Object disappearing

[ZioRed]

I have the model of a castle which disappears when the camera leaves a bit away (really few meters for its dimensions, I haven't measured but it is clear that something doesn't work there):

 

It does not have any LOD and the following is its record in the SBX file:

Model {
path="castle2_castle.gmf"
position=0.000000000,0.000000000,0.000000000
rotation=-0.000000000,-0.000000000,0.000000000
scale=1.00000000,1.00000000,1.00000000
id=222440568

"aligntoground"="0"
"class"="Model"
"collisiontype"="2"
"friction"="0.500000000,0.500000000"
"hidden"="0"
"intensity"="1.0000000000000000"
"mass"="0.00000000000000000"
"name"="castle_2"
"occlusionculling"="0"
"order"="0"
"viewdistance"="0.000000000,0.000000000"
}

 

Any thoughts about why it happens? Don't know if it is evident in the video, but the model of statue inside the castle is still visible when the castle suddenly disappears.

[Canardia]

"viewdistance"="3"

LE 2.32R4V4 displays by default only objects which are closer than 20m. There is also the "far" distance, but it's also only 100m or so. Normally games need around 2000-10000m range of objects, so you have to use the option viewdistance=3 which means infinite. Josh said this makes things easier for newbies, but for professionals it seems to make things much more difficult

 

In addition, if you have entities parented, then the parent's viewdistance counts also, so make sure you have viewdistance=3 for everything which you need further away than 20m. A neat trick is to say:

EntityViewRange(scene,3,1);

so all objects in the scene will be visible. After that you can selectively set the view distance for objects which are always closer than 20m visible (for example unmovable objects inside a room which has no windows and the door is opposite to a corridor).

[ZioRed]

That worked, thank you very much. "Infinite" means that even if the player is.. say.. 20-30km far away then the castle is however rendered and consumes resources?

[Canardia]

Yes, unfortunately. The infinite option makes scenes very heavy to render and should not be used, but since the other ranges are too small for real games, that's the only thing you can do at the moment. However, there will be a new command which allows you to adjust the near (=0), medium (=1) and far (=2) ranges yourself, then it will be perfect. I hope that command comes in 2.32R6.

[Mumbles]

There is also the "far" distance, but it's also only 100m or so.

 

I guess I'm actually quite lucky to not have this problem. But 100m should not qualify as 'far'. It seems that this system was built for tight underground corridors in an FPS type game.

 

What I'm working on is an outdoor type game, where close would be up to 100m, medium up to 300m and far, 800m. Only beyond 800 would I think an infinite distance be necessary (All of these values are assuming no zoom magnification). But like I say, until I upgrade to 2.3, it's not in issue for me to worry about.

[Canardia]

I think Josh should give you the 2.3 upgrade for free, because then we can celebrate the complete migration of the userbase to 2.3! I'll buy a bottle of champagne when that happens too

[Flexman]

These near/medium/far ranges are displayed where?

 

In our game, anything closer than 20m is probably under you. Object distances are typically 50m to 6,000m at tree-top level (variable according to camera zoom mode).

[Mumbles]

I think Josh should give you the 2.3 upgrade for free, because then we can celebrate the complete migration of the userbase to 2.3! I'll buy a bottle of champagne when that happens too

 

Nice idea -- but it won't happen, and I wouldn't want it to. Everyone else will feel ripped off, and demand the next upgrade for free. When I have something up and running -> -Then- I'll improve it, by buying 2.3...

[Canardia]

These near/medium/far ranges are displayed where?

You can try them out in Editor.

[ZioRed]

However, there will be a new command which allows you to adjust the near (=0), medium (=1) and far (=2) ranges yourself, then it will be perfect. I hope that command comes in 2.32R6.

Since I'm building an outdoor game I must wait for that function since I don't like this waste of resources (we will have several castles and towns on the map).

[Flexman]

When will these commands to change the default ranges be available?

[Alessandro]

I have the same problem. Have you any updates about this function to setup distance for near/far/etc.... ?

(2.4 of LE is out now ;-)