Firstly Hi all.

I'm new to this board and have just recently had a look at Radiant.

Couple of questions I have for the more experianced map makers.

Why is CSG not liked and what problems does it cause ?

Is the hollow function part of csg ?

Thanks in advance.

i guess you mena the substraction tool???

once in a while it start cutting in yur map where you dont like it.... and you end up with a complete f***ed map....

hollow function i never experienced any problems with.....

I don't know all of the sources of the problem... but a major one is as follows...

First you need to know that the quake game engine can't handle fractional points very well. In the past, it couldn't handle fractional points at all... not at all.

When talk of fractional points, I am refering to the points on the grid in the editor. You will notice that you usually can only place a brush with it's points somewhere on the intersecting grid lines.. which are considered non-fractional.

when you use the csg subsctraction tool, it simply cuts one shape from the other. It doesn't take fractional points into consideration. This is what introduces most of the errors.

CSG is short for Constructive Solid Geometry and denotes an approach to model complex 3D-shapes using simpler ones. I.e., two shapes can be combined by taking the union of them, by intersecting them, or by subtracting one shape of the other. The most basic shapes, which are not result of such a CSG operation, are called primitives. Primitives must be solid, i.e., they must have a clearly defined interior and exterior. By construction, a CSG shape is also solid then.

Image-based CSG rendering (also z-buffer CSG rendering) is a term that denotes algorithms for rendering CSG shapes without an explicit calculation of the geometric boundary of a CSG shape. Such algorithms use frame-buffer settings of the graphics hardware, e.g., the depth and stencil buffer, to compose CSG shapes. OpenCSG implements a variety of those algorithms, namely the Goldfeather algorithm and the SCS algorithm, both of them in several variants.

the thing to notice is algorithm.....

a mathematical procedure that removes or modifies part of your map - without your direct control - and has the potential to create exponentially small or large brushes if the equation ins't just "right"

forget that the CSG buttons exist - you'll be happier in the long run

*and yes - hollow is one of the csg functions

I've been reading some of the tutorials and it did say "stay away from CSG",That I have done.Right I,ve got the Terrain thing sussed ( kind of ) and my little map seems to be coming along nicely ( I,m betting though that I've forgotton something along the line,however I'm saving each stage just in case )

One last little question for the mo and that is,how do you get the Sun to work ?

I know its something to do with World something or other and a wee box drops down and asks you to put in values but I'm fair flummoxed as to what to what to do exactly.

I'm making a Very basic map so I'm no fussed as to where the Sun actually is,so long as it shines.

Its for CoD by the way.

sun is simple...im going to point you in 2 directions
take a look at this tutorial...it will get you going on how to enter your worldspawn values, as well as get you building your skyboxes correctly

you can get all of the stock maps worldspawn values here

I know not to use hollow, subtract or merge but is it okay if i use the clipper tool?

I have seen fewer problems using the clipper tool. I think that tool is acceptable.

When I made maps for SoF(1) I used the clipper tool and had no problems with it. But hey, that was SoF. heh...

the clipper is not a csg function
it is more like a knife
yes it is ok to use that