My map is riddled with vis problems.

[omeganinjaboy]

My map keeps getting Vismap expansion overflow. I am not sure how to fix this. Some places online said to run vis on full vis rather than fast. I did that and it took the whole day only for it to say "Vismap expansion overflow". I also had some saw into leaf errors, so I ran vis with -cullerror and I still got "Vismap expansion overflow". Here are some images of my map so that you might be able to tell be what I'm doing wrong (I am very new to mapping):
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Here is the output of qvis3: 

C:\Map Production Quake 2\gddqvis3_103>qvis3 -cullerror IaconDefense

----------- qvis3 -----------

original code by id Software

Modified by Geoffrey DeWan

Revision 1.03

-----------------------------

cullerror = true

reading C:\Map Production Quake 2\gddqvis3_103\IaconDefense.bsp

reading C:\Map Production Quake 2\gddqvis3_103\IaconDefense.prt

3828 portalclusters

13373 numportals

0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9... (24)

0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9... (67)

Average clusters visible: 139

Building PHS...



************ ERROR ************

Vismap expansion overflow

[knightmare]

"Vismap expansion overflow" means that your map's geometry is just too complex. You'll need to mark many of the brushes as detail, starting with those corner curves and most of that center structure.

The next update to KMQuake2 will support much larger VIS sizes, along with a modified qvis3. But if your map needs that, it will only work with KMQ2.


BTW, You should also be using the -threads x parameter for vis and rad. Set x to the number of logical processors you have, and it won't take all day. Example: if you have a 12-core, 24-thread CPU, use -threads 24 on your qvis and qrad/arghrad command line.

[omeganinjaboy]

Aug 3, 2019 19:02:45 GMT -5 knightmare said:

"Vismap expansion overflow" means that your map's geometry is just too complex. You'll need to mark many of the brushes as detail, starting with those corner curves and most of that center structure.

The next update to KMQuake2 will support much larger VIS sizes, along with a modified qvis3. But if your map needs that, it will only work with KMQ2.


BTW, You should also be using the -threads x parameter for vis and rad. Set x to the number of logical processors you have, and it won't take all day. Example: if you have a 12-core, 24-thread CPU, use -threads 24 on your qvis and qrad/arghrad command line.

Thank you for the advice! I was starting to think my map was too ambitious and that it wouldn't work because of it's size. Also, thanks for telling me about the -threads parameter, that should help a lot with loading times!

[omeganinjaboy]

qvis3 seems to have messed up though. No errors were given, but things disappear that should not, sometimes in the middle of my vision even, causing artifacting similar to that of when you look into a leak outside the world. Perhaps because I used -cullerror?

[knightmare]

Try removing cullerror (looks like it was an addition by Geoffrey DeWan). I've never bothered with any vis parameters other than -fast and -threads.

[omeganinjaboy]

It took 14 hours and I got a ton of "Leaf portals saw into leaf" errors and a Vismap expansion overflow without the -cullerror.  For some reason the qvis3 picked up "Leaf portals saw into leaf" errors even of objects that had the detail property applied (that vis should ignore?).

[knightmare]

Does your editor natively support detail brushes via a "Make Detail/Make Structural" command? Or are you maually setting the detail content flag on each face of each brush? If the latter, it may not work if you miss the flag on any face.

Also, a 14 hr compile time sounds like you may not be using all your cores/threads. Or you may just have a slow computer. The most complex map I've ever compiled took 8 hours to vis on a decade-old Phenom II quad core.

[omeganinjaboy]

I hear "Leaf portals saw into leaf" errors slow down vis drastically, I just don't know how to fix them as every explanation I have found of them has been vague. Also, my pc isn't too slow and I used all of the threads. The cpu is an AMD FX 6300 with 6 threads. It works well for every modern game I have played. Are "Leaf portals saw into leaf" errors caused when one brush overlaps another brush?

[DirtDemon [Q2C]]

Aug 24, 2019 14:38:09 GMT -5 omeganinjaboy said:

Are "Leaf portals saw into leaf" errors caused when one brush overlaps another brush?

These are not errors, just warnings that you have too much detail in a large area for vis to handle properly. Using detail brushes doesn't always fix the problem. The biggest downside is longer compile times.

Overlapping brushes and stretching textures to fit can cause unwanted lighting distortions and "hall of mirror" effects.  It's generally better to avoid doing these things.