Forum posts

Posted 17 years ago2007-04-15 00:15:39 UTC
in H-L Compileing Stages Post #219137
Leafthread- creates leafs.
Build Vis leafs- The phase in which rad uses vis's leaf calculation to calculate light. As far as I know it also draws leafs from each light source. Having many light sources will lengten this phase and might be as long as the leafthread(1000 or more, usally happens because of texture lights, they create lots of light sources).

I can't tell you anymore since I don't know much on the rest of those RAD phases. So I wont start inventing stuff. I will look for something though.

I will explain a bit on RAD's swap file soon but I got to go now.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-14 17:28:56 UTC
in H-L Compileing Stages Post #219086
A tutorial on the phases and common errors connected to them, might be nice.
In the CSG I can refer to malformed face normal, plane with no normal and coplanar plane.
In BSP, leaks and max clipnodes.
In vis I can refer to leaf saw into portal.
In rad I can refer to too many light styles and allocblock:full.

I'll talk to seventh.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-14 10:33:37 UTC
in H-L Compileing Stages Post #219027
Well let us start with CSG.

CSG creates all brushes, vertex, faces, point entities, face normals...ect This is why it must be first before the rest. These things are the base of all maps without them nothing else can be done.

________________________________________________________
The main purpose of the BSP procces is creating the four hulls the game needs. Hulls 0-3.
Hull 0 is the colusion hull, the clip nodes. It determines whats solid and whats not.
In it's prossec bsp split faces into regions, each of these region, each one of these regions is a clip node that derermine that it's solid or not.

The other hulls are visual and determine what faces are on the inside and what are on the outside. BSP determines that by the location of the entities. Entities should be inside the hull so this is a very useful way to know whats the inside or out side. If there are no entities in the hull then BSP can't calculate at all. An entity outside the hull makes BSP think the void is the hull, so it will create a leak, since it wont be able to determine whats the void and whats the inside of the level.

A leak in hull 0 means BSP can't finish all the hull because there is a small hole, smaller then the player, it cannot determine wether it is solid or not. But it can still complete the other hulls to determin whats the inside and whats the outside. The old Q-tools could still run rad and vis with this leak, in ZHLT this behevior was removed to make the mapper fix the leak. Even if the map wont be fullbright the fps will drop.
A leak in other hulls mean the compiler can't even determine whats the inside of the room and whats the outside. In that kind of case the hole is larger then the player and the map wont run usally.
Vis and rad need BSP's 1-3 hull calculations in order to oporate.

_______________________________________________________
VIS is an extremely important procces and should always run.
It's purpose is to detemine from each spot what objects can be seen, things that can't be seen wont be rendered. Running will raise the preformence alot, without it all the map will be rendered at once.

The vis creates leafs and portals to help him calculate. Portals are the edges of the bsp clip nodes.
Leafs are lines that are drawn from each clip node to another, if that line is broken by a solid brush the other node cannot be seen from that point and hence wont be rendered. If there is a straight unbroken leaf between two nodes, even the edge of the nodes' portal, even if in most parts of the nodes that other node can't be seen, it will be rendered.
This is where hint brushes come it. They create a portal and split those nodes, and in this way you can discard a node that normally will be render from another spot. This is how they raise the preformence. A node covered by another world brush will be discarded since it couldn't be seen from any point.
It ignores entities, this is important cause it wont draw portals and split faces they cover.

As you probebly know calculating and drawing leafs from each portal to another is hard work and takes the compiler a long time.

________________________________________________________
RAD simply uses vis's calculations to calculate the light, where everything will be lit and where it will be dark. It calculates everything concerning lighting, all the little special affects like bounce ,and most important what blocks lights, thats why it needs vis to tell it from where each node can be seen. RAd also determines from each light source where the light is broken by by a brush, he uses the same method vis does, leafs.
Making opaque entities(blocks light) makes rad work harder since vis ignores them in it's calculates, rad needs to calculate some of them by his own.

