Category:TextureFormatRuntime
Category Texture Format Runtime
These are texture file formats that are used at runtime (in-game).
Texture file formats come in two basic categories: those that are used at runtime (in-game), versus those that are used by artists in general but have to be converted to be used "live" in-game.
To save memory, runtime textures often use compression. However typically a few very specific compression formats are supported in hardware. This means if you use they must be uncompressed when they're loaded off the hard drive or disc and into video memory to be used in-game, which in turn increases their memory cost. Hardware-supported compression saves memory, allowing the artist to use larger or more textures.
Runtime formats also commonly have pre-created mip levels stored in them, so the game engine doesn't have to create the mips on load, which helps to reduce the time it takes to load the game level.
