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Pros and Cons of Lightmapping
What are the pros and cons of lightmapping? In my game I have tons of levels, which would require lots of space for the lightmapped textures. But, I also read lightmapping should make my game run 2 - 3x faster. So... should I lightmap or not?
Thanks.
Is your game already experiencing performance issues? And how do you hope to distribute it? These two questions might illu$$anonymous$$ate the problem a little. Also do you have an estimate as to how much space it would add?
$$anonymous$$y game is intended for iOS, and the lighmapping textures could probably take up 5-10 $$anonymous$$B or more of space which is HUG$$anonymous$$
If your final game never goes below 24-ish fps on a middle-ish iOS platform like iPhone 3 or 4, I wouldn't worry about lightmapping then. It's really just a tight question that you'll have to chew on.
Answer by Kilometers · Dec 31, 2011 at 10:09 PM
You just need to think about what the low-end hardware of your market is. If you find the framerate unsatisfactory at that level, you should consider light mapping OR forgetting about that chunk of your market. Again, it's not a question I can give a solid Yes or No to, it's about what and who you want to distribute to.
I see. One last thing, so lightmapping increase fps but also raises memory right?