This is it. An explenation on the HL compiling procces, and a little on leaks. :glad:
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-14 08:56:19 UTC
in Half-Life: Day One Post #219014
So the developers of sven co-op didn't make that heavy weapons grunt? Anyway I always thought he didn't look too good.
That RPG reminds me of doom 1, where you held the rocket launcher beneath your arm not on your sholder.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 23:16:43 UTC
in Can I play Half-Life 2 without internet Post #218989
It isn't unless somebody hacked Hl2 and made a non steam version which isn't very likely. You simply can't play Hl2 without internet, like I said!

You should try exchanging to wireless internet if you have more then one computer.(unless the computer you use to post here is your school's computer) They cost almost like regular internet and they can connect to two or more computers at the same time with no extra charge. Much better then paying for two connections.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 18:29:35 UTC
in Weird lighting problem Post #218966
No only 3 switchable lights that all have a direct line of view to a particular face. Entities don't block vis. You can have a lot more.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 18:25:14 UTC
in Cybernations. Post #218965
Luke is right, that name is rather stupid! I don't want to be part of such an alliance. Use the word union, it always sounds nice.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 18:21:50 UTC
in FPS Problem Post #218964
Suit your self, I still say that there isn't much diffrence. Even if there is 40 is ok, but why 90. Besides most people I know think the same. :|
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 17:50:47 UTC
in FPS Problem Post #218956
It's not how it runs, is how to eye sees. There is no diffrence between 24fps in one place or another. It means 24 frames are rendered per second. I cannot see the diffrence between 24 and 30 and so are most people, unless they try really hard, and that might mean that they made them selves believe there is a diffrence because they searched so much for it.

Another example: I once saw a man that was completely diffrent from some guy I've seen before, yet I was certain he was the same man. After a short time I started finding things that looked similar. Later I saw the second person and understood both had nothing incommon what so ever. I made myself believe they look alike. :|
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 17:40:59 UTC
in Weird lighting problem Post #218954
Tell that to the judge! I'll see you in court.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 17:32:06 UTC
in Weird lighting problem Post #218951
:lol: Three posts in a row about the same subject.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 17:29:08 UTC
in Weird lighting problem Post #218949
It means there are too many point light with diffrent styles entities that are connected direct line of view to a face. By styles I mean, light colours, light apearence, including costum apearence and also each light that can be toggled on/off has a diffrent lighting style. The maximum of lighting styles on a face is 7. If you have at list 7 togglable lights that have a direct line of view to a face thats what causing the problem.

I'm not sure, but I think with togglable lights the max is 3 not 7 like with lights with diffrent styles. I remember that I had a room with 4 togglable lights and this error showed up. But you better check out yourseld, I'm not certain I remember correctly.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 12:32:31 UTC
in FPS Problem Post #218923
Well, you must try pretty hard to see it's not smooth, most people will disagree with you. The human eye can't see things that change so quickly, but it might be possible that your eye cells started collecting info more quickly. Though it might be also possible that you made yourself believe it. No offence. It's a quite common case happens to nearly everybody. Sometimes they believe something is better or that even there is something in places where there is nothing, then they start thinking it's true.
You might made your self think it's true. I myself manage to make myself believe things are true, so true I start to see them. When I turn off the lights I can start thinking about shapes and imagine a man in front of me. Suddenly He doesn't seem like a figure of my imagination and I even sometime feel the touch of his hand or sound, like foot steps. But never clear words or sounds of course, I can't influence my brain that much.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 12:10:27 UTC
in Half-Life: Day One Post #218917
Anything different from the real version?
Yes. Remember the first grunt you met, the dead one with the MP5. In the room with the two senetry and crabs that teleport in. In day one he is a barney. :P
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 12:07:49 UTC
in FPS Problem Post #218915
Still, you don't convince me that if a movie runs on 24 fps smoothly a PC game can't. After all a second is a second, if it's smooth in one place it should be in another, if it's not then it means it isn't 24fps but slower.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 10:51:24 UTC
in Half-Life: Day One Post #218903
I have half life:day one. It was added to the lords of magic install. It is basicly half-life till blast pit.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 10:49:31 UTC
in Half-life Beta Recreation Post #218902
Didn't you work on that time mechine already? I advice you to work on a single project and never give up if you like it. Working on more then one means none of the projects will ever be finished.
For example: Me, I used to work on 2 or 3 maps on the same time and always thinking on new map ideas, how many maps I finished untill my most recent one? Only 1!
Take hunter for example, he works on at list to mods, non finished. Hostage situation isn't such a big mod, it's much shorter then Hl1, will provide a maximum of 1.5 hours of playing for most players around here. And that mod has countless people working on it, each making a rather small number of maps.
Each member releases a part in the size approximetly of idol hunt, and that mod was started a long time after hostage situation, maybe a year and a half and it is also finished!
The reason there aren't many serious mappers around here, and the ones that are serious release tons of maps.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 10:37:19 UTC
in FPS Problem Post #218899
All kinds of animation use 25 fps and filmed movies.

