haymaker said:
yes strangely enough all that shit is possible...if you like I can try and dig up some old vmfs where Ive done things like that...

Another thing to watch is info_overlay fades, when you start using them ( carpets, artwork ) set the fades aggresively and adjust to minimum standards.

And, in the words of Jeff Goldblum / David Levinson: You really think you can fly that thing?

• The number of visleaves can be controlled by converting chunks into func_detail as you've discovered, but be smart with your walls/bulkheads etc too, where you may need to convert some to func_detail to keep the leaf count lower. Once you get into corner hinting the count will probably start to rise again.

• Build a box of vertical hints around the deck perimeter ( keep it as rectangular as possible, dont worry about slicing through brushes, simple is better ) in order to hide decks from eachother.

• Areaportals are going to be your friends.

• Displacements are the cheapest brush. Use them wherever you can, bearing in mind that they don't take lighting the same; but they can still be just flat surfaces no problem.

• Look into converting brushes to static props with Propper so you can take advantage of fade distances. Be aggressive with these fades too on all models, and turn all collisions off until you decide waht the minimun necessary is.

• Start deciding on your light_environment settings so you can get busy with fog.

• Make sure your very first sprite / lightglow has some aggressive fading as well, then copy that one around as needed

• Won't hurt to bump all lightmap density down to 4 or so and then tweak upwards as needed.

• Cheat with water as much as you can, even turn it into func_detail or _illusionary if you don't foresee player access

• Careful with your entity I/O as you go