Skybox: Entire map, or by area?

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rmccue

L1: Registered
Jan 3, 2010
3
0
I'm just wondering, what is better in terms of optimisation: creating one large skybox, or having separate skybox brushes for each area?

For example, suppose I have a map with three areas, the middle of which is an indoors area. Would I be better off having a large skybox, or having essentially 2 skyboxes?
 

Freyja

aa
Jul 31, 2009
2,994
5,813
Having each area seperate is much better for optimization, as skybox brushes cut Vis, so only one area is rendered at a time (if you do it right)
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
It all depends. Using an areaportal is just as effective as using a skybox to seperate areas. Some additional objects may be rendered when using an areportal, but at the same time you wont get vis error's that cause only parts of tall/high objects to render over and beyond low lying structures through the skybox brush.

Check your SDK_Content folder, in the tf>maps folder should be several pre-compile vmf's of official TF2 Valve maps. Not all, but around half of them. You can check them out in Hammer to see for yourself how it was done by the pro's.
 

rmccue

L1: Registered
Jan 3, 2010
3
0
Check your SDK_Content folder, in the tf>maps folder should be several pre-compile vmf's of official TF2 Valve maps. Not all, but around half of them. You can check them out in Hammer to see for yourself how it was done by the pro's.

Durp, completely forgot to check those. Thanks.
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
It's becoming something of a frequent recommendation for me, to people. I wouldn't worry about it. It seems hardly anyone coming onto the scene realises they are there.. which is a shame. It's such a useful resource. I'm just surprised that the majority of official HL2 mods came with sample vmf's included by default. The TF2 community had to ask for them many months after retail release. We've only had them for 2 or 3 months.

You can learn what you see in those what might otherwise take reading several tens of articles over a week or even more to understand. Plus they complement many online tutorials; if an article doesn't make much sense, you can just peek into one of these and it's usually staring you in the face.

Good luck!
 

rmccue

L1: Registered
Jan 3, 2010
3
0
It's becoming something of a frequent recommendation for me, to people. I wouldn't worry about it. It seems hardly anyone coming onto the scene realises they are there.. which is a shame. It's such a useful resource.

I knew they were there (and I've looked at them a lot), I just didn't think of looking at the skybox in them. :blushing:

Thanks again. :)
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
To avoid creating a separate thread for this, I have been wondering, if the map is split up into multiple skyboxes, can each one have its own 3D skybox and/or light_environment? Because I have this one idea that puts each stage of the map in a different geographical location.
 
Apr 19, 2009
4,460
1,722
To avoid creating a separate thread for this, I have been wondering, if the map is split up into multiple skyboxes, can each one have its own 3D skybox and/or light_environment? Because I have this one idea that puts each stage of the map in a different geographical location.
Not really, you can fake it but it looks like utter crap.
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
Another related question. What exactly are the rules as to what items placed behind a skybox render and what don't? Because Well, for example, completely hides a good part of the bases behind its skybox, even when it's at eye level (noclip/sticky jump). But then I tried a similar trick on a smaller scale, and the building (well, its interior, since the exterior was nodraw) was in plain view from outside.
 

Tapp

L10: Glamorous Member
Jan 26, 2009
776
215
The multiple skybody lights was added in left 4 dead, but not it tf2. Individual skyboxes take a bit longer, but at better for optimisation, particularly since it auto-nodraws all the faces you need to.