HELP!

[Shadowex3]

They're both true because they aren't contradictory. A big "open" area can be a very well done illusion that cuts off rendering to massive amounts of junk it doesnt need to and is easier on the system OR it can be a massive clusterfuck of all of source's pitfalls. It all depends on the mapper's skill.

 

If you want to see what I'm talking about yourself start your own server and turn cheats on, there's a console command for wall transparency (wallhax!) though I don't recall it atm. If you do it on dust2 you'll see that huge portions of the map are just blank through the walls because they aren't being rendered.