Hey all, I'm entirely new to both these forums and mapping with Hammer. I used to make maps for UT2004 and UT3 where using a lot of brushes was seen as the antithesis of all things good and proper, so you can imagine my workflow for creating a CS:GO map is a bit...screwed up at the moment.
Anyway, I made this post first to share progress on a map I am making and also to ask for advice from mapping veterans. I have completed a whitebox and have tested it with a few players I know and altered areas to better suit the gameplay, and I'm starting to add the prettiness.
Here's where the problem comes in, being used to the Unreal Engine my workflow is usually to export the BSP to 3DS Max and model modular pieces over the top of it then re-import and re-scale so that I am using as few meshes as possible while still keeping the level looking good.
I've seen from the example maps that a lot of the detail is added, rather that props, using brushes that are tied to func_detail, I have tried creating an area of my map that uses this and it does not look as nice as the area that I created using only large props exported from Max (i.e. a whole bridge and its supporting railings is one prop, a whole building including all the trimming and doors is one prop).
So the question I ask is this, should I be using func_detail to create the map even though it may not look as nice as having a lot of props, or is having a lot of props referenced by hammer when running going to slow down the performance of the map by a lot?
Back to the map, I have tried to design it with more of a competitive play in mind, though I do not have much experience playing at high levels in CS, a few of my steam friends do and have been very helpful in testing the layout: [Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/FullMap_zps56d57ccd.png]
I am aiming for a Japanese town style of aesthetic for the map, I am looking at reference from both Kyoto and Osaka and plan to have a dried up or slightly dried up canal going through the centre of the map.
An example of one of the house meshes I created, the idea is to just fill in the house block with a brush:
[Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/2014-02-23_00001_zps076ba965.jpg]
Bridge from earlier example, all of this is in one prop:
[Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/2014-02-23_00002_zps67e1a5df.jpg]
This is what I have so far for my experimentation with using brushes to add visual detail:
[Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/2014-02-23_00003_zps5e1f97cf.jpg]
[Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/2014-02-23_00004_zps50ba8abd.jpg]
Some more views of the map:
[Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/2014-02-23_00005_zps1462659d.jpg]
[Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/2014-02-23_00007_zps1ac8a8ec.jpg]
A Bombsite:
[Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/2014-02-23_00006_zpsfb46cb6d.jpg]
B Bombsite:
[Blocked Image: http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/Wormzeh/2014-02-23_00008_zps9f83ecc1.jpg]
Also I have a problem with filling in the houses with brushes, as seen in of the pictures above the entire brush + prop turns entirely black as if it cannot be lit, they are properly lit if I take away either the brush or the prop but don't want to light when put together.
(Forgot to mention, all textures are placeholder, so no, the buildings wont have that horrible wood and plaster texture on them 
)