[WIP] cp_dusbowl_night

nanosheep

L1: Registered
Sep 4, 2008
13
23
* This map is cp_dustbowl, but I've changed the lighting so its at night
* CP of course
* This will probably be a private release only, for comic making reasons

And thus the problem begins!

So, happy go lucky, firing up the compiler for the first time. About 50 minutes later, wheee! In the game!

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c210/nanosheep/cp_dustbowl_nightbeta0007.jpg

Erm, how do I get out of spawn?

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c210/nanosheep/cp_dustbowl_nightbeta0005.jpg

I've got these massive walls with "AREA PORTAL" written all over them. Being a noob at Hammer and all (1st time I've ever used it), I did some research and found out that these things are actually occluders, that prevents drawing of objects behind them.

And not only are they doing that, they're impassable walls!

So, question time:

How do I change it so that the occluders are not solid walls? I've tried clicking on them and attempting to modify the properties but I'm not getting very far since I haven't the slightest clue what to do.

Your help is greatly appreciated!
 

grazr

Old Man Mutant Ninja Turtle
aa
Mar 4, 2008
5,441
3,814
Have you not considered making your own map? Decompiled versions of other maps are generally unstable as no decompile is perfect and normally riddled with errors. Such as areaportals.

Are they set as func_areaportal? Decompiles have the tendancies to seperate multiple object entities etc
 

nanosheep

L1: Registered
Sep 4, 2008
13
23
All I can see when I right click properties is that the "Area portal" object belongs in the following categories:

X World geometry
X Area Portal

I think it is a func_detail.
 

A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
aa
Nov 2, 2007
4,775
7,669
area portals are stripped of their entity when decompiled, you'll have to make them func_areaportals. But then... many of them will probably have to be re-linked to any doors they correspond to.
If it is just for comic work (and PLEASE keep it at that), you could theoretically just delete them all since map performance doesn't matter when you just want to take screenshots.
 

Ida

deer
aa
Jan 6, 2008
2,289
1,372
You really have to make the skybox as dark as the rest of the map, even if you're going to use it for "comic making purposes". It looks bizarre.

There are also lots of props that have their shadows enabled, when they shouldn't. For example, the rocks in picture 2. Disable their shadows in their properties, and do this for all other props with ugly shadows as well.
 

YM

LVL100 YM
aa
Dec 5, 2007
7,135
6,056
You'll need to change the fog colour (and probably distances too) so that it matches the horizon colours of the skybox.
Make sure when you compile it finally you use this - http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=2994 - so that you don't get the ultra lame shadows that are common in the other decompile/recompile maps (such as dbheights, the track has loads of lighting issues, solved by this but I don't think they know about these settings...)
Then lastly make sure that in all areas you can tell what colour the player is, its really important that you can tell what class and team every player is on from a quick glance so you can tell friend from foe, you'll likely have to bump up the value of existing lights and add a few more to do this.
Lastly I'd just like to add that I disaprove of what you're doing, but since you're doing it you may as well do it well :p
 

FaTony

Banned
Mar 25, 2008
901
160
I think making dustbowl_night as the 1st map is not good.

And the direct answer to ur q is: select an areaportal brush, right click, select "tie to entity", now select func_areaportal in the list, press apply.

I don't think that areaportals are tied to doors since it's multiplayer map and no1 knows where the players are and what they see.
 

YM

LVL100 YM
aa
Dec 5, 2007
7,135
6,056
I don't think that areaportals are tied to doors since it's multiplayer map and no1 knows where the players are and what they see.

It doesn't matter that its multiplayer, when you tie an areaportal to a door you've got to sink the area portal completely inside the door so you cant see it around the edges, then when the door is closed the portal is too (for everyone, regardless of where they are)
 

FaTony

Banned
Mar 25, 2008
901
160
It doesn't matter that its multiplayer, when you tie an areaportal to a door you've got to sink the area portal completely inside the door so you cant see it around the edges, then when the door is closed the portal is too (for everyone, regardless of where they are)

Works only if that area has one door. Otherwise, another player will open another door and wll see HoM/skybox.
 

YM

LVL100 YM
aa
Dec 5, 2007
7,135
6,056
Works only if that area has one door. Otherwise, another player will open another door and wll see HoM/skybox.
Again no, if it has two doors you need two area portals, one tied to each door, one may be closed and act like a solid wall and the other may be open as though it wasn't there. I'm not sure where you're getting these ideas but areaportals tied to doors don't function stupidly just because its multiplayer, they work exactly the way they should.
Its areaportal windows that are crap with multiplayer since they're based on distance, so a player can be right next to the window and see out whilst another can be far away and not see the player inside.

Areaportals work client side, an areaportal open to one player isn't necasserily open for another.
This is true, but for ones tied to doors they are effectively server side (even though they aren't) since the door is closed for everyone, the areaportal is too. Unless you can make some universe destroying paradox where a door is open for one player and not for another you'll have all players using the same state for a door.
 

FaTony

Banned
Mar 25, 2008
901
160
I'll double check.

EDIT: Neat, they're actually working like Youme said. This makes parenting them to door a valuable optimization technique.

P.S. I thought they're just toggling rendering of the areas. (You can find area id by typing mat_leafvis 1 and developer 2.)
 
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