Mapping Question Megathread v3

[J4censolo]

How do you get an NPC to move to a path_corner after being spawned from an npc_maker?

[Fulcrum]

[QUOTE=dslight;35215473]In any of the view ports except the top left one (The Rendered one by default), drag your cursor and select an area of brushes you want to highlight, then press enter. Voila.

Question. Is it possible to pack lua scripts in a .bsp via packrat or any other software variant and have the lua script executed by an lua_run entity every round? I have a count-down timer lua script as an addon with client and server sided folders. I want to pack this without having players requiring a seperate addon to render the count-down timer in addition to the .bsp map file.[/QUOTE]

Yeah this is possible but you might find assholes removing it form your map and hosting causing issues for people trying to connect with your original version.

[Azzator]

So I made this map which has a construction site heavy with scaffolding. The scaffolding is probably made up of 60+ brushes overall. Now for some reason, it won't or is taking too long to compile. Obviously, I know Hammer would have a hard time compiling it given the number of brushes so tightly constricted together, and especially since I set the lightmap scale to 1 for aesthetic reasons, so I decided to func_detail the scaffolding. Now it did compile, but when the game tried to load the map, it crashed and displayed an error:

Bad surface extents on texture metal/ibeam001b

I can't add any pics right now because I'm posting from my phone. I'll probably just edit this post later.

[Firegod522]

[QUOTE=Azzator;35228889]So I made this map which has a construction site heavy with scaffolding. The scaffolding is probably made up of 60+ brushes overall. Now for some reason, it won't or is taking too long to compile. Obviously, I know Hammer would have a hard time compiling it given the number of brushes so tightly constricted together, and especially since I set the lightmap scale to 1 for aesthetic reasons, so I decided to func_detail the scaffolding. Now it did compile, but when the game tried to load the map, it crashed and displayed an error:

Bad surface extents on texture metal/ibeam001b

I can't add any pics right now because I'm posting from my phone. I'll probably just edit this post later.[/QUOTE]

Raise the lightmap scale or clip the face with that texture.

[adrianooo321]

Right all of a sudden my water started to look wierd :
[url=http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=2012-03-21_000180mamr.jpg][img]http://www.abload.de/thumb/2012-03-21_000180mamr.jpg[/img][/url]

[Firegod522]

That is one weird hosting site.

Post the compile log.

[wauterboi]

[img_thumb]http://wauterboi.com/img/270.jpg?1332087035[/img_thumb]

Those buffer overflows only happen when people spawn in an area where everything's rendered, but what I'm wondering is why is everything getting rendered all at once? The only place people won't overflow is in the stairway. Shouldn't this be taken care of in the compile process?

[Firegod522]

Try placing an area portal in the doorway. If you're compiling with fast it will also do that.

[wauterboi]

[QUOTE=Firegod522;35240394]Try placing an area portal in the doorway. If you're compiling with fast it will also do that.[/QUOTE]
I'm not doing it with fast. I tried putting an areaportal in the doorway and it does nothing.
[img]http://wauterboi.com/img/271.jpg?1332387553[/img]

[Azzator]

How do I go about optimizing this? I've looked up optimization on the Developer Wiki and that article on Interlopers. So far all I can understand is the func_detail thing. The areaportal, occluders and other stuff don't make an ounce of sense to me, at least on how I'll apply them on outdoor environments such as this one.

Pics:

How it looks like in Hammer:

[IMG]http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8260/cityhu.jpg[/IMG]

How it is in-game:

When I look at the building

[IMG]http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/2513/2012032200006.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/2865/2012032200008.jpg[/IMG]

If I move the view away from the building itself, it renders:

[IMG]http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3679/2012032200005.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/6808/2012032200007.jpg[/IMG]

Note, I only set the lightmaps to 1 on the roads, not on the structure itself.

[adrianooo321]

Fixed it had 2 leaks in my map , btw i used this tool [url]http://www.interlopers.net/index.php?page=errors[/url]

[dije]

Why are my particles doing this?
[t]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/41041550/energy_field_test0004.jpg[/t]

They should be doing a straight line :(

[radu_iceman]

When "func_detail"-ing a structure, is it best to select all brushes that form it and tie them to a "func_detail" or select and tie them individually and then group them?

[Firegod522]

[QUOTE=Azzator;35242301]How do I go about optimizing this? I've looked up optimization on the Developer Wiki and that article on Interlopers. So far all I can understand is the func_detail thing. The areaportal, occluders and other stuff don't make an ounce of sense to me, at least on how I'll apply them on outdoor environments such as this one.

Pics:

How it looks like in Hammer:

[IMG]http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/8260/cityhu.jpg[/IMG]

How it is in-game:

When I look at the building

[IMG]http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/2513/2012032200006.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/2865/2012032200008.jpg[/IMG]

If I move the view away from the building itself, it renders:

[IMG]http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/3679/2012032200005.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/6808/2012032200007.jpg[/IMG]

Note, I only set the lightmaps to 1 on the roads, not on the structure.

I'd appreciate anyone who can help me on this.[/QUOTE]

You should probably just set the structure to a prop or several props. Source has this weird issue when rendering a lot of small brushes all at once.

[QUOTE=radu_iceman;35247490]When "func_detail"-ing a structure, is it best to select all brushes that form it and tie them to a "func_detail" or select and tie them individually and then group them?[/QUOTE]
The engine treats them all separately anyways so it doesn't matter.

