Forum posts
I nearly deleted this whole post , but I was laughing too much.... and JB's answer was brilliant. Well done, tact and diplomacy award in the post.
Prt Scr/Sys Rq or Print Screen will produce a .bmp the same as F5... or at least it does on my machine.
Just paste it into IrFanview to convert it (love that program). Best of all you can re-size while your there.
The thing about this subject is that there are so many ways to do this that it is up to personal preference, I used Wally for a long time, until atom sent me irfranview. I find it easier... but that doesn't mean that you will. The best fall back program is MSPaint, but it isn't as flexible.
Just paste it into IrFanview to convert it (love that program). Best of all you can re-size while your there.
The thing about this subject is that there are so many ways to do this that it is up to personal preference, I used Wally for a long time, until atom sent me irfranview. I find it easier... but that doesn't mean that you will. The best fall back program is MSPaint, but it isn't as flexible.
Don't get too hung up on the size of the Vis Matrix...
If it compiles and hasn't got any errors, then everything should be fine, I am sure there are limits, but 20Mb isn't all that big.
Tommy14's error resource has the limits, but not the Vis Matrix limit..
Check out Tommy14 for a list of Max limits
If it compiles and hasn't got any errors, then everything should be fine, I am sure there are limits, but 20Mb isn't all that big.
Tommy14's error resource has the limits, but not the Vis Matrix limit..
Check out Tommy14 for a list of Max limits
Extends the Visible distance of the map, increases the render time and generally slows everything up.
The default is 4096, but I am sure there is a limit... Try increasing it to 5120 or something else that is divisible by 16....
That might work..
Old post I know, but worth a reply
The default is 4096, but I am sure there is a limit... Try increasing it to 5120 or something else that is divisible by 16....
That might work..
Old post I know, but worth a reply
As you can all see from Atom's post... it is being worked on.
I accept that there are some maps that have been around for a while, and there are invalid zips that have been around for ages, that the poster has not uploaded again.
I did delete some maps that were older than 3 Months and invalid, and I will do the same again at the end of December, sort of a spring clean.
As for stopping people just posting maps and running away... well if you look at some of the maps, then you will understand why they have run away
but the Vault is there for everyone.... Never know, you might get an idea based on something in there.
I accept that there are some maps that have been around for a while, and there are invalid zips that have been around for ages, that the poster has not uploaded again.
I did delete some maps that were older than 3 Months and invalid, and I will do the same again at the end of December, sort of a spring clean.
As for stopping people just posting maps and running away... well if you look at some of the maps, then you will understand why they have run away
but the Vault is there for everyone.... Never know, you might get an idea based on something in there.
This post was made on a thread that has been deleted.
Yeah, that stuff is being worked on.
SlayerA and I go through and download all the maps and add screenies where we can, but it is a huge job, and most of the time the zip's are corrupt... or not in zip format.
Making it compulsory doesn't mean that people will actually upload a shot of their map. More to the point, some people don't know how to create screenies.... (I might have to do a special tutorial for that??)
SlayerA and I go through and download all the maps and add screenies where we can, but it is a huge job, and most of the time the zip's are corrupt... or not in zip format.
Making it compulsory doesn't mean that people will actually upload a shot of their map. More to the point, some people don't know how to create screenies.... (I might have to do a special tutorial for that??)
Great to see someone using WinBsp for the purpose it was originally created...
Glad it worked.
Glad it worked.
Good point Ministeve...
That is the major problem right there... people believe that what is on the net is FREE.
I believe it isn't, but that has a lot to do with how I was brought up and the moral and ethical values that I was taught by my parents.
At the end of the day, someone elses idea is just that....
Someone elses idea.
That is the major problem right there... people believe that what is on the net is FREE.
I believe it isn't, but that has a lot to do with how I was brought up and the moral and ethical values that I was taught by my parents.
At the end of the day, someone elses idea is just that....
Someone elses idea.
Looks like you guy's want to create a full blown releaseable Mod?
