Two questions


(Mr_Tickles) #1

These may be simple to answer, but i am new to mapping so please bear with me.

  1. How do you make lights coloured? I tried entering the key as “color”, and the value as “0 0 255” hopefully to get red. The light comes out as white in game. There wasn’t a description of how to do it in the notes in the entity window.

  2. I’m having a problem with a chain linked fence. The alpha texture i’m using on it gives the dual texture plane effect when the alpha brush meets a pillar. How do you guys cure that? I thought about making the brush 0.25 thick to reduce the size of the plane in contact with the pillar but that still leaves the problem, just slightly less of it. I tried caulking it but that doesn’t seem to work.

Any ideas?


(neotic) #2
  1. for colors; well i’m not sure what is going on in your case… but you might be causing problems in the way you are doing it or the process. click your light entity and hit “k” and you will get a color pallatte and it will do everything for you. try that.

  2. sounds to me like you have the entire brush covered with the alpha texture. instead; make the entire brush covered with “nodraw” shader and only one face have hte alpha texture you want. so you see the alpha texture and every other face won’t be drawn… or invisible.


(Java.Lang) #3

Yes, something you may have over looked which many mappers do when starting out, is that all your brushes should be made of caulk (for example).
Caulk would be the standard (common) brush shader on all of your brushes for normal structural/detail brushes.

Let’s say you are making a square building, really simple, just a square building. Instead of making that square the texture you want it to be, make it caulk.

Next, (and this is the step I think you aren’t aware of, and the reason for my post) instead of shift-click to select the entire brush, alt-shift-ctrl-click instead to select a single face of the brush and paint the sides you have to paint, the rest leave as caulk.

Getting back to your second problem, this was created because your entire fence brush is painted with the chain-linked texture.

A fence should probably have the common shader “clip_metal_weapon”. So much like the above example with caulk, make the whole fence brush of clip_metal_weapon and after that alt-shift-ctrl-click only one face of the fence and make that the chain-linked texture. That should do it.


(Loffy) #4

Hi!
I’ll expand neotic’s and Java.Lang’s ideas: You should also explore the “surface property” thingy. Select a surface (SHIFT + Ctrl + Alt + Left mouse button) and add a cool texture, e.g. a wooden one. While the surface is selected, hit “s” to bring up the surface properties. Try the vertical and horizontal moves and the scaling. Hit Apply, and close the surface properties window. This is a way to change the look of the texture. Sometimes I use it to align a wood texture just to make it “fit” better.
// Loffy


(MadJack) #5

Expanding Loffy’s post :smiley:

By using SHIFT-LEFT/RIGHT/UP/DOWN ARROW you can pan the texute on the left/right/top/down. Similarly, you can use CTRL-ARROWS to stretch the textures. Panning and stretching is closely related to the grid size you’re using so using a grid size of 1 (Keypad 1) will move the textures 1 unit… etc :slight_smile:

One thing that isn’t obvious… Sometimes you put a texture that has writings on it but the texture, when applied, is mirrored. Meaning words are like that: !gninraW !sttaW 002 :smiley: If you want those properly displayed, hit S then click Axial. Pan it around/stretching etc.


(Mr_Tickles) #6

Thanks for the replys, yep, luckily I have been using caulk so far, if I hadn’t and just found out I’d might as well scrap my maps as it would be too fiddly to go back and alter. Yep, I’m being stupid with the alpha texture thing.
“s” shortcut has saved my ass a few times :slight_smile: especially when trying to create a door using the large goldrush door. There’s only one side of it in the texture pack. Had to go hunting for that one for a while :slight_smile:

Plus, the cabin would have to be gotten rid of…

How would I allow weapon fire to pass through the fence? Is there some sort of unclipping brush?

Oooooo, “k”, for lights, nice, thanks.

Sorry, couldn’t help posting a pic… oh, does anyone know of a good image host?


(MadJack) #7

Hey Tickles… Read what I wrote about the reversed writing in a texture? :slight_smile: Guess what, it’s called flipping/mirroring, so you would be able to flip that door image right? :wink:


(Mr_Tickles) #8

Yep, I worded it a bit oddly, but that’s what I meant, I used it to flip the texture.


(MadJack) #9

oh ok sorry :smiley: My bad :slight_smile:


(=DaRk=CrAzY-NuTTeR) #10

well to allow bullets through, go into the common textures folder and look for Clip Missile, this will block rockets (like mortars and granades, and panzers) and allow bullets thru, cover the whole frence with it, and texture one side with the alpha texture, done

its the same if you wana let anything through, use clip and texture one side with alpha

simple as that :smiley:


(Mr_Tickles) #11

Hmmm, yeah, but would that work if the fence already clips out the bullets? It would be good if it caught the larger missles, but i’m pretty sure that bullets are supposed to get through a chain link fence.


(Loffy) #12

Just experiment with different clip textures!
Somewhere I read (I think) that you should not mix too many textures on 1 brush. Worth remembering. I try to use max. 2 textures on 1 brush.
Finish a beta version and we’ll try it!
// L.

EDIT: I saw your post below. Here is a great site, on detailed brushes:
http://w1.261.telia.com/~u26123488/vis/visfordummies.htm


(Mr_Tickles) #13

Lol, great. Thanks. I have so much more to do with the map though, it’s only just started, unfortunately I have done it quite big so it may not be as smooth on some systems. I’ll have to have a look at one of the tutorials on the differences between structural brushes and detail brushes coz I seem to remember that they had something to do with increasing the performance of a map.
The map is going to be for a mod that a friend of mine is making - SpiderMonkey, so there may be a few little extras in it. Don’t expect it to be out too soon though, I’m not sure where he is on the modding, but I have exams in a fortnight and can’t put radiant down… which is bad… for the moment at least.


(Java.Lang) #14

If you want to be able to shoot through the fence a clip_missle brush should be used INSTEAD of the clip_metal_weapon, not in conjunction with.

Also, you can use as many textures as you like on a brush, however if you use different shaders, the parameters on the shaders can conflict which is what I think Loffy was trying to say.

For instance, if you had a 6 sided brush with both a clip_missle and a clip_metal_weapon, it may end up that you can shoot through the brush, or it may not. Ideally only the surface that has the shader applied to it should also carry those properties, but it doesn’t always work out that way.


(Mr_Tickles) #15

Hmmm ok, the alpha texture i’m using is the only one which looks like it could be used, and it has as one of it’s properties clip_metal_weapon. I’ll have a play around with the different textures methinks and maybe delve into the shader for it, making a duplicate first of course…

Thanks all!


(ygan) #16

Hi !
I have a newbee question (problem):
I compile my map (no leaks), but during the test the ET is freeze :frowning:
The map isn’t loaded (no limbo etc.)


(Java.Lang) #17

Mr_Tickles, just remember, a texture is nothing more than an image, it is the shader file that is referenced to a texture that gives it in-game properties.


(nUllSkillZ) #18

@ygan:
Have you set mapcoordsmins / mapcoordsmaxs coordinates in the worldspawn-entity?


(ygan) #19

nUllSkillZ : yes, i set the 'mins and 'maxs .

the map : my map

(only official textures)
pls test somebody … thanks !


(The Wanderer) #20

you need to add a team_CTF_redspawn entity.