Curved structures, such as cylindrical columns, with a limited number of faces do not appear round when they are shaded. This, however, can be fixed with phong shading. By interpolating the surrounding surfaces, phong shading gives the object the false appearance of being smooth. So, even given the age of Paintball's engine, with a good light compiler, your map can lose part of its blocky presentation. See the same object with and without phong shading below. Look carefully and you will see a well defined darker face on the image without phong shading.

Using Phong Shading

To use phong shading, you need to use ArghRad for your light compiler. You cannot use qrad3. To make use of phong shading:

1. Select all the brushes that are together that you want to use phong shading for (i.e. all the brushes for a cylinder);
2. Set the value of these brushes (in BSP, the Surface Properties window) to a number such as 1;
3. For a different set of brushes you want to use phong shading for (like a different cylinder), use a different number for the value.