Default cycle model/textures/cockpit competition for 0.4?

[Lucifer]

I remember making an attempt to expand the resource system to include loading textures (as a preliminary to making that hack I just described, just to test the system) and found that textures were loaded like 6 times per round for each cycle, even though they were the same textures.

Of course, if done right, then each player should also have the ability to customize their cycle.

[Z-Man]

Yeah, they almost have to in the current system, at least they have to get uploaded once for each cycle due to the color specific processing we do. The loading part could easily be cached.

[sinewav]

...the cycle textures are duplicated for each cycle, that's 1 MB per cycle for 512x512x32 bit, and that for each cycle once or twice, that's all 32 MB of low end mobile GPUs gone on a crowded server.

I didn't realize this. I've recently been playing with object textures off and notice a difference. Knowing this, I think I've set myself a new, challenging goal -- to make the smallest textures which are still attractive. Of course, this will mostly be for my benefit since my "new" computer can't even load my old moviepacks due to memory restrictions. Now to make some time...

[Z-Man]

Oh, the texture size restrictions no longer exist. We scale them down to whatever the graphics driver allows. Of course, you need to have enough main memory to load the texture in the first place (umm, three times, in fact, I have to get that down) and there will be a delay every time the texture is reloaded and processed (not often; especially not during gameplay or between rounds). I'm thinking about adding a texture memory budget system that also scales them down if each texture by itself would fit, but not all at once; but that's complicated and may not make it into 0.4. Getting hold of the actually available GPU memory is tricky.

[sinewav]

Yo, Z.

I don't like how UPPER_SKY uses floor.png.
It's hurting my creativity.
Can you do something about it?

Danke,
sine.

[Z-Man]

It's hurting my creativity.

Clearly, we can't have that! I'll see what I can do.

[sinewav]

I need an art director. How far removed from the aesthetic of both movies do we need to be? Are we looking for something totally modern looking, like HALO, or something vintage? I've actually got a theme that looks really good, but it just looks like "Tron." I doesn't look like "Armagetron" so I'm probably not going to submit it here (just my moviepack thread at a later date). I guess I'm having a hard time breaking away from the look of this game.

[Z-Man]

Looking 'like' Tron is fine (we'd need to see it, of course), just looking exactly like it may not be a good idea. All styles are fine by me, as long as it's consistent.

[Lucifer]

I need an art director. How far removed from the aesthetic of both movies do we need to be? Are we looking for something totally modern looking, like HALO, or something vintage? I've actually got a theme that looks really good, but it just looks like "Tron." I doesn't look like "Armagetron" so I'm probably not going to submit it here (just my moviepack thread at a later date). I guess I'm having a hard time breaking away from the look of this game.

Quit trying to copy people and do what Madonna told you to do: Express yourself.

[sinewav]

Well, I guess I'll go first!

I achieved my goal of reducing the file size of all the assets. But I didn't notice a performance increase so I made them crazy large and to my surprise did not see a performance decrease. The low-res textures create an amazing saving of 130.5KB while the hi-res ones add almost 2MB.

I wrote about my design process and added more (spectacular!) screenshots here.

Regarding cycle_body.png: I'm not too attached to it. I actually like the current one. Same thing with sky.png. Edit: My included settings have lower_sky 1, but that should be 0.

[Phytotron]

I assumed there'd be a separate thread for actual submissions—so that submissions and discussion about what to submit don't get mixed up and lost in each other.

Quit trying to copy people and do what Madonna told you to do: Express yourself.

Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band told me first!

It’s not what you look like when you’re doin' what you’re doin'—it’s what you’re doin' when you’re doin' what you look like you’re doin'!