new hammer functionality

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
has anyone been able to use the new displacement sculpt tools for any useful benefit? i've played around with them and can see what they do, but it seems very... un-user-friendly to me (well except for 'project' because it's always greyed out)

also, what is the manifest/instancing stuff for?
 

Psy

The Imp Queen
aa
Apr 9, 2008
1,706
1,491
Instancing allows you to place down objects from other VMFs into your own map. But unlike prefabs, the instanced objects can be rotated and moved off the grid (much like a model or any entity) without any errors. If you wish to update the instanced object you can simply open up its VMF, make the changes, save it, then go back to the main map to have all instances of that object updated.
 

Ezekel

L11: Posh Member
Dec 16, 2008
818
245
thnks rav.

it sounds like it'd be best for maps using large amounts of natural terrain (read: lots of displacements), which is what i was getting the feeling of when messing around with them.
 

TMP

Ancient Pyro Main
aa
Aug 11, 2008
947
560
I find the sculpting tool a lot faster than paint geometry.
 

drp

aa
Oct 25, 2007
2,273
2,628
Instancing allows you to place down objects from other VMFs into your own map. But unlike prefabs, the instanced objects can be rotated and moved off the grid (much like a model or any entity) without any errors. If you wish to update the instanced object you can simply open up its VMF, make the changes, save it, then go back to the main map to have all instances of that object updated.
so externally referenced objects. :p
 

Dr. KillPatient

L3: Member
May 10, 2009
115
8
Wait what... you guys are using Hammer again? Is it fixed or is there a workaround?
 

JoshuaC

L420: High Member
Sep 2, 2008
444
164
Us over on the UDK forums would like to welcome you to the year 2000. Hope you enjoy all the advancements many others have been using for years.

Hopefully they'll start bringing more new things to the dinosaur.
 

Psy

The Imp Queen
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Apr 9, 2008
1,706
1,491
Lightmap support for models would be nice which would also mean multiple UV channel support as well. Come on, Valve. The developers of Zeno Clash managed it. >_>
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
Us over on the UDK forums would like to welcome you to the year 2000. Hope you enjoy all the advancements many others have been using for years.

Hopefully they'll start bringing more new things to the dinosaur.

What the public gets and what Valve are using a vastly differing pieces of software. Several features have been kept out of the public version of Hammer for many years in the past, I imagine this is no different.

But regardless of what Valve have been using to make their levels for the past few years, it would have been nice to have this in the public version of Hammer when other editors had it in theirs too.
 
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Freyja

aa
Jul 31, 2009
2,994
5,813
That and the fact that UDK has a horribly made user interface, confusing and hell, and has the worst camera controls this side of Sydney.

Oh, and anyone without any knowhow to model can't map to save their life in it.

You say welcome to the future? Well the future has global warming, climate change, 2012, magnetic reversal, world war 3, and the death of me, everyone I love and especially TF2 and valve games.

I'd rather stay in the past, thanks.
 

Psy

The Imp Queen
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Apr 9, 2008
1,706
1,491
What the public gets and what Valve are using a vastly differing pieces of software. Several features have been kept out of the public version of Hammer for many years in the past, I imagine this is no different.

Well, when Dario was in chat just before the WAR update he showed us a screenshot of Hammer which was pretty much exactly what we have now.
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
Yea, well it's not like the interface is going to have loads of new functions. These tools were used to create L4D which was released over a year ago now. The last changes to Hammer weren't huge in terms of new UI features (though there were obviously some), but the feature's capacity to build better maps were hidden amongst the existing features. I just wish i could remember which features were actually added last time (which i presume came out with the orange box). But my point is Hammer 4(point what ever version) isn't all that different than World Craft when it came out in 1998. But Hammer is blatently more powerful than World Craft, 12 years more powerful with only a couple visible new features, whilst most of its functionality is hidden behind tabs, windows, hot keys and drop down menus.
 
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YM

LVL100 YM
aa
Dec 5, 2007
7,135
6,056
I attempted to tease info from dario about portal 2 looking like it is much more model based but I got nothing.

Its funny when you complain about how bad the source engine is, and how good unreal is.... when I couldn't name a single UT game that has any sort of good mapping community for it.
 

Sel

Banned
Feb 18, 2009
1,239
2,570
I attempted to tease info from dario about portal 2 looking like it is much more model based but I got nothing.

Its funny when you complain about how bad the source engine is, and how good unreal is.... when I couldn't name a single UT game that has any sort of good mapping community for it.

The mapping community, and engine are entirely unrelated.

It also doesn't help that UT is a pretty terrible game too.
 

XFunc_CaRteR

L5: Dapper Member
May 14, 2009
248
17
Yeah, differences between UDK and Hammer.

Hammer is older, sure. You can't rescale models (that is a bitch). This terrain deformation is easier in UDK (though I do like the precision of being able to manipulate individual displacement vertices in Hammer).

But I find Hammer easier for certain things. Modelling BSP is WAY easier with Hammer. I like the simpler artwork in TF2. (Does every material really need a normal map and so on?) Plus there's so much brown artwork in UDK.

Also, here's a big thing. I don't find any Unreal games inspiring compared to Valve. That is really what got me into Hammer modelling - Valve games, and TF2, are tongue-in-cheek with a sense of fun. Unreal games are all young, dumb and full of cum by comparison: games about big jocks on steroids; games with no sense of irony or humour.