Hint Brush, Clip Brush, overlays 'N' stuff

DucatiBon

L2: Junior Member
Jan 28, 2009
71
0
More questions

Why would people need to use hint brush when hammer wiki says the game does it by its self,

Why do mappers use clip brush around all props?
Is it so player don't get hung-up on then when walking by and getting stuck?

Why do people use entities for overlays (info_overlay) when you can just use the "apply Decals" tool?

Is it OK to use lightmaps on lower setting to make crisper shadows, does that only lag the compile stage or does it also lag in game stage

Mappers use skip, but from the description on hammer wiki, it seems like there really is NO point what so ever to use it, just wastes time.


Does a map only need 1 cube map?
or does each cubemap entities make 6 pictures of THAT particular room its in for its reflections

wtf is Areaportal ? wiki description sucks.

Can the "sew" tool place things together that are not displacement (IE BIG BOX + SMALL BOX = HOUSE WITH SLANTED ROOF) instead of using vertex tool for every edge to link them together

Info_Target, huh?

I thought i would compile a ton of questions so that i couldn't have to make multiple threads as they come up.

THANKS IN ADVANCED
 

Spike

L10: Glamorous Member
Feb 13, 2008
716
82
Why would people need to use hint brush when hammer wiki says the game does it by its self,

mmmmmmmmm that's not true, Hints helps by a lot if you understand how they work.

Why do mappers use clip brush around all props?
Is it so player don't get hung-up on then when walking by and getting stuck?

Not in all props, and yes it's so you won't get blocked when running backwards etc


Why do people use entities for overlays (info_overlay) when you can just use the "apply Decals" tool?

Decal is not an overlay, decals are rendered on (1,1) scale. But on overlays you can change the size of them, you can't do it with decals.


Is it OK to use lightmaps on lower setting to make crisper shadows, does that only lag the compile stage or does it also lag in game stage

It will take longer to compile, but it won't affect lag ingame. But setting them on lower settings will increase by a lot your map file size.


Mappers use skip, but from the description on hammer wiki, it seems like there really is NO point what so ever to use it, just wastes time.
No it does not, SKIP is applied on Brushes with HINT faces, HINT faces will cut all the visleafs the face touch, but SKIP will just "SKIP" the visleafs and will not cut them, so it helps when you want a HINT to cut some visleafs, but you don't want the other faces to cut them, so you apply SKIP texture.

Does a map only need 1 cube map?
or does each cubemap entities make 6 pictures of THAT particular room its in for its reflections

You need more than one cubemap per map. Put one for each room or zone in your map (not necessary on each room but just don't leave big spaces between them.

wtf is Areaportal ? wiki description sucks.

Hard to explain with my lvl of english

Can the "sew" tool place things together that are not displacement (IE BIG BOX + SMALL BOX = HOUSE WITH SLANTED ROOF) instead of using vertex tool for every edge to link them together

No it can't

Info_Target, huh?

You would want to use it when selecting points on entities, for example env_beam will take it as the final point of the beam, etc
 

DucatiBon

L2: Junior Member
Jan 28, 2009
71
0
Thanks!!! =DDD
I understand everything, except the SKIP brush, still doesn't make sence to me,

EDIT: Actually I lied, could anyone explain how to place overlays?
Everything in the properties menu i cant understand, its all letters...and huge arrays of numbers..
wtf does all that mean, I even copied one from another map and placed it in mine. and i still don't see the overlay graphic, yet i see it in their map
 
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TotalMark

L6: Sharp Member
Feb 13, 2008
331
78
Sometimes mappers use lots of clipping, so much in fact that it's funneling the players as if they were a liquid.

Any brush textured with skip will be skipped by the renderer, and not used in the game. Some people group props with skip brushes to make them easier to place in the map.

Actually I lied, could anyone explain how to place overlays?
Everything in the properties menu i cant understand, its all letters...and huge arrays of numbers..
wtf does all that mean, I even copied one from another map and placed it in mine. and i still don't see the overlay graphic, yet i see it in their map

Pick a texture that is a sign or is in the overlays directory, click the little button that has the green square on the block and click in your 3D view where you want the overlay.

You want the "Brush Faces" property, click the eyedropper and pick the faces you want the overlay applied to.
 
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Vigilante212

L420: High Member
Dec 21, 2008
481
33
I just wanted to add with a overlay you can apply those to displacements as well as changing the shape and size of them.


Areaportals are like windows that block the engine from rendering anything that you cant directly see through the area that its placed in. You need to apply the areaportal texture to a block and then convert it to a Func areaportal. Now you have to seal off any entrances to an area you want to use an areaportal in with areaportals or it will just give you an error message and crash.

For exp if you had a room with 2 doors and 2 windows all 4 would need to be covered by the areaportal and anyone in that room would only render the leafs directly visable from where they are standing. without the areaportals it would render every leaf that would become visable in the next area.
 

DucatiBon

L2: Junior Member
Jan 28, 2009
71
0
woot! I figured out overlays and the area-things kinda makes sence, but to me it seems like you would just put NoDraw ON THE Inner side of the non-accessible room to get the same effect?