Help - compile time. Reducing portal vis leaves?

Aki

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 2, 2009
155
8
On the map I'm working on I've added the first outdoor section and the got the skybox working. Compile without lighting is running 11 seconds, but after 30 minutes the lighting compile still isn't done. Do area portals help with this? What about clipping masks? Help!
 

Dr. KillPatient

L3: Member
May 10, 2009
115
8
How many lights do you have? And have you func_detailed and nodrawed?
If you have a lot of brushes not directly in contact with the void and not designed to block the player's vision, func_detail them. Nodraw any surfaces the player can't see.
 

Aki

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 2, 2009
155
8
Func_detail?? Hmm.. Yep. It was my truss work. I'm making a barn with a lot of exposed rafters and support beams - over 200 of the buggers but none of them affect lines of sight. They need to be added to func_detail. The skybox had nothing to do with the problem.
 

Dr. Spud

Grossly Incandescent
aa
Mar 23, 2009
880
854
Func_detailing more things will help vvis, not vrad. Vrad usually slows down when you've got a lot of lights, or you lower the lightmap scale on a lot of surfaces. And depending on the size of the map and your computer, 30 minutes may be normal.
 

Aki

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 2, 2009
155
8
Well, since I only had 15 lights in the map I was fairly certain it wasn't vrad.
 

Dr. Spud

Grossly Incandescent
aa
Mar 23, 2009
880
854
In your first post you said compiling without lighting runs 11 seconds, and that the lighting compile is over 30 minutes. vrad is the lighting compile... now you're saying vrad isn't the problem?
 

Aki

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 2, 2009
155
8
Hmm.. There are three compile options, BSD, VVIS, and VRAD, yes? When I turned everything but BSD off it would compile in 11 seconds, then hang for 8 hours on the next step (God only knows how long the lighting compile would have taken if it started).

After the func displacements the compile, all three steps, dropped to just under 4 minutes.

I'm sorry if I'm being confusing - I'm confused a bit myself since I'm new at this.
 

Dr. Spud

Grossly Incandescent
aa
Mar 23, 2009
880
854
I don't know why it would have gotten hung up with only BSD on, but if func_detailing stuff fixed your compile time it means vvis was the issue.

vvis determines visibility (how much of the map is drawn from any given position), and vrad determines all the lighting.:)