antiportal = caulk?

(fraco) #1

hi all,

hope you don’t hate me for throwing antiportals in a topic AGAIN.

The q3map2 handbook says on antiportals vs. caulk

This (antiportal) is designed to be used with large terrain maps to block visibility without having to resort to tricks like sky or caulk brushes penetrating the terrain and throwing ugly shadows:

but i fail to see what ugly shadows caulk would throw. Just like caulk, quote again

note that this (antiportal) also blocks lights

and anyway, as you hide it under the terrain, it will not throw shadows where the terrain wouldn’t.

enlighten me plz

thnx

fraco

(Hewster) #2

I understand your confusion !

How I understand it is that before we had the ‘antiportal’, to block
visibilty one would use a structual chaulk brushs… and to be efficient
it may need to protude out of the terrain, in which case it will cast a
shadow… but that isn’t how anti_portals work …

Anti_portal stop anything behind it from being drawn, where as chaulk,
since its just another structual brush, still depends on ‘normal’ vising to
block visibility.

so Anti_portals do what you want (block all vis), where as structual
chaulk brushes were simply a workaround.

Like I say this is how I understand it, and I may be wrong

Hewster

btw, When ydnar introduced the antiportal, he did say he didn’t know
what bots would make of it, ie they might not function correctly in an
SP map that uses antiportals.

(kat) #3

So am I correct in assuming the physical use of this in a map is similar to the way you would use Hint brushes?? I’m still trying to grasp the useage issue on this one, I can see what it does but not quite how to impliment it…
:???:

(U.S.S. Speed) #4

Seam to have a pretty restricted use where Caulk with be good to be added, but can’t for some raison.

(ydnar) #5

You can have antiportals in a terrain map that stick through the surface of the terrain to the sky. It won’t block sunlight, but might block surface lights, depending on how tightly vis’ed the map is.

Using caulk blocks through terrain in the same scenario would cast shadows and leave big black spots in your terrain.

y

(RabidCow) #6

A technique that I find works very well, in some ways better than antiportals, with the distinct disadvantage of long compile time, is to select a row of terrain brushes that cuts through a mountain or hill and make them structural. I am assuming you are not using “thin mesh” and that the terrain brushes extend to the bottom of the map. I find this works better than hints alone, and, if you can climb over the hills, it does not cause visual problems like antiportals can. Combined with angled hints around the hills, in both dimensions, it can be very effective.

(fraco) #7

even antiportals sticking out of terrain would cause a HOM, no? That is, if you blocked vis ok. And that would be the exact reason of them sticking out.

thnx for the answers, guess i need some more hands-on experience.

fraco