Long compile times!?
Hey guys another (noob) qeustion! 
but i'm really confused on how to optimize my map...
I've done some mapping before for CSS, AS & L4D2 and made much bigger maps...which i could run on full+hdr without any problems... But now with my small portal 2 chamber it's taking ages and i've yet to seen it finish so far... All this after adding 1 room.
Now i've looked into alot of different optimization methods... and tried several now.
I've used alot of different tile sizes for both my walls&floor so i made all the small brushes into func_details (tied together) as if it was 1 big square brush. BUT func_details don't seal of a map... and seeing as i used this technique pretty much everywhere i decided to place my map in a small skybox (which never was a problem with previous games)
I also used skip/hint brushes where appropriate but i was reading and saw some different opinions on optimization. and some said i should only use areaportals and use them on doors/windows. But what about corners/openings. That's where i should be using hint/skip brushes right?
So yeh... what am i doing wrong? should i NOT func_detail the walls/floors because they provide a important visbreak and only func_detail other things WITHIN my map? or leave them func_detailed and place another big nodraw brush behind it?
Also, what should i do with the skip/hint brushes? or can somebody provide me with a good tutorial... because i can't really seem to find one and the VDC is down for maintenance 
Thx alot in advance! 
and nodraw for the textures not will be visible? If your map is so bigger your compilation time will increment. If you do bestial detail maps with best lights and much things your compilation time will increment. Including dinamic lights, much large things, much lights...
How many tame take you compile it? And how much large is it? what things do yoyu have in the map?
Yeh offcourse i understand that compile times will increase with map/detail/file size. But this only started after adding 1 room and nothing thats really detailed.... its a really small map so far. Yesterday i tried compiling and it took me over 2 hours after which i just stopped. It went slower the closer it got to 10. Everything else went ok but the PortalFlow keeps freezing up it seems.
Have you checked your PC temp's while compiling? I know my AMD 955BE quadcore likes to max all cores during vvis.
Try taking out the hints and skips. If not done correctly, they can actually slow things down.
Post your compile log.
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Always keep a track of how your vis leaves are splitting; lower number of vis leaves will result a faster compile, Yet don't have too few either. Types of lighting will also effect compile times.
VDC User PageBut i never finished compiling on full+hdr, i ended it myself. Now im running everything on full + hdr except for vvis which is on fast. So i'm not sure if my compile log would help.
Yeh so my wall's should be normal brushes? and not func_details? because they provide a a important visbreak...
I hope (and am sure) that you have nodraw textures on every face that the player cannot see? The only time this can get troublesome is in Old Aperture when players pretty much see everything.
[spoiler][SP] Alternate[/spoiler]
Yup... maybe somebody can take a look at my .vmf and tell me what im doing wrong? Just tell me, dont change yourself... because that way i wont learn...
Today I had the same problem, try copying the entery map to a new map and compile it.