model road in 3dsmax?

[evoken]

My map will start out doors and the spawn point will have a bunch of custom models around it. So I want to have the player move up a road and over and around a hill (in a forest area) so the engine can stop drawing the models around the spawn ASAP. Anyway, my problem is the road. it needs to be rounded and ascending.

This seems to be very hard to do this with brushes. and the hill ends up needing 10+ brushes.

Should I just model a super low poly road in 3ds max? is this a valid option in terms of game speed?

 

[WAR_Nuker]

well i would imagine it is possible to do since valve was able to do it. try using the arch tool for your curves. also, if they arent blocking vis/preventing leaks and depending on the circumstances, you can turn your road into a func detail. i doubt modeling a road would be wise....since im positive it would be a pain in the ass to do.

 

[evoken]

ah, the arch tool will do nicely. thanks.

 

[Raeven0]

Displacement?

 

[Xenethyl]

Yes, use displacements to achieve your desired road structure. Does anyone remember the map someone made entirely out of displacement maps? They are very useful for this exact purpose.

 

[WAR_Nuker]

but beware. too many displacements can make a bigass file size for your map, if you are at all concerned about that. not sure but possibly lower powers for the displacements can ease up the file size. makes sense....but dont quote me on that.

 

[Raeven0]

Too many displacements meeting each other can also cause those strange visible seams between displacements. Lowering the powers fixes this problem, as well.