Cordon Compiles: Worth It? Created 16 years ago2007-08-17 11:01:42 UTC by StoneFrog

I've been wondering what you guys think of using the cordon tool to compile maps (Hammer 3.5).

For me they never work. I always get "brush outside world" errors that normally do not appear if I compile without a cordon. If I check out said brushes, they are usually outside the cordon bounds, so why is the map even compiling them?

I think this error is caused when the cordon selects a large brush, but part of it is OUTSIDE the cordon bounds.

However I can't work around that - the cordon can only go in a square/rectangle shape, and I'd have to do major remapping to get one segment of my map to fit snuggly inside a cordon.

I've never used the cordon tools. If you want to encase certain parts of your map in a box then just use a hollowed cube, I say.

Worth it?
Depends on the size of your map.
For Source mapping, I think it's a must, specially if you compile often just to see a minor change you've made.
I never had such problems in either Source or Goldsource.

Some people, and World Crafter, your post may be implying this as well, that putting certain areas of a map inside a non-hollow cube are the equivalents of using cordons on them.

I have a giant hollow cube with the null texture around my map to prevent leaks and whatnot. That's the only confirmed thing I know about encasing bits of the world into a box for compiling purposes.

At this time my map, surprisingly, compiles RAD over the course of only about 5 and a half minutes. VIS takes some time, though for test compiles I run it with -fast, in which case it goes about as fast as BSP and CSG (aka, fast).

Cordon compiling is incredibly fantastic. I use it all the time, saves heaps of time messing around with a physical box.

Ant, what do you mean by "physical box"? Can a brush be placed around an area to perform the same function as a cordon? If so, TELL MEH HOW!

Bump. I really need advice on this!

1) How do you do the equivalent of a cordon compile by making a box brush (as said by above posters)?

2) If I do a cordon compile, brush outside world errors appear that aren't there when I run without a cordon. What can be causing this and how can I fix it so I can run a cordon compile?