Forum posts

I bought Half-Life. Then Team Fortress Classic online got me started, for sure. I got foxbots and, as I played, I kept thinking: "This map would be better if such-and-such.."

I'd written my own modeling and level creating progs (C, C++, OpenGl, DirectX, etc.) and knew it had to be easier than that.

I googled for stuff like "team fortress map-making," etc. Eventually, twhl popped up and I lurked for quite a while, trying to figure out what everyone was talking about.

I downloaded Hammer from valve-erc, tried a couple of the beginner tuts here at twhl (still just lurking) and..

..got hooked.

It you want to turn a little as it flies, make the jet a func_tracktrain with a bankangle of maybe 20. You'll use path_tracks instead of path_corners. Put them in a curve.

A limitation of the HL func_tracktrain is that it'll bank only to the left or to the right so make the curve only in one direction - like ) or (. If you have it curve in both directions (like S) it'll look odd banking to the right on a left turn.

USA, but my heart is Scottish.

"If it's not Scottish, it's crrrap."

What does the error log say?

The console's not available in HL2 unless you tack on "-console" to the command line!

what is the point of prop_detail?

Uh.. did you take a look at the Valve Community link?

I make no claim to being a good texture creator, Mephs!

It's Wally, not MSPaint.

Admirable post, Mapper.

If you want to add some detail to break up the plainness of a room, don't put them all in one place. That only enhances the lack of detail in the rest of the room.

Coming into a square room with a picture over a table with a lamp, an ashtray, a book and a bottle on it when the rest of the room is comprised of a couch and a chair makes the couch and chair look pretty plain.

Spread the details around.

This is the Source forum, SM

For HL2 you have to run a command something like:

"c:program filesvalvesteamsteamapps[your logon]half-life 2hl2.exe" -game "c:program filesvalvesteamsteamapps[your logon]half-life 2hl2" +map "my_map"

Include all the quotation marks.

It appears to be a balance between rendering speed in the game and how much time you want to take to do models.

According to the Valve community you can put tens of thousands of prop_details in your map and thousands of prop_statics.

Certainly if you're going to have multiple occurrences of the same detailed object in your map, you'd want to model it.

If you want to have the same object in different sizes (rocks, etc.) you have to decide between the time to make a model for each size vs. what affect on speed a brush object would have.

That's a very good tutorial, CP. Thanks!

I'm sure you misspoke.. uh.. mistyped?

Relativity states that as anything moves it slows down and increases in mass.

I'm sure you meant 'as anything moves faster, it increases in mass.'

Yes, there are HL2 modeling tuts available around the web. However, I didn't find any that were directed specifically to the rank beginner (i.e., me).

So, while waiting for my tutorial proposals to be processed by the moderators here, they're available in html format at:

http://veazie.org/Tutorials/hl2%20tutorials.html

I'll be adding a tut there soon for doing an animated model (suitable for a prop_dynamic) using XSI.

To change the scale of the model itself, change the

$scale

line in the qc file and recompile.

Your smd files call for a texture named null.bmp, not bleugris.bmp.

Except for the wrong texture name, the smd file looks okay.

Half-life run under Steam does not use wad files. It uses cache files with the extension .gcf

Einstien predicted all of this

Would you share with us where (exactly) Einstein predicted this?

I routinely check the forums and it takes me maybe four or five minutes to run through all the new posts. You don't want to make that effort if you're looking for an answer??

I didn't ignore your last post, I examined it closely.

What I saw was that you didn't run the zoners tools. They didn't "refuse" to run, 38_98. There's no output. Your command line is incorrect. Somehow. Some way.

The zoners tools work. They will work on your machine. They will work better than the quake tools.

When you decide you will let yourself be helped, things will start to improve.

Some pretty nice screenshots.

Have you lifted all your columns 1 unit from the floor? (and down 1 unit from the ceiling) Couldn't quite tell from the screenshots but you may be getting extra leafs at brush intersections.

Read the tut about using steam.

http://twhl.co.za/tutorial.php?id=86

LEAK LEAK LEAK

..from your "standard" compile. Is that the leak you fixed? It isn't clear from your post if the standard compile is before or after you fixed the leak. If it's after, you still have a leak.

