[Help] "Cutting"

[Kelee]

Hey guys, new to the website and building maps, I've got a question.

Notice the top left and bottom right. My question is how do I "cut" the texture (grass texture) so I can fit my tile texture into the ground? I am wanting to make a sunk-in pool that is flush with the ground without having to make a bunch of other materials to do so.

tl;dr Is there a way I can cut my grass material around the pool (tile material)?

 

[Kiddnils]

You need to use the clipping tool on the left side. Simply click on it, go to the 2d-top window and draw a line where you want to cut. Then you will see that one part of the brush should be red this part will be deleted. If you want to avoid this just click two times again on the clipping tool and hit enter to clip the brush. Don't forget to delete the brush under the tiles when you are finished. Then you can move down the tiles.

 

[Kelee]

That kind of worked, how do I make it so it only cuts a box out and not half of the material?

When I try to cut out a box inside the material it only allows me to cut all of it.

The light green material is what I want to cut out of the large blue material (sorry if I am not naming these correctly).

 

[Crash]

To clip around it you need to cut each edge of your grass around the piece you want set in, and then retexture the grass in the middle to the material you want it to be.

You can't have convex shapes in hammer, so you have to clip out the space around what you want to create.

Hopefully this makes sense. Black lines are where you should clip, the white space is where you can retexture your grass to create the base you want.

edit: just whatever you do, don't use the carve tool. Use clipping to achieve the effect you want. When you place your line to cut, if one side of the brush becomes red in grid view, that side will be deleted. Hit the clipping button again until both sides are white, then they will be saved and just cut where you put your line.

editedit: Oh I just realized that's what Kiddnils was saying up there.

 

[Kelee]

Well that sucks and will make everything take 10x longer. I am holding off on the pool and am making my spawn room now. Am I doing it right like this:

The clipping is bad but you can see it, the only thing I worry about is won't the textures on the 3 different pieces not look good? Also will that make my map "lag" more than it would if it were 1 piece?

 

[Crash]

That is exactly how it works. Although you are embedded into the ground which is sort of a no-no. There is no way to make that "one piece" as it would become a convex shape. Your clipping is good there.

It shouldn't take too long to clip the ground. It's only 4 cuts.

 

[Kelee]

I should cut the ground out from underneath my spawn room? Also what about the 3 pieces and their textures? The 2 big pieces look fine but when they meet the middle one it looks like crap and doesn't aline.

 

[Crash]

Oh, I didn't notice that at the top. I assume that is the roof sunk into the walls? Just cut the walls shorter. Or just pull the top and bottom brushes so they are inside of the structure and just texture everything properly on top.

But yet, cut the ground it big long straight lines around your spawn and delete whatever remaining ground is there.

This is what a spawn door looks like in a map I'm working on:

Don't be afraid of extra cuts, especially at this stage of learning.

 

[Kelee]

Like this?

Edit: Sorry messed up the picture, but you can still see it.

Your door looks very nice, on the premade door I found the triggers go out into a very large box surrounding the door, is that necessary or can I do like your and put it very close?

Sorry for all of the question but I have another - I was trying to make a resupply cabinet and the tutorial told me to use "func_regenerate" but when I search for it, it isn't there, how do I make it appear or is it a plugin?

 

[Crash]

Yeah that looks fine, there are better ways to do it, but that works. Now all you have to do is match the textures up with the wall piece and it looks like one smooth wall.

Our door is a setup door, so it just lifts on it's own. The way you have your trigger is fine.

edit:

That's a door on the same map that is the same type as yours.

It's best to try building it on your own, but there is a pre-fab for it in the ABS kit you downloaded.

But, for that step in the tutorial, you need to create a brush with the "trigger" material, and tie it to a entity (ctrl-t while it's selected) and at the top of the window that comes up, you need to type "func_regenerate" There is more to it than that, but the tutorial should explain everything.

 

[xzzy]

Cutting brushes is relatively cheap, don't worry about polygon totals on your world geometry. Props and details, down the road, will be a much bigger drain on your fps.

So slice and dice all you need to get stuff to fit.

 

[Kelee]

Alright, thank you a lot, Crash.

@xzzy Thank you also!

 

[Crash]

No problem. Just so you know, generally the Mapping Discussion forum is the best place to ask for help, this is more for requesting specific things like models or materials.

 

[Tarry H Sruman]

Also, you can get answers quicker, and from more people, by asking in the Steam group chat.

 

[Pocket]

Also, it's usually better to build rather than cut. Especially when you're making something like the ground, which is going to be broken up into a zillion pieces anyway.