Hammer deleted all entities

elcow

L1: Registered
Jul 20, 2010
3
0
I had just compiled my map to test in TF2, when I got an error because I had forgotten to split up a concave brush. After rebooting Hammer (it tends to stop working after running TF2, going in to sleep mode, or just sitting there for a long time), it prompted me to remove the invalid geometry. I clicked yes and resumed working in an area with only brushwork. Only later did I realize that all the (non-brush) entities were gone (after I had already saved the map). View->Hide Items is not checked.
I (foolishly) don't have any recent backups, one autosave is from after the incident, and the other 4 are from two months ago when I first started the map, for some reason.
Does this happen often, and is allowing Hammer to remove invalid geometry a bad idea in general? Any chance the entities are still somewhere in the map, just hidden away somewhere?
I know this is my fault for not for not making backups, but Hammer is getting good at finding new ways to anger me.

Edit: I just searched through the map files, no mention of the missing entities (besides now-broken I/O), guess they really are gone.
 
Last edited:
Aug 10, 2009
1,240
399
Well, I have two suggestions of potential places they could be. The first option is that you really did delete them, so I advise you decompile your most recent .bsp before the error (if you had one).
Option 2 is that you simply ticked off a visgroup, so if entities aren't selected to show, they wont.
Finally, if this did happen, then I hope you don't have too many entities you lost D:!
 

Dark

L4: Comfortable Member
Nov 27, 2009
159
137
just rename your last .vmx file to a .vmf file and load that
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
Oh jebus this happened to me too once, on artpass.

Let's just say it's a very good thing it was when I was just starting out.
 

Beetle

L9: Fashionable Member
Aug 17, 2008
627
178
Well in some somewhat recent (but not really) SDK update they changed Ctrl+H from "Make Hollow" to quick hide. You might also have done that.
 

elcow

L1: Registered
Jul 20, 2010
3
0
Thank you everyone for your suggestions.
The .vmx was identical to the bad .vmf, but I was able to decompile the .bsp. I then just copied all the entity entries from the file and pasted them into the .vmf, and it works fine.

Thanks again for your help!