Forum posts

Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 17:38:58 UTC
in Just a little teaser... Post #28121
SFX? That seems to have something to do with sound...

But anyway, I might make some tutorials after my exams. How about low-poly, good looking, irregular moving water? Or irregular flames instead of your ever-repeating fire sprite?
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 17:33:07 UTC
in Admitting Defeat Post #28118
2,5 cm equals 1 inch.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 17:31:06 UTC
in has coplanar plane Post #28116
Since the vertexes aren't on the grid, and during the compile process they are put on the nearest grid point, wich causes faces to be coplanar sometimes. Or other similar errors.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 17:03:22 UTC
in Leak Post #28097
Oh, I'm sorry.

Well, you should get used to prevent leaks. Solving leaks is a nasty job. The best way is to avoid them.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 16:36:10 UTC
in Just a little teaser... Post #28089
Mmh, it just has this strange blocky motive in it. It would just be faking you if I left it from the screenshot, non?
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 16:35:07 UTC
in Just a little teaser... Post #28088
It's not env_beams... :)

Mmh, I already told it... well, too bad, my mind wanders off to my exams now and then... :

I'm not the first one who has tried this? Oh, I would gladly believe so. In fact, I was inspired by a way some other engines create their light beam effects. It can be done in HL too but has some limitations. Only useable in certain spots. Still, very nice effect I think... :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 16:32:02 UTC
in testing my own maps Post #28087
see you for my next problem.
:)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 13:38:15 UTC
in testing my own maps Post #28068
I've checked it out and your catwalk brushes aren't convex. Use two triangular brushes instead, or select the other two vertexes and create an edge between them, : / : instead of : : if you get what I mean. (: = 2 vertexes, / = edge). :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 12:44:50 UTC
in Favorite games (not including hl) Post #28065
Wow... actually, I don't really play so many games. I like to design them much more... :)

Well, I have some I really like(d):

Command & Conquer Tiberium series
Warzone 2100
Halo
Half-Life (Deathmatch)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 12:41:31 UTC
in Just a little teaser... Post #28064
It's a teaser... I'm not telling how I made it yet... ;)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 12:35:21 UTC
in testing my own maps Post #28063
It's you :)

No, I was joking. The error report function of Hammer does not report evreything that causes problems. For as far as I can see, these topside faces of that circular catwalk are non-planar. The don't lie on one plane, e.g. on one endless, flat face. The topside face is bended a little. The compilers make the face planar, wich causes it to be different from in the editor.

Let me explain some basics that brushes should always apply to:
1. Every face has to be planar.
2. No two faces can share the same plane.
3. The brush must be convex, not concave.

People that are new to the vertex manipulation tool often don't know this, wich causes a lot of problems. So I'd say again: do some research on vertex manipulation before you start using it.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 12:26:45 UTC
in has coplanar plane Post #28062
Wow, that's a heavy bunch of errors!

Coplanar faces are faces that share the same plane. You should make them one face. The best solution is to recreate the brushes that cause these problems. In the menu, go to Map->Go to brush number... Then fill in the Entity number and the Brush number. You can see these numbers in the error.

Such bad constructed brushes can also cause other problems like the 'outside world' error. Fix all these bad brushed and compile again. I'd like to warn you about the use of the vertex tool. It's a very powerfull tool but one must know it before one can use it without causing problems. Every face must be planar, no two faces may share the same plane, and the brush must be convex, not concave.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 10:02:13 UTC
in MOD MAKIN HELP Post #28038
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 09:54:00 UTC
in MOD MAKIN HELP Post #28035
Then experiment with triggers. Try to put an idea into a map. Just starting immediatly on a mod without ever before having released some work is a bad idea. Get some experience in working out your idea's.

A lot of people have idea's. You need to learn to work them out and actually put them into a working map. Mapping isn't just technical knowledge only, or creativity. It's also just doing it. Trial and error. But if you're just doing it, the results can be very satisfying... :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 09:44:27 UTC
in MOD MAKIN HELP Post #28033
If you haven't experienc with triggers, don't start a mod. You're free to try but I higly recommend learning the ins and outs of mapping first. Your lack of technical knowledge will limit your creativity. To have someone else do the entitiy work will slow the process down. Learn to work with entities.

Besides, do you have a good idea, a plan for a mod? Or do you want to mod for the sake of it?
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 09:44:04 UTC
in testing my own maps Post #28032
Grouping doesn't change anything to bad solids. The faces of these manipulated brushes are probably not on one plane anymore. And that's what causes these strange effects. ALWAYS be sure every face is planar.

I'd advise you to do some research on vertex manipulation before using it. It's a very powerfull tool in the right hands but when you don't know the basic rules that brushes have to apply to it causes errors very quickly.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 09:36:17 UTC
in Video tutorials Post #28029
Very nice idea! I liked it!