Kasperg if your TV or computer show movies with slight lag thats because it shows less then 24 fps or it justs stops alot of times.
You can perfectly see a video with higher framerates if your input device
No you can't, you can't watch video with higher framerates then 24/25. Thats because phsically impossible, there aren't any more frames on the film or in the camera's memory to fill the gaps that will be created.
If you want to ask my brother, he studies animation, and already made a few short films, he makes only 25 fps for his films, and so all other animators, 3D, classic and stop motion. How will the TV/computer add more frames? Add blank frames? Copy a few frames?
And besides many cartoons use each frame twice, one after another, so basicly cartoons only have 12.5 fps. :P And they still look smooth.

Conclusion, it's impossible to have in a TV more frames, basicly because they don't exist, the computer can create more frames because it creates them on the spot.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 07:47:10 UTC
in Website with abandoned games. Post #218884
Yeah. I played all the three, but only the demo of urban strike, It's praticly quite the same as the others. Only that you play in a jungle/city. I still remember the first level. You were in a jungle and the POWs were prisoned in pits covered with woden planks.

Abandonia has a dos version of desert strike that can work with dosbox.

Anybody knows a game similar to Beneath the steel sky? It's maybe the only point and click adventure game I like. I especially like the design, I think without it I wouldn't have loved it so.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 07:41:18 UTC
in Can I play Half-Life 2 without internet Post #218882
That means you simply can't play HL2 without internet? Steam is a pain in the ass! :tired:
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 07:31:15 UTC
in Website with abandoned games. Post #218881
Abandonia has lots of abandoned games, alas it is also the only sites that listen to ESA and other companies that protect their old games. For example, doom1 isn't abandoned, and that goes for castle wolfenstain3D.
But most games there are downloadable. Once in a while games are abandoned too. Abandonia reloaded has lots of freewares.

Does that site have Urban Strike, it's a version of Desert Strike that wasn't abandoned. I love desert strike! searching

Edit:
Shit, no site has that game, been searching for some time. Well I guess I'll have to wait till it will be abandoned. :(
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 07:25:48 UTC
in FPS Problem Post #218880
300fps... movies have 24 fps... and they still look smooth, there isn't any use of drawing more then 30 per seconds, the eye wont really notice, just like it doesn't in movies. I think that if those computers drew only 30 they could have made the graphics much nicer and levels more complex. :
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 07:17:15 UTC
in Explosion Post #218879
Yeah changing targets to nothing is often a good way to disable buttons. But don't use it for doors and trigger_once. If you don't know how to use trigger_changetarget check my tutorial!
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-13 07:12:21 UTC
in Major Problem Post #218878
Arghh!! I knew there was something wrong with that directory! :roll:
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-12 16:15:11 UTC
in My new map - Time Machine! Post #218812
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-12 00:39:55 UTC
in wadinclude Post #218762
First of all use Zoner Half life compiling tool instead of the qtools that come with hammer. You will find a link to them in TWHL's links page.

