ENTITY REPORT
Created by £cho
Tutorial #1 - Props
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How to add a model that interacts with the player!
Prop entities are in nearly every map. They are important in connecting the player to the environment a mapper tries to emulate without going through the hard work of modeling an object you wish to have on your map yourself. Don't know what a prop is? If you have ever played on de_dust2 (and I know nearly everyone has, especially if you're reading this tutorial), you will have noticed the barrels that you can knockdown with your weapon. This is a prop entity, specifically a prop_physics_multiplayer. Sound familiar? In Hammer, by default, it's listed in the menu on the bottom-right hand side on the right toolbar. Can't find it? See the screenshot below.
There are all different models to choose from in Counter-Strike: Source. You have access to about 50% of the entities available to you from the original Half-Life 2, as well as 100% of the ones from Counter-Strike: Source. However, the type of model you use is just as important as the model you want to put onto your map.
Let's start with something simple by adding that barrel from de_dust2 I was talking about, shall we? If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the screenshot below. I will now show you the steps in adding any model to your map.
---===ADDING A MOVEABLE MODEL TO YOUR MAP===---
1) First, make sure you have your entity tool selected. If you don't know what that is, it's the icon on the left sidebar in Hammer that looks like a funky light bulb. A screenshot of what it looks like can be found below. They're programmers, not artists, so it's a little...strangely shaped.
2) Next, go to the right sidebar and to the entity portion. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see the first screenshot in this tutorial and reread the whole first paragraph, because clearly you didn't read it carefully enough.
3) Once you've got your mouse over the menu, verify that the "Categories:" drop-down list says "Entities". If it doesn't, change it to that and then continue with the tutorial. If it does, go to the drop-down list labeled "Objects:" and choose the option called "prop_physics_multiplayer". The list is in alphabetical order, so you're going to need to scroll down quite a bit to find it, but don't worry, it's there.
4) Alright, you've got everything ready to go, so now it's time to add the entity to your map. If you've already got a floor on your map (assuming you know how to do this), just make sure your entity tool (the light bulb) is still selected and click on the floor you've made. If you don't know how to do this, I recommend you figure out how to make a solid room before going any further. This tutorial is for beginners, but you've got to know how to make a simple room first. If you'd like to know how, click here.
5) Alright, so the entity should now be added to your map. Ignoring the fact that the screenshot below doesn't show a room with a floor, this is what the entity should look like.
6) Now, select it by left-clicking on it in the 3D view (if it is not selected already from when you created it). Now, in the 2D view, find it and right-click, and select Properties, which is towards the bottom of the menu that pops up next to your mouse. If you're having trouble selecting, make sure you choose the selection tool on the left sidebar. It's the one that's selected when your first start the program and looks like a red arrow. A screenshot of it can be found below.
7) Good. Now that you've got the properties menu open, all that hard stuff is out of the way. In the list of things on the right side of the box that appears, select "World Model". See a screenshot below for what everything should look like at this time.
8) Now all we need to do is pick a model, which, thanks to Hammer's VGUI Model Selector and Viewer, is very easy. Once the "World Model" entry is selected, look for the "Browse..." Button to the left of the menu that appeared. If you can't find it, use the image above from the last step, as it's shown there for further reference.
9) Wait for a green menu to load and follow the instructions in the screenshot below. You shouldn't have any questions, as this VGUI is very user-friendly. Once you've found a model you wish to use, click the "OK" button on the bottom-left. If you make a mistake, just search again or if you're paranoid, press the "Cancel" button to the left of the "OK" button and simply relaunch and try again. Either method will do.
10) Keep pressing OK until the model viewer and Properties menu is gone. You're model should now be seen in the 3D view and it's outline in the 2D views. Make sure that you move the model a bit off the ground so that it falls when the map starts. If not, the prop will bounce and displace itself somewhere on the map, and you don't want that. Plus, it gives CS:S a bunch of nasty map errors that, in serious cases, can crash the game, and no one likes that too much, either.
11) Compile your map. If you don't know how, click here, otherwise don't continue with the tutorial until you've got more experience using Valve Hammer Editor.
Congratulations!
You've done it!
The next tutorial will focus on different types of prop entities other than prop_physics_multiplayer and what they all do. When it comes out, I will include a link to it here so that you can move straight onto the next one. |
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