New to mapping, want to edit degroot

agumathebear

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
18
0
hey all, i'm brand new to map editing, never done it before. I have hammer and all that, but what i'd like to do is edit degrootkeep to be really dark (like midnight) and raining. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Also, I have no idea how to even open degroot in hammer...

Thanks!
 

KWiP

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
5
1
Hello, I'm brand new to this forum as well, but I've been mapping for quite some time.

Anyway, degroot isn't included in the SDK examples provided by valve, so the only way I can think of to do what you're looking for is to decompile the map in VMEX.

VMEX is a tool for taking published maps and breaking them down into the editable project files that hammer works with. You can find it here.

Be aware though, that although VMEX does a pretty good job, the results aren't always 100% accurate
 

Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
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Sep 5, 2010
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Alright, You'll first need to know how Hammer works. I'd suggest a few youtube video's for that PH4T3 has some decent start ones, but when he mentions Hollowing out and Carving, ignore it. Also, The Valve Development communty is a good place for tutorials, they have a "My First map" guide, which will help you get through everything you need to know. For other maybe more specific things, our tutorial section is a good place to go. Have a LOT of guides on everything from getting the best screenshots of your map, to... basically a lot of different things.

Once you are familiar with hammer (and I REALLY suggest you do because you start modding Degroot),
you'll need the Degrootkeep .vmf (which is the editable map file). Which can be found here. MAKE SURE WHEN YOU SAVE THE MAP YOU SAVE IT AS A DIFFERENT NAME. To change the time of day, you have to change the env_sun enitity and a few other ones (fog_controller, Shadow_controller). its best too look up what these are, and how to add lighting to maps.

Hopefully this will get you started... and Welcome :)
 

agumathebear

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
18
0
Thank you, Frozen, sir! I was trying to figure out the whole vmex thing but I'm too stupid for it lol. And now that I have the map, I found this video, it was suggested to me in the steam forums ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3nFPzQejBk

would following this video get me the rain i was looking for, or is this just for css?
 

agumathebear

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
18
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ok, so I realise now it'll be hard to make it all rainy and stuff, so How could I just make it really dark and night-fall, Preferably change the background sound (unless it's hard) and remove the restrictors that keep people from going into the opposite team's base?
 

Moose

L6: Sharp Member
Nov 4, 2009
312
616
Thank you, Frozen, sir! I was trying to figure out the whole vmex thing but I'm too stupid for it lol. And now that I have the map, I found this video, it was suggested to me in the steam forums ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3nFPzQejBk

would following this video get me the rain i was looking for, or is this just for css?

Rain in tf2 is actually a particle effect, whenever I need to use it I usually end up opening sawmill's vmf and copy-pasting the entity from there. It's actually an info_particle_system using env_rain_001 under the particle system name. These are placed near the top of your map every 650 units or so, and they'll generate rain in that general area. You need to be careful not to put the particles over buildings though, or else the inside of buildings will be rainy.
 

Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
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Sep 5, 2010
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You'll want to keep the restrictors, but if you want to delete them, they are brushes called Respawn room visualizers.

To change the enviroment, you need to change the env_sun enties, and other corresponding Enviromental entites. You also have to find the skybox texture of the map you want (so, look at doublecross) and put its name (minus the last _XX bit where XX is some letter/number combo). in the proper keyvalue under the tab maps > properties.

Guides on how to change skybox textures are abound, just google that. There really isn't a wrong way.
 

agumathebear

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
18
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Thank you so much, i was actually in degroot looking around for where the sun was, then looking around in the halloween level for the moon lmao, thank you thank you
 

agumathebear

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
18
0
I cannot find the original lighting in degroot keep, how can i delete the light that is stock with map to replace it with my own?

also, i want to change the audio to doublecross's ambience, how do i do this?
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
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Nov 14, 2009
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For the lighting, look for the light_environment entity. It'll look like a little sun. Replace its values with the appropriate ones for the skybox you're using (see here for the list of skyboxes and their corresponding light values).
 

tyler

aa
Sep 11, 2013
5,102
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For the lighting, look for the light_environment entity. It'll look like a little sun. Replace its values with the appropriate ones for the skybox you're using (see here for the list of skyboxes and their corresponding light values).

It only looks like a sun if you download ABS's resource pack.

Which you should do, by the way
 

agumathebear

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
18
0
now i've filled out those little houses (like the blacksmith) and such so players can actually go inside them, but i cant figure out how to make windows see-though. I don't want players able to shoot through the windows, but i want windows like the ones seen at the final control point. anyone know how to do this?
 

agumathebear

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
18
0
gah, I just tested my map and this is what im seeing;

first of all i see a bright blue shield which shows the trees in the background inside the red base (when im blue) and it's basically stopping me from seeing inside the base at all (their spawn point).

secondly, i've added alot of little things like boarded up doors and more barrels, but when i test the map they are no longer there, and things I've deleted (like the control room stuff hidden behind doors) is still there. What am I doing wrong? is it just because of the test? when I run the map on a regular server will the stuff be corrected?
 

agumathebear

L1: Registered
Jun 13, 2011
18
0
Ok, so now i've made it night and all that, and it looks and sounds perfect except for the stupid skycard trees in the background, they are still bright blue, how do i change the color of them?