Problems with packing my map

[Dooby McGroovy]

I hate doing this questions because it may sound like an amateur problem for people who actually know what they're doing, but I've been dealing with this for 2 god-damn hours.

For context, I just started using CompilePal for the first time, again, I'm completely new to TF2 mapping and just mapping in general. So I imported some custom models for my map, These (Although I used only three) everything went smoothly up until I actually had to pack my map.
I tried EVERYTHING, I'm 100% sure I checked & unchecked every button there is in CompilePal, I thought I may have put the files into wrong folders, so I moved them from folder to folder like 10 times, and still, after all that, the models just won't show up in-game (I checked by typing sv_pure 2 in the console, I read that that's how you know if it worked or not).

I have no idea what I'm doing wrong, and the fact that this is pretty much the first time adding custom content to my map is not really helping. Not only that, but I've watched several YouTube videos and read every post on the internet I could find, and it didn't really help.

Finally, I came here to hopefully find some help. So please if anyone can help me in any way it would be amazing.

 

[Tiftid]

Hello,
It would be helpful if you could note down any errors the compile window in CompilePal displays - if there even are any.
Also, if the packing step is working correctly, it should show a list of how many files of each custom content it finds, looking something like:

---

• 14 materials found
• 4 models found
• 0 sounds found

Additional files:

• - nav file

---

If this shows "0 models", it indicates that CompilePal is for some reason failing to find your model files.
In theory, if your models are showing up in Hammer, CompilePal should be able to find them.
But, just in case, here are some folder paths that it should be able to find:

• tf/models/YOUR_MODEL_NAME
• tf/models/ANY_SUBFOLDER_NAME/YOUR_MODEL_NAME
• tf/custom/CUSTOM_FOLDER_NAME/models/YOUR_MODEL_NAME
• tf/custom/CUSTOM_FOLDER_NAME/models/ANY_SUBFOLDER_NAME/YOUR_MODEL_NAME

Hopefully that makes sense.
Also, you can try uploading the .bsp file, and I can open it with GCFScape and check exactly what packed content it has, if any.
This will help to see if it's packing the model textures but not the model itself, or vice versa, or packing neither.

 

[Seacat08]

Alright I can think of 2 common reasons this may not be working.

1. You don't have the "pack" option on

This is a common one. Make sure you click the add button

Then add "pack" to the compile parameters

2. The assets aren't stored in the right folder

Another common one is for the assets to not be stored right. Make sure the compiler knows the correct directory for your assets. Compile pal will automatically detect them in most directories but the one that's best for the compiler is the custom folder.

ex:

 

[trees]

From what I understand, sv_pure 2 disables everything that isn't a stock game asset, so those models aren't going to show regardless. Try removing the assets in question from tf/materials, tf/models and tf_custom, then running your map and you'll know for sure if they're packed.

 

[Tiftid]

That's inaccurate - the entire reason people test with sv_pure 2 is because it only allows loading custom assets from the map file, and won't load them from your tf/ or tf/custom/CUSTOM_FOLDER_NAME/ directories.

 

[Dooby McGroovy]

Hello,
It would be helpful if you could note down any errors the compile window in CompilePal displays - if there even are any.
Also, if the packing step is working correctly, it should show a list of how many files of each custom content it finds, looking something like:

---

• 14 materials found
• 4 models found
• 0 sounds found

Additional files:

• - nav file

---

If this shows "0 models", it indicates that CompilePal is for some reason failing to find your model files.
In theory, if your models are showing up in Hammer, CompilePal should be able to find them.
But, just in case, here are some folder paths that it should be able to find:

• tf/models/YOUR_MODEL_NAME
• tf/models/ANY_SUBFOLDER_NAME/YOUR_MODEL_NAME
• tf/custom/CUSTOM_FOLDER_NAME/models/YOUR_MODEL_NAME
• tf/custom/CUSTOM_FOLDER_NAME/models/ANY_SUBFOLDER_NAME/YOUR_MODEL_NAME

Hopefully that makes sense.
Also, you can try uploading the .bsp file, and I can open it with GCFScape and check exactly what packed content it has, if any.
This will help to see if it's packing the model textures but not the model itself, or vice versa, or packing neither.

Hi, Here are the list of the files & the errors when compiling the VMF file and packing the BSP file, hope this helps

---------------------
6 materials found
3 models found
0 particle files found
0 sounds found
---------------------

4 errors/warnings logged:
4 errors/warnings logged for koth_excavation_v2_a1b:
● 1x: Info: fastvis = true
● 2x: Caution: Can't load skybox file skybox/sky_tf2_04 to build the default cubemap!
● 1x: Caution: Error loading studio model "models/props_2fort/gibs/miningcrate001_break01.mdl"!
No errors/warnings logged for koth_excavation_v2_a1b

 

[Brokkhouse]

Did you put the custom assets in the right folder? There are some configurations that allow Hammer to load the assets but not the game. Custom models usually follow this structure: Team Fortress 2/tf/custom/FOLDERNAME/models/props_NAME/
FOLDERNAME can be anything, it's just for your organization. Double-check this is the case, or post a screenshot of your file browser with the model files.

 

[Tiftid]

Hi, Here are the list of the files & the errors when compiling the VMF file and packing the BSP file, hope this helps

---------------------
6 materials found
3 models found
0 particle files found
0 sounds found
---------------------

4 errors/warnings logged:
4 errors/warnings logged for koth_excavation_v2_a1b:
● 1x: Info: fastvis = true
● 2x: Caution: Can't load skybox file skybox/sky_tf2_04 to build the default cubemap!
● 1x: Caution: Error loading studio model "models/props_2fort/gibs/miningcrate001_break01.mdl"!
No errors/warnings logged for koth_excavation_v2_a1b

It's detecting the models and materials just fine.

Might be a strange question, but are you using the bsp from tf/maps/ after you compile, or dragging the one in your VMF folder into tf/maps/ before you run the game?
If you're using the one in your VMF folder, then CompilePal doesn't perform the packing step on it.