Scaling models smaller = benefit?

Colton · 01-25-2005, 03:01 PM

Has anyone converted Generals/Zero Hour so all models (buildings, vehicles, units, etc) are reduced in size? One benefit would be that maps would seem ALOT bigger, but would there be any advantage in better performance (frames per second)?

Scaling all models half their original size would be worth the effort?

- Colton

AntiSocialKindaGuy · 01-25-2005, 03:06 PM

I would have thought the game would run faster assuming polys and texts were also scaled down ... but its a lot of work unless you are making a TC like that from scratch.

CodeCat · 01-25-2005, 03:31 PM

There's no difference. What counts is amount of vertexes, faces and texture size. And none of those change when a model is scaled.

mastermind2003 · 01-25-2005, 05:21 PM

There should be no performance change at all from scaling.

Accele · 01-25-2005, 05:25 PM

I tried that scaling idea a while ago to make maps seem bigger. It really isn't very convincing if you ask me, but I wasn't very thourough about it.

CodeCat · 01-25-2005, 06:07 PM

If you want to scale the whole game down, you need to cut EVERYTHING in half. Camera settings, sight/weapon ranges, locomotor speeds/heights, everything. If you can thoroughly hunt through the INIs, halving everything you come across, then it would work. I only wonder whether it'll be worth the effort...

Flyby · 01-26-2005, 04:41 AM

scaling will have a very limited impact. It is the complexity of a model, its number of vertices, the alpha masks applied, textureblends and AI programming that makes up the speed of a game.

PhenoX · 01-26-2005, 01:07 PM

Colton haz very interesting idea... And az a matter of fact I waz just thinking bout the same thing, just az I had my last ciggarette...

Cause It's been eating me up on how I could get map sizes like RA2 or TS (HUGE), without sacraficing performance, not to mention load timez... Of course it would take DAYZ of hard work and patience to make a true conversion, and the crazy thing iz... I'm seriously considering it, omg...

ComradeJ · 01-26-2005, 03:51 PM

But if you have a smaller scale - to make that mapz look larger - you'll need to enhance the zoom-in function, elseway there'z no way you could see your unitz decently. If you zoom in more, the buildingz and ground texturez look worse. If you make the skinz bigger - aside from that being hard - it'll still cost you performance...

PhenoX · 01-26-2005, 04:05 PM

...yes... I have come to the conclusion of not doing it. After I posted I got to thinkin more about it, and you're right.

I was just a little excited about the maps being big.