Forum posts
You could try triggering the entity that you applied the texture to (you'll need a +A version for that texture to switch to). I don't remember exactly the dynamics of animated textures for HL, but you could give that a try.
Nice model. 
I especially like the rusty skin, you should add that to the trims as well because they are too shiny compared to the rest now. The valve is also somewhat blocky, but since this is a first try at 3ds Max, I'd say it's very good. Keep up the good work mate.
I especially like the rusty skin, you should add that to the trims as well because they are too shiny compared to the rest now. The valve is also somewhat blocky, but since this is a first try at 3ds Max, I'd say it's very good. Keep up the good work mate.
My first map doesn't exist anymore.
Depends on what you call a first map though. I've made maps for Red Alert, Tomb Raider, Starcraft... of which I lost all by now. My first Half-Life maps were never compiled, the first one I ever got to play was an L-shaped thingie with a room and a HOM-effect in it. Including non-transparant glass.
My first released map is Detention though, and that map seems to play quite well.
Depends on what you call a first map though. I've made maps for Red Alert, Tomb Raider, Starcraft... of which I lost all by now. My first Half-Life maps were never compiled, the first one I ever got to play was an L-shaped thingie with a room and a HOM-effect in it. Including non-transparant glass.
My first released map is Detention though, and that map seems to play quite well.
Take some care with that method if you don't want vertexes get messed up - you may not always get planar surfaces that way. It's fast though so it has it's advantages...
Better would be to model such pipes, though that's not common practice in HL mapping and may not be the best with shadowing and such, it is much more common in more recent games so it may be a good thing to get used to if you don't want to stick to one game only.
Better would be to model such pipes, though that's not common practice in HL mapping and may not be the best with shadowing and such, it is much more common in more recent games so it may be a good thing to get used to if you don't want to stick to one game only.
The statement 'no screenshots, no game' does hold truth. While I agree that at the start there's little to take screenshots of and that code especially is hard to grasp in that way, screenshots should be seen in a broader way here.
It's about confidence. You'll need to raise confidence about your project, about yourself. So while screenshots of your current project aren't possible, providing samples of previous work will be usefull. Whether that be screenshots or a working program, or anything else that shows you're capable of finishing such an undertaking. Why? Because so many mods fail, so many professional games fail just as well. Because you pay people doesn't strictly say you're so much different, even though it will certainly be a motivation.
For lesser experienced people this may not be so important, as these are often more enthousiastic than calculating, but generally the more experience someone has, the longer he's been around and the more work he's seen gone to waste. Few people like to see their work being done for nothing especially since you put so much time into learning the trade, so you've got to ensure them your project will make it.
Or you've got to be lucky or have some friends that are willing to help out...
It's about confidence. You'll need to raise confidence about your project, about yourself. So while screenshots of your current project aren't possible, providing samples of previous work will be usefull. Whether that be screenshots or a working program, or anything else that shows you're capable of finishing such an undertaking. Why? Because so many mods fail, so many professional games fail just as well. Because you pay people doesn't strictly say you're so much different, even though it will certainly be a motivation.
For lesser experienced people this may not be so important, as these are often more enthousiastic than calculating, but generally the more experience someone has, the longer he's been around and the more work he's seen gone to waste. Few people like to see their work being done for nothing especially since you put so much time into learning the trade, so you've got to ensure them your project will make it.
Or you've got to be lucky or have some friends that are willing to help out...
All that null blabbering doesn't really do much. It discards a few faces, you save some lightmap space... it often doesn't significantly decrease filesize or increase performance. First ask yourself if it's really worth it, if you really need that little extra performance (if it even gives you that extra performance), then decide if it's worth the time.
Time is a precious resource in the end...
// My personal point of view on this subject, feel free to nullify whatever you want.
Time is a precious resource in the end...
// My personal point of view on this subject, feel free to nullify whatever you want.
It'd certainly add to the (first) impression you make if you take the time to check for such mistakes... so yeah, I'm with preacher, sort of. Not everybody may have had the same level of education though so it doesn't say everything about a person.
@Habboi: English is my second language, Dutch is my first one.
@Habboi: English is my second language, Dutch is my first one.
Keep the gratings solid - it adds an advantage to those on the higher platform because they can take cover more easy. A few grenades below should balance the sides somewhat. I agree the railings should best be func_illusionary but give them that height advantage. People will expect that and not giving them that advantage will probably cost your map fun points, as Kasperg already noticed.
