I've done some mapping before for CSS, AS & L4D2 and made much bigger maps...which i could run on full+hdr without any problems... But now with my small portal 2 chamber it's taking ages and i've yet to seen it finish so far... All this after adding 1 room.

Now i've looked into alot of different optimization methods... and tried several now.

I've used alot of different tile sizes for both my walls&floor so i made all the small brushes into func_details (tied together) as if it was 1 big square brush. BUT func_details don't seal of a map... and seeing as i used this technique pretty much everywhere i decided to place my map in a small skybox (which never was a problem with previous games)

I also used skip/hint brushes where appropriate but i was reading and saw some different opinions on optimization. and some said i should only use areaportals and use them on doors/windows. But what about corners/openings. That's where i should be using hint/skip brushes right?

So yeh... what am i doing wrong? should i NOT func_detail the walls/floors because they provide a important visbreak and only func_detail other things WITHIN my map? or leave them func_detailed and place another big nodraw brush behind it?

Also, what should i do with the skip/hint brushes? or can somebody provide me with a good tutorial... because i can't really seem to find one and the VDC is down for maintenance

Thx alot in advance!

How many tame take you compile it? And how much large is it? what things do yoyu have in the map?

Try taking out the hints and skips. If not done correctly, they can actually slow things down.

msleeper wrote:
Post your compile log.

But i never finished compiling on full+hdr, i ended it myself. Now im running everything on full + hdr except for vvis which is on fast. So i'm not sure if my compile log would help.

kwp21 pitts wrote:
Always keep a track of how your vis leaves are splitting; lower number of vis leaves will result a faster compile, Yet don't have too few either. Types of lighting will also effect compile times.

Yeh so my wall's should be normal brushes? and not func_details? because they provide a a important visbreak...

Vordwann wrote:
I hope (and am sure) that you have nodraw textures on every face that the player cannot see? The only time this can get troublesome is in Old Aperture when players pretty much see everything.

Yup... maybe somebody can take a look at my .vmf and tell me what im doing wrong? Just tell me, dont change yourself... because that way i wont learn...

This site is an excellent resource for learning about optimization:

http://optimization.interlopers.net/ind ... er=notices

It definately sounds like a badly-optimized map, since it hangs on the portalflow step of compiling. Feel free to post your vmf, and i'll have a look. I'm no expert, but I know the basics and i've had a fair bit of practise troubleshooting this kind of stuff in the past. I'm sure others will take a look as well.

WinstonSmith wrote:
If Portalflow's a-hangin' you have too much brushwork somewhere. Have you carved anything? Do you have cylinders, arches, or other detailed brushwork that isn't a func_detail? Try to make everything that isn't void-sealing a func_detail; if the problem persists, copy everything to a new map, and finally, yeah, make sure the hint brushes aren't actually screwing things up.

I know enough to know that carving is a sin and besides 4 simple triangular brushes all else is normal brushwork. And yeh my walls are very detailed, exisiting out of alot of different brushes (to accomodate the different texture tile sizes.

But seeing as they pretty much form all my outer walls, should i NOT func_detail them? because they are a important visbreak? and i geuss i'll try removing all my hint/skip brushes and see what happens then...

If that still fails to work i'll just post my .vmf i geuss...