I have some comments though:

1. Pipes often are more curved. Personally, I prefer them more like this:
http://www.websamba.com/captainp-home/custom/curved_pipes.jpg

2. Ctrl+L and Ctrl+I mirror (flip) the selection. I often find it more easy and faster than rotating.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 08:41:32 UTC
in Just a little teaser... Post #28019
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 08:16:09 UTC
in Just a little teaser... Post #28015
One thing I'll tell you: it's not your standard fade texture...
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 08:15:07 UTC
in Just a little teaser... Post #28013
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 08:13:22 UTC
in Just a little teaser... Post #28012
Just a nice effect I think some of you will like:

http://www.websamba.com/captainp-home/cu
stom/light3.jpg

:)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 08:10:11 UTC
in Model Creater Post #28011
Heavy Liquid Metal Coolant? ;)

What is HL Model Creator anyways? You mean you need a modeling program like Milkshape 3D?
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 07:18:26 UTC
in sunbeams Post #28002
http://www.websamba.com/captainp-home/custom/light3.jpg

Anyone said anything about light-beams? No? OK... :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 06:05:28 UTC
in Mix.wad Post #27992
Mmh, I think there's some misunderstanding here. You mean, only select the textures you're planning to use and put them into a .wad, instead of mixing up a lot of textures into a huge .wad file.

Anyway, -wadinclude will still only include the used textures from that .wad, whether it's huge or small. So, you can still use the seperate .wad files, and -wadinclude all of them. The results are the same when you mix these textures together into one wad file that you -wadinclude. My point: why the extra work of putting textures into one .wad file?
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 05:57:12 UTC
in good texture site Post #27991
http://www.contaminated.net/wadfather/

That should work. You may try Googling to find some textures too. I once posted a small list of websites that contain textures, somewhere on this forum too. If only I remembered where I posted that...
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 05:53:25 UTC
in Mix.wad Post #27988
Not necessary. -wadinclude only includes the used textures from the specified .wad file.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 05:52:39 UTC
in testing my own maps Post #27987
Meh, ZombieLoffe was first. Anyway... I often let my fellow Dutch mappers test my maps, and vice versa. A really helpfull and nice way to find problems you don't have, and to test maps on lower-end computers.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 05:50:48 UTC
in testing my own maps Post #27985
Yeah, shure, give us the link.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 04:32:38 UTC
in cool mod idea. Post #27976
Noone said you're intermediate, neither did I. I just said it happens so often that people have a mod idea, and ask others to join them. Instead of starting to make content themself, showing it's not just an impulsive action.

I'm talking from experience, most mods don't make it. I joined up with two others a long time ago too. Our mod failed, just like the many. Don't underestimate it. But you're free to try and if it works, that's just great. If it doesn't work, well, you learnt something too... :)

I do some modeling, it's not so hard once you get the grasp of it. Some persons get it within a few weeks, others need months. Anyway, creating a mesh isn't that difficult after all. Skinning can be little harder to get right, and finally animating is the hardest part. Creating realistic animations, that is. Anyway, a model can easily be remodeled without having to change the animations. Only when the skeleton is modified, you'll need to reanimate the model.

I'm also doing some coding, albeit very basic still. It's not that hard to get a little understanding of C++. With basic C++ knowledge, one can make nice adjustments to the code. For the more complex additions, you'll need to have some more insight though.

Personally, I think it's very usefull to have at least a little knowledge of every area of game-design. Especially mod leaders might find it very usefull. You'll learn things are not just 'for some reason' acting like they do, but you'll see what goes on behind it. And with some effort you can turn it just the way you want. You'll also have a better oversight of what you can and can't do for your mod, and how many time and effort is needed.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 01:38:58 UTC
in testing my own maps Post #27966
You're map is probably one of the so many, it's very little change someone downloads it. You'll have to organize a playtest yourself, gather some friends and play. CS players don't pick your map to playtest it, they want to play a good game. The ones you gather for a playtest know it's for a playtest and they will give you comments, wich is what you need after a playtest. Otherwise the whole playtest is useless.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 01:35:33 UTC
in Mix.wad Post #27965
We all have the halflife.wad. It's not a good idea to let us download textures we already have. Only supply the ones we don't have. I'd say, don't merge these .wad files, use the seperate .wad files and -wadinclude the textures from the .wad files that not everyone has.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-21 01:31:01 UTC
in Question about .wads Post #27964
The map needs to have a mapname.res file, wich is just a text file that stores the pathname and name of the files that are necessary for that map.

So if you have a map named killbox.bsp, wich uses killbox.wad and some custom sounds, cry1.wav and yell.wav, you'll have to create a file named killbox.res, wich should include the following lines:

killbox.wad
sound/ambience/cry1.wav
sound/ambience/yell.wav

Killbox.bsp is automatically downloaded, and whenever there's a .res file with the same name, it's downloaded too, as well as the files specified in it. You can make .res files easily with notepad, just give it the extension .res.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 17:58:35 UTC
in My B-Day!!!! WEEEE!!! Post #27935
Strange indeed... :)

Well, if you have fun with it, then why not? :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 16:55:44 UTC
in Leak Post #27930
A skybox is a bad fix, don't teach it to newbies.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 16:54:31 UTC
in BROADBAND Post #27929
ADSL at Filternet. Works fine for me, even filters most of the porn. Yech, how I hate it that people litter the internet with that!
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 16:15:19 UTC
in Grouping problem Post #27913
I don't know how you want these crystals to work exactly, but remember, a lot can be faked... :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 15:16:22 UTC
in My B-Day!!!! WEEEE!!! Post #27906
For me, mapping is a way to express my creativity, just like I see drawing. However, with mapping I can make interactive environments, wich can't be done with drawing.

