Hammer Editor problems

[mrjack]

I've read through almost everything in the "The Valve Developer Community", but I can't seem to fix a problem I'm encountering.

I can make and compile indoor maps easily now, but when I make an outdoor map the lighting is screwed up. Either it's almost pitch black or you can see through stuff and there's a bit of light. I've assigned materials and all that, it's just the skybox and level boundaries.

HDR works in the map, but what should I put around the map itself, where you can't move? Cause if I put brushes around and give 'em e.g. the tools_nodraw material, everything is pitch black ingame. If I assign a skybox material, you can see through stuff.

So basically my question is, how do I make boundaries that don't affect the skybox lighting assigned in the Map Properties?

 

[mrjack]

I got the lighting working, but now the skybox is black. So all I can see around the map itself is just a void, which doesn't look good at all.

EDIT:

Now the skybox is working properly, but the water is invisible. Looks kinda funny when a body floats in the air.