HL2 Compile times?

[LiquidLithium]

I was just wondering how long a good map compile time should take. I decompiled a map, then i edited it a bit, then i tried recompiling but vvis was taking a long time. Im a lil new but a quick learner, vvis has to do with the lighting im guessing. I was just wondering what an avergage HL2mp map compile time is?

EDIT: Also if i was to start from scratch. How do i pick wall width and stuff. I started making a map a while ago but the walls were way to thick. I guess i could cut paste a wall out of a diff map and then use that as a base.

 

[cnexs]

Make sure that all brushes that dont have any shadows on them or are totaly covered in shadow have a high number on lightmap"u can find it in the texturewindow".. this will speed up rendertime alot, ive got a map that went from about 20-30 min to 4 min

 

[Phisionary]

Brushes (walls, etc.) are draw to grid coordinates. There is two buttons on the top toolbar, far left side, like a little piece of grid with a ' + ' and a ' - ' next to them, respectively. press the one with a ' - ' on it, the grid will become finer.

 

[Dead-Inside]

VVIS (Visability) doesn't have to do with lighting, VRAD does that (Radiosity).

As you can see, VVIS (Visability) it used for deciding when to draw and not draw stuff when you're inside of the level. Invaluable to a working map .

 

[JFry]

Recompiling a decompiled map will prolly take much longer than a normal compile would. As far as I know (what I've heard, I've never actually used one myself), decompilers break the brushes down very innefficiantly, similar to carving.

A wall width of 16-32 units seems ok to me in most cases, but feel free to experiment.

 

[LiquidLithium]

So, I shouldnt edit a decompiled map into a new one? I just found it to confusing to start from scratch. Could I copy what i have into a new map and preserve everything?

EDIT: Also i get mem leak errors. Would some one like to enlighten me on what that exactly means? It seems to be something with vbsp.exe and that part of the compiling.

Thank you guys for not shaming me a noob and brushing me under the carpet. I feel like i coudl offer alot once i get on the right path. Just like with all things new. It takes time and reading and advice to become good at something.

 

[Phisionary]

I would opin that you could learn a lot from decompiling professionally made maps, but keep in mind that you may be seeing things incorrectly decompiled, too.

It's possible that brushes may have been split in a different and less efficient way from an original design, and not all entities survive the process either, or so I hear (haven't done it myself).

As for memory leak errors, I think I know what you're referring to, and I think they are inconsequencial. I know I've seen some form of mem-leak errors on mine, and it seems things are working well.

We were all newbies once (or still are, like me). As long as you give things an honest try (I.E. documentation; google & forum search; experimentation) before you come beggin' fo' help, I don't think anyone will give you trouble if you do. Glad it's going well, GL. :thumbs:

 

[LiquidLithium]

Yeah, hmmm well i started from scratch. I thought it would be best that way. And i always search these forums quickly before i post. Just to see if its been answered. And i know some questions can be answered twice. Some people just ask differently so antoher cant fidn their post. Thanks for all the help again guys, i got really far from those video tuts and your help.

 

[UltraProAnti]

Your vis-ing times will go down if you decrease your structural (i.e. non-func_detail) brushes down to the minimum needed to block vis and portal the map effectively. For instance, stairs should be made func_detail, as should small bits of decorative brushwork. Just make sure your world hull is sealed by structural brushes and not func_detail to avoid vis leaks.