Triangles generally refer to polys. I know that may not be what it means in math, but that's what it means in this context. Or, well, generally they're used interchangeably. They aren't the same thing even in 3D structure.
Well, since we have established that "triangles" means "polygons", the rest is simple. Basically, from the point of view of graphic engines, every object in the game is a fancy collection of polygons like that dolphin. Each one of them has to be calculated separately, in real-time. More polygons means things can look nicer, at the cost of engine performance. And for player-constructed spaceships, more blocks or fancier shape means more polygons, which means bigger load on the computers. I guess that besides graphic engines, collision-detection also uses the same polygons.
Usually hit detection relies on a system of hit boxes - either one large rectangle for the entire object, or multiple ones of different sizes to bring it closer to the object's real shape. It's quite a bit faster than relying on mesh-hit detection, which relies on the triangles.
Fascinating, Admiral. It would appear early man learned to make use of the strength of triangles thousands of years ago. A point well taken. And here we are today actually counting, along with blocks and devices, triangles. The question, poorly phrased earlier, is "why?" How is the number of trianngles significant to the game that they are counted as statistics? Never mind. The explanation has already been given. Thank you for the history leasson. As I said, "Fascinating!"
Simply put, when you assemble an object out of shapes and then shine a light on it, the light hits all the shapes in said object. That then casts shadows. So your humble little GPU plus your CPU has to not only assemble the shapes, the object made of shapes, the movements of the shapes with respect to each other, the color on the shapes, and the shapes appearing and disappearing, but it also then has to map them a second time and somewhat selectively based on the shading. It really is extraordinary just how much processing even a simple game takes under those circumstances. Take a moment to look at the trees on Akua, then, when in creative, press escape and use the "light adjustment" interval to move the sun around and watch the shadows travel. Also, when in survival, fire a single laser or rocket round and want the lighting effects. A burst of light like that has to be processed and then the entire area reset.
Okay. So it's like friction or head loss in plumbing. With a given pump. the more pipe, valves and fittings you add, the more friction in the pipe. This created more head loss, making the pump leas efficient. i see there are size classifications determined by blocks, devices and triangles, and lights are a heavy load. is it established, somewhere, the delineation of classes that the builder can predetermine the class of his/her design? Or is it just a matter of wait and see when the project is complete?
Oh, yes. i am constantly amazed. i am also amazed at how quickly my upgrades become obsolete. I simply didn't under stand why triangles were listed in the statistics on the CP, or what they referred to. I believe I understand, a little, now. Thamk you.
Update: Triangles = 0.00009 Lights = 0.016667 Devices = 0.003332 I had to reverse engineer the math for a mod I'm working on. Please check my math, I only tested it against 14 use cases.
