

[StratComm]

Definitely put them in the main mesh.  Parked fighters don't need subsystem data or any of that other mess that goes along with being a full-fledged pof.  Of course, since this is EXACTLY why detail boxes were implimented in the first place, this is naturally an excellent application for them.

[Nuke]

what would be cool is if you edited the vwep code so you could place decorative models in hangers and such. or eaily change pilot models in fighters.

[StratComm]

I'd campaign for a modular subsystem approach if I thought it were possible to EVER get it in to FS2.  But that's not just a major undertaking, that's writing much of the game from the ground up.  The biggest use would be for swapping out turrets actually, as in-hanger fighters are rare and pilots should be too low-detail to be able to tell the difference (unless you want to put a Vasudan pilot in a Terran fighter or something), and that's just not worth the effort in coding it up and then changing each and every model to accomodate that.

[Starman01]

O.K, thanks for the feedback. I will continue like I already did and building them into the main-pof, with their own lods 0 and 1

Unfortunately I can't use the Detailbox very good in this matter, because the hangar is going from front to the back so it will be visible from very far away and with the detailbox the fighters will appear or vanguish right of the sudden.

Though I haven't tested it much, I don't think I can use it here

[Flaser]

Originally posted by Starman01
O.K, thanks for the feedback. I will continue like I already did and building them into the main-pof, with their own lods 0 and 1

Unfortunately I can't use the Detailbox very good in this matter, because the hangar is going from front to the back so it will be visible from very far away and with the detailbox the fighters will appear or vanguish right of the sudden.

Though I haven't tested it much, I don't think I can use it here

You can put detail boxes into each other - though I don't know if you can LOD the things you put into them.

Namely you can go overboard and cram as many polies into the base box as you want. Copy the said box.
Then you break up said box into smaller ones.
Downgrade the detail of copy you made of the original so it uses less polies.
You set the distances so the main detail box is visible from far out (check the LOD details for the original model), and set the a small distance for the high poly ones.

If the change isn't gradual enough repeat the process in both directions - you can scram box into box on no end.

With enough boxes you can achive [SARCASM]'Holywood super-realistic'[/SARCAMS] effects.

Check Omni's Deathstar to see what I mean.

PS.: Deatil boxes were made exclusivly for this purpose, purposfully for Wing Commander Saga.