There are two reasons why you should get them:
1. They are better in every possible way. Many bugs were fixed and many new features were added. Some error will not happen in ZHLT.
2. Most people here know the names ZHLT gives all errors, while qtools might give the same error a diffrent name. It will be easier to get help.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 21:58:01 UTC
in Major Problem Post #218753
Well I'm beat! I don't know what the problem is, and it doesn't apear on tommy's. Guess he thought it was trivial so there is no need to write about it. But he did say alot about odd errors that might cause problems. You should check the followings:

[quote]- Another odd problem that shows up elsewhere is the bad sky enviornment name. For most of us a bad sky enviornment name leaves us with the default enviornment. But for some mappers, this can cause odd error warnings: like a bad brush that does not exist, or brush outside of map, or bad lighting in the map. Make sure you get that name RIGHT! If the six sides are sky_lf, sky_rt, sky_up, etc. you use "sky_" in the cl_skyname field.
  • A third odd problem is too small textures. If one over stretches the texture more than 10x, then zoner's compile tools usually give a warning. But there is little or no warning if you shrank the texture too far. When you get a frustating error that doesn't make sense, this one is something to keep in mind.
  • A rare fourth problem is a single HUGE .wad that is too big for memory.
  • If you have the a problem like malformed face and you do a check but do not get that error, but "Solid entity is empty", you may be a victim of the editor mixup.[/quote]
It is possible one of these things cause this problem.
Halflife.wad has 3116 textures? Weird, and I still feel confined if I only use it's textures? I still need costum textures?

Edit:
Well what do you know, it does have 3116 textures.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 21:31:51 UTC
in wadinclude Post #218750
In the expert compiling mode add to the CSG program this parameter:

-wadinclude <wadname>.wad

There must be a space between the othere parameters and it.
Example:
[Other CSG parameters] -wadinclude mywad.wad
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 20:56:24 UTC
in Scripting problems Post #218746
No, teleport it in, it's the simplest way. Monster makers don't allow a wide range of features, for example it doesn't have a trigger condition.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 20:53:43 UTC
in My new map - Time Machine! Post #218745
Make it a minimod and include the spirit dlls. No one will download spirit just to play a map. Thats mostly because people here aren't too fond of it, but it's also that some have diffrent versions of spirit. I myself have spirit 1.5, so I couldn't be arsed to download another version.(1.4 for instence)

Time travel? Where are you going to get the monsters, Hl1 creatures don't look prehistoric? Gunman would be more convinient for that.
And it doesn't really fit the theme to only have puzzles.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 20:46:07 UTC
in what is missing frame 0 of (texture)? Post #218744
well it's quite the same as the original problem.
The -0 -1 -2... tags mean that the engine will choose a texture out of the two or more for each face textured by it randomly. Your error means that it just can't find more then one of these tiled textures.
You can't only have -0, you must at list also have a -1 texture. Either you rename that texture or just witness a texture family reunion.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 20:26:27 UTC
in Ocean Temple Post #218743
Nope, they were already included in my original compo entery.

Edit:

First try with splines didn't go rather well, been a long time since I've used them I know what was my mistake so I think I'll make it next time.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 16:39:15 UTC
in New cs:s map in the works Post #218727
Nice, except the lighting. I'd suggest darker enviorment lighting, like night, dawn or dusk. This way you can add torches or other light sources that will make the lighting more intresting.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 16:35:40 UTC
in Ocean Temple Post #218725
Update:

I just made my first model. Making the model it self didn't take more then an hour but then I needed lots of help with exporting and compiling it, gmax has such a small export range.

User posted image


I know it's not much, but after all it's exectly what I wanted, a golden plate.

I'll soon post a pic of my second model, a candle on a small golden plate, most of the mesh is done I only need to create a tiny little handle, I think I'll use splines for it, might take sometime tough I don't have much experience with them.

As for the mod. As soon as I'll finish that candle I'll compile the water temple and upload it to this site. Afterward I'll start working on the rest of the mod. :)
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 16:26:13 UTC
in Scripting problems Post #218724
Or just place him in a small nulled room out side the map and then teleport him using the script's move to position value, pick instantanious.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 14:54:53 UTC
in 14 year old to be tried as terrorist Post #218715
Kidnappin' can be terrorism too, the only thing important is who does it.
An american/europian(except east europe) who kidnapps is a criminal. If he smuggles weapons he is a gun runner. If he shoots people in the street he is a maniac, if he blows up buildnings he is a maniac too.

