Edit: another question. How can i use env_sprite they seem to give me a black box around the lightglow?
Perhaps a link would help?

Eternalz wrote:
Uhh are you suppose to use a nodraw texture all around your map?

Nodraw, as the name implies, is a brush that is not drawn in the engine. Texture any part of the map that the player cannot see wit this to help the compiling process and give an overall neater map.

Eternalz wrote:
Edit: another question. How can i use env_sprite they seem to give me a black box around the lightglow?

Change it's RenderMode, WorldSpaceGlow or just Glow.

portal2tenacious wrote:
Eternalz wrote:

Uhh are you suppose to use a nodraw texture all around your map?

Nodraw, as the name implies, is a brush that is not drawn in the engine. Texture any part of the map that the player cannot see wit this to help the compiling process and give an overall neater map.

So...is that a yes or a no?

Extend your walls downwards a bit, then add a new floor under the displacement floor, and nodraw it.

What Skotty means is that you should put it on stuff the player can never see. If you have a low wall in front of an (inaccessible) plant-filled area, ? la Sendificate, you could make the back of that brush nodraw, since the player can't see it.

Attached is a simple example map of where to put nodraw textures.

Basically as others have said, put it on faces that the player will never see, like the top face of the platform up the wall, and the other side of the partition in the middle.

The player will never be able to view these faces, but if you dont use nodraw textures, then the actual engine will still need to render/draw these faces and that can decrease performance.

There is also a nodraw 'block' below the displacement in the middle of the room. This is there to 'seal' the map as displacements wont seal maps.

The platform and the partition walls are also changed to 'func_detail' brushes, to further help performance.

You can see more about optimization and nodraw over here:

http://rvanhoorn.ruhosting.nl/optimization.php?chapter=nodraw

HTHs,

Rob.

Eternalz wrote:
I mean should I use nodraw on all the walls, roof and floors?

What is it about on every surface you can't see not make sense to you?

ChickenMobile wrote:
Eternalz wrote:

I mean should I use nodraw on all the walls, roof and floors?

What is it about on every surface you can't see not make sense to you?

Thats what i meant earlier when saying like should i put nodraw around my whole map.I understand that i shouldent just box in my whole map.