Compiling/decompiling maps

[giran]

Hey

I have extracted some of the valve maps from HL2 and decompiled them. Right now im working on the map d1_eli_02_d.vmf in hammer, im removing the stuff I don?t need. But it looks a bit messed up like overlapping brushes and some bits seem over clipped/splitted.

I was trying to do a test compile to see if it works, but it takes forever to compile in hammer, im unsure if its compiling or freezes. Any of you ever compile one of vales maps that can tell me about how long it should take?

Im thinking what I need is working vmf files. Can I download propper vmf files of valve maps anywhere?

 

[Shinobi]

they included some vmf's in the sourcesdkcnotent folder, otherwise you should be decompiling maps...

 

[Crispy]

shouldn't*

 

[PimpinPenguin]

The time to decompile the maps depend on what processor you have got it.
It usually take a few hours

 

[giran]

I have done some reseach on this topic now and it seems some ppl manage to get compiling time down by optimizing their maps. I had removed some of valves optimizing when i was trying to clean up the map. So now im compiling the original and it's faster than before but the Portalflow still takes forever.

Why shouldn't I be decompiling maps?

 

[giant384]

Why shouldn't I be decompiling maps?

because its another persons work and your editing it.

ive only decompiled maps because i didnt know how to do something in hammer

 

[giran]

because its another persons work and your editing it.

ive only decompiled maps because i didnt know how to do something in hammer

Everything in the game is another persons work. I don?t get it. Did valve specify what I can and can not decompile/edit/use?

 

[Crispy]

I believe there is a statement out from Valve somewhere to that effect. I can't remember where I saw it, though.

 

[Shinobi]

shouldn't*

whoopps my bad

 

[Shinobi]

Everything in the game is another persons work. I don?t get it. Did valve specify what I can and can not decompile/edit/use?

they specified that you cant decompile it when they didnt provide you with the original vmf's

 

[Unarmed]

Those are the ethical reasons why you shouldn't decompile but there are technical reasons that are work aswell.

Firstly, if you think about it there are several ways you can make objects in hammer that are identical. So ingame all these objects look exactly the same but in the vmf, they dont. This means that when you decompile, the decompiler has to guess how these objects were made. Alsom during compile, several things in your vmf is removed, such as unused faces or nodraw faces and becuase of that the decompiler will have to, once more, guess how the map was made.

These guesses are not simple and they more or less require intelligence to be done properly and unfortunatley, a decompiler has none. This means that the vmf you get is probably real crappy, and most likeley full of errors. The only thing thats intact is inface your entities, bacuse they aren't altered during compile. This means that if you want to find out how entitywork is done then a decompiler is a great tool. But if you are recompiling, except huge compile times, bad framerates and several errors, because what your compiling is not the vmf that exists over at VALVe but a mere guess of what that could have looked like. A bad guess.

 

[macd]

Think of maps like published books.

Copyright prevents you from copying things.

And using another persons map and compiling it as your own, is a bit like using another persons book and publishing it as your own.