I got some leaks... AGAIN

HarMala

L1: Registered
Jul 9, 2012
28
1
Alright, I have worked hard on my first map and I havent had any leaks for a while (Since I fixed them all). Today I was pretty much finishing my map; putting func_nobuild in spawns etc.
I had compiled the map multiple times before I got the leak. (I pretty much did 1-5 changes every time before compiling the map). But suddenly when I tried to compile (with VBCT), I got a message that I have a leak. I loaded the pointfile, and saw this red line starting from the center of a prop (a barrel), continuing through the floor and ending somewhere in the void. I hadnt done any changes to that area for a while, and Im pretty sure that its not a "regular" leak. (I tried to seal the area where the leak was without any luck).
Im pretty sure that I had just modified my func_brushes to make them fit better in my lamp (with the Vertex tool). I tried to google my problem and I found out that origin helpers can cause leaks, so could it be that my func_brushes origins are a part of this mess? I tried to center them to the enteties, but it didnt remove the leak. (EDIT: I have also tried to remove those func_brushes and that barrel which was in the end of the red line)
Dont know if these will help:

hammerleak3_zps7983e9aa.png


hammerleak2_zps997b7681.png


hammerleak1_zps51f0726c.png


Hopefully someone can help.
Thanks.
 
Last edited:

Baraleth

L4: Comfortable Member
Aug 8, 2008
172
54
From reading the first bit of your issue, is the brush where the error is going through a world brush? If not, either surround it with world brushes or change it to a world brush. Hammer doesn't like entity brushes facing the void.
 

HarMala

L1: Registered
Jul 9, 2012
28
1
From reading the first bit of your issue, is the brush where the error is going through a world brush? If not, either surround it with world brushes or change it to a world brush. Hammer doesn't like entity brushes facing the void.

Yes, the brush is a world brush (If you mean by a world brush = a brush that is not tied to an entity?) And like I said, I hadnt done anything to that area where the red line is, and there hadnt been any leaks.
 

tyler

aa
Sep 11, 2013
5,102
4,621
On the right side of Hammer there should be a panel that says "Visgroups" with an "Auto" tab. Go there, and uncheck func_detail, props, and brush entities (re-enable areaportals separately if you need to). Does the line go through a brush still?
 

xzzy

aa
Jan 30, 2010
815
531
It looks to me like you're trying to make curves out of brushes. I would guess there's some rounding errors going on that's creating gaps between brushes and creating leaks.

The top down view of the corner where that train track paths is terrifying (second screenshot).. you have a ton of brushes clustered in that area. You're not using the carve tool, are you?

If you really require a curve like that in your map, I'd recommend using displacements or overlays. The simpler you keep your world geometry simple and the better you line everything up on the grid, the fewer issues you'll run into with leaks.
 

HarMala

L1: Registered
Jul 9, 2012
28
1
It looks to me like you're trying to make curves out of brushes. I would guess there's some rounding errors going on that's creating gaps between brushes and creating leaks.

The top down view of the corner where that train track paths is terrifying (second screenshot).. you have a ton of brushes clustered in that area. You're not using the carve tool, are you?

If you really require a curve like that in your map, I'd recommend using displacements or overlays. The simpler you keep your world geometry simple and the better you line everything up on the grid, the fewer issues you'll run into with leaks.

I didnt use curve tool to make that path. So, I deleted all those little brushes and replaced them with 1 big brush and I guess it works now :p Thanks! I have another railroadtrack path on the other side of the map. Should I replace that with 1 brush too? It isnt causing any leaks though...
 

TehStoneMan

L1: Registered
Jun 15, 2012
46
5
If you want that curved wall, it would be best to have a square corner behind it made of world brushes, and the curve itself be displacements or func_detail brushes.
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
There's no curved wall; it's a walkway. And I suspect the fact that it was going through the world brush that was sealing the map might have been the problem the first time around, although I'm not sure how. Pretty sure VBSP doesn't carve chunks out of world brushes just because there's a func_detail brush clipping through them.
 

HarMala

L1: Registered
Jul 9, 2012
28
1
There's no curved wall; it's a walkway. And I suspect the fact that it was going through the world brush that was sealing the map might have been the problem the first time around, although I'm not sure how. Pretty sure VBSP doesn't carve chunks out of world brushes just because there's a func_detail brush clipping through them.

The thing that confuses me is that the leak just came from nowhere. I had compiled the map multiple times without any errors or leaks, and then BOOM I have a leak. And what makes it even more confusing is that my map is symmetrical koth map and the railtrackpath on the other side of the map (which is basically the same path, just copied) didnt give any leaks.
But Im fine now, the problem is gone. :)
 

xzzy

aa
Jan 30, 2010
815
531
The thing that confuses me is that the leak just came from nowhere. I had compiled the map multiple times without any errors or leaks, and then BOOM I have a leak. And what makes it even more confusing is that my map is symmetrical koth map and the railtrackpath on the other side of the map (which is basically the same path, just copied) didnt give any leaks.
But Im fine now, the problem is gone. :)

There's lots of reasons for it to happen, but the root cause is that Hammer forces you edit (at minimum) a 1 unit grid. Sometimes when selecting multiple brushes (especially oddly shaped ones) and move them around, some vertices will end upoff the grid.. they'll have an XYZ coordinate with floating point numbers.

You can save this to the vmf, but if you ever try to move that vertex or brush, Hammer will snap you back to the grid.

These tiny movements can be almost imperceptible, but may open cracks in the world geometry that show up as leaks. Unless you zoom in and study every single vertex this can be really easy to miss.

This is why it's generally a better idea to use brushes with all right angles for world sealing geometry.. it's easier to see when stuff doesn't line up. Save the fiddly details for non sealing geometry like func_details and displacements.
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
Not to mention that odd angles has a tendency to create strangely shaped visleaves.
 

tyler

aa
Sep 11, 2013
5,102
4,621
It could have been as simple as the fact that after carving, the VMF was reopened and Hammer had to move the vertices because carving is awful.