2 replies to this topic

[NiteLordz]

Currently i have a terrain that i render out using patches, and i have a plane that represents the water level.  this works fine... however, as majority of the water plane is under the terrain, it is wasted rendering.

 

ideas i have are that i create a patched water system similar to what i did with terrain and using software occlusion to determine if a patch is visible.  if i did this, i could theoretically use a heightmap to build the build level, allowing for rivers of multiple heights, instead of a plane.

 

any suggestions?

[phil_t]

Assuming you are drawing the water after you draw the terrain, you probably aren't taking much of a performance penalty.

 

Have you measured the "wasted rendering", and if so, how much is it eating into your frame time?

[Flimflam]

You could just designate areas that are bodies of water on your map manually and draw a quad or quads (if the water body is irregularly shaped) in that area specifically, if you're worrying about overdraw or something.