[st ef you]

I've made a custom .vbsp file for detail sprites, however the sprites appear everywhere on the blend texture. So even though I specified that I want the grass to appear only when alpha is 0, it still appears when alpha is 1 and I can't figure out the problem. Here's the .vbsp file, any idea what's going on?

detail
{
	custom_grass01
	{
		density 3500
		Grass
		{
			alpha 0
			Grass01
			{
				sprite "0 0 128 112 512"
				spritesize "0.71875 0 20 18"
				spriterandomscale 0.25
				detailorientation 0
				amount 0.2
				upright 1
				maxangle 75
			}
			Grass02
			{
				sprite "288 16 128 96 512"
				spritesize "0.625 0 20 16"
				spriterandomscale 0.25
				detailorientation 0
				amount 0.2
				upright 1
				maxangle 75
			}			
			Grass03
			{
				sprite "0 136 128 128 512"
				spritesize "0.5 0 20 20"
				spriterandomscale 0.25
				detailorientation 0
				amount 0.2
				upright 1
				maxangle 75
			}			
			Grass04
			{
				sprite "144 304 128 104 512"
				spritesize "0.5 0 20 17"
				spriterandomscale 0.25
				detailorientation 0
				amount 0.2
				upright 1
				maxangle 75
			}			
			Flower
			{
				sprite "288 320 128 112 512"
				spritesize "0.5 0 16 14"
				spriterandomscale 0.25
				detailorientation 0
				amount 0.2
				upright 1
				maxangle 75
			}
		}
	}
}

[Fulcrum]

make a second section with alpha 1 and no models inside it.

[drak_thing]

[IMG]http://i44.tinypic.com/2mi1dlu.jpg[/IMG]
Do point_spotlights not light up prop_dynamic/physics? They work fine on brushes, but not models.

[Greatdictator]

Can someone help me out with something real quick ?

How do you make a prop move like say a brush with func_movelinear ?
Generally what im trying to make is a screen that pops up from behind a hidden door in the wall . Can anyone help me out ?

[Fulcrum]

Try using a func_tracktrain (brush based train to move prop make it invisible) And a path made from path_track point entitys. Parent the prop to the func_tracktrain (prop should be prop_dynamic)

I guess movelinear would do it aswell but its nice being able to have several keyframes in ur journey

[Greatdictator]

[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;35252172]Try using a func_tracktrain (brush based train to move prop make it invisible) And a path made from path_track point entitys. Parent the prop to the func_tracktrain (prop should be prop_dynamic)

I guess movelinear would do it aswell but its nice being able to have several keyframes in ur journey[/QUOTE]

This is rather new to me ...do you know a tutorial on this subject ?

[Fulcrum]

1. Place a brush, use ctrl+t then select func_tracktrain
2. place a point entity path_track at the first place you want the "train" to go. Name this something inspiring.
3. Hold down shift and drag the path_track. This will copy the track and "it" will automatically link them (they are linked by name if you must do it manually)
4. In the "first stop target" keyvalue of your train put the name of your inspiring first path_track.
5. Name your train.
6. Make a prop_dynamic and in the "parent" keyvalue put your trains name. (this makes the train and the prop move as one)

Thats it.

You can fiddle with the train changing its orientation, how it handles corners and its speed but that is something you alone can teach yourself.

[Greatdictator]

[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;35252460]1. Place a brush, use ctrl+t then select func_tracktrain
2. place a point entity path_track at the first place you want the "train" to go. Name this something inspiring.
3. Hold down shift and drag the path_track. This will copy the track and "it" will automatically link them (they are linked by name if you must do it manually)
4. In the "first stop target" keyvalue of your train put the name of your inspiring first path_track.
5. Name your train.
6. Make a prop_dynamic and in the "parent" keyvalue put your trains name. (this makes the train and the prop move as one)

Thats it.

You can fiddle with the train changing its orientation, how it handles corners and its speed but that is something you alone can teach yourself.[/QUOTE]

Well ive tried it and it didnt work ...mostl ikley doing something wrong but ill try it again at a another time , for now i guess its a triumph i learned how to make a openable door (actually its a brush for the secret hidden room ) but im not sure how to make it go down again though

[IronPhoenix]

[QUOTE=Greatdictator;35253083]Well ive tried it and it didnt work ...mostl ikley doing something wrong but ill try it again at a another time , for now i guess its a triumph i learned how to make a openable door (actually its a brush for the secret hidden room ) but im not sure how to make it go down again though[/QUOTE]

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cIDI4zhFFU&list=UU1qJpAJANJallI69zy7wmOQ&index=15&feature=plcp[/url]

Tutorial for you.

[Azzator]

-snip managed to fix it-

[Greatdictator]

[QUOTE=IronPhoenix;35253154][url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cIDI4zhFFU&list=UU1qJpAJANJallI69zy7wmOQ&index=15&feature=plcp[/url]

Tutorial for you.[/QUOTE]

Thanks but i ment more like by pressing a button to have it close down so its more controlled . But the map is mainly there for filming reasons . So its not very urgent

[st ef you]

[QUOTE=mdeceiver79;35250159]make a second section with alpha 1 and no models inside it.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, it works now.

[IronPhoenix]

[QUOTE=Greatdictator;35253974]Thanks but i ment more like by pressing a button to have it close down so its more controlled . But the map is mainly there for filming reasons . So its not very urgent[/QUOTE]

Its a tutorial for having a moving platform, with parenting a model to it.

[Alienmario]

can i get npc_zombie to attack func_breakable that is in its way?
(/or just to attack any object)

[adrianooo321]

Right new problems ,i used an ep2 button and i launch the map (in ep2) and it wont show up in the map

[IronPhoenix]

[QUOTE=adrianooo321;35263183]Right new problems ,i used an ep2 button and i launch the map (in ep2) and it wont show up in the map[/QUOTE]

Sounds like it's not the right prop type. Check your log.