What I am trying to do is make water rise up, that is the easy part, but to make it visible (both the top and beneath textures). I used func_water_analog, which doesn't fully work in portal 2...

Any suggestions to go around this?

Note: Tried putting the water in closed space and move it to the actual spot via moveable doors, didn't work.
Ps: changed the topic, as instances has nothing to do with this.

Hey. If I understood correctly, I think that your water should be visible anyways. If you sealed the map properly, even using instances with water volumes inside, the water should be visible because after the compile, there aren't instances anymore but brushes and stuff, so the water brush should be surrounded by other brushes and therefore sealed.

Check out and make sure that those surrounding brushes are world brushes and not brush entities.

It could also be a problem with visleaves. Use the "load portal file" feature in Hammer (in the MAP menu) and check out that there aren't weird lines (diagonal ones for example).

Are you using a custom water or a stock one?

Well other water textures work fine as they are world brushes, but turning it into a brush (func_water_analog) it goes invisible.

It seems func_water_analog doesn't fully work in portal 2 (as I saw older threads). Is there a different alternative to make world water into a brush so it can be moved or I am out of luck?

Well, the func_water_analog does work in P2. Probably it's the texture you are using...

I posted some working textures time ago. I'm finding impossible to link you to them though from my mobile phone (I'm on holiday), but please search yourself in my posts by entering these key words "factory defaults". There should appear a thread with those words in the subject, and a post of mine with the textures attached.

After doing some research, it seems func_water_analog doesn't look good compared to just world water, if you manage to make the water work for that brush. It has something to do with not able to do shaders, which will give it a cheap look and as well you have to customize the underwater fog.

I found your water texture and looked it up, changed few things a bit to make it to my liking, but I can't get the underwater fog to work. Any suggestions, because just $fogenable doesn't cut it, though it works if I turn it into a world brush.

So after some more digging, the best method to enable fog under the water in func_water_analog is to use env_fog_controller and trigger_multiple. It is not perfect, but better than nothing.

Thanks for the help josepezdj.