A few newb ?'s
 

Ok I know these are newb ?’s and please feel free to just link me to any appropriate tutorials for my answer’s, but I tried searching and nothing really answered my question.

First off Lighting…I’m really confused about lighting. Am I supposed to use light_spot with env_sprites and a prop_static? Or just an env_sun and env_sprite? Or both or what the hell! I understand how a light_spot works and how to make one and how to make it look real w/the sprite and prop, but my problem is I see me ending up with like a million light_spots to get my map to be fully lit…is that just how it’s done is with tons of light_spots / sprites and one env_sun / sprite? Mainly what confuses me is that I see all of these maps that seem to be lit all thru, but when I try to do it on a test map the majority of my map is dark and only specific parts are bright. I think I’m just not using enough light_spots but idk…

I found a crap load of tut's on how to creat a single one, but nothing that really say's "YES fill your map with millions of these" or "here's how you light a whole map..."

Also does anyone know where (if possible) I can get more world models / make my own? b/c I have specific ideas for the lights I want, but the models I currently have just don’t cut it…

Finally how is it that you can build the map beyond where the player can go? Like in hunted there are buildings and a road that you can’t get to…I’m assuming it’s just done with a transparent brush so you can see thru it, but can’t pass through it…is this correct?

Again sry I know these are newbish, but hopefully they are pretty easy to answer…

I'm not an expert at mapping, amateur at best and probably will always be at that level cause I don't have time for such and I respect all who do put in the time.

As far as those areas you can't get too I think your referring to 3D skyboxes. Here is a good tutorial on that:

http://www.snarkpit.net/editing.php?...ame=HL2&id=108

Also their main tutorial page,

http://www.snarkpit.net/editing.php?...rials&game=HL2

has some other useful ones. Last but not least, this site has a ton of links to various sources on tons of source mapping that may just answer your questions for lighting.

http://gamewag.com/hl2.html

Hope any of that helps.

look up texture lighting. Also env_sun does not light anything, light_environment with a skybox does lighting.

what i usually do for lighting as i did with RedGiant(or am doing) is use the prop_static for the model. placed an env_sprite(to many can be costly), a light_spot and a light. you know what the prop,light_spot and sprite are for, but the "light" is used to shine some ambient light seeing as how the light_spot shines straight down. also i tend to make the light a slightly darker color than the light_spot. make the sprite slightly darker than the light_spot as well, but close to the light.


yes, for area that extend your map just block them with player clip, be sure NOT to create brushes and texture where they will never be seen though. example, for a building off to the corner of your map that lets say is obstructed by other buildings are whatever just draw the top of the building, dont build all the way down if they will never see it. keep in mind that we get knocked WAAAAYYY up in the air in FF sometimes, and if you allow for that in your design(high skybox,ect.) then make sure you build what they see from up in the sky, or not, they'll just see half of a building or straight down to the bottom of your projected skybox.

Well i just would use the... entity named "light"
or as they said be fore light_enviroment

Lets say you dont want any light this is ok! your map will just be light all around and no shading effects unless you add them witch is a different story

Don't worry. Sometimes you just don't know what to search for.
start here: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Lighting . Env_sun is just a sprite effect that puts a shiny sun blob in your sky. It doesn't light up the map. light_environment is what you use to make sunlight. This will cause light to come out of any toolsskybox brush in your map. For indoor areas, yes, you have to put lights and light_spots everywhere. If you make them bright enough the light will bounce around and you won't have to make millions of them.
Making your own models is a whole seperate skill set than mapping and with different software. If you try to learn both at once you will go insane. If it's not too small and intricate you can make it in Hammer, though models are always better.

There may be some sites around that have models for download. You'll have to do some searching. I have been known to make simple models for people but I haven't had so much free time lately. If you really really need something made PM me and we'll see.
It's a brush textured with toolsplayerclip. Everything passes through it except players. There are several tool textures like this that have special effects: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Tool_textures Playerclip is very useful for when you don't want the player getting where you don't want them to go..

Ah, is that what that is? I didn't know the light_env controlled the damn skyboxes, I' had to use regular lights to light the area up, good to know now :-D That toolsplayerclip is another good one. I gotta get on the wagon here, or is that off?

You guys rock thanks for the help!

@CrazyCarl:

Lol totally started there before I asked this, but thanks it was one of the best tut's i had found!

