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Release 2.5b approacheth

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Release 2.5b approacheth

Postby Aaron » Sun Jun 24, 2007 9:02 am

Hi All,

We're now firmly on the path for L3DT release 2.5b. Like release 2.5a, this will be another service update that mostly refines and improves existing features, rather than adds new ones. The notable changes are:
  • Full support for ultra-large 'megatexture' rendering in the Sapphire 3D rendering plugin (see weblog for June 21).
  • Default use of the HFZ compressed heightfield file (see weblog for March 4).
  • Faster loading and display of large mosaic maps (see weblog for June 12).
  • Faster shadow-casting, thanks to some algorithm optimisations.
  • The beginnings of an undo feature (see weblog for June 13).
  • L3DTVi2 is now officially retired, and is no-longer included in the installation package (see weblog for June 4).
  • The intermittent activation problem with L3DT for Torque ("cannot connect to GarageGames server") has been fixed.
  • The climate/land type editor has been beautified/simplified (see this thread).
  • The user interface has been updated to the XP theme.
The nominal release date is late July. If you'd like to help out with debugging or try out the new features, please download the latest dev build (currently available only in the 'Professional' flavour).

Cheers,
Aaron.

PS: Just a reminder in case it got lost in the noise: the Atlas export plugin has been fixed, and will no-longer crash when exporting detailed/noisy unique textured terrains. If you bought your copy of L3DT Pro from Bundysoft, the updated plugin is on the Pro downloads page, and if you bought your copy from GarageGames, the updated plugin is in the latest installer. Please e-mail me directly if you have any problems.
Last edited by Aaron on Sun Jun 24, 2007 9:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby metalliandy » Sun Jun 24, 2007 1:17 pm

Man you work fast!
Downloading now :)

BTW the link for the undo feature June 13th is dead
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Postby Aaron » Sun Jun 24, 2007 11:50 pm

metalliandy wrote:BTW the link for the undo feature June 13th is dead


Ta. Link fixed.
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Postby mauronen » Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:35 am

Hi Aaron.
I'm sorry for this long absence (because of my work).
I'm testing build 10 and i've got this message:
Code: Select all
CsTextureMap::InitMipmaps error:
 - cannot attach map

and Shapphire doesn't show texture map landscape. I've generated all maps at 8x ratio.
Besides, i've tried to generate until light map, and thought message above appears again, Shapphire show correctly landscape with light map.

Best regards.

Mauro.
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Postby Aaron » Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:29 pm

Hi Mauro,

Thanks for the bug report. I've really only tested this latest build on about three map projects, and always using my particular workflow which may or may not match yours. Hence, I'm not all that surprised that you've found a way to trip it up. What I recommend you do is is save the project, close L3DT, reopen L3DT, reload the project, and view texture map (view->show map->texture map). This should, in theory, make L3DT re-generate any broken mipmaps. After that, Sapphire should run OK.

If problems persist, can you please send me the complete logfile, which is in the start menu under 'All programs->Bundysoft->L3DT Professional 2.5.1.10->L3DT log file'.

Cheers,
Aaron.
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Postby Aaron » Tue Jun 26, 2007 2:32 pm

Hi Mauro,

Thanks for the logfile.

I had only tested the texture level-of-detail algorithm using mosaic textures. There is a bug when generating mipmaps for non-mosaic textures, which I've fixed for the next release (later this week, stay tuned). In the mean-time, I recommend you use the 'Operations->Active map->split to mosaic' to convert your texture to a mosaic.

Cheers,
Aaron.

PS: The texture detail algorithm is currently coded to work with 128MB cards. I'll soon be adding a nice interface to allow you to edit this value (there is presently a nasty edit option using the Sapphire settings dialog, but I don't recommend anyone try it). You can also manually manage your level of detail using the [ and ] keys (\ for auto).

PPS: This is somewhat unrelated, but you might want to upgrade your ATI graphics drivers. They're reporting OpenGL version 1.3. Strictly speaking, Sapphire only requires OpenGL 1.2, but I actually do my testing with OpenGL 2.0 drivers.
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Postby Aaron » Sat Jun 30, 2007 4:42 pm

Hi All,

I've uploaded another dev build that fixes the bug reported by Mauro above. In this version you can also set the VRAM usage to max-out your graphics cards when using ultra-large textures ('Extensions->Sapphire->Hardware settings'). There's also a menu in Sapphire now, in case the hot-keys are too hard to remember. Finally, I've included the first attempt at the Spring plugin (see dev weblog).

Cheerio,
Aaron.
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