Making and Optimizing Gigantic Worlds in UDK Thread

I'm wondering how well UDK can work with extremely grandiose worlds. Imagine the Morrowind, Oblivion, or Fallout worlds size. Their engine is designed to handle it, but can UDK do it too? I'm testing out some of, using a 256x256 terrain, tessellation size is 1-8 (maybe more?). I took off lightmass and just did a little sculpt on the terrain. The time I'm writing this I'm waiting to see if UDK will come back from "not responding".

I've tried to use the landscape tool, though it's a bit buggy and I've already tried the solutions from other forums with similar problems (biggest one is that it crashes when I build).

Any help, references and such would be appreciated.

UDK has a powerful streaming capability, not sure how it works besides the texture but is there.

yeah check out the UDK documentation for level streaming. There's probably a special way to do it so that it doesn't take years to render

If you're still looking for help...I'm just making a game with a lot of levels contained in the levels window...I always used Level Streaming with Kismet until now, who works great, but for an Oblivion or Fallout loading effect there is also the Level Streaming through Distance...I still haven't tried this feature and I don't know how it works, but it's a great option in case of great world to build...for what concerns your problem, check the real tessellation size and eventually decrease it...if the landscape tool is buggy, leave it and use only the Terrain Editing Mode(it works well I remember, but sometimes crashes when you apply a new layer)...

Thanks for the suggestions people. I looked more into the level streaming and saw some tuts on it. Kismet does seem the most powerful, especially when going with more linear approaches. I started messing around with the streaming stuff and it crashed a few times so certain options are being crossed off.

@ Near94. I've looked at a few tuts for streaming through distance and tried it, but I don't think I'm doing it right. Sometimes it crashes and other times it doesn't stream. I'm new to the whole multiple levels stream thing and jumping to something so complex probably isn't smart. As for tessellation, surprisingly it isn't too much trouble, although material complexity will still bug out the terrain. I think I'm gunna jump back to planning more and splitting up the map more. Do a couple tests on this stream through distance magic.

Thanks for the help guys!

I have always used Level Streaming through Kismet and it has always worked, while I can't help you with the Distance Streaming, I haven't tried it out yet...But according to me, you're doing the right thing splitting up the terrain more...by this way, pieces of terrain to stream will be smaller and it shouldn't crash anymore, although there will be more loadings...

Yeah. Looks like I need to balance size vs loading.

I also want to ask if I went with level streaming for certain parts. The hypothetical is if the player were moving some crates around in the main world (the one being distance streamed), then went into a building (which is level streamed), then exited the building back into the main world, would the crates that they interacted with still be how they were when he left them or would it reset?

I'm guessing yes, but I don't know. I would imagine UDK being able to cache it or something. And if yes, then is there a way to control those sorts of functions (uscript or otherwise)?

Uhm...I think they will reset to their original positions...because when you exit, the level unloads itself and if you don't tell anything to UDK, when you reload the level, the crate will return to the original position for sure(why UDK should remember the last position of the crate?)...I don't know how you can make UDK remember this, but you could make the crate first of all belonging to another level ALWAYS LOADED than the building, then make the crates invisible when the building level is unloaded and visible when it's loaded...I think you can do it by the Toggle node...with this method (a little rough) you will have a crate that has the last position always in memory by UDK!

Edited by: Near94

Interesting work around. The crate and building scenario is just a simple example. The purpose of remembering location is so when the play goes back outside, the world will be as they left it. Maybe there is some way to handle it through multiple level stream types like your saying, one for objects, one for world, and so on.