I need a clue.

[HardWearJunkie]

I hear that people don't like water very much. I understand it invalidates a whole class and makes others crazy jump.

However, I am planning to put water into my map because I believe it to be an integral part of the map. Without the water the map is a very boring payload map. I've read all the tutorials and what I should and should not be doing from the beginner's stand point.

Also, I'm beginning to add visual variety to my maps (all in that nice orange texture we call dev), but in order to "hide" certain vertices, I've placed "rocks" to intercept ground to give that desert look. I've also added clip brushes to help avoid that stuck-in-something feeling.

So, here are my questions. How do I make water move down to simulate draining away? How do I make water move thirty seconds after blue caps a payload point? Is it Ghostbuster Bad to have brushes intersect other brushes?

Thanks for reading all this.
--HardWearJunkie

[fubarFX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HardWearJunkie

Is it Ghostbuster Bad to have brushes intersect other brushes?

it's fine as long as it doesn't create z-fighting. and there's nothing wrong with z-fighting, it just looks bad.

the water effect you want to achieve is possible but I would recommend not doing it. for the water level to move up and down, you need to tie your water brush to a func_water entity so you can parent it to a func_door or something. but func_water is limited. you won't get the underwater fog effect and the water won't look as natural. you can fake that fog in single player but tf2 won't allow it. it's a lot of fun to mess around with so go ahead but the results might be underwhelming.

[grazr]

Yes, Source has never done vertically moving water well. You're better off finding another more effective gimmick.

Water is OK in maps if it's in moderation. But for some reason people get these "smart ideas" to make an entirely underwater level. Which is... bad for so many reasons.

If your map is boring, don't add an element you admit you know you shouldn't be using. Rebuild or redesign your map so that it becomes more interesting in a more natural way. When you force ideas into your map to add interest, you actually just make it worse.

If you haven't read the article in my signature, you ought to.

[Turbo Lover]

Water is fine in medieval mode.

Medieval mode is a ruleset that requires separate consideration.

[HardWearJunkie]

Thanks for the responses.

This is my first TF2 map and the water gimmick came first. After reading this I'm dropping the moving water from consideration.

So, instead of water, how would I go about simulating an explosion that cleaves a massive chunk of rock that falls to block trafficked paths?

--HardWearJunkie

[fubarFX]

you will most likely need custom models to do that (and probably have them animated). but it can be done for sure

[Wander]

I'm surprised noone has mentioned func_water_analog yet
Technically speaking it works fine, although the water looks very transparent

Though gameplay-wise I agree with the people above

[Fr0Z3n]

Technically, if you are going to have any water brushes moving, TF2 doesn't like that.