Are you going to leave the blue there on the floor in port? It was there in the original release of ns_nancy, but Ive always thought it was a mistake..
Typically, the blue will disappear when the map is compiled - that's how textures with "holes" in them (such as grates and vents) render correctly. Any area that is the pure blue will be removed, leaving nice holes and making a nice-looking grate texture <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> The blue will most assuredly be gone in the compile, unless ATI strangely <i>wants it there</i> (seems a little doubtful to me <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->)
<!--QuoteBegin--Dubbilex+Aug 28 2003, 09:14 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Dubbilex @ Aug 28 2003, 09:14 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Typically, the blue will disappear when the map is compiled - that's how textures with "holes" in them (such as grates and vents) render correctly. Any area that is the pure blue will be removed, leaving nice holes and making a nice-looking grate texture <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> The blue will most assuredly be gone in the compile, unless ATI strangely <i>wants it there</i> (seems a little doubtful to me <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I indeed "do" want it there, because it was in the original. However my compile tools tell me no - they make it black where the blue is, and since Lazer is using the same compile tools as me and he'll be working on the final build, it is very doubtful that it will be in the final map. If it were up to me, it would stay though. ^_^
Heh. For some strange reason, I'm having trouble remembering the floor of Port being a { texture that wasn't set up as it usually would have been. I suppose I've always pictured it as maybe some sort of blue-ish texture underneath, with the render properties of the grate texture set as they traditionally are. Funny how when one believes something to be of some complexity, it turns out to be much simpler than it was thought to be <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<i>I guess I learn new things everyday </i><!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--Dubbilex+Aug 28 2003, 10:12 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Dubbilex @ Aug 28 2003, 10:12 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Heh. For some strange reason, I'm having trouble remembering the floor of Port being a { texture that wasn't set up as it usually would have been. I suppose I've always pictured it as maybe some sort of blue-ish texture underneath, with the render properties of the grate texture set as they traditionally are. Funny how when one believes something to be of some complexity, it turns out to be much simpler than it was thought to be <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
<i>I guess I learn new things everyday </i><!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Oh yeah, mapping is amazing, it can trick the mind into believing things are what they are not and are not what they are! Textures are a good example. Textures with a "beveled lip" when viewed from afar or at-a-glance indeed look beveled even though if on closer examination there is no bevel.
I love things like that, what do they call it? Smoke and Mirrors or something, anyway I love the deceit of mapping, so intriguing!
Actually, that floor texture is one of the first ones in the list. It has a purple background, not blue. But having it compile with a black one might look better. Also, good job, I'm liking what I see.
<!--QuoteBegin--WolfWings+Aug 27 2003, 10:54 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (WolfWings @ Aug 27 2003, 10:54 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--Lazer+Aug 27 2003, 07:37 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Lazer @ Aug 27 2003, 07:37 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Alright, well we've been talking through PMs about what to build. Right now someone is building port. You could build subspace :] <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Okay, I'll claim Subspace. :-)
I was waiting to hear back what was available, and I'd started (and mostly finished) rebrushing the room outside Port Engine hive with the spiral 'ramp' leading up around behind a column in it, should I just toss that out, texture it, or finish the rebrushing (pipes along ceiling, floor, ceiling itself) and send it to you to let the PortEngine guy merge it in and texture it? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Seeing as how DarkATi hasn't done the room outside yet, you should probably keep it. It really depends how far you are with it. If you just started, do subspace instead. If you've fixed all the brushes and are doing texturing, there is no point in throwing it out.
Lazer, I have a few quick questions. Four actually and I have included some pics to better paint my picture.
1. This Light. What are all the textures being used on this light I cant seem to get it right. 2. This is REALLY weird. It won't let me texture these lights with the light texture found in ns_nancy.wad It keep going to this door tex and oddly enough the doors have the light I want on them, but it would be nice to eb able to use the light texture and just "fit" it on all the lights. 3. This light. He used these lights alot. It appears to me that he used teh white texture and either told his .rad file to make white emit blue-ish green light or he had a teal green whatever texture somehwere. 4. What vent texture did he use. I can't find it either and because I couldn't get Quake Army Knife to work I couldn't see for myself.
Also, could you send over the .rad file you are using please, I'd very much appreciate it just so I could show these fine folks some in-game shots of teh final or beta stage product. Thank You.
Looks good. If you're still wondering about a couple of those textures, I might not be Lazer, but I think I can answer <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->. You are looking for ~LIGHT3A for the light bulb (found in the default Half-Life wad file) - although it looks like you already found that one (or something close to it anyway). I can't say for the fixture - there's not enough texture there for me to identify it in the original nancy.
