max_map_faces and null textures

Alright. I have already conquered MAX_MAP_MIPTEX, MAX_MAP_PLANES, MAX_MAP_CLIPNODES, and MAX_MAP_MODELS, but another challenger has stepped up. I now have MAX_MAP_FACES.

I know that it means I've got too many faces in the level or that a large brush has been textured with scales too small. In this situation I know I need to reduce the complexity of the map (ie remove faces). Now, my question is this: Can proper use of the null texture allow me to defeat this error without resorting to deleting or simplifying rockwork? Or am I screwed and need to reduce the complexity no matter what?

Any face that is textured NULL should be removed completely from the compile process. Therefore you should be able to avoid MAX_MAP_FACES if you can find enough places to stick a NULL texture.

You might be able to do a quick test to confirm this by (temporarily) texturing a very large number of faces NULL.

Guess it would have helped if I had fixed an impossibly small leak, as that was causing the max_map_faces error, but I'm confident that if I had actually hit the limit the null textures could have saved me. :biggrin: