Model Custom Posters [Deleted]

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Mystic Monkey

L5: Dapper Member
Jan 24, 2011
224
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Custom Posters - reskinnable posters.

I think the most common way to add posters in TF2 Hammer is with the Overlay tool. However despite posters being flat, this method may make your posters appear "too flat" for the surface of walls and such.
Meanwhile TF2 has props for posters. So I figured I'd copy them and reconfigure them to make them reskinnable and accessable for me and others to use. Being flat poster props they are the most easy to reskin.

There are five props in total, each based on poster-props from TF2. They are very easy to reskin, even for novice and I even included .png templates. Each prop has six skins in total (default, a to e) and an instructions.txt for how to install and reskin. (Basically just save over the existing .vtf files)

This is my first upload of props and I hope they will be very useful to others. As they are default TF2 props, no need to credit me.

TF2 custom posters.png


P.S. Couldn't find the poster layer that makes the Update Posters appear worn, creased, dirty and signs of tape and such. If I had it, would of included.
 
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Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
This would be a good time to ask, whoever is familiar with this, do custom textures stored in the raw folders override ones that are packed into the map, or not? I thought they did, and that would be an issue if multiple people download and use these.
 

Asd417

Sample Text
aa
Mar 20, 2016
1,451
1,031
This would be a good time to ask, whoever is familiar with this, do custom textures stored in the raw folders override ones that are packed into the map, or not? I thought they did, and that would be an issue if multiple people download and use these.
The texture can be replaced with the compiled model. I fixed the missing texture problem with this.
 

Mystic Monkey

L5: Dapper Member
Jan 24, 2011
224
12
This would be a good time to ask, whoever is familiar with this, do custom textures stored in the raw folders override ones that are packed into the map, or not? I thought they did, and that would be an issue if multiple people download and use these.
I'm not quite sure what you mean. The textures you see on the posters I presented in the image are the default ones I made (the small pink and black squares I added just for decoration, no actual faults). They are ment to be replaced by saving over them with your desired texture but they must still have the same .vtf filenames.

If you want to specifically rename the props and/or the textures, that would require decompiling, but I tried to make these posters efficient for beginners and novices who just want to put posters in their maps than the need for GCFScape and Crowbar to make duplicates of the default TF2 files, to reconfigure them and all that.
 

Infomaniac

L6: Sharp Member
Nov 29, 2015
374
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So... How does one reskin this?
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
@Asd417 and @Mystic Monkey, What I was getting at was, if multiple people use these and make their own textures for them, and then play each other's maps, are they only going to see their own posters instead of the ones they're supposed to be seeing?
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
The issue is whether the game will prioritize the local files with the same names and render those instead of what's packed, same way as you can override any stock texture.
 

Mystic Monkey

L5: Dapper Member
Jan 24, 2011
224
12
So... How does one reskin this?
I've left instructions in the file, but I'll skim it for you.

You can use the .png templates I provided in the Material folder (before the props_posters folder where the .vmt and .vtf are) to make your posters with. Simply make your poster and scale it to fit under the template. (If you're using PhotoShop or GIMP, put the template above your picture, it serve as a boarder then.) Once you're satisfied with your image, flatten it. Afterwards you can do two methods, depending on conveniance:
  • If your art program can save .vtf files, then you can save your poster. Go to props_posters in your materials folder and select one of the .vtf files and choose to save over it.
  • If your art program can't save .vtf files but you do have VTFEdit, simply "Select all" the entire image and "Copy" it. Open up VTFEdit and click "Paste". Should automatically upload it for you. Then you simply overwrite one of the pre-existing .vtf files.
Also keep in mind it's ideal to use the right template for the right .vtf file for the right poster you want to use in your map. For example use the update_poster_001 template, save over any of the update_poster_001.vtf files and use the prop update_poster_001 from your props_posters folder in models.

@Asd417 and @Mystic Monkey, What I was getting at was, if multiple people use these and make their own textures for them, and then play each other's maps, are they only going to see their own posters instead of the ones they're supposed to be seeing?
I will admit, did not consider that possibility.

I'd appreciate if it's possible to test over. If it is indeed what you say, then I will include that recompiling is required. Though hope it won't cause the issue.
 
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Void

Local Man Unable To Map, Sources Say
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Sep 14, 2008
1,865
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Yeah, just gonna flat-out say that recompiling is gonna be necessary. Even if it's packed properly in separate maps, if stuff uses the same filenames and paths as something that looks completely different, it's gonna cause issues. Tried and true, it's an issue that needs a recompile for each individual user's posters to work without errors.
 

200

L2: Junior Member
Aug 11, 2013
54
79
Thats kinda kills its puropse, pretty sad. Maybe it would be more useful to have a set of .smd and .qc files along with textures ready to compile. So we could just fill in new paths and compile mdl.
 

Mystic Monkey

L5: Dapper Member
Jan 24, 2011
224
12
Well balls.

I'm sorry for not thinking it through properly.

Should I take it down? I mean, if someone is capable of using crowbar of a compiling program to make the models compatable, then they're perhaps able to use GCFScape to get the models themselves like I did.

Sorry for making an impractical prop, I wanted to contribute something simple and easy for beginners to easily apply to their maps.
 

Arceus

The equine creator everyone takes for granted.
Apr 19, 2016
42
3
Yeah, just gonna flat-out say that recompiling is gonna be necessary. Even if it's packed properly in separate maps, if stuff uses the same filenames and paths as something that looks completely different, it's gonna cause issues. Tried and true, it's an issue that needs a recompile for each individual user's posters to work without errors.

To reaffirm Void's hypothesis, when customized, the posters fail to compile ("Unable to load vertex data"), which, in turn, causes the map to fail completely.
failedposter.PNG

(In my example, carnival_poster_wide was used. The VTF was customized, and VVD is in the correct folder.)

Well balls.

I'm sorry for not thinking it through properly.

Should I take it down? I mean, if someone is capable of using crowbar of a compiling program to make the models compatable, then they're perhaps able to use GCFScape to get the models themselves like I did.

Sorry for making an impractical prop, I wanted to contribute something simple and easy for beginners to easily apply to their maps.
Perhaps you can mark it somehow so that others will know this model is broken, or fix it yourself.
It would be unwise to remain silent, and have others download it only to run into similar errors.
 
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