Beginner's Questions

[Bash]

Hi there (first post)

I just started hl2 mapping but I got a lot of mapping experience so I ain't a total beginner :bounce:

But I have some issues I would like to get cleared.
Gernerally I have some lighting/shader problems in my first playground test map:

1. The Player weapon is always fullbright, even if the player stands in shadow covered areas. In normal hl2 or in other custom maps everything works fine, so it's not an hardware issue :rolling:

2. I added Dr Kleiner for proportion looks and I noticed that his glases are also fullbright, the body itself is nice shaded.

3. I don't have any specular color on textures, even I used texture which suppose to have one (can see the specular paintings on the texture) Do I have to activate the "special shader" behaviors of each texture? If yes, how'd I do that?

4. Stuff i.e. a Combine soldier doesn't have any reflection maps...



I compiled the map with the normal flags and got no error messages.

Maybe this are self-explaining problems but I haven't figured out a solution yet. Thanks for all help

 

[Dead-Inside]

Uhm... Do you have any lights in your map... I mean, is the map itself fullbright?

Otherwise, add some cubemaps (env_cubemap from the entities list). Place it over/beside a surface at eyelevelhight and go into properties, select "Pick a surface" and click on the brushface you want to sample from. Several of these in different locations will make your map look sexy.

When you've compiled, ingame you have to go to your console and type buildcubemaps, this is a onetime thing and they are stored in the bsp.

 

[Bash]

Yeah I have lights in the map

env_cubemap and buildcubemap is noted, will try that. Thanks Dead.

Anyone has any clues about the other problems?

 

[Ti133700N]

I believe those problems are all cubemaps related. Dr. Kleiner's glasses use cubemeps for reflections. If I understand correctly your third question, some textures do not have reflections (same problem). Same for the combine stuff.

Most the the reflecting things in the HL2 world use cubemaps to fake the reflections of the surrounding area. That's why you always need to add cubemaps and build them, even weapons use that kind of env map (the shiny deagle in CSS, USP in HL2, Magnum). The env_cubemaps will take screenshots of the surrounding area and put them all together to make an invisiable cube that encloses that area. When you enter this area, the stuff that need reflections will use the colors on the cube to get their settings.

Place cubemaps everywhere in your map, in every room and hallway and you'll get a nice result.

 

[Bash]

Thanks for explanation of the cubemaps

But I have one technical question left about the env_cubemap:

Place cubemaps everywhere in your map, in every room and hallway and you'll get a nice result.

So it's enough to place one cubemap in each room?
But you can also link the cubemap entity to a face... for what is that for?

thx!

 

[POWDERKEG]

you can link it to a face yes...such as water so that you get proper reflections and stuff

 

[Bash]

yeah... thanks for all reply's guys... you have won a place in my first map credits

god bless

b :burp:

 

[POWDERKEG]

cool glad we could help! i'll remember ya if i have questions

 

[Ti133700N]

Yea, the only time that you should link the cubemap to a face is when you use water, other than that you shouldn't.

As for the cubemap placement, I meant that you should put AT LEAST one cubemap in every room. If the room is big and has different kind of lightning then you should put many, and where the lightning conditions are different (like if you have a room with 2 lights, a blue and a red, you would put a cubemap near the blue light and another near the red light).

 

[fps_vandal]

Reading through threads to get helpful info. I'm still way at the early stages, but if this is something that needs to be in every map, I should probably understand. In my map, I should place "cubemaps" in every room? (env's under entities, got it..) eye level? Use a prop hostage or playerspawn for reference? What's the general rule? For every light source 2 cubemaps?

Does putting 2 cubemaps to close together create problems? And do cubemaps add to the strain on the engine?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm soaking up as much info as I can get.

 

[Ti133700N]

Cubemaps are not really hard on the system, what can cause a fps drop is only the amount of shaders you use (if you have many reflecting textures then it will be slower). So if you place 2 cubemaps very close it won't really cause problems, when you'll build the cubemaps 12 images will have to be generated instead of 6 if you used only one cubemap but that's not a problem. The general rule is one cubemap per light and a least one per room and at least one per hallway. The advise I can give you is to place cubemaps as if they were cheese and if you were a mouse, you would be able to go from cheese to cheese and go in every places you can go in the map. Oh and I think you can spawn an entity with impulse something... its like a big reflection sphere so it helps to test if the reflections look alright. You can use the magnum or another reflecting weapon to test that anyway.

 

[Phisionary]

Edit: omg double-post. i don't think i've ever done that before. :x

 

[Phisionary]

as I understand it (not very well i admit) the biggest issue with placing cubemaps to close together is that when you move from one cubemap's range to another's, the refelections will "jump" as it switches the textures. So you want to have your cubemaps rougly the same distance on either side of a doorway or other transition, so the switch is less noticible... If they are too close, they will switch just going from one spot to another.

??

but as I said I don't know really. If anyone wants to correct me if I am, that's cool.