Man, I like to express my idea's... No matter how old I am! :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 15:14:22 UTC
in My B-Day!!!! WEEEE!!! Post #27905
12h, 10010b, 22o, 18d.

Whatever. Why don't we just use the nonal system? I would be 20 then... :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 13:47:03 UTC
in Grouping problem Post #27872
Nope. Grouping has NOTHING to do with combining entities. Combining entities is NOT possible with HL. SoHL can do it to some extend, however.

Grouping in Hammer is just for ease of use, so you can select multiple brushes at once. It has nothing to do with anything in the game.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 13:41:52 UTC
in cool mod idea. Post #27871
Does anyone here know what this mod would require? I mean, does anyone here REALLY know what making a mod requires?

I see it happen a lot of times that some moderate skilled mappers get an idea, get some friends to join up and think they can do it. I've done it too. And believe me, it's not gonna work.

CS was started by one man. TFC's core team was 3 men. It's not in the amount of people that join. It's their experience and motivation. Good mod's make content first, even if it means the one man has to make it, and only then they can get others to work with them. Experienced people won't join when there's nohing to show them the mod has potential. I'm not talking about the idea. I'm talking about how it's going to be worked out. We all have idea's. But only few people really have what it takes to work it out, to motivate themselves and actually MAKE IT. And that's not as simple as it sounds. A lot of mods die a silent death, because it had only an idea and noone that was really ready to work it out.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 11:58:58 UTC
in My B-Day!!!! WEEEE!!! Post #27853
By 18 you should be making your own games? Are you nuts? Man, I'm still busy with my study man! And then again, I know people that are 30 that still map. It has nothing to do with age.

Besides, do you know the average age of a professional 3D-designer? Not that I know but it's sure over 18...
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 10:02:18 UTC
in models, the eternal nemesis Post #27833
The advanced options of a monster_scientist, I mean... :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 10:01:47 UTC
in models, the eternal nemesis Post #27832
In fact, I never tried. Try it yourself... :)

If it doesn't work, you can always try to add a body part to the scientist model, a military body and a military head, and find out what's the 'body' value of it (in Advanced properties, you can add a 'body' key and give it a value, those value's correspond with certain body-parts combinations.).
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 09:59:20 UTC
in Small Cylinders- HELP!!! Post #27831
It requires the texture-name to start with a '{', and the transparant parts need to be the last color from the textures color palette (wich is automatically made a blue color in Wally, when the texture-name starts with that '{').

Then, when you apply it to a face, the brush that it is on needs to be made an entity, for example a func_wall, with Render FX set to 'Solid' and Render Amount set to '255'.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 08:36:13 UTC
in You've Been Mapping Too Much When... Post #27819
Hehe! :P
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 08:34:21 UTC
in Small Cylinders- HELP!!! Post #27818
I think he means either a texture with relief or a texture with a circel on it (the wheel) and the rest transparant ( {-texture).
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 06:41:14 UTC
in Upcoming map for Half Life preview Post #27777
Visually not so stunning but that doesn't seem the purpose of the map here.

I like the idea of rotating platforms as an active part of the map's gameplay. The crystals are a nice touch too. Keep it up! :)
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 06:38:49 UTC
in You've Been Mapping Too Much When... Post #27776
-when you're thinking of the next part of your map-in-progress while you're bringing around newspapers. I do.

-when you sketch that idea after you're done with your newspaper-job. I do.

-when ou map that part in the afternoon or evening and continue to 12 o'clock. I do.
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 06:28:47 UTC
in Small Cylinders- HELP!!! Post #27774
You can't have cilinders that small. Every vertex has to be on a grid point. When you create such a small cilinder this is automatically done, but it causes some faces to be on the same plane. Your co-planar problem.

Solution: a small cube... It may not look so good but a cilinder so small is too detailed for the grid. I would use a model for such a detailed thing...
Posted 19 years ago2004-05-20 06:23:41 UTC
in models, the eternal nemesis Post #27773
scientist.mdl contains the model and it's several appearances (called body parts), as well as some sequences. The other 7 files all contain some sequences. There are no 4 models for the 4 'different' scientists, the head is just a body part that has 4 options. Grunts also have 4 different heads available, as well as 3 weapon types (no weapon too! ;)).

What you should do, is decompile the scientist model, reskin it (or remodel it, but leave the skeleton intact) and compile it into a model with a different name than scientist.mdl. You can then use that model with a monster_generic.