Hammer Carve Command Usage

The Carve command is very expensive to use and can work very slowly with complex geometry.

Here are some of limitations and guidelines when using the Carve command:

• When carving, as few brushes as possible should touch the carving brush.
• Carving complex geometry, such as arches or cylinders with many faces, can take a very long time to complete.
• Displacements and brushes with displacements attached should never be included in a Carve operation.
• Static props and other prop models are not carved.
• Carving often does not generate the optimal brush layout.

Because of these issues, many level designers say that Carve should never be used. That is a matter of some controversy, and you will have to decide for yourself. At the very least, you should always make sure to save your work before attempting a Carve operation, and be careful to use the Carve command very conservatively.