Does 3D Gamestudio support mipmapping for textures on models? While running a test last night I noticed that, while mipmapping is clearly in effect for level textures, the models were exhibiting the moire patterns that mipmapping is supposed to fix.

-Joe Hocking
www.3darteest.com

Like most other things, I don't think it does... The documentation only mentions "surfaces" (does mipmapping usually affect everything?) In fact, with the exception of ent_blend(), all of the great improvements made to the engine recently seem to affect only level geometry etc. In other words, you can make fantastic looking levels, but the people and creatures that inhabit will look inferior by comparison... (No prizes for guessing that I'm hoping for some improvements to the models in 3dgs... preferably before A6. )

Well, if by "usually" you mean other game engines, then yes. But in 3D Gamestudio nice detailed textures become a horrible contrasty mess as the camera pulls away from the model.

That mipmapping isn't supported for models surprises me (I guesss that's why I hadn't noticed until now.) From the little graphics programming I've done, implementing mipmapping was just an additional line of code. Admittedly, that was in OpenGL not DirectX (the graphics library A5 is built on) but I'm guessing it's just as easy, or if it is harder it isn't MUCH harder.

Ah, good to know. I hadn't noticed that when I checked the beta features list; I was mostly focused on ent_blend

Kind of a strange way of implementing mipmaps (normally the engine just does it automatically, as opposed to you having to manually click a button to create mipmaps when saving a model) but whatever works best.

I am not sure about this because I am not a beta tester.
But I think this button does not create a mipmap from itself: I think you'll have to manually add a second skin which is used (a bit like LOD). Anyway I may be wrong with this because I have no opportunity to test it

xck3001

Ugh, I hope that's not how it's done. In that case, I might as well be using LOD.

See this tutorial and search the page for the word "mipmapping"
http://nehe.gamedev.net/tutorials/lesson.asp?l=07

Again, this is OpenGL; I know nothing about DirectX. But in OpenGL, as this tutorial describes, mipmaps are generated automatically when the texture image is loaded. I assume/hope that DirectX also allows the automatic creation of mipmaps, with no extra effort on the part of the person creating the model.

I'm not sure which game engines I've used in the past are built on DirectX and which on OpenGL, but I know that many have been DirectX and NONE have required me to create mipmaps manually.

Hi, I'm a beta tester (though a very unobservant one it seems ). I missed the mipmapping for models because I've been focusing on other aspects of the engine (lame excuse I know). Anyway, I've just checked it out. You don't have to add a second skin, you just do as it says in the beta text (Convert Skin -> Add Mipmaps) and then resave the model. Easy as that.
Sorry about my misinformed post before.
Cheers,
Keith

Great! Now I have three beta features to look forward to: detail textures, animation blending, and mipmapping for entities.

since you are talking mipmapping, here is a little script for it, its an action that can be assigned to any model (simple box) and placed in the level to control the mipmapping. There might be another way, but this works perfectly for me...
its small, simple, and for me, easier to control, since I dont have to search my main.wdl.
I like assignable actions...
----------------------------------------------
-Add "mipoff.wdl" to main world folder
- include it in your main .wdl file
-apply "mip_off" action to entity cube

This is the meaning of d3d_mipmapping (from the instruction text):

d3d_mipmapping = 0 -> Mipmapping deactivated
d3d_mipmapping = 1 -> polygon mipmapping (old method)
d3d_mipmapping = 2 -> scanline mipmapping
d3d_mipmapping = 3 -> trilinear mipmap filtering (new default)
=====================================
//wdl code: (mipoff) change the number to match above options...

//startCode
action mip_off
{
d3d_mipmapping = 0;
SET MY.INVISIBLE,ON;
SET MY.PASSABLE,ON;
}