Quote from Hurricaaane on July 13, 2008, 7:20 am

Frostyfrog wrote:

There is a wall, there is a barrel on the other side but you don't want the client to render it, the compile, by default, will generate more vis-leafs then needed. the client draws what is in the current leaf and the leafes around it, and it you place a hint brush over the top, (becuase the player can see the top of the other side) you will find that if you use the mat_wireframe command, you can no longer see the barrel.

Note: this was from my memory from watching the advanced level design dvd sold by Valve.

If I am right, and I'm really not sure, there is a telorance of one vis leaf not visible by the current vis leaf.
That means the barrel still can be seen. Though, I should read once again the whole French optimisation guide, I have a little doubt about what I'm saying.

Quote from Bulska on July 31, 2008, 7:37 pm

I now know how CubeMaps work.

But I could use some hints of whats best how to place them around my map. Now I'm going to test my map with cubemaps layed around the map, I don't know if it's alot or too little, but about every hallway or chamber has one.

Quote from NocturnalGhost on July 31, 2008, 10:57 pm

There is a decent explaination of cubemaps and their placement here.

Basically, you need them wherever there is a change in the surrounding light level, and also near reflective surfaces, like glass.

Examples:

If you had two bright, evenly lit rooms, connected by a dark corridor, you would probably want one cubemap in the middle of each room, and one in the centre of the corridor.

If you had a large room that was brightly lit in the centre, but dark in the corners, you would probably want a cubemap in each dark corner, and also one in the middle of the room.

If you have a lot of glass, or reflective metal, you should put a cubemap close each reflective surface. The same applies with water.

When testing your maps, look at the weapon's lighting in relation to it's surroundings (as described in the article). If it looks too light or dark, compensate with cubemap placement.

There are no hard rules regarding cubemap placement, and some experimentation is usually needed. More is generally better on a visual level, but too many can dramatically increase the size of your .bsp, especially when using HDR.

Quote from msleeper on August 3, 2008, 12:56 am

Cubemap placement is an art, there are only guidelines and not rules. You don't need to go overboard with them, and placing them in areas of high contrast lighting is best, but there are reasons to do them more often than that.