TF2Maps.net http://forums.tf2maps.net/ en Thu, 23 May 2013 23:38:08 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forums.tf2maps.net/images/tf2maps/rss_small.png TF2Maps.net http://forums.tf2maps.net/ <![CDATA[Can't Test Map]]> http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=21181&goto=newpost Thu, 16 May 2013 22:52:33 GMT So, recently (I think because of the change to Steam Pipe) some of my TF2 Files were deleted, the gameinfo and gamestate.txt files. I decided to go... So, recently (I think because of the change to Steam Pipe) some of my TF2 Files were deleted, the gameinfo and gamestate.txt files. I decided to go into one of my older Steam account files and copy and paste the .txt files. This was probably really stupid, but I looked up anything to fix it, and I couldn't find the solution. (Uninstalled/Re installed Steam, TF2 and Source, ever refreshed the SDK content.) Then I opened SDK, it worked perfectly (Before it would crash when I tried to open a map, telling me the files I was missing.) I can edit the map fine now (with the exception of lag), but when I compile the map, I get this error

The command failed. Windows reported the error:
"The system cannot find the path specified."

I'm assuming it has to do with copying/pasting those files. But is there any way to solve it? ]]> Aperture http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=21181 Engineers in Mann versus machine http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=21154&goto=newpost Sat, 11 May 2013 14:06:48 GMT Although looking at the bigrock decompile you might see most of this information i think its easier to explain how it works using a simple guide. ... Although looking at the bigrock decompile you might see most of this information i think its easier to explain how it works using a simple guide.

Engineers have 2 ways of working. They can walk in and teleport in. Both use the same hint indicators for building. However, on misplacing them they might not spawn in.

Although the func_tfbot_hint shows an engineer option you can simply ignore it. It isnt used at all. Instead they use the following 3 entities:

bot_hint_sentrygun
Hints to recommended sentry spots. You are allowed to set more per nest, the engy will build on the spot that he thinks works best.

bot_hint_teleporter_exit
Hints to recommended teleporter exit spots. Although not all engies use it you cant realy be sure which engy will reach it. Just have 1 per nest.

bot_hint_engineer_nest
Indicates where to spawn when teleporting in (when lacking, they never teleport in). Just have 1 per nest as the teleporting is decided by the population file instead.

Each nest of multiple entities must have the same name. This way the engy knows which building locations match and will focus on using those.

Allways make sure that these entities touch the ground or are very close to it. The origin on bigrock is mostly only 8 HU (can vary on displacements hence it cant tell what its limit is).
Never overlap building locations. For example if you want 2 nests having the same teleporter spot, still make sure that both teleporters can be in at the same time without bugging the bots. That 2 teleporters are only 64HU away from each other at least will not give problems. ]]> UKCS-Alias http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=21154 Aligning Off-Grid Vertices and Brushes http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=21135&goto=newpost Wed, 01 May 2013 18:44:57 GMT *Vertices* Image: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17850283/offgrid_tut/video.png (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2wGNKWU0YY) Also,...
Vertices



Also, instead of using separate textures to highlight the faces on which the vertices are, you can find those faces in the text editor using their IDs. In the raw VMF file, these IDs are of the following form:
Code:
side
{
        "id" "5"
        "plane" "(-1024 1024 1024) (-1024 -1024 1024) (1024 -1024 1024)"
        "material" "TOOLS/TOOLSNODRAW"
        "uaxis" "[1 0 0 -1024] 0.25"
        "vaxis" "[0 -1 0 -1024] 0.25"
        "rotation" "0"
        "lightmapscale" "16"
        "smoothing_groups" "0"
}
In order to get these IDs in Hammer, create an info_overlay and, under the “Brush faces” keyvalue, highlight the desired faces using the eyedropper. Their IDs will show up in the text field on the right, as can be seen here.



Brushes

This technique can also be applied to move whole brushes so that they're aligned to geometry that's off grid. Of course, in this case, you wouldn't replace each vertex's coordinates separately, but rather move the whole brush with CTRL+M using the decimal offset of the off-grid vertex whose coordinates you had read. For example, let's say I wanted to align the two brushes seen in this picture:



The distance d is how far the top brush needs to be moved down to meet the bottom brush, but we have no way of finding out how much that exactly is from within Hammer. This is where the technique from the video comes in handy.


