MSTS export wiz. question

Yes, the file does grow. And, in fact it results in slower load times for levels and more memory used. But, no doubt improves andquot;playandquot; performance for those computers that have adequate memory.

Richard

I have been using 3DC for about a month, works great, I exported about 15 small simple objects to MSTS,andquot; just learningandquot;. Here is the question, in the export wiz., export pref. screen there are three choices having to do with distance levels, could you tell me off hand of a condition where you would have to use another selection than the default.and what type of error would you likely see. if you did not make the right choice

andnbsp; andnbsp; andnbsp; andnbsp; Happy 3DCing
andnbsp; andnbsp; andnbsp; andnbsp; andnbsp; andnbsp; Have a fine day.

Thank you for the explanation.
andnbsp;I will make 3 exports copies of the same model giving each copy a different name and export to my test route. I will place all three close to each other and drive the line to see the end result.

andnbsp; Have a fine day.

The three options do:

1) no distance levels. A model that is 1000 polys will make MSTS try to draw all 1000 polys no matter how far away they are. For very simple models, say under 100 polys, this option is reasonable.

2) makes two different versions of your model (all in the same .S file, one with all the polys for closeup viewing, and one with things like wheels and animation and stuff removed that you can’t see anyway that is used for distant views where all you gan see is a small blob anyway.

3) gives several different distance models with varying amounts of detail that are used at several distance ranges. In order for this to work, the hierarchy needs to be set up suitably (so 3DC can make reasonable gueses as to what detail to leave out) and you can’t use multiple texture files for a single object, so this option is not always feasible to use.

Hope this is correct, and useful.

Here’s the thing with distance levels: for every level of distance incorporated into your model (if I understand this correctly) your S file grows larger, as it incorporates each different distance model. andnbsp;Perhaps someone can clarify this.