Screenie looks interesting bytheway. Nice HL style.
Screenie looks interesting bytheway. Nice HL style.
@Ansith: check the .rad files your compile tools are using. Steam doesn't change anything to the compile process except for a different game pathname and such.
Somehow my old site was overlooked...
can't be unhappy about that...
can't be unhappy about that...
So, because TWHL got boring, we needed a little 'action'?
Either show evidence from the start or don't post such things, this stirring up is no good, only divides people. I see this more as a bad joke than anything serious. A lock would be fine untill evidence shows up - or not.
Either show evidence from the start or don't post such things, this stirring up is no good, only divides people. I see this more as a bad joke than anything serious. A lock would be fine untill evidence shows up - or not.
@Seventh: PakRat is a good tool for that as well. Automatic scanning and all...
@Kasperg: looks good mate. Nice replica of the picture you showed me. I think the change in lighting direction comes off well, but your map lacks the color diversity of the original pic. But that could get hard to do without decent textures...
@Kasperg: looks good mate. Nice replica of the picture you showed me. I think the change in lighting direction comes off well, but your map lacks the color diversity of the original pic. But that could get hard to do without decent textures...
Should I call my func_breakables Unbreakable from now on?
Nah, no. Anyway, I think I can give some words about this as well. First, what I noticed was a sort of short-term vision from your post. Don't get that the wrong way, what I mean is that you expect instant fame after posting just another map in a sea of, well, maps.
As an example:
Recently, I've read things about starting game developers. The start is almost always hard and non-rewarding in terms of money (or popularity). The amateurs will drop off at that point and start something else because they think they probably didn't catch the 'right thing'. People with a more professional approach will invest why they don't make money. They'll try to fix the factors that hold people back from buying their game. They'll listen to feedback, improve their sites, fix bugs or sometimes do big changes to their game.
That takes time, a lot of it, and it may be painfull or boring, but in the end, often after several years, they're the ones that make money. Sometimes a lot of money. Where the amateurs have 5 failed projects behind their back, they have one successfull thing that they live off.
In other words, I think it'll take a different approach to achieve your goals. Considering your goals, like has been said above, might be good too now and then. Sort of self-reflection if you want to call it that.
Good luck.
Nah, no. Anyway, I think I can give some words about this as well. First, what I noticed was a sort of short-term vision from your post. Don't get that the wrong way, what I mean is that you expect instant fame after posting just another map in a sea of, well, maps.
As an example:
Recently, I've read things about starting game developers. The start is almost always hard and non-rewarding in terms of money (or popularity). The amateurs will drop off at that point and start something else because they think they probably didn't catch the 'right thing'. People with a more professional approach will invest why they don't make money. They'll try to fix the factors that hold people back from buying their game. They'll listen to feedback, improve their sites, fix bugs or sometimes do big changes to their game.
That takes time, a lot of it, and it may be painfull or boring, but in the end, often after several years, they're the ones that make money. Sometimes a lot of money. Where the amateurs have 5 failed projects behind their back, they have one successfull thing that they live off.
In other words, I think it'll take a different approach to achieve your goals. Considering your goals, like has been said above, might be good too now and then. Sort of self-reflection if you want to call it that.
Good luck.
ZeG, finish some maps, get a portfolio. Even without mod experience you'll have a much better chance at getting accepted. Additionally, get some contacts within mod teams and show them what you're working on. It's easier to get invited by a friend.
But yeah, knowing what you want to do or what you want to map... that's important to find out. Invest some time into that, as it's obviously what's keeping you back. Think about what you like, try to channel that to a map.
What I often do is keeping idea's for later. I often can't work out something at the moment I think up on it, or I fail or never finish it. It seems 80% of what you do never gets anywhere. Still, I learn from it, get experience through it and later on, it provides me with idea's I can work out at a time I look back at them.
Same goes for games: if you know what you want, you'll find a way eventually. I know I want to create games and I also know what kind of games. That makes the job easier, as I can focus better on things I need to learn and if gives you a more solid base to work on in general.
Programming is just like that. I'm programming for about, say, 3 years now. But the first 1.5 years I didn't do much simply because I didn't really know what to do with it. Now, I'm getting more inspiration, I'm getting idea's and things I want to work out that challenge me. Makes me program much more and I like it.
But yeah, knowing what you want to do or what you want to map... that's important to find out. Invest some time into that, as it's obviously what's keeping you back. Think about what you like, try to channel that to a map.
