High Wpoly Area

Kage

<div class="IPBDescription">Need help with hint-ing</div> I just got around to compiling and playtesting one section of my map, and found that one area has a way too high wpoly rating. Nearly everywhere else in the section has about 200 wpolies, but this corner has over 900. I attempted to place a few hint brushes in there, but they didn't help, so I'm asking for suggestions.

Here are a few pics (they were env_gamma corrected, but I guess jpg compressioned changed that):
<img src='http://kage.ottergoose.net/snow_hipoly1.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
This shows the view with the high wpoly rating.
<img src='http://kage.ottergoose.net/snow_hipoly2.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
This is approximately the same view, this time with gl_wireframe 2.
<img src='http://kage.ottergoose.net/snow_hipoly3.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
This shows what's behind the door.
<img src='http://kage.ottergoose.net/snow_hipoly4.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
Here's a view from the "trench" on the left side of the door.

I realize that some of the polies are caused by the pipes running along the walls, and some more are caused by the face divisions from my attempted hint brushing, but some things are being rendered that you can't even see from inside the room. If anybody wants one, I'll spend some time later to make a partial overview so it's easier to tell me where to place the hint brushes.

RPG_Jssmfulhud

You could remove the "roofs" of those lights... Seems like a lot of polys for a slight detail.

Ollj

change thin stuff into func_wall entities.

add solid vis blockers (S-shaped paths).

make backfaces of pipes flat.

cover backfaces that youll never see with the NULL texture.

Moose

you have a lot of unnecessary face splitting for such a simple hallway. this needs to be addressed first, before you start placing hint brushes. im assuming your using 256 size textures, if this is true you need to retexture everything with 128 and scale it 2x. This will eliminate most of the face splitting along the floor and ceiling. next you need to move those wall mounted brushes 1 unit from the wall.

next place a hint brush at the end of the hall facing the adjacent hallway.

GL.

<img src='http://members.cox.net/pavement1/snow.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

Kage

Here are new pics without the "hoods" on the lights, and also without the mostly ineffective hint brushes.

<img src='http://kage.ottergoose.net/snow_hipoly5.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
<img src='http://kage.ottergoose.net/snow_hipoly6.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>

I'll work on those changes, Moose.

Moose

oops i thought there was another hallway that connected from the right next to the door.

well the only way to hide that room would be to make another turn in the hallway before you see the door like i suggested in red in the pic above.

a hint brush would not work the way you have it now, it would only create more face splitting.

and remember that the HL engine and see through entities so the func_door would not work as a visblock.

Kage

<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->well the only way to hide that room would be to make another turn in the hallway before you see the door like i suggested in red in the pic above.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The hallway is already shaped like a backwards "s" right now- this corner is the last one before the room.<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->a hint brush would not work the way you have it now, it would only create more face splitting.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I was thinking that a hint brush could stop HL from rendering some details that it shouldn't, like the forty-something poly column that's behind a wall and a corner.

(Edit) Forgot to mention that there's no smaller version of the floor texture- there's only a 256x256 version, both for the straight and corner sections.

Anyways, my internet was down for a while, so I did put in a hint brush to stop the details around the corner on the left from rendering. Here's two more pics:

<img src='http://kage.ottergoose.net/snow_hipoly7.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>
<img src='http://kage.ottergoose.net/snow_hipoly8.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image'>