The vents were actually done using what I believe looks like wall1-b from the Natural Selection wad file, and the red texture lights in the vents do the rest of the work there.
The problem with the light swapping with the door probably has something to do with the fact that the Natural Selection wad file has a door texture with the exact same name as the light in question (which is found in the Nancy wad file). I'm not sure off hand how to get around it, but I don't have any problem like that here - the light seems to work for me when I tested just now. If worse comes to worst I'm sure the texture name in the Nancy wad can be renamed.
And for the teal lights, my best guess is either that he did use the white texture and set up his texlight info appropriately, or he used a very scaled up ~SPOTBLUE (from the Half-Life wad), scaled to the point where all you can see is the light blue part in the middle of the texture (which is probably safer in case white is needed elsewhere).
<!--QuoteBegin--Spook+Aug 28 2003, 11:25 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Spook @ Aug 28 2003, 11:25 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Looks good. If you're still wondering about a couple of those textures, I might not be Lazer, but I think I can answer <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->. You are looking for ~LIGHT3A for the light bulb (found in the default Half-Life wad file) - although it looks like you already found that one (or something close to it anyway). I can't say for the fixture - there's not enough texture there for me to identify it in the original nancy.
The vents were actually done using what I believe looks like wall1-b from the Natural Selection wad file, and the red texture lights in the vents do the rest of the work there.
The problem with the light swapping with the door probably has something to do with the fact that the Natural Selection wad file has a door texture with the exact same name as the light in question (which is found in the Nancy wad file). I'm not sure off hand how to get around it, but I don't have any problem like that here - the light seems to work for me when I tested just now. If worse comes to worst I'm sure the texture name in the Nancy wad can be renamed.
And for the teal lights, my best guess is either that he did use the white texture and set up his texlight info appropriately, or he used a very scaled up ~SPOTBLUE (from the Half-Life wad), scaled to the point where all you can see is the light blue part in the middle of the texture (which is probably safer in case white is needed elsewhere). <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Nice, thanks for all the help you crazy texture guru you, how the crap did you know all those textures off hand? Thanks.
Well to be honest, I recognized the vent texture from the snippets of a map that minsk and I have worked on, I have the original nancy for reference and I'm fast at looking through the texture list in hammer ;-)
Anyway, I just checked and the textures in the wad can be renamed trivially, so I'll see if I can get a "fixed" wad uploaded somewhere to see if it fixes the texture mix-up.
[edit] Alright, well if a fixed wad isn't needed then I won't go looking for a host. If something really needs to be fixed there for some reason though, let me know [/edit]
I think I've sorted out the texture problem but thank you. Also have a look, at the cap below, nice huh? Oh and to the best of my knowledge though only DD could really say, I think he used a white texture and then entity based lighting next to the light world brush.
Also, Lazer I would like to be in charge of writing the final .rad file if you don't mind. I'm in the process of writing on for the Port Engine Room right now and would love to handle all texture based lights in the remade Nancy. Please note that the screenshot above is not using a rad file, I simply stuck in some light entities at the last minute and colored them so people could better see my progress.
It would be great if the vents could be the exact same thing. That's what made nancy, nancy. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--azumawarrior+Aug 28 2003, 12:31 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (azumawarrior @ Aug 28 2003, 12:31 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> It would be great if the vents could be the exact same thing. That's what made nancy, nancy. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Certainly, we are not changing the vent layout whatsoever just flushing them off level and fixing minors stuck or other problems like when you couldn't get into the vent as a skulk sometimes. Things of that nature, the layout stays the same as far as I know anyway.
This is looking absolutely fantastic <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> You guys are great.
<!--QuoteBegin--Dubbilex+Aug 28 2003, 01:33 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Dubbilex @ Aug 28 2003, 01:33 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Well damn, ATI. <b>Damn</b> <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> Excellent work. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> Gosh you don't have to curse at me... ha ha just playin'! Thank You very much.
Ok, well I've been working on a rad that fits about half of the texture lights in nancy already. You can add to it but please don't modify the stuff in it unless you find it giving better results, which I'm guessing you will since that picture looks so nice. (rad file is attached)
Also, nice Port Engine. I just finished Mother and Maintenance Shaft. Now I just gotta connect Auxiliary Generator with Mother through the other hallway and then we can think about connecting Port Engine to Auxiliary Generator.
The white strip was actually a texture I believe called light_stripgrn and he just scaled in on the center of the light. The vents use a wall1-b (i'm pretty sure thats the name) and the light that was part of a door texture is in that nancy wad minsk posted a few pages back. Hopefully that helps.
