Skybox Basics

Skyboxes are solutions intended to make maps look bigger than they are. Usually used to display unreachable areas, such as distant mountains or buildings.

It's important to know that you should never ever make a skybox by drawing a big hollowed out cube with the Skybox texture on it all around your map. It will cause bad performance, needlessly high compile times and will basically create more problems than it solves. If you have leaks, do not get tempted by using this method. The only type of map where you can use it, is if your map is nothing but a bunch of platforms floating in the air.

There are two types of skyboxes in the Source engine:

2D Skybox

Consists gives the effect of a giant cube surrounding the map used for applying textures in its interior faces. These textures usually consists of the ground meeting the sky in the horizon, clouds, and other distant details. The 2D skybox for a level is set in the Map Properties dialog of Hammer.

3D Skybox

This is a newer addition for skyboxes in the Source engine. It's a surrounding area constructed by the level designer, outside the bounds of the gameplay area on the map. Players can never reach the 3D skybox. Maps do not require a 3D skybox to be created — it is a purely optional visual addition to the map. See 3D Skybox for more information.

See Also

• Sky List - A list of available skybox textures (together with ideal values used by Valve)