Is there a certain brightness that seems to work the best (worst?) then others?

lolz i figured...I may PM you or i'll just try to make due with what's out there...we'll see

Thanks! that is awesome...exactly what I needed!

@Gambit

Thanks for the lighting idea...I agree that the spotlight doesn't look the best so that will help tons!

And thanks for all the other tuts...they always help!

Google for lights.rad and May There Be Awsome Light. Hallejula!

If you plan on making an indoor map, or have the outdoor set at night you really should get into lights.rad and texture lighting as public_slots_free suggested. For example, if you have a lamp texture you really want to use lights.rad and let the texture emanate light instead of putting a light entity in front of it.

Become a master of lighting and you can turn whatever lack of brush work into an awsome map anyway.

Hey, I have a lighting question (since it is on topic). If I understand it correctly, GambiT's lighting method is to put lit light models and put light entities in front of them.

I have been having fun screwing around with triggers (func-breakable can be very entertaining at three in the morning) and I was wondering how lights could be turned on and off. If I had an entire room with lights and wanted to have them go on and off with a switch, how would that work?

create a func_button, and in the outputs have it turn off the lights and change the skin off the model to appear off

If you want to turn a light--or a set of lights--on and off, give it a name. Then you use the I/O system to control them.

If you don't need a light to switch off you should give it no name, because a named light forces vrad to do the lighting for that room twice: once with the light on, and once with it off. Never use more than two light names in one area because vrad can't encode that much light data in one spot.

Thanks, I will try it out.

Ok I have another ?...

I am trying to make a FR with ramp entrances that start at say North wall on either side

ONE on E side of N wall

AND

ONE on W side of N wall

Both are seperate ramps that cirle around to S side of wall and lead to the middle of the FR

Problem is I can only seem to create an arch that circles clockwise...is there a way to make one the opposite?

Here's a really crappy visual...

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/1876/crappyhd0.png
THIS IS WHAT I WANT

Black = I can do / have done

Red = What I want to do...

SO is there a way to get the arch tool to create spiral steps that go the opposite way? So instead of it being a clockwise spiral...it's counter clockwise?

Another crappy visual...

http://img370.imageshack.us/img370/5909/crappy2fk6.png

Black = I can do / it always does

Red = What I want / Can't get it to do

Things I have tried...

1) Flipping it on every axis

• x
• y
• and z

2) Creating just a 180 degree arch (gives me the same thing...still spirals down clockwise)

3) Changing the starting degree to anything (maybe I missed a few?)

4) Using negative values for the arch (hammer won't let me defaults to a positive everytime)

My final attempt will be to create a 180 degree arch and then use the vertex manipulation to line up each vertex on the counter clockwise side to match up with the clockwise side and then make the ramp...This I see taking a very long time...Is it the only way or is there like a mappers secret way for making one?

*Please don't mistake this as me asking how i create a spiral ramp / stair...I get that part (thanks to the guys here) what i'm now hung up on is why the arch tool decides to always make the spiral spin in a clockwise direction...

Also sry bout the crappy explination / visuals...i'm at work or I would just post hammer pics...

Ctrl + I and Ctrl + L flip horizontally and vertically, not sure which though as I haven't opened up hammer for a while. They should give you the results you want.

dude seriously if that works I want you to father my babies! I have spent so long trying to get that you don't even know!

*I will test when I get home!

That is true i just check and if you want to rotate somthing like 180 degress


Click inside of that texture twice then circles will show up simple rotate untill statifyed yes some of you could do this all day.

You get my point though

player you fucking rock...seriously awesome!

This is a Lua question... I am having a problem getting something to work.

I have been screwing around learning how to do things in Hammur (doors, switches, lighting, etc.). One of the things I recently figured out how to do was a detpackable wall.

I also wanted a message to be shown on everyone's screen when the wall is busted open, and a sound to play:

Specifically, my problem lies with the sound. This line:

I figured that it will play the sound based on the folder, so "misc.unagi" actually plays the sound "sounds/Misc/unagi.wav". I tried putting a custom sound in there called "ka_boom.wav" and doing this:

ka_boom.wav is a .wav file; I compared it with unagi.wav and the only difference is ka_boom.wav is Mono and unagi.wav is Stereo. The custom file I put in will not play, but unagi.wav will. What am I missing here? ):

misc.unagi is a game sound difined in one of the files in the scripts/ folder, look in the maps folder for a file named ff_hunted_levelsounds or something like that, you need such a file for your map to define custom sounds.