Zerodin,
Outdoors - Indoors makes very little difference.
The same basic rules of good design practice apply.
The same FPSC problems and issues are relevant to both indoor and outdoor levels.
The main difference can be the area to view though as FPSC sees the view differently to the player (and designer) in its compile and rendering calculations its can be difficult to design to a plan in outdoor levels in FPSC.
You can maintain acceptable fps outdoors if you design out any probs that appear and maximise the use of optimisation techniques.
Both the AI think time and serious lagg issues can crop up and probably will in both types of level equallly and can cause serious fps issues. You cant eliminate them completely but can reduce their effects dramatically by doing as said above.
Whatever - none of that is a reason to fear outdoor level building.
Go on - go for it and give it some stick.
Disturbing 13,
Such things as the use of zoning with barriers of various kinds have been suggeested numerous times - not sure if anything would work along those lines due to the reasons of erratic FPSC ploy counts as suggested above meaning one cant relaistically expect FPSC to do that correctly either in all instances even if it may work in some. e.g. FPSC can see around corners and through walls when it wants to.
Again its no reason not to try such things and any instance of success again may be a badly needed boost to a levels optimisation.
Again I would say that outdoor levels in my experience are no different to indoor ones where the same fps issues are to be encountered exactly the same - except that due to their nature outdoor levels are going to be just that little bit harder to maintain good gameplay speeds in.
Any user of FPSC should be used to the difficulties after a short while so a little extra persistance and effort should be easy enough for most to muster up.
The oudoor levels I have built are really quite acceptably complex enough to provide for good looking levels and still maintain reasonably and playable fps without as yet any optinisation at all.
The serious lagg issue is a problem I encounter and have isolated it to non critical areas of the level until and if TGC do something to overcome the issue - or alternatively it will have to be lived with as its only TGC can provide a solution in any update.
Both the AI think time and serious lagg issue are a great burden to users as restricting much improved game making with FPSC. As far as I can asertain level complexity or high entity count in themselves put very little extra additional burden on the engine and resultant gameplay fps.
Given the following of good design practice and some degree of optimisation as would be sensibly be required using any engine - FPSC can and does handle very well, complex and large levels with high entity counts - only the well known erratic issues and engine behaviour issues hold users back from creating high quality levels with efficient gameplay speeds.
Of course any advances in the feature set may or may not put an additional burden on the engine efficiency - but thats an entiirely different issue.
"I am and forever will be your friend"