If you are muslim then every crime is automaticly a terrorism act. ;)
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 14:00:09 UTC
in Major Problem Post #218712
Donno, I recently read about it in tommy's site, it was mentioned in some error. :
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 13:43:02 UTC
in Help with blender Post #218711
I've been modeling with gmax for sometime now. My problem is that it can't export the UV coords so I need to reapply the texturing.
Any body by a mere coinciedence knows how to apply textures with blender?

I know this isn't the right site but It's worth a try, I already tried a few other sites but no answer. And alas this is kinda annoying, this keeps me from finishing my map Ocean temple and starting to work on the mod it will be in. :(

Edit:

Never mind, managed to understand how to texture in milkshape.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 13:32:49 UTC
in Major Problem Post #218709
100 is the max, count them, then see if it exeeds the limit try to use less textures, try to replace some.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 02:54:04 UTC
in Major Problem Post #218675
Then why the heck is it in the valve folder?
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-11 02:08:44 UTC
in Major Problem Post #218672
valvecondition zeroczero
Err... are you sure thats the right directory? As far as I know CZ is a CS mod, but I'm probebly wrong. Anyway the mod folder is in the valve folder? Kinda weird, don't you think, usally mods have their own folders in the half-life/CS one.

If this is the right folder then I have two questions to ask you:
How many wads are listed in your texture list? 8 is the maximum, more then that can cause strange errors like this one.
Also, overall how many individual textures are listed in hammer, the max is 100, can also cause nasty problems.

Did you move/delete that wad since you set hammer up?
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-10 17:18:02 UTC
in The Illusion of Free Will Post #218637
All this talk about pizza makes me hungry!
The choice is randomly generated, but it is more probable that you will buy something wich you like, than if you would buy something that you don't like.
Then you are saying that there is a chance I might decied buy something I loath and don't want to have? I want proof! You say alot of things but never give any proofs.

By the way madcow, what do you mean by random, has no purpose or has no reason? Because if you'll search carefully you'll find most things have a reason!
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-10 17:09:13 UTC
in Cybernations. Post #218636
I deleted my nation a long time ago, half a year or so. Then recently I created a new one. Doing quite well for a nation of my age- 16k per day.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-10 17:05:09 UTC
in 14 year old to be tried as terrorist Post #218635
but this more like a kidnapping/abduction sort of thing.
Isn't that terrorisim too. Sometime terrorists kidnap people, not only blow up things, or shoot people. Besides I think he got that ambition from a little bit too much counter strike... :glad:
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-10 09:27:06 UTC
in The Illusion of Free Will Post #218591
Oh, then whats the problem... almost everything has no purpose, it's so trivial.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-10 09:18:07 UTC
in Major Problem Post #218590
A cylinder with 30 faces! :o Why would you want that, the max is 32 but for Hl1 16 is the max I'd use, not that it's high poly by it's self but with other detail it's just a waste of wpolies. 16 sided cylinders look fine as well. Anyway, you can't have completely round objects with world brushes, only with models, face it! Use cylinders with 8 and 16 faces instead.

Edit:
About the windows in full screen it happens if you press the button at the top bar with a small pictures of a window in it and a capital L next to it. It loads the full screen window position, the one with S saves the current screen position. I don't know how I always manage to fix this, but check in the window menu, you might find something in there.
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-09 13:03:19 UTC
in help with (advanced) func_trains Post #218511
Well simply because he asked for multi leveled elevator, and the TWHL version of my tutorial doesn't have anything on them. :)
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-09 11:58:05 UTC
in The Illusion of Free Will Post #218502
I don'y mean that everything has a purpose, hardly anything has one, I mean that everything was caused by something, not that it just happened randomly without any reason at all!
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-09 11:38:42 UTC
in help with (advanced) func_trains Post #218500
The guy who posted it probebly doesn't even hang around here anymore, no point in bumping this thread. :|
Posted 17 years ago2007-04-09 11:17:50 UTC
in Desktops of April Post #218497
I love sam & max, maybe I should change mine too, had it for over half a year.