Hint Brush
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Hint_brushThis brush is used mainly to split up areas of the map that you cannot see directly, ie: around a corner.
Area Portals
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/AreaportalAnother way to split up areas of the map, but this is used in doorways and windows/vents, the main rule is, if you place one Area portal there cannot be a way to get into the room without crossing another Area portal.
Occluders
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Func_occluderGoing to have to read up on this one yourself as I haven't spent the time to understand it enough to paraphrase it.
Draw Distance
(It's easier to copy/paste)
"If you are dealing with a large open area without any cover at all then there isn't a lot you can do, save reducing the number of objects you're drawing, but employ fog to disguise a low draw distance.
Draw distances can also be applied selectively to props, even prop_static, with the Start Fade Dist/Pixels and End Fade Dist/Pixels keyvalues. As the names suggest, these values can represent either distance in units or pixels on-screen as per the Screen Space Fade KV.
func_lod is a special brush entity that can fade out. You can't use any brushes tied to it as any other entity, however!"
Reference :
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/w/in ... ction=edit
Also, when opening hammer you might have seen these maps;
sourcesdk_content\hl2\mapsrc\sdk_func_detail.vmf
sourcesdk_content\hl2\mapsrc\sdk_hints.vmf
sourcesdk_content\hl2\mapsrc\sdk_occluders.vmf
It's definitely worth looking into if you don't want your maps to end up like my previous maps did, with low frame rates when multiple people were playing on a map. Learn from my mistakes and use the tools I've found to help you make some great maps.
Last but not least, a page that brings it all together....
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Controlling_Geometry_Visibility_and_Compile_Times
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