Optimizing question

[EcGRooster]

i have been messing around trying to optimize my map (for CSGO) de_KuKuLcan and i have watched and read every tutorial i can find on optimizing but nothing really answers my questions on this subject. some say too many hint/skips are bad others say the opposite. first thing i have done is to cut the map into 3 sections using areaportals and then i began to try to optimize each area within those sections by experimenting, the problem is when watching a tutorial they always use the simplest example maps where my map is not so simple.
i have learned i have to alter the map layout a bit to get the hint/skips to work correctly so ill ask my questions on do and dont

is it ok to use a hint/skip (so long as its in a straight line) anyway that reduces the blue lines? (when i load the portal file)

is it ok to use a hint/skip brush with hint on 2 or more sides? (i have seen this is other peoples maps)

is it best to make hint/skips 1 unit thick or as thick as the area you wish to cover? ex. if a doorway is 24 units deep and i put a hint/skip in the doorway should it be 1 unit thick or 24 units thick? (yes i have tried this and get mixed results which is why im asking.)

[[Steve]]

Cant answer all your specific questions atm but try decompiling the official maps and see how they are setup for optimization , that's probably the best way to learn.

[zombie@computer]

Yes
yes
doesnt matter

[EcGRooster]

thank you very much, and if you have suggestions for newbies id appreciate all the help i can get.

[Knights]

You really don't have to decompile any maps as there's already a few example maps in the sdk folder. Btw too many hints in a map? HA I think not, open up de_dust one of the most popular maps in css and you'll find a maze (a lot) of hints breaking up the map. It's all on how you use them that makes the difference in performance of your level. Hint brushes are a tricky task to really get right depending on your maps layout.

[EcGRooster]

oh i know this very well, when i put some hints in thinking "THIS will do the trick!" and it makes it worse im like "WTF, thats not supposed to happen"

[EcGRooster]

csgo does not support the "func_ladder" option if i am correct, does anyone know how to get the ladder brushes to not draw vis leafs?

[Mehis]

It should have tool texture for ladder. Use that instead and don't make it into an entity. It should work.

[EcGRooster]

It should have tool texture for ladder. Use that instead and don't make it into an entity. It should work.

maybe you misunderstood me, i am using the tools/ladder texture (which is the only way to get the ladders to work in CSGO) and it is drawing vis leafs, i was under the impression that only "func_" entities and "nodraw" did not draw vis leafs.

[ErikKiller]

Tool textures sometimes do that but there's no impact on the .bsp.

[[frank]]

Pretty certain you can't get around ladders creating visleafs. If you're finding that it's cutting your level up really badly (since ladders are usually thin they'll be pretty crappy) then just put some hint brushes around it. Unless your map is entirely ladders, the damage done by a single small visleaf is typically negligible.

[EcGRooster]

ok i can deal with the ladders creating vis_leafs but what do hint/skips have to do with t_junctions? i cant seem to put any hint/skips to optimize the map without getting the damn t_junction error. im at a complete loss yet again

[jimonions]

you have too many func_details connecting with world geometry. I suggest making these into models or func_brushes. That must be an awful lot of func_details though, I've only ever hit that error on really big maps before modelling out my props.

Basically what the compling does for func_details is t-junction fixups. It calculates its position in the world relative to the solid geometry around it and gets rid of any visleafs it would have to create. It can only do so many of these fixups and hitting the limit will cause this error to popup. You can compile ignoring this error with another command but it would obviously cause big issues.

[EcGRooster]

you have too many func_details connecting with world geometry. I suggest making these into models or func_brushes. That must be an awful lot of func_details though, I've only ever hit that error on really big maps before modelling out my props.

Basically what the compling does for func_details is t-junction fixups. It calculates its position in the world relative to the solid geometry around it and gets rid of any visleafs it would have to create. It can only do so many of these fixups and hitting the limit will cause this error to popup. You can compile ignoring this error with another command but it would obviously cause big issues.

this is what i would have assumed also but i can make more func_details and it will compile fine as long as i turn the hint/skips off, once i turn the hint/skips back on and try to compile i get the error, this is why i am at a loss.

[[KIRBY]]

did you turn hint-skips into entities or are they loose geometry?
also can you give us some screenshots showing how they go through your geometry?