Stealth update broke my map. Doesn't read custom textures from BSP anymore.

temion

L2: Junior Member
Aug 16, 2008
77
4
3 months back i released a map for tf2 [link]. back then, it looked like this: http://image.fpsbanana.com/ss/maps/130490a.jpg

However, it seems sometime over the past 2 days something changed and every server running my map shows it as this now: http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6606/cporangefinal0002.jpg



My 1st thought is that this is a server error....but if you load the map in single player this STILL shows up! This wasn't an issue of me messing something up while developing....the map was published 3 months ago and is on a few 24/7 servers! Everything worked great but then after an update everything went to hell! :eek:

What can i do? the map worked fine for months and now it doesn't. Obviously something was patched that is preventing the custom textures that i packed into the bsp from working.

My only solace is that if i load the map WITH the custom textures in my materials directories, they work again. However, that only fixes it for ME, not for all the people who downloaded my map and are serving it.

Can anyone take a look at the map file via pakrat and tell me what i'm doing wrong? I'm in so much shit right now.. i have a 24/7 server admin up my ass and a handful of orange rotation admins. I just don't know what to tell them... :facepalm:
 

lana

Currently On: ?????
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Sep 28, 2009
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Can you confirm that the textures are actually in the BSP?
 

temion

L2: Junior Member
Aug 16, 2008
77
4
Can you confirm that the textures are actually in the BSP?

Yep, the map was working (as it appears in the 1st screenshot) for 3 months. The .bsp i linked in the 1st post contains all the appropriate textures.


It quite literally broke without warning. I play the map fairly often, and clan members/friends played it daily. All the sudden, a few days ago... it simply no longer worked. This was about the same time as the SDK update. Everyone went from seeing it, to not seeing it.
 

A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
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Nov 2, 2007
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It's quite obvious what the problem is upon inspecting the two. Orange is missing the colored concrete. Convoy is missing the ground and wheels. What do they have in common?

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/98931/pics/theproblem.png

They're all in the material directory root. It would seem materials will no longer load properly from that location (why people would put things there is beyond me, it's really not supposed to be done). Why is this the case? Who knows. Ask Valve.
 

Penguin

Clinically Diagnosed with Small Mapper's Syndrome
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May 21, 2009
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Snark to the rescue.
 
T

The Asylum

This has answered two of my questions. Why some stuff isn't showing up, and how Orange maps could get any worse.
 

temion

L2: Junior Member
Aug 16, 2008
77
4
So the solution would be to drop the textures a directory deeper?

and i guess there is no way to update the map without changing it's name too. I have to add an appendix like _fix or something. irks me since i thought i was finally.. FINALLY done with that map (hence orange_final). *sigh*
 
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temion

L2: Junior Member
Aug 16, 2008
77
4
I've always put textures n the materials directory just because they don't show up in hammer elsewhere. Where exactly are they SUPPOSE to go?

With all i know about hammer, this feels like a day 1 kind of thing to learn. The fact that it just worked previously is probably why i never gave it 2 thoughts.
 

Timberjaw

L2: Junior Member
Nov 6, 2009
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19
I've always put textures n the materials directory just because they don't show up in hammer elsewhere. Where exactly are they SUPPOSE to go?

Subfolders of materials/ should be fine. e.g. materials/cp_orange. In the texture browser, enter your folder name in the 'Filter' field and bam, supergreat orange textures right there in your very own Hammer editor.
 

A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
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Nov 2, 2007
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The problem you were having is you probably didn't realize the $basetexture line in the VMT would need to be changed if you put them elsewhere. If the texture is tf\materials\concrete\floor.vtf then the vmt needs $basetexture concrete\floor

However, this is a pretty weird thing to happen, I think it'd be worth asking valve if it was intended and if not maybe they can fix it. Perhaps I'll send off an email today.

edit: actually this appears to be more confusing than I first thought...
 
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temion

L2: Junior Member
Aug 16, 2008
77
4
Do you think this could have just been a valve flub-up, snark?

And thanks for emailing them for me. :)
 
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Vig

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2009
60
120
I ran into this problem today I have a map I compiled over a year ago and it was working fine for all these months with the textures included in the bsp. They where in the root of tf2/materials/.

If I unpack the VMT & VTF files everything works fine.

I started keeping my custom materials in tf2/materials about 2 years ago, when they ninja updated and didn't allow bsp brush textures to be in the /materials/mymap/ folder. The only place I could get them to show up in hammer or the editor was in the root of materials.

Now... it looks like... they've fixed it and all the work around hack fixing has to be undone? But its weird that it only effects packed bsp files?
 

Terr

Cranky Coder
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Jul 31, 2009
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Does this have any impact for content-packaging tools?

Should I code PackBSP to warn users against putting VMT/VTF content in any particular folders?
 

Vig

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2009
60
120
Any movement on this? Anyone come up with a work around?

I tried a few things.

Test #0
VMT's and VTF's in tf2/materials/
VMT "$basetexture" "mymat"
Results: Works in Hammer, works in game except when packed in a bsp file.
This is how I normally work. This has worked fine for years and old maps that have materials included, worked faithfully until the update.

Test #1
VMT's and VTF's in tf2/materials/
Edited the VMT's to be "$basetexture" "materials/mymat"
Results: Broken in Hammer.

Test #2
VMT's and VTF's in tf2/materials/materials/
Edited the VMT's to be "$basetexture" "materials/mymat"
Results: Broken in Hammer.

Test #3
VMT's in tf2/materials/
VTF's in tf2/materials/materials/
Edited the VMT's to be "$basetexture" "materials/mymat"
Results: Works in Hammer, works in game, broken when included in the bsp.

Test #4
VMT's and VTF's in tf2/materials/my_map/
Edited the VMT's "$basetexture" "my_map/mymat"
Results: Broken in Hammer.

Test #5
VMT's in tf2/materials
VTF's in tf2/materials/my_map/
Edited the VMT's "$basetexture" "my_map/mymat"
Results:Worked in Hammer and in game, until I packed all the content in the BSP then it broke.

It looks like the VMT's must be in tf2/materials/ for Hammer to find them, but the VTF's can be anywhere as long as the VMT points to the right spot.

The only solution that seems to work is leaving the content outside of the bsp. Which breaks a lot of delivery methods... and breaks a lot of old maps that would have to be recompiled and repackaged to work. Not including the materials in the bsp's really balloons file sizes up.

I'm stumped, I hope Valve can fix it soon.
 
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A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
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Nov 2, 2007
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No reply from valve, but it looks like you are doing things wrong. Firstly, the $basetexture is relative to materials, which should not be included in the path, also, the leading slash may be breaking things. All my materials are like so (well, actually since I made that I've changed to not using quote enclosures, you don't actually need them):
material.png
 

Vig

L2: Junior Member
Feb 14, 2009
60
120
That's how mine are set up normally. Not defining materials and without the slash. I incorrectly typed it in the post. When I did the tests I did it without the slash, otherwise 3&5 wouldn't of worked. Just for S&G I tried it with the slashes and like you said it broke everywhere.

It works fine when the materials are the way I have always worked (Test 0) so the VMT's are correct. When I include them in the bsp, that's when things break.

I have maps that worked fine for years with the materials included, but now they're all broken. If I extract the materials and place them in tf2/materials they work.

I don't think we'll hear back this weekend, I think they're taking an extended holiday break.
 
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