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Visible Worlds is a 3D video game visibility compiler for use with game creation tools like Dark Basic, Dark Basic Pro and Blitz 3D.

Visible Worlds pre-calculates sets of Visible objects from every location within a 3D world. This is commonly termed as a portal. Your world is imported into the compiler using a simple map format. Once this map is compiled, the exported data will allow your program to only render objects that are visible to the camera. Giving a huge performance boost, from %100 to %250%.

Rather than try an replace BSP styled formats, Visible Worlds is an alternative. By simplifying the rules of world creation, we've made producing worlds much simpler for programmers and designers alike, while still gaining a fantastic performance boost.


Supported Features (V1.31):
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*Very Fast Compiling
*Parent / Child regions
*Visible Triggers (user defined)
*Static + Rotated boxes.
*Solid + Transparent + None Object related (blocking visibility) spatial regions
*Pre-calced object L.O.D (levels of Detail)
*Dynamic Repositioning (object caches)
*Dynamic Repositioning With Precalced L.O.D(object caches)
*Visibility Importance Culling
*Way Point Map Generation
*Terrain Support (height maps)
*Portal Compression
*Compiler Features Inbuilt Preview For Easy Validation.

Package comes with Dark Basic Source Libraries for both developers to create VWMap files and users to Load compiled portals with ease.

Visible Worlds

Visible World Update V1.34 + Tutorials + Exporters
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First off, The new release versions main features are two fold, it's more accurate (less soft wall vis) and even faster, from %10 to %50. Although this is situational again, as most of the opt's are for terrain and the memory manager side of things. I might rip that completely and just dump temp data to disc.. Anyway so that's regular Visible Worlds stuff..

Since people seem to not understand the process very well. I've started working on some tutorials and an automated export tool for 3D Map Editor (it's already working). This tool allows you to import 3D Map Editor worlds and export optimised VWMAP (vis worlds open map format) files for the Vis Worlds compiler. You never have to know anything about how it works, just click load / Hit save.. Then run the Map file through the compiler.

To go with that, I've been doing a little more research and I should be able to build polygon collision meshes from 3D Map Editor, well any DB world actually, and export them to .X without much fuss. In the short term, this will mean anybody with DB DLL support can run sliding collision on this mesh with Sonic's DLL or wait a bit and i'll write a tree driven collision engine in DB to go with it..

This should make producing FPS games in DB Classic a lot easier and faster for all concerned.. So we'll be able to run sliding collision with Vis in standard DB .. It'll also work in Pro too..

Also, I've looking into building a VWmap exporter for CartShop models. But this doesn't seem possible, well in an automated fashion at least, it requires identifying the limb shapes in code. Sounds easy, So i'll have to think about that a bit more, what I'll probably have to do, is make a little alignment tool.. Assuming anybody is still interested.

The 3D Map Editor VWMap exporter will be open source. But Once i get these couple of little tools knocker over, It should be a lot more accessible to the passing user and for anybody wondering how to implement VWmap exporter into your own editor(s).




Visible Worlds (update)
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* 3D Map Editor Exporter Status

This is basically done, well, i was a few weeks back. I'm at point now where i'm waiting for an new update to 3D Map Editor surface. Which I'm told, well would be out by now. So i'm waiting

I've worked out DB's Static data structure, well as well as I need too, so I WILL be able to produce collision models from any DB static scene. But most likely 3d Map Editor ones


* Specials

Visible Worlds is currently on special

Visible Worlds

thats good mate, You have been working on this portal system for ages and now its good to see it made the proverbial leap to pro.

Wow, I remember when you startet this one

I'm curious as to how the loading works... do you build matrices into the map files? What level editors can you use to then compile the maps?

Indi:
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Thanks man. I did the Pro update a few months ago, but in anything lower than patch 4 and 4.1 it's a complete waste of time.

Now it's not so



Mouse:
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Yeah it's been around while, and will continue for some time yet.

If your curious you could simply download and the read the doc's.

Visible Worlds loads VWmap files. It does this so anybody can use it with their game/demo. These VWmap files can be made from anything basically. Sadly to date, I don't know of any publically (there private ones) available editor that can export VWmap files out of a pool of 10 or more that wanted to support the open format.

Anyway it's not big deal. VW comes with a library of DB/DBpro functions to build your own VWmap exporter into your own level/world editors at will. I'd be surprised if it took anybody more than a few hours to add a basic exporter. In Most cases this is all that's needed.

As i mentioned above I've started to write some stand alone VWmap exporters myself for certain Map Editors. So users who like these world editor tools (3d Map Editor), can use a pre-written exporter and then compile vis from that. Making the whole thing extremely painless on the user.


Height maps/terrains (Matrices) are supported in the VWmap format through and ascII height map. Only supports one ground though. It doesn't matter how the run time program uses the height map. It's just included for blocking vis in the compiler.




To DB/Dbpro World Editor Authors
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To those people writing Db/Dbpro map/world editors who would like to support the format but don't know how. Well, If you supply me with your world loading code and some example worlds. I can just as easily build exporters for your tools also..

Or, if you build in support yourself and the editor is public. I'll give you a FREE version.

Visible Worlds * 3D Map Editor Exporter Status V0.09
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ok, I've finally tracked down the loading problems. Oh, How painful a missing array can be...

It seems to load all the 3D Map Editor worlds that I have now. So I should be able to get a version out later on today..

(old RTG link removed)

Visible Worlds