   Benefits of different file formats
  ok basically im currently using direct x's .X file format for all of my meshes and placing them within the scene via a text file, i still plan to use this format for   just this purpose, but i was thinking if this is the best format to use for creating level maps?..... ive been tempted to use Quake 3's map format to load my levels (as i have found a decent tutorial on how to integrate with directx).but is there any downsides to using either of these formats.is the Q3 format fairly obsolete in terms of being upt o date with current industry technologysis there a better format i can use without being too big of a task integrating?any opinions on any different file formats and the above would be greatfully appreceatedthanks alot   
  Using .X for level data is certainly possible, but without extending the format with custom templates, you will probably find that the data is not in the most ideal format. Level geometry tends not be animated, so should be organized with efficiency for searching (for culling and collision) in mind, rather than suitability for animation. Q3 BSPs are perfectly suitable, dispite being old. As are some of the other more popular map BSP formats. Using any file format -- somebody else's or your own -- is going to involve some up-front work on your end, however. I personally use my own formats for pretty much everything, but while that can greatly improve your load-time efficiency (since you tend to have to do less load-time data massaging and you already know the format well), it can have development-time impacts when it comes to producing assets in that format unless you have a pre-existing asset wrangling toolchain; I would probably recommend you use existing formats for that reason, since the tools to work with them are already out there.   