hint brush zoning

[Dario D.]

My map has some strange optimization problems, such as the other side of the map rendering when it shouldn't be visible.

I have a few Hint brushes that are very, very large, and cover the floor/ceiling of about 80% of the map, in order to prevent unnecessary BSP subdivision. When I took a look at it just now, I had the impression that perhaps the engine was trying to make a single, super-large zone (or leaf) out of the giant Hint brushes. Is this the case? Are Hint brushes supposed to be small, and ONLY cover the area where you want a particular leaf, and not cut through the whole map?

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

A BSP subdivision continues until it hits another split or the edge of the world.

Hint brushes forcibly subdivide the world along their edges. So subdivision still occurs within the bounds of the brush. You enclose a complex shape within a hint brush in order to prevent the BSP splits from "reaching out" further into the world.

In most cases, you can avoid this by turning your complex brushwork into func_details, using enclosing hint brushes only where you can't avoid it.

 

[Dario D.]

That's what I meant to say; that the hint brushes are there to stop the splits from reaching out further.

What I don't understand is if a mega-sized hint brush running through multiple zones is a good idea or not.

Imagine if there was a 1-mile long hallway, with a doorway and an empty room every 10 feet... and imagine there was a 1-mile long Hint brush running through each of the doorways. Will this 1 hint brush create a leaf out of each room, or do you need 1 unique hint brush *per room*?

 

[Pi Mu Rho]

In that scenario, it would act like one hint brush per room, yes.

 

[Dario D.]

Okay, cool... so I can leave my huge, multi-room hint brushes

Thanks for the help