Func_Physbox properties Created 19 years ago2005-03-25 17:49:51 UTC by Kasperg

Does anyone know how to properly set up a func_physbox so that it isnt lit only by RAD? The physboxs I make work OK, but when you toss them around there's always a black side where light didnt touch it in the RAD process.

I've seen a throwable door in dm_steamlab that appears to react differently to light when you move it around. Is it a model? Do you need some kind of dynamic light for it to work? thx 4 your help

Have you tried using a cubemap and selecting all sides of the phsbox?

It has a wooden texture (no reflection shader) so I dont think the cubemap would do any difference... I'm going to try changing the min light level and see if it helps

Worth a try.

The door in Steamlab is a model, props_c17.

I think the moral of this story is: download XSI.

What is the wood Texture? If its got prop/ model infront of its name chances are that it will be craped up when used on a brush.

It wasnt a model texture, but it happens with everyother texture, tiles, rock etc.
I'm thinking that func_physbox are completely useless entities unless the map is fullbright or the physbox is invisible or permanently glowing in the dark

Yep. If you have loads of them, they all stick together and freeze, too.

download XSI.

Only if you want a shoddy exporter that screws teh verticies of everything.

I'm thinking you're correct, Kasperg. Perhaps one could create a setup where the physboxes are lit in an exterior room and 'teleported' to their locations, sort of how the trains were lit in HL1?

It could be done, but it still wouldnt solve the problem. Think for a moment that the physboxes are lit by the light_enviroment, our sun. When teleported back to the map, they will look wrong if they end up being in shadow. Changing the min light level only solved the problem of making every side of the brush equally lit, but it's no use.
Just one question. There is a junk prop that looks like a cinder block, I forgot its name. The fact is that when I play the map, I can't pick it up with the physcannon (the flags are all correct) but it moves with the physcannon shot and whenever you shoot it, explosion occurs, etc. I used it in a prop_physics_multiplayer, but maybe it should just be prop_physics. Could that be the problem?

Valid point. In any case you use a physbox, it's always going to have messed up lighting, I suppose D:

The junk prop problem is interesting, I had the same issue in Petrol with the sawblade and cinderblock. Try putting it on prop_physics, and make sure it's not colliding with any other physics props or the world.

I guess it's not colliding with anything else since I had the same problem with the same prop in dm_resistance and changed it in the final version.
BTW, dm_7hour is in the vault for those who havent seen it yet

Sorry to revive my old thread. I am once again working with func_physbox, and I don't know what to do to enable the grav-gun to pick them up. I can shoot them around, but the secondary grab function wont work.
Is there a size limit or properties in which a physbox will be considered too heavy for the grav-gun?

Did you set both the prop_data and material type for the func_physbox?

Is the Mass scale 0?

I just tried a small box, prop_data=metal.small and material= metal. The physcannon works with it.

I tried metal:large, metal:medium and metal:small but it made no difference.
It is a sphere of 36x36 units. I've made physboxes in the past and I could pick them up. Is this too big?

Is the sphere strictly brushes (before you tied to func_physbox)?

Is it embedded in the floor?

I just changed my box-size to 64x64x64 and it drags, lifts, shoots and gets shot okay.

I tried bigger and there is a limit to size, it appears. I would suspect that anything whose center is higher than the cannon level can't be lifted or its brushes would overlap the floor brushes.

EDIT: just tried a box 128 high and it's not the height that matters.

Oh, do the cannon's "fingers" open up when you get near it? (I'm guessing they don't or you'd be able to grab it, huh?)

Could you mail the vmf me or tell me properties and flags you have set?
The sphere was a brush, and it is not embedded in the floor. I can use the primary grav-gun function to shoot at it and push it around (like you can do with the heavier objects in the game) but I cannot pick it up and carry it around with me.

Sure. I'll PM you.

Ok, I finally solved my problem, sort of. It seems that the texture you use on a physbox will have a drastic effect on its weight. Using one textured with black made it heavy and not pickable by the gravgun. Texturing it with combine metal makes the same brush-based entity much lighter and you can pick it up and carry with no problems.
I'm saying it "sort of" solved my problem because I really wanted to use the black texture on the physbox... I'll mess around with texturing to see if I can get it to work.

Try leaving it black and pushing the mass thing very low, perhaps.

Why don't you make it a model?

No need! Problem fixed.

I made a slightly bigger brush around the physbox with the desired textures and tied it to a func_illusionary. I gave the physbox a name and I gave the func_illusionary that name as a parent. Simple and effective.

Interesting! Some textures make it immovable, some textures make it shootable but not liftable, and other textures seem to behave as advertised.

A brush box with a "liftable" texture can have an "immovable" texture applied to a side and it's still okay. Texture the entire box with it and it's immovable.



Who'da thunk.