I suggest we start small and see where this takes us, after all that is how HL got started, but having said that there are some really great ideas here, have you guy's ever thought of forming a production team and getting it underway...
Oh and thanks for volunteering me to be the team leader Kol...
Honestly I didn't expect this kind of response, but I am glad to see the members of TWHL have some brilliant ideas, who knows what next year will bring.
I suggest we start small and see where this takes us, after all that is how HL got started, but having said that there are some really great ideas here, have you guy's ever thought of forming a production team and getting it underway...
Oh and thanks for volunteering me to be the team leader Kol...
Honestly I didn't expect this kind of response, but I am glad to see the members of TWHL have some brilliant ideas, who knows what next year will bring.
Ummm,
Took a little longer than a week
I have moved house 2000km's north and am just getting everything unpacked.
Once I finish the Christmas present that I am working on, I will give some more time to this topic, but as I said earlier it is just an idea.
Now that most of you have show interest I really should get something together, but here is a little taste of what I will be looking for.
Have a read of Kol's suggestions... There is a lot of good stuff there, but I think that we should start with a really simple project.
I will make an announcment in the News at the begining of next year, but if you want a head start, the idea is to create a simple single room map using anything that is available with the Retail or Downloadable version of Half-Life.
The Idea is to combine dozens of maps from different people to show off your amazing mapping skills. Once the basic rmf's are completed, some will be chosen to have an added level change to reduce the size of the final project.
REMEMBER... this is a simple project.... Make a room that has an entrance and an exit, what you put in the middle is up to you and your imagination, but you must be able to get from one end to the other.
Notice that I haven't mentioned Monsters or scripts... That comes later.
Sound boring?
Well when you see the little project I am doing now (Xmas release) then you might change your mind.
This is NOT intended to be a mod... it is a journey of maps.
Took a little longer than a week
I have moved house 2000km's north and am just getting everything unpacked.
Once I finish the Christmas present that I am working on, I will give some more time to this topic, but as I said earlier it is just an idea.
Now that most of you have show interest I really should get something together, but here is a little taste of what I will be looking for.
Have a read of Kol's suggestions... There is a lot of good stuff there, but I think that we should start with a really simple project.
I will make an announcment in the News at the begining of next year, but if you want a head start, the idea is to create a simple single room map using anything that is available with the Retail or Downloadable version of Half-Life.
The Idea is to combine dozens of maps from different people to show off your amazing mapping skills. Once the basic rmf's are completed, some will be chosen to have an added level change to reduce the size of the final project.
REMEMBER... this is a simple project.... Make a room that has an entrance and an exit, what you put in the middle is up to you and your imagination, but you must be able to get from one end to the other.
Notice that I haven't mentioned Monsters or scripts... That comes later.
Sound boring?
Well when you see the little project I am doing now (Xmas release) then you might change your mind.
This is NOT intended to be a mod... it is a journey of maps.
Try fixing the sky brushes, and compiling it in normal mode with VIS and RAD checked.
Your -sparse might not be right, or you might have forgotten a gap somewhere.
It is a complex map, so I would expect it to take a while to compile, but there is no reason that RAD shouldn't run... You have included the hlrad.exe in the tools folder, haven't you?
Your -sparse might not be right, or you might have forgotten a gap somewhere.
It is a complex map, so I would expect it to take a while to compile, but there is no reason that RAD shouldn't run... You have included the hlrad.exe in the tools folder, haven't you?
Here is the concept....
Take a whole heap of random maps and string them together to make an HLSP.
That way everyone get's their map in the final production Mod...
What you put in your map, detail and architecture, is up to you...
Take a whole heap of random maps and string them together to make an HLSP.
That way everyone get's their map in the final production Mod...
What you put in your map, detail and architecture, is up to you...
Anyone interested in submitting an .rmf of a simple map that has an entrance and exit and good stuff in the middle?
I think we have enought talent to put something together, I just need to know if it's worth doing?
Actually I think Kol suggested something like this a while ago.... but I spent today combining the Compo maps with simple level transitions and it aint half bad. (I will put the finished product in the Vault later near the end of the year)
So if you are interested, just comment here....
