Block light through models?

[opti2000]

Hello i got a little question to you Promappers

In the following picture you can see the Red room where the light is and the Blue room. These Rooms are models not normal brushes.



My problem is that the light entity in the red room shines through the walls and also illuminates that blue room and that looks unrealistic. Is it possible to block the light to a specific range?

[TechieUK]

Put a brush with the block light texture where you want to block the light.

[opti2000]

Put a brush with the block light texture where you want to block the light.

not working. still shines through the walls

EDIT: Is that even possible to block light with the blocklight texture through models?

[Dives]

Oh my...

Source doesn't work this way. If you want lighting to work you have to construct your level with brushes, not models.

[opti2000]

Oh my...

Source doesn't work this way. If you want lighting to work you have to construct your level with brushes, not models.

Oh cmon man i am new to hammer editor and i still need to learn

The problem is that it takes so long to compile the map for a test so i made parts of the level to models :S

[Major Banter]

That's an extraordinarily bad solution to a serious problem, that doesn't solve the original issue.

None of this is insulting - it's plain ol' constructive criticism.

Long compiles are normal - use the fast parameters, use the cordon tool, or learn to optimise. There are endless resources online to learn to fix these problems and more importantly, understand what you're working with. Source is a brush-based engine, and models are details, not fundamental building blocks.

Permit me to explain this to you. By not making the rooms brushes, you're creating some truly insane VVIS portals. See the image below I've yanked from someone's forum post.



See that big ol' building? Those blue lines are drawn by the VVIS part of the compile - models have zero impact on that. Thousands of portals completely decimate VVIS and shit all over the map. If you remove the bounding boxes of rooms, all of those portals will effectively compile over the entirety of the map. Since models don't have an impact on VVIS, making all rooms models will cause insane portals if you have complex brushwork inside rooms - optimise the rooms, optimise the overall elements - don't go for bizarre fixes that you don't wholly appreciate the impacts of. It's fair, we all experiment, but you are not going to find radical solutions without understanding the engine.

[Gary]

Models(especially big, low poly ones) are poorly lit by any light source other than the flashlight/env_projectedtexture system. Which you sadly can't use to light your map right.