Compiling time

[SATAN]

So im still working on my I am Legend theme map, and since its based in New York the map is pretty damn big:glare:

Im only about halfway done and my Compile times are RIDICULOUS, i can go to bed and sleep a solid 8 hours while its compiling, come back and the compile is on PortalFlow 1...2...3...4...5...6...

So i tried to Optimize a bit following this guide (http://www.student.ru.nl/rvanhoorn/o...?chapter=intro), but even after doing a lot of it, after 6 hours i was still on 6...7, so i guess it got a little faster but still, im only halfway through the map when its done its probably gonna be twice as big as it is now, i dont see myself waiting 2 days for the compile unless i really have to.

Soooo.... is it normal? im wondering how much you guys had to wait for compiles for maps like blackmesa or jurassic, both pretty big maps.

P.S: i already tried putting VIS on fast instead on normal but its seems that the map crashes the server when i do that.

[Falcon04]

how big is this map? what kind of brushes are you making? did you carve anything? are skip/hinting the shit outta your map? is it mostly open air?

I need details or you don't get answers.

[EvInReaLife]

Try making some of your brushes func_details. Cuts compile time in half.

[SATAN]

how big is this map? what kind of brushes are you making? did you carve anything? are skip/hinting the shit outta your map? is it mostly open air?

I need details or you don't get answers.

12 hours and its at 7...8...

i would say its pretty big, but still not as big as some the maps out there, its based on New York so yeah a lot of open space.
I dont think i have any complicated brushes, the road, the buildings are all just spuares/rectangles, i have 6 cylinders in right now and they are all func_details already.

As for the hinting, im really confused on how to use it, only place i know where to put it is in corners, aside from that i have no clue

[Bill Smauz]

Do you have any lights that are toggled on and off? Can you nodraw some surfaces? Remove some unneeded props.

[Falcon04]

Nodraw anything at all that you can't see. It's a bitch, but when you want the map to run well it helps a lot.

take a look at css or hl2 maps, valve mappers nodraw all things above the view range and stuff around corners you can's see.

[SATAN]

I have Nodraw on as many things as possible.
I think the problem might be with the Visleafs and Hinting.
Im gonna start deleting whole chuncks of the map and try compiling it try to find something that slows it down.
Anyway if i still cant compile it in a couple of days i might just try to upload it somewhere and find someone to look at it for me.

[Phil]

Soooo.... is it normal? im wondering how much you guys had to wait for compiles for maps like blackmesa or jurassic, both pretty big maps.

No it's not normal, maps like that should take 10-20 minutes max, if that.

[SATAN]

lol then i guess i got some problems to work out

[£cho]

The compile time of a map usually depends on the size of the map in general, especially when it comes to outdoor settings, as there's a lot of things light needs to bounce off of, and even more especially so when using light_environment.

It is quite normal for your map to take a long time. Most of my maps take anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours to compile. I even had one that took 24 hours, yet when I played it, it gave me a solid 300fps. So, don't be fooled; just because a map takes a long time to compile doesn't mean it isn't optimized properly and will give you poor frames. In most cases in fact, this isn't true. Then again, it can't hurt to optimize your map to the best of your abilities.