Ok I've been working for nearly 12 hours on optimization for my map and im getting nowhere, I cant understand why all of the map is being drawn at once, it is a little tricky as its such an open map but it cant be impossible.

So this is my plea, please help maintain my sanity and give me the gem of info on optimization ive obviously missed!

Have you tried using Areaportals??

Some good pages:

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Optimizing_and_Checking_Your_Map

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Optimization

And this is very useful:

http://www.student.kun.nl/rvanhoorn/Optimization.htm#chapter1

Enjoy! Hours of reading ahead :P

Originally posted by totally_tonedef
Have you tried using Areaportals??

I did consider it but I cant see how its going to be intergrated, the only area I could do it to would be the tunnel and tbh thats a tiny area so I wont see much improvement.

Thanks for the links Zombies is the one I've been reading over and over, I can fully understand the concepts just cant find a way to intergrate them into my map or understand why vis is drawing everything when I know the leafs have been broken up and cant be visable etc etc, and ive been over all the valve ones many times too.

"Visibility
If you can see your whole map from one spot, there's not much you can do. Either redesign your map or take drastic measures to optimize it"

that pretty much sums it up but if youve seen my liberer map you can see the allies start on the beach below the plateau the axis are on and they cant see the back of the plateau but its still drawn.

anyway thanks for the help keep it coming ;)

Have you used hint brushes? I assume you have, what I would do is have the 'roof' of the hint box touch the top of the plateau and ... actually I can't explain this and I don't really know much about hint brushes so I appologise if I'm ranting :P

But here is kind of what I'm getting at ...



The blue is the top of the hint brush and the lines are the dividers between vis blocks. And then have another on the other side at the top of the mound and as I understand it this will make both sides of that section render seperately unless you are on top of the mound. I think ...

Originally posted by otF yetihw
Have you used hint brushes? I assume you have, what I would do is have the 'roof' of the hint box touch the top of the plateau and ... actually I can't explain this and I don't really know much about hint brushes so I appologise if I'm ranting :P


Yup thats what I thought and what I have done and its not changed anything, ive got hint brushes all over the place now soon its gonna be more diced than,,,, well something chat gets diced into small pieces :confused:

according to all the tutorials it should not be drawing it all,,, but it is :s

Ah well then I am at a loss I'm afraid, maybe my brain will wake up later who knows. But I'm definately going to use pretty pictures to answer questions from now on.

Well first off you have to compensate for line-of-sight things like this from the start :p
What about other optimizations? Like have you put in your fair share of detail brushes and such? check the +showbudget and see what's eating it

Originally posted by Ca-Chicken-Soup
Well first off you have to compensate for line-of-sight things like this from the start :p
What about other optimizations? Like have you put in your fair share of detail brushes and such? check the +showbudget and see what's eating it

Everything :)

what I cant quite figure out is the d lightging bar is flickering like mad yet I dont thing I have any D lighting set up so I assume its the prop physics items but ive removed loads of them.

I have detail brushes used where nessicary but there arent many, I just get the feeling something isnt right, any of you that have seen my map must also think that its a bit too small to be causing so many problems, especially on my P4 3.2, 1GB DDR400 with Fx5900

but the if im getting 60fps on that is it really nessicary to be trying for over 70-80fps?

thanks to everyone by the way I really appreciate all the help you guys are offering

What map is it? Post some screenies of the bad areas where the fps drops.
As for detail brushes, use them for everything that doesn't block VIS or acts as a wall to the 'void'. Sidewalks, steps (make a sloped world brush then detail brushes as stairs ontop), window frames, building supports, boxes... A lot of things.

The map is dod_opo_liberer_rc1

The Allied beach area rubber-bands like crazy.

Originally posted by Bocasean
The map is dod_opo_liberer_rc1

The Allied beach area rubber-bands like crazy.

ok I think im getting somewhere :D I get 50fps on Anzio on my rig and 60 on my liberer map so I dont think the rubberbanding is entirley FPS related.

I think its prob going to be a model issue or poss the 2 func_tracktrains circling above at high speed that's causing this.

you said you got the problem on your rig too Bocasean? if you did and your happy to do it I will make a version and send it to you and see if the prob is still there.

if that dosent do it then I have a kickass idea on how to change the map layout and solve the vis probs in one go :) as
Ca-Chicken-Soup pointed out you have to compensate for line-of-sight things like this from the start,,,

time to start again :D