MapGyver - Creative Use of Props and Assets

BigfootBeto

Party Time 2.0!
aa
Jun 8, 2016
496
847
A thread for unique and resourceful uses of props and things that result in new details not possible otherwise.


Here are a few examples to get started with from koth_king

No bench prop with a backrest? No problem lets just stick a copy of the existing prop to make a backrest.
hammer_2018-04-29_01-49-40.jpg

Check out this upside down vent prop and hl2 antennas.
hammer_2018-04-29_01-58-19.jpg

Sometimes it's ok to have props clipping through each other. There's no 45 degree version of the city facade props.
hammer_2018-04-29_02-03-07.jpg

Another example of props clipping. This time it's to make a Y bend. The corner pipe is just goes through the straight pipe like it's no big deal.
hammer_2018-04-29_02-05-15.jpg
 

Goodnight Girl

L1: Registered
Jul 22, 2016
11
9
This is all too good. It's a nice breath of fresh air to see other people repurposing props like this, seeing how it's not necessarily wasted time to fiddle around with this kind of stuff instead of going for custom models. :)
 

MegapiemanPHD

Doctorate in Deliciousness
aa
Mar 31, 2012
1,937
1,280
Here's some I found

cp_mountainlab

Fancy reuse of some vent props
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This is one of the train buildings from well
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These doors don't have backs, but if you flip the left door it can be used for the back of the right
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A normal vertical pole end for the security fence used horizontaly
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This large laser looking thing is actually the bottom of the point from Nucleus
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not only does this point reuse the waste elevator prop, it also reuses more of the nucleus point props
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This combination of crane arm and strapped barrels makes it look like the straps are connected to the crane
20180429124150_1.jpg 20180429124200_1.jpg
An upside down gorge tank n pipes prop
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hl2 computer texture under this grate. It's all kinds of stretched out and obscured so you don't notice
20180429124018_1.jpg

koth_brazil
This map took the antenna from hydro and recompiled it to be larger to fit within a normal map instead of just the skybox
20180429125606_1.jpg

cp_dustbowl
This projector is made out of brushes and crank props
20180429124504_1.jpg

cp_steel
Even though the blue train engine doesn't have any way to attach train cars behind it, it can still be used like it does and people don't seem to notice.
20180429124649_1.jpg

cp_snowplow
the wheels for this door are actually gauge props
20180429125925_1.jpg 20180429125933_1.jpg

pl_frontier
This platform is one of the rocks used to detail the ground on 2fort. They where originally only meant to be laying on the ground but works fine for something like this too
20180429130712_1.jpg
 
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Vel0city

func_fish
aa
Dec 6, 2014
1,947
1,589
There's this great movie quote from a great movie that perfectly fits here. Now what was it though.... Oh yeah I remember:

"I don't care about what anything was DESIGNED to do, I care about what it CAN do."
 

Idolon

they/them
aa
Feb 7, 2008
2,105
6,106
badwater
YiRqTxw.jpg
floor stain overlay used to mask where the dirt line on the bottom of the wall texture suddenly ends. also present on the opposite side of the same ledge.

granary
MBU03eO.jpg
HL2 truss and railing textures. this wouldn't fly in a gameplay area, but it's cheap and effective for something out of bounds that mostly reads as a silhouette.

mannhattan
hl2_2018-05-03_12-31-57.jpg
pipe model used to receive wires. this isn't really a "fake" since this happens irl too, but it's still clever.

ulRBUiO.jpg
two 256-wide fence props are slightly merged to appear as one larger fence. subtle but effective.

hydro
ngswfEa.jpg OoOg6kX.png
the plug/cable prop from 2fort's basement used in some clever ways that hide the vertical stem.

steep (i like to think that im clever)
4u4tgwc.jpg KCVgDBZ.jpg
two half-hidden stair props form one stair. some barrels hide where one of the stair props pokes up into another room.

JUMnH9O.jpg
sawmill platform backwards to use the supports as, well, supports.
 

Diva Dan

hello!
aa
Mar 20, 2016
1,024
1,951
This fence on mannhattan is actually upside-down

H42dW1V.png

dhWvXwH.png


Ever need a pipe to be just a tad taller?

qQUMDPP.png


Just stack it on a cover like Legos!

zKHPDzu.png


Also, the steps from viaduct_event are really useful for ancient stone stairs.

asiPC3v.png
 

Startacker!

WANT ME TO BE REAL? MAKE ME.
aa
Jun 15, 2013
647
1,197

Kube

Not the correct way to make lasagna
aa
Aug 31, 2014
1,342
1,849
unknown.png

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Another Bad Pun

In the shadows, he saw four eyes lit by fire
aa
Jan 15, 2011
801
1,845
It isn't super groundbreaking, but pipeline uses lots of 2fort props to act as darkly lit industrial buildings (in place of making more than one new model.) In the editor, you quickly realize that none of it makes sense!

pp5.PNG
pp4.PNG



pp6.PNG


Also: Pipeline uses Nodraw in areas where the map maker doesn't want a light_environment effect. (Or possibly to increase the ambient lighting in certain areas.) It looks the same as a normal skybox in-game, but doesn't cast any light. The nodraw on the ramps? No idea. Probably a decompiling error, but I also find it funny how close some of the silhouette props are to the actual map.
pp1.PNG
pp2.PNG
 

Erk

erk
aa
Aug 6, 2016
433
1,098
20180526175001_1.jpg


Another thing cool about Mountainlab which hasn't been shown in this thread are the supports to the cave structure above the first point.

upload_2018-5-26_21-54-27.png


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They use the metal track texture for the beams and the supports are the steel door textures scaled up.
 

BigfootBeto

Party Time 2.0!
aa
Jun 8, 2016
496
847
On badlands last, there isn't a way to get this section of air ducts without either making them clip into each other or having exposed backface culling. So just cover up the backface culling with a brush!

hammer_2018-08-14_15-02-52.jpg


hammer_2018-08-14_15-07-06.jpg
 

Mattie

L2: Junior Member
Jul 28, 2018
59
351
For me, the most in-your-face usage of HL2 props in a TF2 map is these barriers in Badwater:
rLuw5gV.png

But they still just about work, since they're relatively clean and undetailed enough to fit in. Would definitely be a different story if it was the alternate, far dirtier skin.
 
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MacRipley

L3: Member
Jan 15, 2015
134
270
upload_2018-8-20_21-52-34.png


I needed a wooden door to match this house, so I used gradient overlays, and a bent rail for the handle with a downscaled stain overlay under it :)
 

Mattie

L2: Junior Member
Jul 28, 2018
59
351
Dustbowl: Underneath stage 1 RED spawn/stage 2 BLU spawn, what we assume might be a brushwork tunnel is in fact...
Bk9Kd70.jpg

...a huge mousehole decal. (But it's barely visible anyway 'cos of the big grate on the spawnroom floor)
 

FloofCollie

I really suck!
aa
Nov 5, 2016
600
669
Something I never noticed until I decided to have a look around in Hammer, but these chicken wire parts in Badwater are actually displacements to give it a more rough/weighted look!
9ejsRrJ.png


(The metal sheet that isn't in-game is a func_brush set to not render, presumably to block bullets reliably and give a metal impact)