All the files of your lightmaps folder, are the lightmaps for all statics, for each single LOD of the static. Each a seperate file. (a DDS texture file)
Now when you want to spread the map with others, this would be much too big of a file size to give away. And for the clients it would mean loading in thousands of extra texture files(the lightmaps) when they load in the map. So to provide compression and optimization all these lightmaps are put together on atlas files. This isn't only done with lightmaps. All textures of the OG used on your map will also be put together on one atlas. as you can find in your overgrowth folder. The .tai files describes on which atlas which lightmap is and where.
So when you check the .tai file with a text editor, you can see what i mean. For example:
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levels/iron_thunder/lightmaps/objects/tunnel_bunker_cover=00=1469=178=31.dds levels/iron_thunder/lightmaps/objects/LightmapAtlas0.dds, 0, 0, 0, 0.25, 0.25
that for example means, that the lightmap of the tunnel bunker cover static, GEOM0,lod0(00) located on 1469,178,31(the coordinates) can be found on lightmapAtlas0. the numbers after that are to specify where it is on the atlas. So one atlas will contain dozens of lightmap files.
an atlas, as you can see this contains many lightmaps. As such, for a map with hundreds of statics, you will only need 8 or 9 atlases to contain all those lightmap files:
or the atlas of the overgrowth:
with the tai file:
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objects/vegitation/pr/textures/bark1.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.875, 0.5, 0.125, 0.5
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/fir_lod_v2.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0, 0, 0.25, 0.25
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/tree_branches_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0, 0.25, 0.25, 0.25
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/tree_deciduous_2_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0, 0.5, 0.25, 0.25
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/tree_deciduous_3_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0, 0.75, 0.25, 0.25
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/tree_deciduous_4_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.25, 0, 0.25, 0.25
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/birch_green_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.25, 0.25, 0.125, 0.25
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/camonet_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.875, 0, 0.125, 0.25
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/fir_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.375, 0.25, 0.125, 0.25
objects/vegitation/asia/textures/leaf_me_nc_drybush01_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.375, 0.75, 0.125, 0.125
objects/vegitation/asia/textures/leaf_ncslybush01de_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.5, 0.125, 0.125, 0.125
objects/vegitation/middle-east/textures/leaf_me_nc_drybush01_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.375, 0.75, 0.125, 0.125
objects/vegitation/middle-east/textures/leaf_mehighleafbush01de_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.5, 0, 0.125, 0.125
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/deciduous_bush_1_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.25, 0.75, 0.0625, 0.25
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/deciduous_bush_2_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.125, 0.125
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/hedgerow_20m_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.25, 0.625, 0.25, 0.0625
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/largebush_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.375, 0.5, 0.125, 0.125
objects/vegitation/pr/textures/hedgerow_10m_lod.dds levels\iron_thunder\overgrowth\OvergrowthAtlas0.dds, 0, 0.25, 0.6875, 0.125, 0.0625
I hope this explains what an atlas is
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
BF2 uses atlas files for a lot of things.