I think we have enought talent to put something together, I just need to know if it's worth doing?
Actually I think Kol suggested something like this a while ago.... but I spent today combining the Compo maps with simple level transitions and it aint half bad. (I will put the finished product in the Vault later near the end of the year)
So if you are interested, just comment here....
I have a feeling this isn't going to help at all 
When you create your first brush, make sure you don't turn it into an entity.
You can sometimes get this error by trying to assign an entity to another entity. However you should get a little pop up asking you if you want to assign both solids to the new entity. If you click No, then the old entity will appear non solid and have co-ordinates that are way off the map. This old entity needs deleting.
But there seems to be more to your problem... Post an example of what has happened in the Problem Maps section of the Vault, and someone might be able to shed some light on it.
When you create your first brush, make sure you don't turn it into an entity.
You can sometimes get this error by trying to assign an entity to another entity. However you should get a little pop up asking you if you want to assign both solids to the new entity. If you click No, then the old entity will appear non solid and have co-ordinates that are way off the map. This old entity needs deleting.
But there seems to be more to your problem... Post an example of what has happened in the Problem Maps section of the Vault, and someone might be able to shed some light on it.
Link is here at TWHL:
Links
Links
And so it should ministeve but you seem to be the only one that is actively using Spirit to produce maps....
WinAce and WinZip compression is pretty much the same... I have tried both and haven't noticed a significant saving using either one. I will say however.... [b]Not[/b] everyone has the capability to save files in .rar or .ace format. It is generally accepted that [b]almost[/b] everyone has some form of .zip program (like the one that is standard with XP).
Reason I mention this is that I had never heard of .ace or .rar till I got maps from you two guy's
Reason I mention this is that I had never heard of .ace or .rar till I got maps from you two guy's
Try to stick with -wadinclude... after much debate we think it is the best way to add non standard textures, and reduce the size of the final .bsp That way, the only textures that are not included are the ones released with the game.
When texturing one face of a brush be careful that the texture you are using is not a sound producing texture that is listed in the materials text.
Correct me if I am wrong... But I remember getting errors once before when I tried placing a metal texture on the face of a normal textured brush. Possible it was just me though
Correct me if I am wrong... But I remember getting errors once before when I tried placing a metal texture on the face of a normal textured brush. Possible it was just me though
Hammer 3.5 has NO prefabs....
You will have to copy the original Prefab folder from 3.4 (3?) to the same location in your 3.5 directory. It will then function the same way, regardless of wether you call them random or miscellaneous
You will have to copy the original Prefab folder from 3.4 (3?) to the same location in your 3.5 directory. It will then function the same way, regardless of wether you call them random or miscellaneous
Sound in Multiplayer is pretty tricky at the best of times, I know that it is generally accepted that the less noise you use the better, and I think the reason for that is what happens when the map cycles and starts again, I had an ambient_generic in cs_coffee but finally took it out because whenever the game finished and reloaded the generic went mad. I have seen a few articles on this, so If you do manage to get it to work in an MP environment, let us know how it was done.
Just wait till you run into the Hall of Mirrors problem associated with Null. It's a great one, but yeah, basically cover all in map faces that the player won't see with Null and you will reduce poly counts.
Oh, and the file he had was the 1.7 version... it's just that I hadn't got that far when this post was made...
Oh, and the file he had was the 1.7 version... it's just that I hadn't got that far when this post was made...
If the .bsp is 2Mb... how big is it in ZIP format, .bsp files normally reduce quite a bit. As for including textures.. The only ones you need to include are the textures that are listed in the texture tab (at the time you compile) that are not found in the Retail or Standard version of the game. Stripping textures out of .wad files is great and makes it easier, but when you come to distribute the map it makes things worse. I can't tell you how much bigger the .bsp will get unless I know what textures are included and their size.. But it will increase.
As for the lights.rad, I am not sure that there is one coded, but I always use my own the way you described.
You will have trouble trying to upload a map to the Vault if it is anywhere near 2Mb if you have a dial-up connection. Find someone to hoast it and save the heartache..
