VIS trick....I think

[rezner]

I took from TOW Berlin the idea to make VIS boxes (1024x1024) surrounding my whole map with the exception of the sky box. I then selected everything inside the sky box and made it all detail.

My map runs great the fps is smooth as silk

Now, is this a bad thing?

[jv_map]

This is probably the worst thing you could ever do .

The compiler sees through everything, so your entire map is always completely drawn. Also, as you have only detail brushes, the engine can't cull faces like it would with structural brushes.

[rezner]

Well its done and impossible to reverse

What do you mean by culling?
also if the engine is seeing everything why dosent it lag
The game creaters did it that way

[TheStorm]

I took from TOW Berlin the idea to make VIS boxes (1024x1024) surrounding my whole map with the exception of the sky box. I then selected everything inside the sky box and made it all detail.

My map runs great the fps is smooth as silk

Now, is this a bad thing?

If you do that you must also build the map like Berlin. Streets etc where you can't see other parts, then all boxes must be made into vis_leafgroups (not just plain vis boxes). You must then from each box target other boxes that can't be seen in game.

I think Berlin is a really bad example of mapping and I would not recommend that extensive use of vis_leafgroups. Berlin is a poor FPS map! The Vis_leafs can be use full some times but good planing of the map and skybox will give you better results.

If you only make plain vis brushes 1024x1024x1024 you won't gain anything. If you want that just don't change the blocksize when you compile, then by default the map will be chopped up into pieces of that size (if you make everything else detail).