Vertex Editing Help

ROFLsnakes

L2: Junior Member
Apr 24, 2012
72
5
So I've touched vertex editing very little and am try to get better,so I put together a little practice map to test some sloped curved ramps,and round 90 degree turns.I still get a staircase even though the ramp looks smooth.I started with an arch with a height of 16 and 180 degree turn.It came up correctly looking like a staircase.After I smoothed and rendered, nothing appears to have happened. I've never really done vertex editing for major things,could someone look at it and tell me what's wrong with it because for the life of me I don't see one.

here's the file:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3aase6f8z4fjd82/fray3.vmf
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
Well first of all, you made an oval instead of a circle for some reason. I figured you already knew that, but it's just weird is all. Secondly, by trying to vertex-edit these rectangular blocks, you created invalid solids. To use a simple analogy, if you have a piece of paper sitting on a table, and you lift up one corner, it's not a flat piece of paper anymore. But Hammer can understand flat polygons, so it will get all confused if you try to use the vertex editor to stretch corners in ways they weren't meant to be stretched.

You have two options at this point. The more common one is to just use the slice tool to split each block into two triangular wedges from corner to corner. You can do all the vertex editing you want to a triangle and it'll still be a valid solid. The second is to split just the top and bottom faces into triangles by selecting the opposite top corners in the vertex editor, then pressing Ctrl+F, then doing that again on the bottom. I don't know if there's any practical difference between the two techniques unless your map is close to the brush limit.
 

ROFLsnakes

L2: Junior Member
Apr 24, 2012
72
5
Alright thanks, ya I know it's an oval. planned on putting that kind of track in caves;caves aren't usually round.

Ya I fixed the individual sections by slicing it into triangles.Works and looks wonderful, thanks again!
 
Last edited:

tyler

aa
Sep 11, 2013
5,102
4,621
Remember that time I posted a thing about making spiral stairs and clipping them in one of your threads? Do that.
 

henke37

aa
Sep 23, 2011
2,075
515
Use displacements for caves. Not ordinary brushes.
 

ROFLsnakes

L2: Junior Member
Apr 24, 2012
72
5
I wanted the floor to be flat,the walls around it made of stone on one side,the other concrete.Thanks, though.Thanks yyler I went back and looked at your post,forgot about that thread, I finally got a chance to implement the technique into something.