What I often do is keeping idea's for later. I often can't work out something at the moment I think up on it, or I fail or never finish it. It seems 80% of what you do never gets anywhere. Still, I learn from it, get experience through it and later on, it provides me with idea's I can work out at a time I look back at them.
Same goes for games: if you know what you want, you'll find a way eventually. I know I want to create games and I also know what kind of games. That makes the job easier, as I can focus better on things I need to learn and if gives you a more solid base to work on in general.
Programming is just like that. I'm programming for about, say, 3 years now. But the first 1.5 years I didn't do much simply because I didn't really know what to do with it. Now, I'm getting more inspiration, I'm getting idea's and things I want to work out that challenge me. Makes me program much more and I like it.
Now I've heard these lines do not appear with highest texture settings, but for good care, don't use this sky. Most people don't seem to play on these high settings.
In the materials browser, search for the word 'sky' or such, a list of the sky materials should come up. Easy if you can't remember the names. I believe someone made a list of skies, too, can't remember where that list can be found though.
In the materials browser, search for the word 'sky' or such, a list of the sky materials should come up. Easy if you can't remember the names. I believe someone made a list of skies, too, can't remember where that list can be found though.
Looks ok, but did you copy the .bsp file to the maps folder? No sign of that in the log...
These errors are caused by invalid brushes, so, yeah, bad mapping techniques. Or maybe not bad, but just lack of experience with the tools.
About playing the map, try starting it from the console. Access the console (press the ~ key, provided you've started CS with the -console startup parameter) and type 'map mapname', in your case that would be 'map map1'.
About playing the map, try starting it from the console. Access the console (press the ~ key, provided you've started CS with the -console startup parameter) and type 'map mapname', in your case that would be 'map map1'.
@Freshed: I made a quick HLDM map for Muzzle's server in 5 hours. Am I disqualified because I used my 5 years of mapping experience then? Or because I used parts of other, unfinished, maps I made long ago?
Just create something that is enjoyable to play. I doesn't have to be perfect or visually astoundishing, it has to provide a fun time for the players. Rehash an old map if you like, whatever you do, it's about pumping some fun into the server.
So, yeah... have fun!
Just create something that is enjoyable to play. I doesn't have to be perfect or visually astoundishing, it has to provide a fun time for the players. Rehash an old map if you like, whatever you do, it's about pumping some fun into the server.
So, yeah... have fun!
Hmm, that comes down to practice then, Elon. DM is just a fast game. Heh, play UT for some time and you'll see what fast means...
Check the example map about props, it shows the use of the different prop types you'll use most frequently.
What I'd do is use a prop_static and parent it to a func_train. About model placement, don't be over-perfectionistic, just move them while holding the Alt key (so you don't snap to the grid) and be happy when it looks good in the 3D view, nobody is likely to notice a difference of a unit or so.
As for Steam, I assume it's a good idea to prevent your sister from using the computer in such cases anyway, Steam or no Steam.
Anyway, sounds like it's behaving abnormal - it doesn't do that usually. Did you check the Steam support pages already for a solution?
What I'd do is use a prop_static and parent it to a func_train. About model placement, don't be over-perfectionistic, just move them while holding the Alt key (so you don't snap to the grid) and be happy when it looks good in the 3D view, nobody is likely to notice a difference of a unit or so.
As for Steam, I assume it's a good idea to prevent your sister from using the computer in such cases anyway, Steam or no Steam.
Anyway, sounds like it's behaving abnormal - it doesn't do that usually. Did you check the Steam support pages already for a solution?
Good idea Muzzle, let's see what people will come up with.
Helipad comes along nice, but that extended platform looks a bit fragile. Maybe add an extended crete part and only metal gratings along the sides, like this? I also get the feeling it's still quite a small helipad (and perhaps too high?), it doesn't really feel right yet.
That hallway interior is getting better (though one could ask himself why hallways are cluttered with crates and boxes, perhaps that 'improves' truck navigation...) but as m0p said above, you'd want to add something to the walls themselves.
They're too linear, too long and boring. The texture emphasizes the flatness of the surface even more, there's no real contrasting areas in the texture which makes it appear more bland than it already is. I'd say, try a different texture, one with support beams pumped into it, or add support beams as geometry itself. An intend (?) with a maintenance door and such would be nice about halfway or such, too. Don't overdo such details, one or two are probably enough.
