Portal 2 like, many don't use too much optimization because you know... you can just portal to the other side and see a big white thing.

But I have a question... why people don't use skyboxes on portal 2? I mean, portal 2 don't even have skyboxes props.

Why that?

Well, some people do use Skybox in P2 to give the sense of an huge expansive area(p2 has some cool skybox cards for that), but i believe that it is because it lacks a variety of skybox models, so is more viable to use an env_fog_controller in the huge closed areas, but that is just me of course =P...

PS: Around here in TWP you can download a pack of skybox models to improove the looks of your maps =p...

Sejievan wrote:
Well, some people do use Skybox in P2 to give the sense of an huge expansive area(p2 has some cool skybox cards for that), but i believe that it is because it lacks a variety of skybox models, so is more viable to use an env_fog_controller in the huge closed areas, but that is just me of course =P...

PS: Around here in TWP you can download a pack of skybox models to improove the looks of your maps =p...

I don't recommend using them for destroyed maps.

Anyways, Portal 2 skyboxes would be too annoying to make due to the detailing and complexity besides the fact that objects or the player fall a long way, so the skybox would ruin that.

There are a couple of "silhouette" models that are completely black, blocky shapes. These are very useful for 3D skyboxes. You can arrange them in all sorts of ways so that they look like complex, layered structures. I collected the ones I use frequently and put them together in a map file, which I copy/paste from when I'm making a skybox. It's attached to this post if you're interested.

For examples of 3D skyboxes, you can check out the souce files of my latest two Sendificate maps, Airtime and 302. (302 has two main skyboxes, one in the master file and another in the "parts/main.vmf" instance. That last one also uses some of the skybox card textures Sejievan was talking about.)

Making a nice skybox is a lot of work, but the payoff is totally worth it in my opinion! As yishbarr mentions, you have to be careful when the player can fall down a deep hole; make sure that the skybox still looks correct from that angle, otherwise the effect is ruined.

My map has a ?D skybox to make it seem ridiculously tall:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... d=79496765