As for the lights.rad, I am not sure that there is one coded, but I always use my own the way you described.
You will have trouble trying to upload a map to the Vault if it is anywhere near 2Mb if you have a dial-up connection. Find someone to hoast it and save the heartache..
Same here,
Great to see that finally someone is trying out all the stuff. There is so much you can do with HL, but these days everyone seems to want to produce a sequel without working out why or how the thing works. (Thats why no one ever get's anything done...)
Keep going on this, it is an interesting project.
Great to see that finally someone is trying out all the stuff. There is so much you can do with HL, but these days everyone seems to want to produce a sequel without working out why or how the thing works. (Thats why no one ever get's anything done...)
Keep going on this, it is an interesting project.
If your map is totally dark and you have any Brush that you have changed the Render Mode and FX amount on to make it translucent, then the brush will glow. It doesn't have to be Glass, but thats where we normally experience this problem. Someone else mentioned this recently....?
I don't think there is a fix for this. ??? but you can trick the map by putting a soft dull light behind the texture and make sure it is not Opaque, that gives the effect that a light is on somewhere, but not a bright one.
I don't think there is a fix for this. ??? but you can trick the map by putting a soft dull light behind the texture and make sure it is not Opaque, that gives the effect that a light is on somewhere, but not a bright one.
De Wans original tutorial on Hints for Quake is probably the best I have ever seen, but I can't seem to find it anymore. However, here is something people seem not to mention when talking about Hint Brushes.
When the engine divides the map into BSP leafs to assemble the Potentially Visible Set or PVS (as discussed in the VERC tutorial), it doesn't do it exactly the same way everytime you compile.
Sometimes adding a hint brush can be worse, than re-compiling and trying to get a different result. However this tends to lead to r_speed madness, where you are chasing a single wpoly reduction for the sake of a few days work.
What you really want to achieve is drastic reduction, and the best way to do that is through initial design.
When building a map... always keep in the back of your mind, what can I see when I stand here, and what will the engine see?
There is no surefire answer, but the tutorials that Tlax has linked is a really great start to understanding how it all works.
When the engine divides the map into BSP leafs to assemble the Potentially Visible Set or PVS (as discussed in the VERC tutorial), it doesn't do it exactly the same way everytime you compile.
Sometimes adding a hint brush can be worse, than re-compiling and trying to get a different result. However this tends to lead to r_speed madness, where you are chasing a single wpoly reduction for the sake of a few days work.
What you really want to achieve is drastic reduction, and the best way to do that is through initial design.
When building a map... always keep in the back of your mind, what can I see when I stand here, and what will the engine see?
There is no surefire answer, but the tutorials that Tlax has linked is a really great start to understanding how it all works.
Most texture artists give freely of their product and only ask that you credit them in the readme. It is a good idea to try to e-mail them and ask if you can use their work, but sometimes their e-mails don't exist anymore.
Standard textures that have been released with Retail games (CS, TFC, HL ++) are understood by the community to be used as the mapper see's fit, but it shows good form to credit the original author... if you know who that is, or at least mention that the textures used are not yours and thank whoever made them.
I was surprised by a recent e-mail asking if someone could use some sprites I produced in 1998... I had forgotten that I had developed them, but it was great to get the e-mail and even better to say... Sure, feel free.
If you don't get a reply, just use the stuff and credit the author... it is pretty well an accepted way of doing things in the mapping community.
Standard textures that have been released with Retail games (CS, TFC, HL ++) are understood by the community to be used as the mapper see's fit, but it shows good form to credit the original author... if you know who that is, or at least mention that the textures used are not yours and thank whoever made them.
I was surprised by a recent e-mail asking if someone could use some sprites I produced in 1998... I had forgotten that I had developed them, but it was great to get the e-mail and even better to say... Sure, feel free.
If you don't get a reply, just use the stuff and credit the author... it is pretty well an accepted way of doing things in the mapping community.
Normal F9 compile defaults to VIS and RAD being off. You have to check the boxes to turn them on.
