Caulking / Optimizing

[iSlak]

Which is not being rendered while caulked, faces, or units?

 

If for example, you caulk a a brush face (256x256 units), and another brush face(64x64).Is it more effective to caulk the 252x256 unit brush over the 64x64 unit brush? I do speak of performance here.

 

Or would they be equally important in caulking? Since you would reduce the number of brush faces rendered.

 

 

Please clarify this.

 

I am looking for map optimizing guidelines as well.

[Shadriss]

Caulk, simplified.

 

If your players in the map can see it, it should be textured. If they CANT and WONT see it in game, it should be caulked. Simple as that.

[iSlak]

I know that Shadriss.

 

Will the benefits of caulking very on the brush size being caulked?

 

OR

 

Will there be more performance lost when a very large brush face isn't being caulked (example: 1024x1024) over a smaller brush face not being caulked (example: 64x64)?

[Shadriss]

No differance whatsoever where caulk is concerned. Since it isn't drawn at all in-game, it utilyses VERY few resources. Maybe only enough to say "Hey! YOU CANT WALK HERE!"

 

[iSlak]

So I am to understand that caulking reduces the number of the faces rendered?

[Shadriss]

Essentially. If you've ever made the mistake of leaving a caulked face in your playing area, ,then looked at it in-game, youd see what I mean. Essentially, that face doesnt exist. Oh, you can bump into it, but there's nothing there to say that it is there. You'll see whatever is on the far side of the caulked face. If that void, you'd get HOM, but if it's a textured face, you'd see that.

[-Chrono_MOT-]

Compile a test map and name it non-caulk. Then caulk all the sides you don't see in the map (and don't expect the player to see) and compile that, calling it caulk. Run both in-game (make sure they are big maps or at least maps with a lot of detail) and see the difference for yourself. The more textures the game has to render, the more fps drop you get.

[iSlak]

Originally posted by -Chrono_MOT-

Compile a test map and name it non-caulk. Then caulk all the sides you don't see in the map (and don't expect the player to see) and compile that, calling it caulk. Run both in-game (make sure they are big maps or at least maps with a lot of detail) and see the difference for yourself. The more textures the game has to render, the more fps drop you get.

 

Thank you for clearing that up.

[LainTora]

Any other tips for optimizing for creating a map? (leaning towards framerates, compiling, etc.)

[Shadriss]

If you want high FPS, you essentially have to keep the limitations of the engine in mind. Remember, the more it has to draw, the lower the FPS is going to be. Even a smallish room can have crappy FPS if there's a whole lot in it.

 

The engine also despises large areas. I'm not sure why that is, but it does. Try to keep you rooms and areas as small as possible. Also, use detail brushes. If it doesn't touch the void, and you don't need it to forcec a VIS split, make it a detail brush. Just doing that will speed up your compile times somewhat.

 

And, last of all, ,experiment. We're always pushing the limit of what the engine can do. Heck, until about a week ago, most of us didn't know about the func_timer entity. Still trying to figure out how we missed it....