Mapping FAQs Frequently Asked Questions
A list of common questions that new Source Mappers may ask. |
Posted 1 year ago, last post 4 days ago by augustburnsred  |
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Note: If you're hammer isn't working since the last SDK Update, read this thread for the Solution!
This is a list of questions and answers I've created to hopefully help out the Source Mappers with there problems. This list consists of some of the most common problems that mappers have, if they ever have problems again, they can just consult this list instead of creating a new thread.
Q. What program do I use to create Maps for Counter Strike Source?
A. Use Hammer World Editor. It can be found in Source SDK. To set it up, read this tutorial.
Q. How do I create walls(brushes) in Hammer?
A. Use the Brush tool( ) and click and drag it in one of the 2D views.
Q. I have a wall but I want to make a door in it, how can I do this?
A. The clipping Tool for hammer can be used to slice a wall along a line of your choosing. Tutorial for doors
Q. When I open up Hammer and create a brush, the brush does not show up in the 3D View.
A. This happens because the camera is not in the right position. To fix that, select the brush you created and go to View>Center 3D Views on Selection
Q. Okay, I'm done working on my map, how do I turn the vmf into a bsp so that I can play it?
A. Go to File>Run Map or press F9
Q. When my map finishes compiling, and CSS launches automatically, it won't load the map.
A. When you run your map, make sure you check "Do not run game after Compile". When the map is done compiling, run the game manually.
Q. When I try to create water following a tutorial, I do everything right, but when I try to test it, the water is invisible.
A. You most likely have a leak in your map. Read this to find out how to fix it.
Q. My water isn't rendering correctly
A. Make sure your map has no leaks in it, place an env_cubemap above the surface of the water, compile the map with VVIS set to 'fast,' or 'full,' then use the 'buildcubemaps' command ingame.
Q. How do I create a ladder?
A. Create a brush, and tie it to func_ladder by pressing Ctrl+T and selecting func_ladder from the drop down list.
Q. How do I create a prop based ladder?
A. Place the ladder model where you want it to be, and then place a brush with the tools/toolsinvisibleladder texture on it where the player should be climbing the ladder.
Q. When I try to play my map, It says "Teams are Full" even though I have spawn points in it.
A. Make sure you are using info_player_counterterrorist or info_player_terrorist and make sure they are not coming into contact with any brush or entity.
Q. How do I change the texture that is on the brush?
A. Select the brush, and pick a texture from the texture browser, then press 
Q. How do I texture only 1 side of a brush?
A. Select the Texture Application Tool( ) and click on the side you want to select while the Texture Application Tool is Open.
Q. When I compile my map I get an error which says Error opening location string\mapname.bsp.
A. Some error is causing your map to fail compiling. There are many things which can cause this to happen, the best way to find out what is causing your problem is to go here check this is a compile log, and paste your compile log. When you hit search you will get a list of the errors in your map along with explanations of what is causing them and what you can do to fix them.
Q. When I check for problems in my map (alt+P) it says that I have no player Start, yet I have many info_player_counterterrorist and info_player_terrorist entities. What's wrong?
A. That error doesn't refer to those entities, it refers to the entity info_player_start. The error itself won't cause any problems, so it is your choice to place one or not.
Q. My compile log has the following error: "No such variable "$hdrbasetexture" for material "skybox/sky_day01_01rt"
Can't load skybox file skybox/sky_day01_01 to build the default cubemap!" What's wrong?
A. You can ignore that error as it will not cause any problems. Basically, the compiler is telling you that your Skybox texture does not support HDR. It has been happening ever since HDR was added to the Source Engine.
Q. When I test my map with HDR, every texture and prop gets very bright to the point where it's really ugly. What's wrong?
A. You need to build your cubemaps - once with HDR off, and again with HDR on. Restart the map an it should look right.
Q. My map lags badly/has a wierd effect when looking away from floor, what happened?
A. You have a leak in the map. Make sure the whole map and any entities are surrounded by brushes at least 16units thick.
Q. How do I make a sky appear?
A. Surround anywhere you want sky with brushes textured with 'tools/toolsskybox'
Q. How do I change the sky?
A. First look up the sky in the texture browser. Once you find the name, 'militia_hdr' for example, go to edit, map properties. There should be an option 'skybox name'. Add militia_hdr to this. If you copy a file that ends in these suffixes, delete the suffixes before adding to skybox name:
Q. My map has low fps, can you improve it?
A. For a basic answer, change brush structures with cylinders or spheres to the entity func_detail. Highlight the brushes and hit ctrl+T. Make sure any faces touching the cylinders/spheres are also in the func_detail entity. Another common cause is the use of carve. If you must make a gap in a wall, make it yourself, carve creates un-necessary brushes that cause loads more rendering and thus lag.
Q. How do I make the grid bigger/smaller so I can make smaller or bigger brushes?
A. Press the "[" or the "]" keys to increase and decrease the size.
Q. How do I create bumpy ground?
A. Use displacements. Refer to this tutorial to learn how to create them.
Q. How do I make a smooth edges and corners?
A. Use a displacement, followed by the subdivide tool. You can also refer to this tutorial.
Q. How do I tie something to an entity?
A. Either Right click on the object and select "Tie to Entity" or simply select the object and press Ctrl+T. Once you do so, a properties window should come up, select the entity you want from the drop-down list.
Q. How do I group items in Hammer?
A. Select the items you would like to be grouped, and press Ctrl+G. To un-group them, select the group and press Ctrl+U
Q. When I try to open SDK, a window comes up with the following error: MountFileSystem (221) failed: SteamMountFileSystem(2336,221,0x12d8fc74=,0x12d8d74) failed with error 114: Cache Needs Decryption. What do I do?
A. That error usually happens when you try running Source SDK without running Counter Strike Source, or Half Life 2 first. Just run the games, and it should be fixed.
Q. How do I find out the names of certain textures ingame?
A. While ingame point your crosshair over the texture, and type mat_crosshair in the console.
That's what I have so far, I'm out of ideas at the moment, so if you know of any that aren't on the list, please say so and I will add it. |
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