1. We are going to start by copying the bottom shape and moving it to a separate VMF as shown in the video. Select the shape, CTRL+C it, open a new VMF and CTRL+SHIFT+V it in. Make sure that all settings in the paste special dialog are at their default values and that “Start at center of original” is checked.




2. Once the shape has been replicated in the blank VMF, we're going to want to highlight the face to which we want to align the top brush. We'll be doing this by applying a distinct texture to it using the SHIFT+A dialog.




3. Save the new VMF somewhere and then open it using a text editor (I'll be using Sublime Text 2 for this demonstration). Afterwards, do a search for the name of the special texture you applied.

Once you've found the face with the texture, look at the numbers above the material name. These are the coordinates of the three points (three vertices) that define the spatial plane on which the face lies. Since the face is horizontal and we need to move the top brush vertically down, we're going to be looking at the Z coordinates of the points. We find that these coordinates are 110.202, which is actually how high up the face itself is. If you were looking to align the brushes along the X or Y axes instead, you'd be checking the X or Y coordinates of the points, respectively.




4. From here we can work out what d is. Since we know that the face is 0.202 units away from the grid line directly below it (110), we know that we need to move the top brush 1 - 0.202 = 0.798 units down for them to meet.




5. We select the top brush and open the transformation dialog (CTRL+M). We select “Move” and type in -0.798 on the Z axis since we want to move the brush 0.798 units down. Voilą — the brushes are now perfectly aligned!

]]> KonstantinUb http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=21135 Mapping after steampipe (read before conversion) http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=21129&goto=newpost Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:22:00 GMT It is possible to map for tf2 after steampipe if you're prepared. We don't know when the new tools will be ready but if you want to be mapping in the meantime, this is how.


Here are the files you are required to backup for hammer to work after conversion:
- Steam\SteamApps\userfolder\team fortress 2\tf\gameinfo.txt
- Steam\SteamApps\team fortress 2 client content.gcf
- Steam\SteamApps\team fortress 2 content.gcf
- Steam\SteamApps\team fortress 2 materials.gcf

Here are optional folders related to mapping that you might want to back:
- SteamApps\userfolder\Team Fortress 2\tf\maps
- SteamApps\userfolder\Team Fortress 2\tf\materials
- SteamApps\userfolder\Team Fortress 2\tf\scripts
- SteamApps\userfolder\Team Fortress 2\tf\resource
- SteamApps\userfolder\Team Fortress 2\tf\sound
...
(These folders should not be deleted by steampipe but you're never too safe (only the content of the tf folder, not the gcfs, you have to back those). the content of your tf folder is supposed to be available in the SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\download folder after conversion)

you may now convert your game to steampipe!

Now that you've been steampiped, first thing you want to do is put all 3 gcfs back at their original location in Steam\SteamApps. Next you want to take your old gameinfo.txt and place it back where it belongs in Steam\SteamApps\userfolder\team fortress 2\tf.
and that's it. There's nothing else to it. hammer is ready to launch!

Now we need to discuss some of the implications of this.

We've gone dark
You can still map for tf2 because we still have the old GCFs that hammer is able to deal with. however, these gcfs will never be updated by valve ever again. this means that our game content files will be outdated sooner or later. when valve will add assets to the game later in future updates, they will not be available straight away in hammer. this is not a huge problem, we'll figure that out once we get there but from now on, we're on our own when it comes to keeping our tools updated.

Compiling maps
Compiling still works fine but we're going to need to adjust our workflow. Just as before, the compiler will drop your BSPs into steamapps\userfolder\team fortress 2\tf\maps (you will need to rebuild this path before compiling). Unfortunately, the tf2 client cannot load maps in this folder anymore so you need to move your compiled maps to the new maps folder. If I am not mistaken, I think valve advises placing them in SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\download\maps. I have not messed around with the expert compiler but with some tinkering you should be able to set the bsp output folder to the new maps directory.

custom content
So since the tf2 client and hammer now use 2 seperate folders to collect assets from, you will need to store custom assets in 2 seperate folders at a time. If we take the models folder for example, for assets to be available in hammer you will need them to be in the good old SteamApps\userfolder\team fortress 2\tf\models folder. For the tf2 client to be able to load the same assets you will need the models to be in SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\download\models as well. and paking should still work as it used to so there you go.

that about covers it all. I'll update as I find out more relevant information about steampipe ]]> fubarFX http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=21129