level design?

[wburton72]

I have a few questions about level design. Are levels made up of separate assets, portions of one model or one big model? What texturing methods are used when designing a level?

[nick.ace]

Generally, many different assets. One big model is usually problematic because UV's can get stretched, map sections can't be hidden, and physics of props can't be used. Also, one big model won't allow you to apply different material properties. For texturing, CSG will take care of your texturing concerns for you for the most part, but if you texture a custom model you make, then you'll need to UV map it.

[Rick]

"Also, one big model won't allow you to apply different material properties."

 

You can have different materials on the same model.

 

 

Generally you don't want to use 1 big model because there is almost always repeated geometry in a level and if you use 1 big model all that geometry will be loaded multiple times. When you build the level in LE you put multiple instances of the same model in your scene and the geometry gets shared which saves memory and loading times! An example would be if you have barrels in your scene. You wouldn't want those to be part of your level in your 3D modelling package. You'd want it to be it's own model and then add multiple barrels into the scene via LE. Generally you assemble your scenes like this.

[nick.ace]

You can have different materials on the same model.

 

Thanks for correcting me, Rick. I forgot about that!

 

Yes, Rick's answer is a much better answer. For performance reasons it helps a lot. Also, for workflow reasons, it's arguably better to use many models because you can update individual models without breaking the whole map. Additionally, physics can get buggy with complicated shapes that need accurate collisions.

[Josh]

Most levels can be divided into low-detail unique geometry (brushes) and high-poly repeating props (models).

[wburton72]

One more question. Should I build my base level in an external program like blender or should I use leadwerks mapping system?

[LeveeWasDry]

I don't see why you couldn't use both. Honestly, you are going to have to make everything or spend the money and buy models to work with. I've got a full library of paid and free models I can find many uses for. It takes money and/or time to make it happen. It's really up to you.

 

What would seem best with Leadwerks is to take advantage for the csg for simple level geometry and then fancy it up with custom models and such in advanced development.