But since the map looks fine in Normal and wrong in Expert, then it could be a how you have your lights placed and the brightness, or a LEAK?? No that doesn't make sense?
Opposed to what logic might dictate, a light with a brightness/color value of "0 0 0 0" will actually appear as a light of color "255 255 255" with a mid level brightness.
But since the map looks fine in Normal and wrong in Expert, then it could be a how you have your lights placed and the brightness, or a LEAK?? No that doesn't make sense?
Opposed to what logic might dictate, a light with a brightness/color value of "0 0 0 0" will actually appear as a light of color "255 255 255" with a mid level brightness.
Vis Blockers are just walls... but they are positioned so that they block a line of site from one room to the other. There is more info in the R_speeds tutorial, but not much. I was doing a tut on it, but couldn't get consistant results.
Try to place walls so that you cannot see from one room into the next. Doors do not block visibility, because they are entities. So you need to incorperate a wall.
Try to place walls so that you cannot see from one room into the next. Doors do not block visibility, because they are entities. So you need to incorperate a wall.
Check out Healing pools by the spawningtank.
And don't group the spawn points.. that seems to help also.
I refreshed before I posted that.... Arghhhhh
Yeah... I really don't understand it sometimes. I could have sworn that I replied to a thread... and then it seems to have gone missing.
But know that we have a lot of active members, the posts normally get answered and people normally stay on the topic.
Self regulation seems to be working (apart from the occasional inane comment and profanity) so the moderators have decided to let it be. We will not be editing the forums, or deleting comment, but you can be assured that we do take notice of who is doing what and will do something if it is needed.
But know that we have a lot of active members, the posts normally get answered and people normally stay on the topic.
Self regulation seems to be working (apart from the occasional inane comment and profanity) so the moderators have decided to let it be. We will not be editing the forums, or deleting comment, but you can be assured that we do take notice of who is doing what and will do something if it is needed.
I will e-mail him today as let him know that the Indians are getting restless...
stusaysyo,
Yeah, this forum is for posts like yours.. but it would have been better in the Stuff or Site forum because of the replies it generated. Not your fault though
Steinin ,
Forum Help or you could try the little ? next to the smilies.
Everyone ,
Back on Topic....
We voted for the last compo, but I suspect that was rigged due to the the response we actually got !
The next compo will be decided once the results of the last have been posted.
If you have a preference for a type of Compo, then start a topic in the Site Suggestions Forum and we will be happy to explore all suggestions.
I already have a few ideas for Next year... more on that later.
Yeah, this forum is for posts like yours.. but it would have been better in the Stuff or Site forum because of the replies it generated. Not your fault though
Steinin ,
Forum Help or you could try the little ? next to the smilies.
Everyone ,
Back on Topic....
We voted for the last compo, but I suspect that was rigged due to the the response we actually got !
The next compo will be decided once the results of the last have been posted.
If you have a preference for a type of Compo, then start a topic in the Site Suggestions Forum and we will be happy to explore all suggestions.
I already have a few ideas for Next year... more on that later.
I had an e-mail from atom today, and due to technical complications, he is not able to access some areas of the site and will not be able to post the Compo results for a few weeks.
I know you will all be disapointed, especially those who entered. I was lucky enough to see most of the entries, and the standard was very high. But I am not the Judge... so you will have to wait till atom gets back.
Thank you to those who entered... we have some really talented members here!!!
I know you will all be disapointed, especially those who entered. I was lucky enough to see most of the entries, and the standard was very high. But I am not the Judge... so you will have to wait till atom gets back.
Thank you to those who entered... we have some really talented members here!!!
For those of you interested in submitting tutorials, please read the following :
I have to move house and will be without a computer until the middle of December (03).
Having said that, I don't want you to stop working on stuff, I am just saying this to let you know that I won't be able to do anything till then. Please don't e-mail anything large, as I will be getting my e-mail remotely and won't be able to save stuff.
Thank you to all the members who have sent in stuff this year and helped make this a really great site. I will get the ball rolling again early in the New Year.
