[TIP] Face Normal disp edit and a helper

A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
aa
Nov 2, 2007
4,775
7,669
I never knew how to use the Face Normal mode in the Paint Geometry box before today, and now that I do I love it.

When you have Face Normal selected, you must alt+rightclick on a face to pick it. The disp vertices will then move along that face's normal (an axis perpendicular to it's surface). Simple as that.

fn-1.png


Now to provide easily accessible faces to use for this, I made the Displacement Companion Cube, a 42 sided brush made with love. :blushing: It has the 6 main faces for your standard X/Y/Z movement (much easier than having to switch the dropdown list all the time!), 12 faces at 45 degrees between the 6 main ones, and 24 other faces that are near to 22.5 degrees. All this means you can plop the DCC in view of where you will be displacement editing, grab the Face Normal option, and then easily switch between a multitude of axises for displacing.

Just remember not to compile with it visible! I found it handy to put it in a visgroup with other helper objects that I always turn off before compiling.

Place the VMF in sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin\prefabs to use it through the prefab function.

displacementcompanioncube.jpg
 
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S.E.A.L.#555

L1: Registered
Nov 8, 2007
23
8
Very nice, Booj.

Any remember, World-Creators, you can left click to go one way along the axis, and right click to go the other.

Cheers.
 

Mar

Banned
Feb 12, 2009
607
63
What are we supposed to do with that file? Hammer won't open it.
 

A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
aa
Nov 2, 2007
4,775
7,669
Not sure why you can't open it, I can, but it's for use as a prefab. I added that fact and the location it goes into the first post. I guess I forgot that bit. Added in the instructive picture I made for another thread too.
I also updated it because I noticed it's origin was off and would get spawned away from where you tried to place it as a prefab, so whoever got it might want to get it again.
 
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mug

L1: Registered
Aug 13, 2008
23
9
Thanks ABS. This is very helpful for those awkward cliff corners after using subdivide
 

pl

L5: Dapper Member
Mar 6, 2009
248
55
Wow... this is just fantastic! This is the key to lovely and smooth displacements. Thank you so much! :D
 

Psy

The Imp Queen
aa
Apr 9, 2008
1,706
1,491
If only I knew this when displacing the cliffs on Lighthouse. :p