Laggyness Created 16 years ago2008-01-06 04:14:25 UTC by S.O.T.E.

Yeah I think I posted such a topic before but I don't think i got a reply so let me try again:
My map is laggy, like it will be a bit choppy every now and then. Its playable, but gameplay is not smooth. I know there's nothing wrong with my compilation, and I have tried to null every face that is not seen. Its not that big a map, probably the size of dust2, and no more complex than the many other official maps I have seen.
So what's the problem? Is it because i use fast vis? full vis requires 4hours++ compilation time, where else fast takes 1/2 hr.
Please help...

A 4-plus hour long compile for a map the size of Dust 2 that's no more complex than any of the other official maps? What do you have, a 500 MHz Celeron and 128 MB of RAM? That's just not right. But yeah, fast VIS could be a problem if you haven't blocked off the different areas from view of each other very well. You never said anything about the r_speeds though, so I don't actually know if the map itself is much of a problem.

One thing you might want to check though, is how many programs you have running in the background. If you've got a lot, that may be the problem, because even running a simple hollowed cube map on my computer, if I have Hammer, GCFScape, a couple web pages, Chatzilla and Azureus running, then Half-Life will slow down like it's 1999.

Full vis will definitely fix the lag problem. VIS is all about optimizing the performance of your map by calculating which faces to render in the player's current position. Fast vis does less calculations and is faster to compile, but it doesn't completely optimize your map, so it should be avoided for final releases.

Fast vis does less calculations and is faster to compile, but it doesn't completely optimize your map, so it should be avoided for final releases.

I don't think it's as simple as that. Fast VIS performs fewer calculations and is therefor less precise, but that doesn't always make it less effective, theoretically speaking. Now it's been a while since I've done some serious mapping so I can't tell how this difference works out in practice, but I doubt this is the bottleneck. Correct me if I'm wrong though, this is more of a theory than a proven fact.

S.O.T.E, can you fire up your map, turn on 'gl_wireframe 2' (this displays a wireframe for all visible faces, including the ones hidden behind other faces, so it gives a good view of what is actually being rendered) and take some screenshots for us? Also, how many faces are being rendered in the most problematic areas (type 'r_speeds 1' to get this info)? And, if possible, can you show us an overview screenshot, so we can get an idea of the maps layout?

The half-life engine is a very old engine, the way it renders the levels is very inefficient in todays standard, a very laggy map in half-life 1 ported to half-life 2, will most likely work fine.

My point is, half-life doesn't like big maps, it cant handle it very well, so either your map has poor vis or you have a poor computer. Don't use fast vis, see if that helps. A 4 hour compile time is nothing, trust me. Also don't tie big geometry (unless its complex) to a func_wall because to the engine, these entities are transparent, and the game engine will draw whats behind them, rather than blocking whats behind them as they should.

What do you have, a 500 MHz Celeron and 128 MB of RAM?

Oh hmm yeah my com pretty much sucks but i've got 512 ram (ooooooo) but i leave only hammer running when compiling. Thanks CaptainP I'll get some screenshots hold on =)
And sorry aarondakilla, I'm not used to burning out my com for 4 hours ;p

Hmm ok I tried to my best abilities to turn on gl_wireframe 2 but it said:Its on CZ btw.
I think I'll use fast vis for testing and leave a full vis for the final compilation.

You have to start your map like this:
http://twhl.co.za/tutorial.php?id=41
Because it is only working in developer mode. So when you double clikk on the launch icon and the game automaticly start a server with that map.

Ohh ok i see. Sry for the extreme n00bness.