Before I start im unsure about 't junctions' I believe they are called.
(I mean where I make for example 4 portal cells, can the cells be seperate from each other or do they have to be touching?
Also, is it correct that the all outside faces of the cells should be portal. Suppose this + symbol was the junction where the brushes of the different cells crossed and the walls of the cell were 1 brush thick, in other words not 2 brushes butted together. Would this be correct or incorrect?

Thanks in advance




edited on Jul. 30, 2006 10:37 am by davr

ok fixed here it is

ok here is a drawing of a t-junksion
+ is portal
- is portal no draw
| is a slice between portals

------------|--------------------
++++++|++++++++++++++
                 + -
                 + -
                 + -
                 + -
                 + -
                 + -
                 + -

ok notice how the slice is at the portal face not the portal no draw face

edited on Jul. 30, 2006 10:48 am by sevensniff

ok, I do kinda get your picture, thanks, so just to get something straight: refereing to your picture, the wall that is going virticle (it has 7 + to be precise) am I correct in saying to the right of the brush we are inside the portal and to the left is, well not inside any cells.
My point is should there be cell after cell or should it be I dunno a cell and then a bit further on another cell im just kinda and the tutorials aint helping me :(


also why is the slice important and for that matter what is it?

u can have a nother cell there yes but u dont have to that could be at the edge of ur map.

i dont know why the slice has to be at the blue side and not the yellow its just the way it ended up working for me when i did it if u want to talk in easyer talk to me on msn

seven_sniff at hotmail DOT com

ok thx! I will add you

I believe a correct portalled map will have a cell for every area a player can go. btw a non-portalled area is also a cell... in fact the skybox is the initial cell. so if you don't portal a given area, the player will be in the skybox cell and therefore whatever is in the skybox cell will be drawn (that might not be wanted). so portal everywhere a player can go so you make sure no extra is drawn for no reason.

as for the portal and portal_nodraw textures ... well only the portal one counts, the other is there just to help the mapper see the brush ... if you know what I mean. the nodraw is just a design helper. so when you portal your map, imagine the blue faces only to exist. select only the blue faces and they should all meet correctly with no leaks. the yellow (the nodraw) could intersect themselves, be huge, small, whatever ... it doesn't matter. and because only blue faces are important, because you want the blue faces to meet perfectly, it is also why you want to cut portals where another blue face touches it.

be carefull when you cut a portal. when doing so the two new faces (inside the cut) are caulk. after the cut, they need to be textured portal_nodraw.

I'm glad I found this topic. Maybe the veterans can explain some stuff to me.

1. Does the game draw entities when a player has entered the portal or only when he can see the portal? Refering to maskedavenger's tutorial, do you have to be in a portal for the detail brushes to be drawn, or do you merely have to see the portal cell? From what I gather, this revolves mostly around a sniper: whatever you can see with a ranged scope (ignoring fog) can be drawn.

2. As I understand it structural meshes and terrain are drawn when a portal is rendered. Is this correct?

3. From AmishThunder's tutorial, structural brushes supplement portals? So we only have to portal doorways, windows, and large open terrain cells? If I make a tunnel, do I only have to portal the open ends, or do I have to portal the whole tunnel area?

I know this seems overwhelming, but I'm just following the forum rules. I found a topic that already covers my issue, and I figured this was the time and place to ask. Thanks!

1) A portal gets drawn as soon as it's visible to the player.

2) Not sure what you mean here.

3) Yes, that is correct. Structual brushs can be used to seal cells too. So a tunnel made of structural brushes, or a house, only needs to be portalled at the openings.

Thank you, Caretaker.

So what you're saying is that a portal is like a window--if you can see the window, you can see what's inside it? If that's the case, then that pretty much answers any and all questions I had. Thanks.

I probably should have edited my post way back when, but it's too late now.

From reading maskedavenger's tutorial about portals a number of times, I have a couple new questions. I understand the relationship between structural brushes and portals. However, maskedavenger's tut draws cells with one brush per wall, and one portal texture per brush. AmishThunder's tut has two interior cells with two opposing portal brushes.

1. Is this correct? There should only be one portal texture between cells?

2. Does this include interior cells (ie, rooms, caverns contained by structural meshes)?

3. The Portal No Draw texture has no effect whatsoever, correct? It is merely complementary to the Portal texture? Its purpose is to make a brush entirely of Portal No Draw so that the one functional face of Portal texture can exist?

4. Are portal brushes structural or detail brushes? For example, does this have an effect with the compiler or in-game rendering?

5. Do portal brushes have to be geometric blocks or can they be meshes?

I know I'm flooding you guys with questions, but I know that once these are answered, I will have fully understood portals. Besides, these may be questions the rest of the community is pondering (or hasn't even considered yet). Thanks.