Optimizing Outdoors

[MrMan]

Ok, so i need some help getting the compile time of my map down and the fps up...im not sure how fast it runs at the moment as ive never fully compiled it (takes ages) so im doing everything i can to slow that process down before i do.

Basically i have a semi large outdoor area in my map. I can't show pictures without ruining things so ill describe it. Think of a square, with 4 towers at each corner. Between two towers is a long building, and the others are connected by walkways. There are windows in the towers and building overlooking the 'sqaure'. The square is surrounded by a bit of water (not loads, more of a moat).

So how would i optimise such an area? So far i have:

*Put areaportals over every door and hole in the wall/ground
*Put areaportalwindows over every window
*Seperated the main areas of detail (towers etc) outside with hint/skip brushes.

Do i need to portal off the water? If so how?
Also, how do i know i have done the hint/skip brushes correctly? When i test compiled on full, it looked like it was going to take about half the time to compile WITHOUT my hint and skip brushes. Does this mean ive done them wrong and i should let hammer do them for me?

I think the main problem here is i dont understand how to use hint and skip properly on large open areas, so if someone could explain that to me it would be a big help.

Thanks

 

[Crispy]

Hint brushes are best used for interior areas with corners, outdoors spaces can't be optimized a great deal with hint brushes.

I remember the map and I'd guess it has something to do with the way you've mapped the interior.

Firstly the entrance you have probably leads straight into your building interior through a door. Bear in mind entities don't block the view of brushwork/entities that your computer will have to calculate. You'll need to create a vis-blocker in the entrance that will successfully block the visibility from the middle of the interior room to the outside as you look at the main door. Top-down this would look something like a road meeting a roundabout and continuing on in the same direction. It could also be done by making sloped floor and ceilings (although this would look out of place imo).

Secondly I'm guessing you'll need to do this in your rooms with windows looking out onto the "cooler plaza". Just stick a wall at the back of these rooms creating a corridor behind it, but leave just enough room for a doorway that leads form the corridor into the room.

That's probably really confusing but I 'think' it could cut down your compile times.

 

[MrMan]

Hmm yeah it is a bit confusing lol...ive drawn a v basic diagram of the main building, if you'd be able to edit it in paint just to show basically what you mean thatd be fantastic.

Also i don't know what a vis-blocker is..is it an actual entity or another term for a portal/occluder?

Btw those things on the second floor diagram are the windows

 

[Crispy]

A VisBlocker is something used in a technique to keep r_speeds (wpolys and epolys) down and increase a map's performance on lower-spec mahines. It is a brush (not entity) that sits in the way of long viewing distances, making them shorter viewing distances. By viewing distances I mean being able to see from one area to another. If you can see from one side of the map to another then the computer running the map will effectively have to calculate all of the visible vertices (all of the brushwork and all of the entities), and in some cases more than what is visible. The Vis-Blocker is a method of cutting these 'visible distances' into smaller distances, thus reducing how hard a PC needs to work when the player enters certain areas of the map. It can come in many forms:

Plausible architectural elements

• a tunnel that goes up and down to block off the view between two rooms (or areas)
• a corridor that snakes it's way into a building when a direct route is possible
• Fixed double doors left slightly ajar instead of a func_door entity

Conveniently positioned scenery

• File cabinets positioned directly in front of entrances, debris that have fallen to partially cover windows, etc.

I can't use paint at the moment because I only have access to a public computer that won't save files, but having read this post maybe my previous one will make more sense.