Also, it appears your setup is faulty when using zoners as files aren't being found, or the tools aren't being found. Recheck your setup, if you're not done with zoners altogether. You're not making a valid comparison of the two compiler tools because you're not running zoners at all!

Part of what's going on here is that the old tools do behave differently than zoners. You're asking what may be going wrong with your compile. Presumably you're assuming that others here may have more experience solving compile problems. Part of our experience is that zoners solves some compile problems that the quake tools exhibit.

It's certainly your choice to ignore advice you've asked for. But you may not get a lot of help diagnosing the problem if you insist what you're doing is better!

Don't blame Zoners, 38_98. If the errors are there "on every map," it's probably due to a bad habit you've gotten into.

In the long run, learning to build error-free maps is a great time savings. The time you're spending posting logs and being frustrated could be spent expanding your map, etc.

Patience, grasshopper.

Be careful with prefabs, Dj XtC. A lot of them have hidden problems (invalid polygons, texture errors, embedded lights, etc.) that can be very hard to trace. That includes some of the prefabs Valve supplies with Hammer!

Suggestion: if you download a prefab and put it in your map, compile immediately to see if there're any problems.

If you have an object you made (like a streetlamp) that you want to use several times in your map, group the pieces of the object, select it, ctrl-c to copy it, ctrl-v to insert a copy in your map. Repeat as needed.

vis is run after the basic "shapes" of the map are processed by csg. vis determines what can be seen from various points in the map. Since there's a hole in the map somewhere, that means that vis would see "forever" if it tried to determine what could be seen through the hole.

The compilers "protect" one another from errors of that type. If csg finds a hole, vis doesn't run. If it did, it would find an error anyway.

Try a windows search for '*.wad'

Actually, yeah.

Spring - from the Four Seasons by Verdi

Sounds like it could turn out to be an excellent competition. After all, without Xen, there's no Half-Life story! Maybe we'll find out how Xen residents get back-and-forth to work, how they get to the beach or to school. How do alien slaves get to the wing place in time to get back for the big game on the XTV channel?!

There isn't an 'on end touch' flag on the trigger_once, is there?

No, but there is on a trigger_multiple (since you asked about 'other' triggers). I mentioned the 'On end touch' to better define what the 'On start touch' is.

when would one want to trigger a trigger_once from another entity?

Although your question was directed at SM, the trigger_once may be used like a one shot multimanager - several outputs to several targets with timing. You may want to trigger that sequence once from one of several other triggers that you want to use multiple times for other events. By using the trigger_once, you don't have to load up each of the other triggers with the 'once' sequence.

I'll give it a shot, too, if you need another tester.

IMO-

I don't care for the Xen theme.

CP's suggestion has some good potential.

If you want a chase map or something, go for it. You won the compo and it's your privelege.

Good luck deciding!

There are .smd exporters for both max 6 and 7

Do they export model, phys and anim smds?

Wow, there is a use for that thing.

ROFL

'On start touch' is output when the player enters the brush area, distinguished from 'On end touch' when he exits the brush.

This can be used, for example, to turn on lights or animations when a player enters a room ('On start touch') and turn them off when he exits the room ('On end touch').

Is there a big difference in $$$ between the two?

I've just gone through a grueling process to begin HL2 modeling (prop_statics and prop_dynamics). It's a long and hard process, the files are huge, but, if there's interest, I'll gen up some very basic tutorials to get things started.

Comments?

Here's a basic outline of what it takes to get started. Read this and think about whether you want to spend the time before you comment.

Thanks.

Download files:
1. get the Source SDK

a. launch Steam
b. goto Play Games
c. scroll down to the Tools section (probably at the bottom)
d. click Source SDK and follow instructions
e. DO NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE WHILE IT'S DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING!

