I'm currently working on a 3D PC game (written in C++ and DirectX 9.0) and I'm trying to find the best way to store level data in the memory.
The game's action takes place under the ground, so there's always a ceiling above the player. The ground is rather bumpy and there are things like stalagmites present at all times. Levels are small-ish in size and mostly look like corridors. Here are the options that I've managed to find so far:
Two height maps stored on the hard drive as either a bitmap or binary/text file. One height map for the ceiling (top), one for the ground.
OR
A single 3D mesh in some 3D model format (say, .fbx, .x, .obj whatever).
How should I approach level data storage? What would my best option be, performance-wise speaking? I'm also having some trouble when it comes to texturing a level loaded via a height map; using a 3D model makes texturing a breeze.
Thanks!