Oh, and some tire decals on the road and rust or crack decals on the walls might be nice, too. Small things but nice finishing touches.
That hallway interior is getting better (though one could ask himself why hallways are cluttered with crates and boxes, perhaps that 'improves' truck navigation...) but as m0p said above, you'd want to add something to the walls themselves.
They're too linear, too long and boring. The texture emphasizes the flatness of the surface even more, there's no real contrasting areas in the texture which makes it appear more bland than it already is. I'd say, try a different texture, one with support beams pumped into it, or add support beams as geometry itself. An intend (?) with a maintenance door and such would be nice about halfway or such, too. Don't overdo such details, one or two are probably enough.
Oh, and some tire decals on the road and rust or crack decals on the walls might be nice, too. Small things but nice finishing touches.
Heh, good to hear you like Detention, Bratty.
@Muzzle: finish Detention, or Trirena? I could work on both once I've got some more time again, so if there are complaints about Detention... they can get fixed on demand.
@Muzzle: finish Detention, or Trirena?
I could work on both once I've got some more time again, so if there are complaints about Detention... they can get fixed on demand. Nope, Seventh, not the foxing as sometimes happens in the game industry or modding world...
I believe that cave is somewhere in the Xen area, deep down in a pool or such. I've never checked it out though...
Oh, then I'm glad they didn't put them in in HL... haha!
Interesting though, they did have plans for these buggers while working on HL already? Heh... talk about lack of ideas...
Interesting though, they did have plans for these buggers while working on HL already? Heh... talk about lack of ideas...
They are indeed part of the skybox, or, 3D skybox, as it's called. You can find out more about it in the Valve wiki. A Google search could give you some good resources, too.
Remember though, VALVe had to cut a lot out of the final product because of the hack including a load of weapons, a load of enemies and a ton of maps.Nonsense. While it certainly added to the release delay, it doesn't make sense to make a game less varied because stuff got hacked. You wouldn't cut down on your sales after someone stole something from you, would you? They scrapped a lot because it didn't add to the gameplay, these are pure design decisions.
In fact, several parts from the beta are recognizable as early stages of nowadays HL2 levels. It's just a normal workflow - you alter things as you go.
Though I still think they should've added some more variety to the game's enemies...
Then you didn't look in the folders that contained the source code, VOX. The SDK contains more than just that, there's some model exporters and compilers and other tools and their code in there as well, as far as I can remember.
@Elon: you could also create two versions of that texture (as is common with light textures) and use some clipping and such so only the part you want to emit light is a lighting texture.
Alternately (and easier for the polycount) would be to create that light-emitting part as a shape, put it in front of the whole textured face, so it casts it's light onto that surface. Put this shape as an entity so it doesn't block the bouncing light and cover all it's other faces with the null texture and you can achieve a fair effect, I think. It should be worth a try.
Alternately (and easier for the polycount) would be to create that light-emitting part as a shape, put it in front of the whole textured face, so it casts it's light onto that surface. Put this shape as an entity so it doesn't block the bouncing light and cover all it's other faces with the null texture and you can achieve a fair effect, I think. It should be worth a try.
It will take at least a basic understanding op programming to do that, M_gargantua. So yeah, if you want to learn programming, go with this. If that's none of your bussiness, leave it, or ask someone else to do it.
Or any other dimension, as the Fit button will fit the texture to it. Take some care using this Fit button though, as you may get overstretched textures. That often looks bad, and with extraordinary scale values, you could get some errors too.
Oh, and when you're moving that brush, there's a button in the upper button row that toggles Texture Lock (it's a button with a big T on it). Handy for moving brushes without the texture shifting. You'll see.
Oh, and when you're moving that brush, there's a button in the upper button row that toggles Texture Lock (it's a button with a big T on it). Handy for moving brushes without the texture shifting. You'll see.
They're just different sorts of the same family. Nothing about mutations of the original sort, the others just weren't teleported to Earth (probably because the portals Gordon caused only hit a certain part of Xen). I assume the Combine later imported the other sorts to use them as a weapon against the humans.
I didn't like those headcrabs though. I think Valve went overboard filling the game with more headcrabs and zombies, leaving too little diversity of other enemies. Besides, I don't like zombies and horror-themes, so, yeah... didn't like that too much.
I didn't like those headcrabs though. I think Valve went overboard filling the game with more headcrabs and zombies, leaving too little diversity of other enemies. Besides, I don't like zombies and horror-themes, so, yeah... didn't like that too much.
