===
vis
===

vis - Compute visibility (PVS) for a Quake BSP file

Synopsis
========

**vis** [OPTION]... BSPFILE

Description
===========

**vis** is a tool used in the creation of maps for the game Quake. vis
looks for a .prt file by stripping the file extension from BSPFILE (if
any) and appending ".prt". vis then calculates the potentially visible
set (PVS) information before updating the .bsp file, overwriting any
existing PVS data.

This vis tool supports the PRT2 format for Quake maps with detail
brushes. See the qbsp documentation for details.

Compiling a map (without the -fast parameter) can take a long time, even
days or weeks in extreme cases. Vis will attempt to write a state file
every five minutes so that progress will not be lost in case the
computer needs to be rebooted or an unexpected power outage occurs.

Options
=======

.. program:: vis

Logging
-------

.. option:: -log

   Write log files. Enabled by default.

.. option:: -nolog

   Don't write log files.

.. option:: -verbose
            -v

   Verbose output.

.. option:: -nopercent

   Don't output percentage messages.

.. option:: -nostat

   Don't output statistic messages.

.. option:: -noprogress

   Don't output progress messages.

.. option:: -nocolor

   Don't output color codes (for TB, etc).

.. option:: -quiet
            -noverbose

   Suppress non-important messages (equivalent to :option:`-nopercent` :option:`-nostat`
   :option:`-noprogress`)

Performance
-----------

.. option:: -lowpriority [0]

   Run in a lower priority, to free up headroom for other processes.

.. option:: -threads n

   Set number of threads explicitly. By default vis will attempt to
   detect the number of CPUs/cores available.

.. option:: -fast

   Skip detailed calculations and calculate a very loose set of PVS
   data. Sometimes useful for a quick test while developing a map.

Game
----

.. option:: -gamedir "relative/path" or "C:/absolute/path"

   Override the default mod base directory. if this is not set, or if it is relative, it will be derived from
   the input file or the basedir if specified.

.. option:: -basedir "relative/path" or "C:/absolute/path"

   Override the default game base directory. if this is not set, or if it is relative, it will be derived
   from the input file or the gamedir if specified.

.. option:: -filepriority archive | loose

   Which types of archives (folders/loose files or packed archives) are higher priority and chosen first
   for path searching.

.. option:: -path "/path/to/folder" <multiple allowed>

   Additional paths or archives to add to the search path, mostly for loose files.

.. option:: -q2rtx

   Adjust settings to best support Q2RTX.

.. option:: -defaultpaths

   Whether the compiler should attempt to automatically derive game/base paths for
   games that support it. Enabled by default.

.. option:: -nodefaultpaths

   Opt out of :option:`-defaultpaths`.

Output
------

.. option:: -noambientsky

   Disable ambient sound generation for textures with names beginning
   with 'SKY'.

.. option:: -noambientwater

   Disable ambient sound generation for textures with names beginning
   with ``*WATER`` or ``*04WATER``.

.. option:: -noambientslime

   Disable ambient sound generation for textures with names beginning
   with ``*SLIME``.

.. option:: -noambientlava

   Disable ambient sound generation for textures with names beginning
   with ``*LAVA``.

.. option:: -noambient

   Disable all ambient sound generation.

.. option:: -noautoclean

   Don't remove extra files on successful completion. Default is to remove them.

Advanced
--------

.. option:: -level n

   Select a test level from 0 to 4 for detailed visibility calculations.
   Lower levels are not necessarily faster in in all cases. It is not
   recommended that you change the default level unless you are
   experiencing problems. Default 4.

.. option:: -visdist n
   
   Allow culling of areas further than n units.

.. option:: -nostate

   Ignore saved state files, for forced re-runs.

.. option:: -phsonly

   Re-calculate the PHS of a Quake II BSP without touching the PVS.

Author
======

| Kevin Shanahan (aka Tyrann) - http://disenchant.net
| Eric Wasylishen
| Based on source provided by id Software

Reporting Bugs
==============

| Please post bug reports at
  https://github.com/ericwa/tyrutils-ericw/issues.
| Improvements to the documentation are welcome and encouraged.

Copyright
=========

| Copyright (C) 2017 Eric Wasylishen
| Copyright (C) 2013 Kevin Shanahan
| Copyright (C) 1997 id Software
| License GPLv2+: GNU GPL version 2 or later
| <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl2.html>.

This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There
is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.