2. get a modeling program (XSI EXP v4.2) [Milkshape, 3ds, etc., also avail]

a. download from http://downloads.zdnet.co.uk/0,39025600,39000886r-6,00.htm
	-or-
b. goto [url]http://www.softimage.com/products/Mod/v42/downloads/[/url] if you don't mind going through the hassle of fileplanet or fileshack

c. run XSI and create a softimage account. Get your activation number and activate XSI
d. download the ValveSource addon from softimage and install it
e. download the online documentation for XSI from softimage and install it

3. get a texture editor (e.g., Wally)

Setup VPROJECT environment variable used by SDK programs

1. MyComputer->Properties->Advanced tab->Environment Variables button
2. under System variables table->New: Variable name: VPROJECT
3. value for VPROJECT: c:program filesvalvesteamsteamapps[logon]half-lifehl2
4. press OK buttons until you're out of the Properties dialog

Setup folders for modeling:
1. [steam-logon]half-life 2hl2models
2. [steam-logon]half-life 2hl2materialsmodels
3. [steam-logon]sourcesdk_contenthl2materialsrcmodels
4. [steam-logon]sourcesdk_contenthl2modelsrcmodels

For each new model:
1. create ..sourcesdk_contenthl2materialsrcmodels[model_name] folder
2. 1. create ..sourcesdk_contenthl2modelsrcmodels[model_name] folder

Texture editor:
1. create tga texture (must be power of 2 sized and TGA)
2. move to [steam-logon]sourcesdk_contenthl2materialsrcmodels[model_name]

In XSI:
1. create model and texture it
2. export 3 files to [steam-logon]sourcesdk_contenthl2modelsrcmodels[model_name]: model_ref.smd, model_phys.smd, model_idle.smd

Compile texture:
1. blah-blah-blah

Create a .qc file for the smds:
1. blah-blah-blah

Compile the model
1. blah-blah-blah

Look at the model in HLMV, etc.

Since it was a "worse than, better than, equal to" question.. uh.. what do "definitely" and "YES" mean?

only if you want proper reflections from a player POV

I understand the cubemap placement may not solve his immediate texture problem, RM. But if he's going to use them.. aren't proper reflections the idea?

the cubemaps are about 10 units up

I believe it's recommended to place cubemaps a minimum of 16 units from the nearest surface.

it is nodraw on all sides

Do you mean "all" sides or do you have a water/[water texture] on one side (preferably the top, which you should)?

We all start out trying to understand all the pieces, no? And with HL1-WON and HL1-Steam and HL2 and CS and CS-Steam..

There's a lot to ask questions about.

simehong2000 - suggestion: post your questions to the forum that best suits the subject. Your question is probably better suited to one of the Design Forums.

A wad file is usually a fairly large file containing texture files. There aren't any wad files available at this site.

If you have a texture that you want to add to an existing wad or you want to look at or extract a texture from an existing wad, try out the Wally program. You can also use Wally to create a new texture or modify an existing texture.

http://www.telefragged.com/wally/

.. points to a valve-erc page which has broken links to the downloads.

Needs to be changed to www.zhlt.info or similar.

Is there a "moderator" or caretaker for the links page?

Download the Valve Hammer editor for HL1 from collective.valve-erc.com instead. Get the Zoners (ZHLT) compile tools also.

You'll have to go to http://www.zhlt.info for the zhlt tools as valve-erc's link to the tools is no longer valid.

I don't know about deleting your old HL1. Think about keeping it. What happens when steam doesn't work? Hmm? I kept my old HL1 version for playing bots and testing HL1 maps. It's faster, etc.

the movie came after HL2

In addition to the radio series, the movie was released in 1953.

Actually, reading the book and not seeing the movie might be the best option.

It also appears that XSI EXP is very buggy (as I found and as I read).

The uv mapping interface in XSI EXP is very good, but it doesn't seem to work consistently. It will, however, import the reference smds made in blender, so perhaps a combo of the two..

I'll have to take a look at 3ds again.

Good luck.

Sorry, I was thinking HL1.

In HL2, button entities are there own "multimanagers."

Setup button 4 as initially locked (flag) with an output of opening your door when pressed.

Setup button 8 with an output of unlocking button 4 when pressed.

8 unlocks 4, 4 opens door. Other buttons do as you please.

If you want to ensure that 4 works only after 8, setup all the other buttons to lock 4 when pressed.

Is your light pointing down?