4 Hours?! Compile Length Issue!

Nyodra

L1: Registered
Jul 6, 2011
2
0
Hi everyone,

I'm a new mapper, fiddled around with trying to make a few, but my knowledge is amateur at best. I'm having a long compile issue, and I'm still in the initial stages of making my map so I know I'm in trouble. Here is a link to my log :

http://freetexthost.com/m3folu1zf6

My current issues aside from the 4 hour long compile time are these:

I have a high demand for prop_static and prop_dynamics in my map. I understand this through research might be a possible solution for the compile time. The prop_detail function doesn't allow for rotation, and wouldn't give my map the flair I'm hoping for, neither does it allow for collision and player interactions, which I have a lot of props as climbing surfaces..

My portal brushes are persisting in game, texture and all, and are not functioning as hoped for. I'm remembering something vague about needing the brushes to be bigger than the doorways to work? I haven't been able to find out if this is true through trial, I'm extremely impatient and the 4 hour waiting time to try and fix it doesn't appeal to me.

If you'd like to add me to steam to help, I'd love that!

My account name is: shockraven

Thanks for reading!
 
Apr 13, 2009
728
309
Terrible optimization, and props have nothing to do with it as vvis is taking up most of your time. I'm not sure what you've done wrong, maybe oddly shaped world brushed all over the place, or just a very big open space, or both ? Hard to say without details.

Areaportal brushes must be turned into func_areaportal entities to work properly. And they should fit just right into your doorway. Better bigger than smaller though.

If you just want to check something in-game, you don't have to compile all the way, you can just untick the boxes for vvis and vrad in the compile window and you'll have something to run in game within seconds.

Of course it's not normal to take that much time to compile. Valve maps take about a couple of minutes to go through vvis for example (depending on your processors of course). Usually vrad is the one that's supposd to take the most time.
 

Terr

Cranky Coder
aa
Jul 31, 2009
1,590
410
As Loc_n_lol notes, the big time-sink is in your bizarrely-long-running VVIS phase.

This phase is heavily associated with how your map is partitioned and organized into zones, and is mainly affected by your brush-work. You will want to check your overall map layout and that you are using func_detail in the right places.

I have a high demand for prop_static and prop_dynamics in my map. I understand this through research might be a possible solution for the compile time.

Your props probably have nothing to do with the long compile time in this case. I would not worry about them at this point unless you're doing something odd like using one enormous prop as a building.

My portal brushes are persisting in game, texture and all, and are not functioning as hoped for.
The portal "texture" is to a large extent just a friendly reminder/hint to yourself so that you can see what you are doing more easily. You must create a func_areaportal brush entity from that brush.

I'm remembering something vague about needing the brushes to be bigger than the doorways to work?
No, but they do have to completely "seal" the doorway. I usually make sure they are the exact size. (If this sounds difficult, you might not be using snap-to-grid, which is virtually essential for brushwork.)

I'm extremely impatient and the 4 hour waiting time to try and fix it doesn't appeal to me.
Since the delay is in VVIS, you can compile with only the VBSP step and skip both VVIS and VRAD. This results in a map that is completely unsuitable for distribution, but it may at least help you test a few things while trying to fix the other parts.
 
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Nyodra

L1: Registered
Jul 6, 2011
2
0
Thank you!
Both super excellent and helpful posts!

I'll use the information given and see what I come up with. I'm reading I've done several things wrong already. :blushing:

This wont be the last you hear of me, that's for sure. :) Thanks again!
 
Aug 10, 2009
1,240
399
I know I'm a bit late to this party but keep in mind that you should seal only the top area of your map with skybox. If your skybox is a cube around your map, it will incur massive, massive compile times. Also, if your map has large areas where you can see from one end to the other without a skybox in the way (in hammer) that will make your compile time very large. If this is the case, try dividing the map using skyboxes (for example, if two areas are separated by a line of buildings, have a skybox over the tops of those buildings to cut the map). Hope these help :)