Detail Brush in WorldCraft
by Matt Droll · in Artist Corner · 09/04/2002 (10:34 am) · 11 replies
I was wondering if there is a way to add detail brushes in WorldCraft.
I was reading through Desmonds tutorial and saw that you can add them in Quark.
Does it effect on the fps / performence if I don't add detail brushes?
Here's a pic of an example, where I'd like to add them. to be sure, to avoid this effect I've to use detail brushes, right?
thanks
Matthew
I was reading through Desmonds tutorial and saw that you can add them in Quark.
Does it effect on the fps / performence if I don't add detail brushes?
Here's a pic of an example, where I'd like to add them. to be sure, to avoid this effect I've to use detail brushes, right?
thanks
Matthew
About the author
#2
If you create a detail brush with the null texture it'll be solid be will not be seen at all. This is good for playability editing, like preventing a player to get snagged on a corner or lip of a building.
If you create a detail brush using a normal texture, it'll prevent the breakup of polygons that normally occurs when two surfaces touch in an interior. Good places to use this are when connecting a pillar or pipe to a wall. The pillar might have many faces, so if it touches the ground you'd get a spiral pattern of split faces all around it. Those extra polys could hurt performance if you do it a lot. Just move the pillar 1-2 units off of the ground, and place a detail brush between that gap.
I'm not sure of if the engine currently renders shadows from detail brushes, but if used right (not very large) it should look just fine.
09/04/2002 (11:17 am)
If you've configured the entity file correctly, just create a brush and then click "tie to entity" and select "detail".If you create a detail brush with the null texture it'll be solid be will not be seen at all. This is good for playability editing, like preventing a player to get snagged on a corner or lip of a building.
If you create a detail brush using a normal texture, it'll prevent the breakup of polygons that normally occurs when two surfaces touch in an interior. Good places to use this are when connecting a pillar or pipe to a wall. The pillar might have many faces, so if it touches the ground you'd get a spiral pattern of split faces all around it. Those extra polys could hurt performance if you do it a lot. Just move the pillar 1-2 units off of the ground, and place a detail brush between that gap.
I'm not sure of if the engine currently renders shadows from detail brushes, but if used right (not very large) it should look just fine.
#3
But now I got another question: where does I have to place such a detail brush? Can I place it just for example at the food of a pillar?
Matthew
09/04/2002 (12:02 pm)
thanks a lot for the fast answer. Now I've found it!But now I got another question: where does I have to place such a detail brush? Can I place it just for example at the food of a pillar?
Matthew
#4
so I just got to place it between the pillar and the floor? for the pillar in my example I could so make a cylinder, place it between pillar and floor, give it the right textur (in this case not null.png, right?) and thats it?
great!
thanks for your help guys!
Matthew
09/04/2002 (10:31 pm)
sorry Matt, haven't saw that you wrote it allready!so I just got to place it between the pillar and the floor? for the pillar in my example I could so make a cylinder, place it between pillar and floor, give it the right textur (in this case not null.png, right?) and thats it?
great!
thanks for your help guys!
Matthew
#5
Half-life's detail brushes are used to hide small gaps (if I understand correctly). So, an HL pillar would have a small gap with the floor. The mapmaker would place the detail brush so that it hides the gap.
Torque's detail brushes are different. The pillar itself coudl be made into one, and allowed to fully touch the floor. The only downside is that I recall reading something about AI in Tribes2 not being able to see them.
They certainly help. On a model I made recently (with QuArK), by only turning certain brushes into detail brushes, I went from 965 polys down to about 600. So, it can be quite a substantial savings if used correctly. Don't be afraid to experiment.
09/05/2002 (12:20 am)
You can give detail textures any textures you wish. Don't mistake this with Half-Life's detail brushes(I believe that's what they call them, too).Half-life's detail brushes are used to hide small gaps (if I understand correctly). So, an HL pillar would have a small gap with the floor. The mapmaker would place the detail brush so that it hides the gap.
Torque's detail brushes are different. The pillar itself coudl be made into one, and allowed to fully touch the floor. The only downside is that I recall reading something about AI in Tribes2 not being able to see them.
They certainly help. On a model I made recently (with QuArK), by only turning certain brushes into detail brushes, I went from 965 polys down to about 600. So, it can be quite a substantial savings if used correctly. Don't be afraid to experiment.
#6
Does I have to let the pillar touch the ground and add the detail brush through the pillar, or does I have to let a little gap between the pillar and the floor, and fill that gap with a detail brush?
Matthew
09/05/2002 (12:26 am)
Maybe I'm a bit confused, so forgive this question:Does I have to let the pillar touch the ground and add the detail brush through the pillar, or does I have to let a little gap between the pillar and the floor, and fill that gap with a detail brush?
Matthew
#7
I suggest you put the detail brush between the contacting surfaces (in this case, between the pillar and ground) without overlap.
09/05/2002 (3:00 am)
In some other engines, it really didn't matter. In Torque... it might. With normal brushes it can cause lighting problems, but with details, I'm not sure.I suggest you put the detail brush between the contacting surfaces (in this case, between the pillar and ground) without overlap.
#8
I'll try that out as soon as I'm at home! 'cause I haven't got WorldCraft on my machine in the company. *g*
thanks again for the fast help of you!
Matthew
09/05/2002 (3:30 am)
thanks MattI'll try that out as soon as I'm at home! 'cause I haven't got WorldCraft on my machine in the company. *g*
thanks again for the fast help of you!
Matthew
#9
The only down side to using a seperate brush for the foot of the pillar is that you're still using extra polygons. If you do this to the top and bottom of each pillar, the extra polys somewhat add up.
If you make the pillar itself into a "detail" brush, then you won't need to put any extra polygons there. I used "detail" because it doesn't always have to be details to an object. You should totally forget the meaning of the word, and just understand what a "detail brush" does. :-)
Of course, if you have a special cap for the pillars you were going to use anyway, this is all a moot point. :-)
09/05/2002 (4:09 am)
Yeah, I don't know if using detail brushes will cause incorrect shadowing or not. Not too hard to find out, though, if you've already got the pillar in place. I may try it with QuArK's default room since it's already there. :)The only down side to using a seperate brush for the foot of the pillar is that you're still using extra polygons. If you do this to the top and bottom of each pillar, the extra polys somewhat add up.
If you make the pillar itself into a "detail" brush, then you won't need to put any extra polygons there. I used "detail" because it doesn't always have to be details to an object. You should totally forget the meaning of the word, and just understand what a "detail brush" does. :-)
Of course, if you have a special cap for the pillars you were going to use anyway, this is all a moot point. :-)
Torque Owner Tyler Frans