You were using a texture that was meant to be a decal, yeah... pick one from halflife.wad rather than decals.wad.
Ever heard of 'foxing'? Read up on it before going with that name Brute Force...
Now we talk about ModDB... I'm checking it's tutorials section and it seems to have some interesting articles and such. Have you seen this one already?
Now we talk about ModDB... I'm checking it's tutorials section and it seems to have some interesting articles and such. Have you seen this one already?
@darkphoenix: I'd count that under both 'common sense' and 'immersion'. Important factors.
That's an awfull cylinder... I'd use the cylinder shape and when necessary some vertex dragging afterwards. Only if necessary.
And those screenies didn't clear anything up. They were too small and your story isn't that organized... what you call carve is the clipping tool, judging by that screenshot, for example. So ah... what are you trying to say?
And those screenies didn't clear anything up. They were too small and your story isn't that organized... what you call carve is the clipping tool, judging by that screenshot, for example. So ah... what are you trying to say?
Now that you mentioned a debut shooter and failing getting a publisher, why don't you put it up for free? Sounds like good portfolio stuff to me. Such things can improve confidence, you know.
So, you get that error in Half-Life?
Try running Half-Life and start the map manually using the console command 'map mapname', in your case 'map test'.
Try running Half-Life and start the map manually using the console command 'map mapname', in your case 'map test'.
Triple Content Contributor. Let's close it with a Map Vault Moderator.
Heh, yeah, but it had to start somewhere...
I believe it was the Levelord who said it (first?). Dunno for sure though.
I believe it was the Levelord who said it (first?). Dunno for sure though.
Captain P, I know what I'm doing, so please, stop wink-wink -Judging by your site, you don't come over as someone who knows what he's doing...
But I'll stop. I've got lots of things to learn myself too. Good luck mate.
Hmm, okay...
I guess I should play teamplay once before saying anything about it then...
I guess I should play teamplay once before saying anything about it then...
I agree with Elon, it's hard to distinguish between friend and foe.
I don't think the server should be password-protected though - it gives others some fun and lets twhl'ers play against others, it adds some variation. Also, if you want to playtest something, it's good to hear from players as well as from mappers...
I don't think the server should be password-protected though - it gives others some fun and lets twhl'ers play against others, it adds some variation. Also, if you want to playtest something, it's good to hear from players as well as from mappers...
Its there, not here. Hell with Snarkpit!Another tip: don't limit yourself to one site, or one resource only. Many people don't seem to search on Google, but there's other people that don't look at other known HL-mapping sites. Give them a try, you will often find new things even if you don't expect it.
Just like this thread shows: you can learn a lot from others. That doesn't stop with 'other mappers here', but extends to 'other mappers on other sites'.
To come back to the problem Kasperg first mentioned, that of obvious repetition, often using multiple 'layers' provides a solution.
See the word layer in a broad way here, as in decals (who are in fact just another layer over the surface underneath it - in fact, lightmaps are yet another layer too and we all know that lighting can make a huge difference), double faces (like some people use for water or electricity effects, I've used it in The Playtest for water) or multiple beams or sprites (I've used this to create fire with a random pattern, as seen in my map Guidance).
There's a tutorial on that on the Snarkpit too, Muzzle. It's usefull now and then, yeah.
About detail, I believe a certain professional mapper once said the devil is in the details. Whoever it was, he's right. With increasing production times, planning becomes more and more important if you want to avoid wasting your time on models, textures or map pieces that finally will never get used. It may take some time to get a good workflow, but if you want to continue mapping, spend some time on getting an efficient workflow. It's well worth it.
About detail again, small thing's aren't necessarily details. Large things can be details, on the other hand, just as small things can be. The shape of a large building can be a nice detail that works better than the texture applyment on the light pole next to it - the building with it's interesting shape draws much more attention than a light pole, doesn't it?
In other words: put in detail where it is likely to be noticed. Area's that are seen a lot should have a higher detail level than area's or surfaces you hardly ever see. You don't waste polygons in a pit-dark corridor, right? And ceilings are often much less detailed, since the player doesn't often get too close to it (and most of the time he'll spend his time looking at the walls and floors more than looking at the ceiling, so...).