Andy
I have to move house and will be without a computer until the middle of December (03).
Having said that, I don't want you to stop working on stuff, I am just saying this to let you know that I won't be able to do anything till then. Please don't e-mail anything large, as I will be getting my e-mail remotely and won't be able to save stuff.
Thank you to all the members who have sent in stuff this year and helped make this a really great site. I will get the ball rolling again early in the New Year.
Andy
Change of mind
Captain P
Could you send me an e-mail detailing when the compo will be and what it will be about and I will add the News post for you.
Captain P
Could you send me an e-mail detailing when the compo will be and what it will be about and I will add the News post for you.
There is another little button with tl on it that locks the texture so that when you move it the texture does not move. That might be easier....
ministeve is right... You can't.
Best solution is to post it in the General Mapping Question Forum with the title, New Compo at www.cpcp.tk
That should get some attention.
Best solution is to post it in the General Mapping Question Forum with the title, New Compo at www.cpcp.tk
That should get some attention.
There is a good chance that the next compo will be launched when the last one has been judged.
Shouldn't this be in the Site Suggestions Forum?
Shouldn't this be in the Site Suggestions Forum?
Not sure if this will help, but it does cover some of the concepts:
Glowing Sprites. There are a few excellent sprite tutorials at VERC, and a few at 69th Vlatitude...
Glowing Sprites. There are a few excellent sprite tutorials at VERC, and a few at 69th Vlatitude...
There has been some concern about Forum Posts being deleted, I can assure you that the moderators are [b] NOT [/b] deleting Forum posts (although there are a few I would like to . We are not editing them either. We are relying on the community to control their own actions and won't step in until it gets out of hand. So try to stick to the topic in the General Mapping Questions forum, and feel free to be irrelivant in the others. Also, please keep the language and replies in a clean/friendly tone, as we do have younger members to consider.
I have been wondering over the past few weeks about a few of my answers to questions, that seem to have gone missing. To those of you that have missing posts, I apoligise. But it seems to be the madness of the host server logging people in and out at random.
. We are not editing them either. We are relying on the community to control their own actions and won't step in until it gets out of hand. So try to stick to the topic in the General Mapping Questions forum, and feel free to be irrelivant in the others. Also, please keep the language and replies in a clean/friendly tone, as we do have younger members to consider.I have been wondering over the past few weeks about a few of my answers to questions, that seem to have gone missing. To those of you that have missing posts, I apoligise. But it seems to be the madness of the host server logging people in and out at random.
Back to the Topic?
I am currently typing away on a:
PII 400Mhz
128 Mb SDRAM 100Mhz
Riva TnT 16Mb AGP
And that is really struggling, so I think you might be telling porkies Jobabob. As it is I can go and get a coffee while I wait for Hammer to load a map. :
I am currently typing away on a:
PII 400Mhz
128 Mb SDRAM 100Mhz
Riva TnT 16Mb AGP
And that is really struggling, so I think you might be telling porkies Jobabob. As it is I can go and get a coffee while I wait for Hammer to load a map. :
Uploaded an example of all the things you asked for in the Map Vault. All you have to do is click download just above my comment. I loaded it up before you mentioned the Fade bit and txt, so tuff. maybe someone else can look at that, a second pair of eyes is always a good thing.
Make the button trigger a multimanager, which in turn triggers the env_explosion (multiple) and env_sound (although i spose you could try an ambient_generic), and func_breakable (glass tubes). Also have it target a monster_maker to spawn your monsters. Make sure your explosion doesn't kill all your scientists..
And reading the readme normally works.
And reading the readme normally works.
Sorry Vassy,
I didn't read all your answer...
Does this mean that Black Cat will now add screenies to his Vault maps? Yeah... Great.
I didn't read all your answer...
Does this mean that Black Cat will now add screenies to his Vault maps? Yeah... Great.
In game F5 as Vassy say's. You will find the picture in your game directory.
Or you can try the PrtScr/Sys Req key and then open your paint program and paste....
Or you can try the PrtScr/Sys Req key and then open your paint program and paste....