How to load BSP levels

Sometimes APOCALYX users want to load ready-made Quake3 BSP levels without writing too much code, to see how they look like in the engine. Imagine several BSP levels stored in a single *.pk3 file, as usually Quake3 BSP levels are shipped. You don't need to write any line to see them, simply use the BspLevel.lua demo included in DemoPack0

BSP level from the "Q3 Rally" MOD

At the beginning, the BspLevel script, looks for the file pak0.pk3 and lists all the BSP levels included in it. Then the user can choose one of those levels and the avatar (the well known Wrokdam model) will appear in one of the spawn points. Use the DEL key if you want to free the camera, when the avatar is teleported in places where the geometry prevents it from moving.

Usually the levels don't look as in the original Quake3, because of the limited support of Q3 shaders, but some are not so bad. Since transparencies are disabled in the script by default, try also to enable them pressing the "T" key (as explained in the help screen).

In conclusion, if you want to view levels taken from the Quake3 MODs, simply put the original *.pk3 file, containing the levels, in the engine folder, then rename that file to pak0.pk3, execute BspLevel.lua and choose a level. Probably you'll find one that looks good enough to be used in your own demos, without losing time in the modelling phase.

Simple Flight-Sim tutorial

In my navigations on the internet I have found another resource related to APOCALYX that I completely ignored. In the section of Game Related Tutorials of the University of Southern Queensland (Australia), there is a tutorial based on the Isle Fly-Throught demo available in DemoPack0. As you can see in the screenshot, the sea is really bad looking, but soon it will be improved by a more realistic water surface.

The tutorial includes a description on how to develop a (fake) flight-simulator based on an old version of APOCALYX. The author says: "This download includes all the files your will need to get started using LUA script and the Apocalyx Game Engine. It includes a workshop booklet. We usually run this as a workshop for school students grades 6-12 who visit the university" (here is the ZIP file).
The author of the tutorial is Penny Baillie-de Byl, she is also the author of the book "Programming Believable Characters For Computer Games" that describes several techniques on programming NPC characters in computer games (summary on the book and sample chapters). The book performs several examples based on an old version of APOCALYX.

Vietman War models (II)

As usual I executed a benckmark to verify the performances of the Vietnam War models that I have recently found. I put 50 soldiers together in the same shot and I got almost the same frame rate of the 64 WW2 US soldiers in MD2 format, that I benckmarked in April.

I tried also the same benchmark substituting the marines with helicopters and, surprisingly, I got a frame rate only slightly lower. I was surprised because the helicopter carries a pilot and his quality is not so bad. Probably the triangles count of the two models is not so different.

These results are very interesting, because I'm planning a crowded demo with running soldiers and flying helicopters in a Vietnam background to test the new realistic water reflections. Thanks to these beautiful models, it's going to look very nice.

First steps (City Racing)

I didn't forget the development of "City Racing" (CR). Finally, I had some time to spend and I set the usual framework that you can see in all the demos, that is the screen showing the logo, a view of the level and the scrolling acknowledgements.

The next step will be the programming of the player's car control, so we could drive at fast speed through the city streets, and finally I'll program the opponents' cars behaviors.
In the meantime, I'm looking also for good obstacles to put on the track. Something like the truck and the loader that you can see on the left. Unluckily, these two models are not textured, so they need too much work for a simple demo, but I'll search again: there are so many free models out there, that one has only to choose.

Terrain performances (II)

After the comparison between the terrains of Irrlicht and APOCALYX, now it's the turn of the promised comparison between the terrains of Ogre3D and APOCALYX. I have extracted the height-map and color-map from the Ogre3D terrain demo and, then, I have passed the data to the APOCALYX "infinite terrain". The following screenshots show the results.

Ogre3D above, APOCALYX below

Again it's not easy to compare the results. Also Ogre3D, like Irrlicht, applies the color-map to the height-map and superimposes the detail-map. Then the borders of the map are the usual unrealistic square linear cut all around. As I have already explained, APOCALYX applies a color-map (the shadows) to the height-map, then a coarse-map and, finally, the detail-map. No cuts are noticeable when the heigth-map presents periodic boundaries.
Another difficulty was to choose similar detail maps, because the Ogre3D original ones were too light for APOCALYX. Finally, I lost myself in the map and I couldn't set the same view. Anyway, those two pictures give almost the same frame rate.
At the end of the tests, the conclusion is the same as the other comparison: more detail in Ogre3D and Irrlicht, (fake) larger landscapes in APOCALYX.

Vietnam War models

As already done with Irrlicht, I’m planning a comparison between the terrains implemented in Ogre3D and APOCALYX. In the meantime I’ve found an interesting collection of MDL models taken from the “Tour of Duty” MOD for Half-Life 1.

The collection includes a lot of scenery and nice vehicles from transports airplanes to helicopters. There are also several classes of soldiers with different weapons, so I’ll ask to the authors for permission to use them in one of my next demos.
I’m dreaming of a demo (to be done right after "City Racing") with realisitc water reflections, palms and huts, US soldiers, flying helicopters all around and the “Apocalypse Now” soundtrack in the background. Stay tuned!

Terrain performances

Yesterday I compared the rendering speed of Irrlicht and APOCALYX. I used the same MS3D model and the performences were almost the same. Now it’s the turn of terrains.
I have extracted the height-map, the color-map and the detail-map from an Irrlicht demo. Then that data was read by an APOCALYX “infinite terrain”. The results are shown in the following screenshots.

Irrlicht above, APOCALYX below

It’s difficult to compare the results, because Irrlicht simply applies the color-map (that becomes the main texture) to the height-map, then superimposes the detail-map. In addition when you reach the border of the map, you can see an unrealistic linear cut all around. Instead, APOCALYX applies a color-map (that defines the shadows and the overall color) to the height-map, then a coarse-map (a periodic main texture) and, finally, superimposes the detail-map. No cuts are noticeable if the heigth-map presents toroidal boundaries.
As you can see, I had several difficulties in setting the same parameters in the two demos, but I got two roughly comparable pictures at the end. Unluckily, this time APOCALYX loses 220 fps against 260, but I think that there are too differences for a reliable comparison, because the two kind of terrains possess different advantages: more detail in Irrlicht, larger landscapes in APOCALYX.