About detail, I believe a certain professional mapper once said the devil is in the details. Whoever it was, he's right. With increasing production times, planning becomes more and more important if you want to avoid wasting your time on models, textures or map pieces that finally will never get used. It may take some time to get a good workflow, but if you want to continue mapping, spend some time on getting an efficient workflow. It's well worth it.
About detail again, small thing's aren't necessarily details. Large things can be details, on the other hand, just as small things can be. The shape of a large building can be a nice detail that works better than the texture applyment on the light pole next to it - the building with it's interesting shape draws much more attention than a light pole, doesn't it?
In other words: put in detail where it is likely to be noticed. Area's that are seen a lot should have a higher detail level than area's or surfaces you hardly ever see. You don't waste polygons in a pit-dark corridor, right? And ceilings are often much less detailed, since the player doesn't often get too close to it (and most of the time he'll spend his time looking at the walls and floors more than looking at the ceiling, so...).
But really, do you think small time publishers at first glance judge because of your website?.They judge you on much more than just a website, but if the first impression of your website fails (which it does now), I hardly doubt if they're going to take a look at any of the other factors, given the amount of people that want to create games...
Selling games depends on a lot of factors. Like gaining the trust and confidence of others, the presentation of your game, the way you act... they all multiply. If one of these factors is 0%, the sale doesn't happen. If one of them is 10%, the resulting change will be at 10% of what it could've been without that factor. It doesn't add up, it multiplies, so you'll have to pay attention to every aspect of it.
So if you know your site is bad, improve it. It really needs improvement right now, as I can hardly see the goal of the site, I can't even find any of your projects or even information about it. Also, the links page does not contain links, or even copy-able text... no php required, just a little html knowledge and an eye for design could improve this greatly.
A tech demo is a good way of showing people what they can expect (or rather, a gameplay demo and preferrably a playable demo!) and a little text that emphasizes the strong points of your game are important things. How would you expect people to buy your game if they don't even know what it's going to give them? Be clear, be enthousiastic, and probably most important, provide them the actual fun you promised...
Not that I'm in this bussiness, but you pick up some stuff by reading and common sense, I think. Maybe this helps you some?
Would make little to no difference, Unbreakable. Except for some more resources it's absolutely no magical solution, that batch compiling stuff. (In fact, the compile process you launch from Hammer is quite batchy itself already ;)).
Heh, we just playtested a quick map I made for this server. Quite fun, I think. It needs some tweaking here and there but for a 5-hour job, the map was well done. I'll put it up here for download next year. Happy newyear!
If you just uploaded the map so we can take a look, perhaps you could get a solution... this is going nowhere, since we don't know the exact situation and all.
It's just like entities and r_speeds: it depends on how you use them whether or not r_speeds (or rather, performance) inproves. You'll need solid walls to block line of sight, but some objects just don't block sight, which is especially true for small, detailed brushes.
Also, entities are rendered whenever their bounding box lies within the Potentially Visibility Set (type 'gl_wireframe 2' in the console to see what is rendered and you'll get an idea of what the PVS is at that moment). This means you'll have to mind the entities shape - putting every wire in the map into the same entity causes it to be rendered almost everywhere, while putting every wire into an entity of it's own doesn't cause this problem. You may hit an entity limit somewhere in that case, so you'll have to find a good balance between the two.
An added advantage of using entities for smaller objects is that not only face-splitting is avoided, but the VIS job also gets simpler, which means the VIS compile time will be lower and you're less likely to hit these kind of limits.
Then again, we can give you little help if we don't get a better view of the situation. What may help in one occassion, may not help at all in another.
It's just like entities and r_speeds: it depends on how you use them whether or not r_speeds (or rather, performance) inproves. You'll need solid walls to block line of sight, but some objects just don't block sight, which is especially true for small, detailed brushes.
Also, entities are rendered whenever their bounding box lies within the Potentially Visibility Set (type 'gl_wireframe 2' in the console to see what is rendered and you'll get an idea of what the PVS is at that moment). This means you'll have to mind the entities shape - putting every wire in the map into the same entity causes it to be rendered almost everywhere, while putting every wire into an entity of it's own doesn't cause this problem. You may hit an entity limit somewhere in that case, so you'll have to find a good balance between the two.
An added advantage of using entities for smaller objects is that not only face-splitting is avoided, but the VIS job also gets simpler, which means the VIS compile time will be lower and you're less likely to hit these kind of limits.
Then again, we can give you little help if we don't get a better view of the situation. What may help in one occassion, may not help at all in another.