Making your textures not look like crap.

Starbound

L1: Registered
Apr 23, 2014
8
2
So like all of the ground textures look just fine you create a displacement paint it on and it looks fine but my problem is the fact that any other texture I use looks like crap.
I'm trying to make kinda like the badland shack things and the textures don't come out right at all what so ever.

I know how to use the displacements tool but I'm no artist so I don't get how like all of the good maps look all amazing and like high dynamic and stuff like that ya know all the good stuff that makes people not want to throw up everytime they look at your map *counting yourself looking at your own map*

There doesn't seem to be any guides what so ever showing you how like valve maps look the style in witch they do.
I don't have a screenshot of what my map looks like right now as I gave up why even bother when it's not turning out the way I want it.

EDIT I'm now editing my post there's also a screenshot I'm not very good at my grammar and everything so sorry if this is paragraphed wrong.
 
Last edited:

seth

aa
May 31, 2013
1,019
851
Why even bother taking a screenshot that will help you diagnose your problem because it didn't turn out the way you wanted it? At least you have the right attitude.

Just take a deep breath and relax. It's ok. If you can provide us with a screenshot and perhaps rewrite your post to not be a continuous sentence, you would be better understood.
 

wareya

L420: High Member
Jun 17, 2012
493
191
Your map isn't compiling any lighting information. It means one of several things is going wrong:
- Your map has a leak; that is, any entity is even indirectly exposed to the "void" outside of the map in any way
- You're compiling with VRAD disabled
- You have invalid geometry that's so bad that it makes VRAD break
- Other things I might not know about
Run your compile log through http://www.interlopers.net/errors/ and see what it says is wrong.
 

Starbound

L1: Registered
Apr 23, 2014
8
2
Or, the biggest thing of them all that causes what we call "fullbright" is...

... You don't have any light sources (light or light_spot entities) in your map!
Oh yeah that's the one thing I haven't gotten around to yet was lighting so I guess I'll do that now I din't even know it was such a huge thing to make proper lighting to get the textures to look right my bad.
Sorry about that Lol.
 

Fruity Snacks

Creator of blackholes & memes. Destroyer of forums
aa
Sep 5, 2010
6,394
5,571
Oh yeah that's the one thing I haven't gotten around to yet was lighting so I guess I'll do that now I din't even know it was such a huge thing to make proper lighting to get the textures to look right my bad.
Sorry about that Lol.

No problem, it's a common mistake that a lot of people make. Even I will compile a new map and go "D'oh! Forgot lighting!" every once in a while. Don't beat yourself up over it, now you know!
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
That's the big one. I don't really see anything else that's off about the picture, aside from there not being any detail in the room. Plain, single-textured walls with no embellishments at all look weird because they are; you pretty much never see any on finished maps. If you're just starting out with Hammer and building "dummy" environments for practice's sake, feel free to screw around with that sort of thing. If you're actually trying to build a map for public consumption, I recommend you ignore the texturing altogether until your map has been alpha-tested for layout problems.