TF2 Maps' Workshop - Uploading the uncompressed version

MOCOLONI

L6: Sharp Member
Dec 16, 2014
373
89
Important: if this is considered an exploit or violation of a rule, please let me know and I'll trash the thread (or do so yourself if you're an admin). I'm not encouraging anyone uploading uncompressed versions of their maps; should this thread have a point if you're not willing explaining people how to decompress your map in order to load them in things like SFM or GCFScape.

How to do it:
  1. Make sure your BSP is ready for public release by embedding custom assets (if any) and building cubemaps (if any). Proceed to locate it inside "tf\maps" and make it 'Read-only'.
  2. Copy this file into "tf/workshop/upload" (create the folder if non-existent). This file will inherit the 'Read-only' flag from the original.
  3. Launch the game and update your map by uploading the BSP file inside the "maps" folder.

You'll be redirected to your Workshop submission once the process is done, and the filesize should be that of the 'read-only' BSP. You may later clear the "upload" folder as it content is only used when files are being uploaded.

Both .BSPs will be used in this process and both have to be marked as 'Read-only'. The first BSP will be used to generate a compressed copy that will later be uploaded to the Workshop, but will also replace your BSP with it (unless it's read-only). The second BSP is the one that gets uploaded and isn't even supposed to exist until the internal compression is over - marking it as 'read-only' prevents the game from overriding this one too, resulting in the upload of an uncompressed version of your map.
 
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Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
Some of you may know that compressed maps aren't currently supported by Source FilmMaker and probably not even by Garry's Mod, so here's one of the reasons.
Those programs both have their own workshops; why not just mirror them? In my experience, Source Filmmaker and Garry's Mod users are too lazy to look up how to copy files over from other workshop folders anyway and are constantly bugging creators about "porting" their content from one to the other. And people who actually download your maps to play them will appreciate not having to download a 100+ MB file.
 

worMatty

Repacking Evangelist
aa
Jul 22, 2014
1,257
999
Indeed. Players and server operators, who make up 99% of the people who download your map, will lose out because of the increased file size. The 1% of people who source their SFM maps from the Workshop can simply decompress the map using BSPZIP or the console. Perhaps it would be better for all if you made a brief tutorial on how to do that?
 

MOCOLONI

L6: Sharp Member
Dec 16, 2014
373
89
Those programs both have their own workshops; why not just mirror them? In my experience, Source Filmmaker and Garry's Mod users are too lazy to look up how to copy files over from other workshop folders anyway and are constantly bugging creators about "porting" their content from one to the other. And people who actually download your maps to play them will appreciate not having to download a 100+ MB file.
Indeed. Players and server operators, who make up 99% of the people who download your map, will lose out because of the increased file size. The 1% of people who source their SFM maps from the Workshop can simply decompress the map using BSPZIP or the console. Perhaps it would be better for all if you made a brief tutorial on how to do that?
I already pointed out I'm not suggesting it as a must and only when someone really needs to do it reasonably. "Unpacking" a map is as simple as creating a folder in "tf" and using the bsp_repack command with the -nocompress parameter. E.g:

bsp_repack -nocompress maps/pl_barnblitz.bsp nocompressbsp/pl_barnblitz.bsp