UDK - When to use BSP's

Prodigga

hey guys. Where exactly do we draw the line when trying to make our levels between using BSP's or 3d models.

For example, on a building, would the building itself be just giant rectangle BSP, and the windows, balconies, etc added as models? what if i wanted to walk on the balcony?

I've been fiddling with level editors for a while, havn't done a huge lot with UDK, so I am just looking for a little push in the right direction

WarrenM

The general idea we try to follow is:

a) shelling and gameplay design in BSP
b) finished level is as close to 100% meshes as is reasonable

You can sometimes leave BSP in for flat floors or walls but it's almost always preferable to replace those with meshes as well for better lighting and material options (i.e. vertex painting and other things).

BSP isn't all that fast or efficient in the Unreal engine so the more you can remove before your level is final, the better it will perform.

One trick you can use for collision is that if you build your level entirely from additive BSP, you can right click those brush actors and convert them to blocking volumes. Now your level is entirely invisible but collision still works perfectly. Now, mesh inside the volumes.

Prodigga

so i was under the impression that models compliment bsp's. my whole world has been a lie! :icon15: isn't it less efficient to have everything as meshs? big buildings etc? I suppose it'd just be a matter of being smart about how you do model things..

McGreed

The biggest problem I see with BSP is that shadows on them is pretty crappy compared to what you can get with a static mesh. On the other side its easy to quickly block out things like walls and floors (with collision), without much trouble. But again, if you use BSP, you have to rebuild them each time you make changes to on in the scene.

I use it sometimes to block out the level (haven't done too much level design, working on it), because you can easy make a floor, and then subtract a hole in it, and all having collision, so you can quick jump in and test it.