Maximum memory for one map?

[Verdite]

I'm busy creating my levels for Rathmor (working title), and I could use some advice on maximum amounts of memory for one map. I dont mind adding or subtracting enemies if I get crashes in the runtime, but I make image maps for my maps now, so having to cut down placed map pieces would be a pain.

If anyones got a rough estimation on maximum map-piece vertices for map areas, i'd like to know ‎ 

[Madison Lastrega]

Ya know I wonder that myself, I use a lot of unnecessary Poly's and I get the blur effect but some of my test maps are super intense and besides the blur slow down , I have yet to have a crash... So an exact would be nice :-) ‎  I can tell you a map piece bigger than 180kb can cause issues like that, however one like 160 and under can be used like crazy with minimal slowdown....... Wish we could increase the memory allowed to som. ‎  Any who just a thought:-) ......ML

[Verdite]

Dont mean to necro, but does anyone else have input on this? For example when you have reached the maximum amount of map piece memory in SoM, does the editor notify you, as it does objects?

[HwitVlf]

The term 'max memory' in the title confuses me a little. Are you asking the maximum size for a single map Piece or the maximum polygon total for a single map, or the maximum umber of unique Pieces on a single map?

I' m pretty sure the maximum number of unique Pieces on a single map is 1024.
You can actually build a map using more than 1024 unique Pieces, but the limit comes from the number-names the the Piece's PRT files use. If you try to compile a map that uses a PRT file named 1024 or above, it fails when you hit the compile button.

As far as a max polygon count per map. If there is a polygon limit, it's very high. I just tested. making a 4800 polygon cube as a single Piece and filled the entire map grid with the 4800 poly Piece and it loaded and played fine.

As far as a max limit for polygons per map Piece... above 4800? So I doubt that would ever be an issue.

Can you clarify what you're wondering Ben?

[Verdite]

I should probably have been clearer ‎  when I built my demo I had a level that would crash everyone who set foot past a certain set of map pieces. The map was fine in the test map, but when I compiled the runtime it happened. When I went back and checked my pieces, I had one map part that had roughly 2900 vertices, but I used it often, probably about 100 times at least. Then my other parts wernt exactly low poly either...

Anyway yeah I was wanting to know the maximum poly count per map. I dont have any pieces that exceed 300 vertices I think, and if I have I use them as little as possible.

Thanks alot John ‎ 

[HwitVlf]

I just Compiled the test I mentioned earlier and it did indeed crash when playing with the normal 'gameplay' exe until I changed the render device to "Direct 3D TL HAL". I had to make those changes in the INI file. For my Nvidia card, the INI that works looks like this ("device=2" being the important part):

Code:

[config]
device=2
width=1440
height=900
bpp=32
filtering=1
gamma=8
seVol=255
bgmVol=255
bob=1
showGage=1
showCommpass=1
showItem=1
padDev=0
padCfg0=4
padCfg1=3
padCfg2=0
padCfg3=1
padCfg4=6
padCfg5=7
padCfg6=2
padCfg7=5

After the change, the high-poly map loads just fine. The map file alone is 236MB big!

HAL stands for Hardware Abstraction Layer and it basically acts as an interpreter between the PC's hardware and SoM. It' didn't used to be an issue, but I expect changes in recent video cards has made this mode necessary for SoM.

[Verdite]

Good job they built it in as an option. I also sometimes wonder why SoM has such a high draw distance possibility... Do you think that the makers somehow knew that people would be using SoM on higher end machines? I know that theres been alot of previous talk here about bugs in SoM, but the makers must have had some decent integrity to build SoM for next gen machines. I dont think its a poor engine at all. Non customisable, yeah... But still pretty damn good and probably the best game maker I have used. (So far!)