Bad Surface Extents?

LazerLazer Join Date: 2003-03-11 Member: 14406Members, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester
<div class="IPBDescription">What does this mean?</div> I've been working on a map for quite a while now. The map is rather large. Just recently I started getting an error telling me "bad surface extents" then a number something like xxxxx/0. I get this error right when the map loads up in ns after being compiled. I've tried checking for errors and things like that but i can't seem to figure it out.

Comments

  • RPG_JssmfulhudRPG_Jssmfulhud Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4006Members
    Well, you get this error message if you scaled a texture really big or too small. If you have scaled some textures above 20 or below 0.1, you might consider them as errors...

    Anyway, click the "check for problems" button...
  • LazerLazer Join Date: 2003-03-11 Member: 14406Members, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester
    Running an error check doesn't seem to find it. So far I've only found 1 place where something got scaled down to .06 by accident. I'm still looking though. It's getting confusing since I've deleted big parts of the map and it still gives me the error.
  • KageKage Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 2016Members
    Another option, in case you don't want to look in hammer, is to look at the .map file. It can be viewed with notepad. It contains information on everything in the map, including texture scale. Here's an example of a line you might find:
    <!--c1--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>CODE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='CODE'><!--ec1-->( -256 128 64 ) ( 256 128 64 ) ( 256 -128 64 ) GENLEG [ 1 0 0 0 ] [ 0 -1 0 0 ] 0 20 1<!--c2--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--ec2-->

    The "0 20 1" at the end tells the texture scale. I'm not sure about the 0, but the 20 is the x scale, and the 1 is the y scale. You could change it here if you want to, and at the very least find the texture that is being scaled too far (in this example the texture is GENLEG.)
  • NerdIIINerdIII Join Date: 2003-04-05 Member: 15230Members
    ...or use QuArK for map editing with it's built-in find-odd-texture-scale function <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
  • LazerLazer Join Date: 2003-03-11 Member: 14406Members, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester
    Can quark load my map then export it back to vhe format?
  • ShadowicsShadowics Join Date: 2002-11-07 Member: 7652Members
    Yes, Quark supports alot of different formats including .map and .bsp. You can get it <a href='http://www.planetquake.com/quark' target='_blank'>Here</a>.
  • Rufas_the_RedRufas_the_Red Join Date: 2003-04-23 Member: 15777Members
    I had a similar problem I scaled a texture then later resized the brush to make it smaller took me 20 min to find the damn problem <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
  • neuesneues Join Date: 2003-04-28 Member: 15908Members
    The way i resolved it was.... starting again.....

    BUT now i know how to stop that happening, its mainly when you have a block big front and not thick (say 10 units) and you align the texture to fit.. the 10units part will look very odd this is the problem (at least that what it was on mine all the time).
  • RPG_JssmfulhudRPG_Jssmfulhud Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4006Members
    If you are carving your level out of a big cube, the problem is "fit" won't be usseful on the walls or floors/ceilings. The program just fits the texture to the whole wall, also to the side that isn't visible, that is behind other walls...
  • LazerLazer Join Date: 2003-03-11 Member: 14406Members, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester
    Ok, first of all, WHO BUILDS THEIR LEVEL OUT OF A BIG CUBE?!?! Second, I found the probelm by deleteing big sections of the level until it went away then deleting smaller sectins until I narrowed it down.
  • RPG_JssmfulhudRPG_Jssmfulhud Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4006Members
    <!--QuoteBegin--Lazer+May 20 2003, 03:31 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Lazer @ May 20 2003, 03:31 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Ok, first of all, WHO BUILDS THEIR LEVEL OUT OF A BIG CUBE?!?! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    You won't believe how many people do that. You won't even beleive how many people build levels with "hollow" cubes...

    Anyway, I didn't mean that you built your level from a huge cube. That would be just stupid. If you add cube by cube and carve it out, it works fine.
  • LazerLazer Join Date: 2003-03-11 Member: 14406Members, Contributor, Constellation, NS2 Playtester
    Doesn't that take longer to compile? Anyway, I do it piece by piece. Seems to be more flexible.
  • HypergripHypergrip Suspect Germany Join Date: 2002-11-23 Member: 9689Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
    I think the best way to find errors is to use and label different "versions" of your map.
    I for example name my maps "ns_mymap_build001a".
    Whenever I add a new room or do major changes to an existing room the map will be saved as "ns_mymap_build_build002a" and so on.
    Whenever I do minor changes or "just" some tweaking (lights, textures, details) the map get's named "ns_mymap_build002b".

    I alway keep the latest and the previous "full" versions... for example if I'm currently working on "build013b" I still got "build013a" and all builds of the "build012"-series.
    Not every version get compiled (right now take about 3 hours to compile my map wich is about 33% finished).. sometime I do a lot of changes in one row but during that process I save quite often.
    So when the latest compiled version was "build011a" and the current version "build011e", I can trace bak the error by going through the saved versions without having to delete parts of the map wich have nothing to do with the error.

    This my seem a little too much efford, but if you've come far with the map and you can't find an error, this really is very handy.

    -my2cent-

    btw: people who start their map making a big 4000x4000x4000 cube and hollow it should get <this part of the text has been censored due to offensive and insulting content> <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
  • Lt_GravityLt_Gravity Join Date: 2003-04-28 Member: 15909Members
    to the texture problem: this is a really rare error but I had three (! in four years <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo--> my own. but I think worldcraft/vhe will automatically find it and if it cant correct the error you still can. but some errors are still unique <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
    the map thing: mapping room by room saving only parts
    on my old machine I mapped only parts because my pc was to slow to handel as much information. new pc, much more mapping possibilities. but I never will map only parts of the map! its a hell of work to fit the parts in the right way and overall style will possibly get to different.

    my 2 cent

    (asks himself:"why I wrote what everybody still knows?")

    rofl
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