Mapping Questions
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Nerdish by NatureGermany Join Date: 2003-08-07 Member: 19166Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Silver, NS2 Community Developer
Nerdish by NatureGermany Join Date: 2003-08-07 Member: 19166Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Silver, NS2 Community Developer
<div class="IPBDescription">FAQ Links almost all down :/</div>Hey there,
I've searched through all the FAQs and stuff, but unfortunately almost all links aren't working.
I have two questions:
-Does a commander drop stuff through "func_seethrough" entities or do those still block medpacks and stuff or at least slow it down (slowly sinking medpacks) ?
-How do I do the overview and do I have to change it into the different blue colors myself?
I've read something about "dev_overview 1" in the hltv.doc linked by Flayra, but it doesn't work. Do I need to start the map via console (single player)?
I've searched through all the FAQs and stuff, but unfortunately almost all links aren't working.
I have two questions:
-Does a commander drop stuff through "func_seethrough" entities or do those still block medpacks and stuff or at least slow it down (slowly sinking medpacks) ?
-How do I do the overview and do I have to change it into the different blue colors myself?
I've read something about "dev_overview 1" in the hltv.doc linked by Flayra, but it doesn't work. Do I need to start the map via console (single player)?
Comments
func_seethrough's do not affect the comm whatsoever, so he can drop anything through them. Things like ceiling architecture that has a gap with the ceiling pretty much needs to be turned into this brush entity. The slowly sinking meds usually only occur with non func_seethrough architecture, but i believe they might still occur if there's too little room above the func_seethrough. They might need over 8 units for the med to 'fit' between the ceiling and the func_seethrough, right before the engine tells the med to move beyond it. I could be wrong.
And your seconds question: (breathes in deeply...)
An overview is tedious and annoying (if you want to do it properly). Dev_overview gives you a pretty, in-game overview, NOT the blue map overview. That is created instead through the 'buildminimap' command (i THINK... it's been awhile).
To get that, go into your map normally (console -> sv_cheats 1 -> developer 1 -> map nsmap). Then type buildminimap. You get a little progress bar and it takes a few minutes. Once done, restart your map and you have the crappy basic output minimap.
If you want to fix it up, good luck. Took me a long while to figure it all out, and it still takes about 2 hours when you know what you're doing.
But basically:
1. Get spritewizard <a href="http://www.slackiller.com/hlprograms.htm" target="_blank">here</a>, or one of the other programs. I used spritewizard. You MAY need to use Sprite Viewer to extract the initial sprite, i cant remember. Find the sprite file in the sprite directory, and extract it til you have the 5 BMP images, which make up the 4 corners of the big map and one for the tiny commander map.
2. Using photoshop etc, add them into one big image. Colour the vents in red, then smooth out the little annoying details of the map; all sorts of random architecture will make the minimap look bad. This is subjective, but can really make the final image look waaaaay prettier.
3. You now have your unlabelled, non transparent minimap (the first of 4). Save the photoshop file, then Save As with a new name (-labelled?)
4. Add labels onto the rooms and areas. Use a simple Outer Glow Layer Style to get the exact same effect as seen in the official map's minimaps. You now have your labelled, nontransparent minimap.
5. Make a 2-pixel-by-2-pixel pattern, where one diagonal is the transparency colour, and the other diagonal is EMPTY. Not white. Empty. You should see the little checkers in them.
6. This is the tricky part to explain, and it has to do with the whole process, not exactly at step 6. The final image needs to have a 256 palette, where the last colour is the transparency colour. You should have already seen that a certain colour is where the map is transparent, so leave it like that and colour the pattern diagonal with it. I'll explain more in a sec.
7. With this Transparency Layer above your minimap image BUT BELOW YOUR LABELS (i hope you know how to use layers), you now have both your unlabelled and your labelled transparency minimaps.
8. Now, you have to actually turn them into sprites. Say your map is called ns_doom. You need ns_doom_0.spr (unlabelled, non transparent), ns_doom_1.spr (labelled, nontransparent), ns_doom_2.spr (unlabelled, transparent), and ns_doom_3.spr (labelled, transparent). And, each needs 5 bmp's that all have the same pallette.
9. Hide layers as you needs them, but if you've set it up like I said, you shouldn't have a problem with that. For each sprite image, you have to get the 5 bmps, just like you had in the beginning (and each has to be 256*256 pixels). With the proper image on the screen, turn it into an Indexed Palette with the right palette (which is where it can get messy), then crop for the top-left, save-as ns_doom_0_1 (_1 means its the first of 5 bmps, for the _0 sprite). Undo. Crop for the top-right, save-as, etc. Tedious as f***. But, use the Anchors in photoshop's Crop menu, and you'll be fine.
10. Once you have all your BMPs ready, load up Sprite Wizard and follow the instructions. Load up 5 bmps - it won't accept them if they have different palettes. It has to be done in the proper order too - top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right, comm-mini-map. Otherwise, in-game they'll all be in the wrong position. Save the output sprites as the proper name format, and you have your sprites.
11. Load em up. If they actually load properly, you're still not even done (if you want full polish). You'll very likely have RTs, Hives, weldables or the CC covering the labelled room names. These entities are ALWAYS on the minimap, so there's no excuse, polish-wise. Move the labels around a bit if need be.
12. Donce.
Or, you can just be lazy and leave it with the crappy buildminimap output.
I've already mapped for other mods, even hl2 where had to do minimaps aswell, so your help shoud be perfectly fine <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
..guess I check the "buildminimap" output first..I prefer to call it efficent, not lazy <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
*slow motion mode off*</b><!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
Damnit activity in this forum and I get outposted <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
I'm wasting hours on getting 5 .bmps with the same palette saved and Sprite Wizard always says "different palette". It's ridiculous.
Am I that stupid or is there no way to force those 5 .bmps to save with the same palette?
I'm using an indexed big .bmp to create all 5 parts and still different palette!
I got it once (it worked eventually), but now I've changed the maplayout and have to do it again and it won't work!
Edit: The first 2 parts aren't working now. I've reduced the complete minimap to 5! colors and the first 2 parts still have a different palette according to spritewizard.
Edit²: I've got it, but apparently it has nothing to do with the palette, although the error message relates to that O_o
I've overpainted some minimap pixels at the edge in one corner of those parts not working and then I could add them to the sprite.
Can someone explain why?
Sounds like you've made some progress though! keep at it!