www.modhelp.net Thread

I put up a wiki a couple weeks ago for modders to post useful links and tutorials. Ive been waiting till i get a bit of content done up - and have written a couple tutorials myself, with Carni doing some as well. Just thought I would start a thread about it to let people know - as well as gather comments on whether or not its a good idea, or what could be improved/added. Im looking for regular contributers to help add to the site, so if your interested - post here.

Modhelp.net

Edited by: MajorPest

I think its a good idea, not much else I can add except get up some more hammer tutorials please.

Edited by: Brad_Mclain

excellent idea

my site is the same thing. theres a forum and tutorial section for any moddable game. im too busy to add more tutorials so im just waiting for more people to submit some. i got too much to do to promote mine.

Edited by (in order): Chunky, Chunky, Chunky

Good idea major

David - no offense - ive read your tutorials, and the skybox one demonstrates the incorrect way to create a skybox. Reason being is when you do make a brush and hollow it out - your really just boxing in your map, and when compiling, all of the outer faces that shouldnt be rendered are being rendered, thus lowering performance of the level - and doubling compiling times. Brush-by-brush, always, never use the hollow tool as an easy way out.

i know. the tutorial will be updated later. i dont do it that way anymore. only for small maps since it looks much better then the peice by peice method. doesnt matter. its the same as your idea. the community can submit whatever they know. im working a huge suprise which will be revealed later. something that will really help out the modding community.

no more about my site. this thread is for yours.

Edited by (in order): Chunky, Chunky

I like your idea!

what about hollowing and then ungroup?

Edited by: -hp-

No!!! hollow = evil! same goes for the carve tool. Although, the carve tool can be used on smaller areas for windows and such - but try to avoid it.

Edited by (in order): MajorPest, MajorPest

how does it accomplish this by hollowing??
"all of the outer faces that shouldnt be rendered are being rendered, thus lowering performance of the level"

Is there any thing that can teach my poly by poly modelling..Cause Ive been learning..and not really getting it.. its really frustrating and I wanna blow it up..yet I want to learn it..Oh wise ones teach meh! for gmax/ 3dsmax

Edited by: Scarfaces|Boomstick

I hollow it out, use the friggin no draw texture =/

lol nodraw is a pain though, I just skybox the parts of my map that are needed.

@HP, when you use Chunky's method of doing the skybox, you're making a big box around your map, which tells the compiler to calculate all of the faces on the outside of your map that you wouldnt normally want to be seen by the compiler. Doing the skybox brush by brush, and lining it up to your map tells the compiler to ignore all of the faces that are facing out into the 'space'...hard for me to explain without screenshots.

I'll do up a tutorial tomorrow on how to properly create skyboxes. Keep in mind - there isnt really a right or wrong way of doing it, some people do it spectors method, some people do mine, some use the lazy method that is Chunky's.

@Scarfaces, lol, im only really a mapper, but i do know where to look for those sorts of things - check out this link for some great video tutorials on modelling, you should find what your looking for there - 3d-palace.com

Edited by: MajorPest

i think i know what ur getting at. when i hollow, the end of the brush touches another brush correct? and it tells the compiler to render those while if i do it brush by brush, it wont?

You'll know tomorrow, im off to bed, got work in the morning though. Im pretty bad at explaining things without pictures.

I not quite sure about this but how about a section where people can submit their WIP maps and you can give them tips on how to improve on their mapping techniques etc. I know I would find this useful to find out if I am mapping correctly for best performance etc.

"my method" looks better, thus its better for using in small maps since it wont take that long to compile. if you do it the other way, it makes ugly lines at the corners and just doesnt look as good. like i said, my was is for small maps.

Brad, I just added a section in the forums for ya, hopefully others will find it useful as well.

And chunky, if your insistent on using your method, at least use the nodraw texture like spector said. Both ways look the same in the end.

MajorPest wrote: Brad, I just added a section in the forums for ya, hopefully others will find it useful as well.

And chunky, if your insistent on using your method, at least use the nodraw texture like spector said. Both ways look the same in the end.

what are you talking about? you use the skyboxtool texture to assign the texture that is set in map properties. "no draw" just makes it invisible.

btw, how long have you been mapping?

Edited by (in order): Chunky, Chunky

chunky cut the flaming. this thread is about www.modhelp.net
not your personal vendetta against anyone who knows more about mapping

Chunky, I'm not looking for a fight - I've been mapping for 5 years, I'm not saying I know more than you, I'm just pointing out where you were wrong. Using the nodraw texture like spector said on the outer faces of your map - not on the skybox itself - causes the compiler to ignore those faces, it dosent simply make them invisible.

1st of all cyde, you shouldnt be talking, on account of how you are the one that does most of the flaming around here.

2nd of all, i was asking how long he has been mapping, out of curiosity. I wasnt being sarcastic or anything. There isnt a lot of mappers here at moddb.

3rd of all, i already said to stop talking about my site since this thread is about his site. He continued talking about "my method" so i continued replying.

Just move on and forget about it. I was never fighting with him. And im not saying i know more then him.

p.s. i didnt know you were talking about using "no draw" like that. sure it can be used for more then 1 purpose, i was just assuming you were talking about making a "no draw" brush for the sky...

Edited by (in order): Chunky, Chunky, Chunky, Chunky, Chunky, Chunky

does nodraw (hl2) = null (hl1)?

that is correct

But the null texture I beleive is a feature of the ZHLT (maybe only merl's build) compiling tools, I dont think you can use it with the default tools.

*edit*
BTW we've got an irc channel now on gamesurge - #modhelp

Edited by (in order): MajorPest, MajorPest

I can't seem to find a tutorial on how to make glass start out broken on HL2, but I've found a way. Should I write a tut on it?

I've never written a tutorial before