HL2 Map Design Question: Brush or Mesh?

[zaphod]

the only true reflection there is in the engine is with water, wich doubles the polies in your scene. All the other "shiny" stuff in the game is specularity, not reflections, it's uses pre-compiled low resolution cube-maps, and are not expensive at all.

[-Stratesiz-]

Hmmm this is some really interesting stuff. I have a few questions but I forgot them already~ I'll post them later.

[DD]

the only true reflection there is in the engine is with water, wich doubles the polies in your scene. All the other "shiny" stuff in the game is specularity, not reflections, it's uses pre-compiled low resolution cube-maps, and are not expensive at all.

Wait... so the reflection in hl2 water doubles the polies?!!!? I thought it was render to texture. Ho boy~

[zaphod]

thats why it looks so good and is so expensive, there is a "cheap" version of the shader that uses a cubemap instead.

[Dranore]

Do the "cheap" versions still reflect models? :\ Or are those just a cubemap?

-Dranore

[Tequila]

Do the "cheap" versions still reflect models? :\ Or are those just a cubemap?

-Dranore

Cubemaps aren't dynamic, so no, cheap water won't reflect models. Even the fancy water has to be told to reflect models, for performance reasons I presume.

[Dranore]

Oneday someone will discover a way to make cheap shiny things. I will kiss his feet.

What about specularity? Does Source allow specular maps?

-Dranore

[zaphod]

All the other "shiny" stuff in the game is specularity, not reflections, it's uses pre-compiled low resolution cube-maps, and are not expensive at all.

[Dranore]

doh! ::facepalm::

-Dranore

[kleinluka]

does source have cubemaps?

[Bic-B@ll]

it's uses pre-compiled low resolution cube-maps, and are not expensive at all.

damn, no one pays attention to zap

[zaphod]

no, valve patented a ground breaking new technology, the tetrahedronmap.

[kleinluka]

oops.

[Bic-B@ll]

octagonianmaps > tetrahedronmap

[zaphod]

lets not get into THAT argument again . . .