Originally posted by JDKnite188
Lassev:
I do need some area portals here and there. What exactly is a hint brush?
Well, its a type of shader you can use in Radiant. Its only function is to split VIS nodes. Thus, it's quite like a wall you cannot see, feel or smell. The aim is to split large areas into smallers in such a way that only a portion (the visible one) of the map would be drawn in the game, and not some distant parts behind many walls. It's only used, if you don't have doors. Because with doors you use areaportals and they are 99% easier to use.
Try to search mapping and general editing forums (hopefully search is enabled) for hint brushes. It surfaces every now and then. There's some links to tutorials to be found also, if you do the search, like:
http://fps.brainerd.net/hintbrushes.htm)
Don't be disappointed if hint brushes don't seem to work. They are very intricate to work with. Even many honoured master mappers don't like to use them (this last comment is just to make you feel better. It might not be true).