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      <h5><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">//<a href="../../../index.html"><font color="#7C420E">loonygames</font></a>://<a href="../index.html"><font color="#7C420E">issue 
        2.13</font></a>://<a href="index.html"><font color="#7C420E">beaker's bent</font></a>://<a href="index.php"><font color="#7C420E">1</font></a>, 
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                      <p><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000FF"><i><font color="#904C10" size="3">Beaker's 
                        Bent: <br>
                        Making the Outdoors - Part 2</font></i></font></b><br>
                      <div align="right"> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">By 
                        Rich &quot;<a href="mailto:rich@loonygames.com">Beaker</a>&quot; 
                        Wyckoff</font></div>
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                    <h5 align="right"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#00025E">Vol. 
                      2, Issue 13&nbsp; <br>
                      February 25, 2000&nbsp; </font></b></h5>
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              <p align="right">&nbsp;</p>
             
              
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">On the 
                other hand, making terrain in engines intended for indoor use 
                such as Unreal and Quake III have far fewer geometry limitations, 
                but bring with them the huge problem of visible polygons.  With 
                no ability to detail-reduce distant terrain, outdoor levels in 
                indoor engines must constantly take liberties with reality in 
                order to keep the number of on-screen polygons down as much as 
                possible.  As a counterpart to the “marbles in rubber” look of 
                badly-done height mapped outdoors, outdoor FPS levels often have 
                the “maze of canyons” look.</font> </p>

              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Finally, 
                of course, and this is a problem that not even Trespasser solved 
                very well, despite our best attempts, is the issue of object density.  
                Sometime, probably before too long, either raw polygon-pushing 
                power or a breakthrough algorithm will permit the thousands of 
                trees and bushes that will enable outdoor levels which look like 
                something other than bare, rocky wastelands that just happen to 
                be painted in vegetation-like colors.  For the time being, however, 
                there is a tricky balancing act involved in object placement which 
                many outdoor level designers seem to avoid altogether, going instead 
                for the “one tree every quarter mile” approach.</font></p>
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now, I’ve 
                listed out the problems with making outdoor terrain, but just 
                knowing what to avoid or work around is not the best way to approach 
                the difficult task of making an outdoor level.  Much of the technique 
                of making an outdoor level can only be gained through experience, 
                a belief that nothing is impossible, and an unwillingness to accept 
                the status quo of outdoor level design. However, I will try to 
                condense some of my own experiences into a few paragraphs of positive 
                advice.</font></p>
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The most 
                important recommendation I can give is to learn a professional 
                3D modelling package such as 3D Studio MAX and learn how to use 
                it with the engine of your choice.  Internally created editors, 
                especially those created to make simplistic, indoor shooters, 
                are becoming increasingly unfit for creating the complex, sprawling, 
                organic geometry that today’s 3D cards and consoles are actually 
                able to create.  Many companies are actually beginning to move 
                all their geometry creation, world geometry in addition to object 
                and character geometry, over to professional modelling packages, 
                and using their game editor for gameplay editing only, such as 
                placing objects and enemies and creating triggers for game logic.</font></p>
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Using 
                a 3D modelling program requires a much stronger knowledge of the 
                technology behind today’s games than the average level designer 
                brought up in FPS editors may be used to.  MAX and programs like 
                it allow users to screw around with geometry to its lowest level, 
                right down to removing or adding in vertices and faces, and designers 
                using it for game creation must be acutely aware of what constitutes 
                good and bad geometry for their particular game.  </font></p>
              <p align="left"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The engines 
                I’ve worked with tend to go crazy if geometry has any gaps in 
                it (a missing face – picture a cube with one side gone).  Poly-count 
                has also been a critical issue and removing verts and faces and 
                then rebuilding the mesh is a very easy way to get into trouble 
                and accidentally create bad geometry.  I tend to start with the 
                simplest shapes possible and slowly add detail by splitting edges 
                and tessellating faces minimally.  As high poly-counts and curves 
                become a part of more engines, however, it will probably become 
                necessary to work with geometry primitives in your modelling package, 
                and apply modifiers to them, rather than hand-editing their geometry 
                at the lowest-level.</font></p>
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<p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2">Credits: Illustration 
  &copy; 2000 Dan Zalkus. Beaker's Bent is &copy; 2000 Rich Wyckoff. All other 
  content is &copy; 1999 loonyboi productions. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited, 
  so don't do it or we'll sick our lawyers on you. Muhahahahahahahah. ph3ar our 
  m@d l3gal sk1lz y0.</font></i></p>
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