<!--QuoteBegin--Lazer+Aug 28 2003, 07:27 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Lazer @ Aug 28 2003, 07:27 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Seeing as how DarkATi hasn't done the room outside yet, you should probably keep it. It really depends how far you are with it. If you just started, do subspace instead. If you've fixed all the brushes and are doing texturing, there is no point in throwing it out. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Having two or three areas is convenient for me, as I can shuffle between them so I don't get too bored with the tedium of working on only one area.
That, and Subspace is a PAIN... I was wondering, actually, do you want me to try to get the mish-mashed texturing the original had, or does this look okay so far? And yes, the red areas are untextured still, and yes, the 'infestation' is an extra 32 polygons worth of brushwork to have it 'overlay' the computer bits like that. The original had semi-random texturing on each of those columns, and the same texture applied carte-blanche over almost the entire set of walls, while I found a few textures in the NS pack that looked more appropriate.
If you really want the original hive, I can do that too, just Subspace was one of the hives with the most texturing misalignments. :-) Then again, it was also one of the hives with the most complex (from a texturing perspective) brushwork, too.
As for the room outside DarkATi's hive, I have about 70% of the brushwork fully rebuilt, just not the outer perimeter wall and ceiling yet, but I paused and switched to Subspace hive when you asked. It's not textured, but texturing is the slowest step for me as I'm one of those pedantic "sit there and tweak everything one value at a time until it lines up" folks that uses all sorts of tricks to make textures line up neatly. :-)
The 'spiral ramp' is rebuilt, as is the staircase/lookout post and the middle pillar in the room, along with the pipes in the ceiling.
Alright, well I like the new look for that pillar in subspace but make sure you have the original (and fixed texture alignments for it) done before you add other assorted details. (although I like what I see)
<!--QuoteBegin--Lazer+Aug 28 2003, 11:27 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Lazer @ Aug 28 2003, 11:27 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Alright, well I like the new look for that pillar in subspace but make sure you have the original (and fixed texture alignments for it) done before you add other assorted details. (although I like what I see) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Um... I'm confused now.
Original and fixed texture alignments done for it before adding assorted details?
For some reason my brain's parser is just utterly failing on that wording. =O.o=
Was that requesting that I re-texture it with the original mish-mash of textures, or just the vertical columns with their mis-mash of textures underneath the infestation, or that I post a comparison screenshot of the two? Sorry, just I'm thrown for a loop now. :-)
And yes, I know the 'very top' isn't the same texture it used previously, as it wasn't an infestated texture. I used the closest thing I could find that did have infestation, as I couldn't see any explanation for why that one spot was medical-floor-scrubbed clean of the goo.
What I'm saying is try and make a perfect copy first before you add new details. But when you make the perfect copy, fix any texture alignment problems in the process. If you want, you can then add a few details afterwords to it (like that infestation hanging down that you just posted)
As it stands, I'm using almost nothing but alien_lab4a instead of the original 'lab3X/lab4X' mishmash, except where one of the other ones specifically DOES look noticably better, so it's giving a much more consistant texturing across the entire hive. Thank goodness for BSP_View though, I can float through the original and track down textures with it MUCH faster than looking through the entire texture list by hand every time. :-P
And I am making sure to make as exact a copy as I can, before changing anything like the infestation hanging over the computer console, or in the case of the floor (which I hadn't noticed had gotten re-textured on accident when I was texturing the block beside where the RT goes) putting a layer of infestation 'over' it to help with various clipping problems it used to make. These 'changes' can be backed out by simply deleting a handful of brush entities and sometimes a simple find/replace on texture names on the underlying brushwork. :-)
Comments
~ DarkATi
I indeed "do" want it there, because it was in the original. However my compile tools tell me no - they make it black where the blue is, and since Lazer is using the same compile tools as me and he'll be working on the final build, it is very doubtful that it will be in the final map. If it were up to me, it would stay though. ^_^
~ DarkATi
<i>I guess I learn new things everyday </i><!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
<i>I guess I learn new things everyday </i><!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Oh yeah, mapping is amazing, it can trick the mind into believing things are what they are not and are not what they are! Textures are a good example. Textures with a "beveled lip" when viewed from afar or at-a-glance indeed look beveled even though if on closer examination there is no bevel.
I love things like that, what do they call it? Smoke and Mirrors or something, anyway I love the deceit of mapping, so intriguing!
~ DarkATi
Okay, I'll claim Subspace. :-)
I was waiting to hear back what was available, and I'd started (and mostly finished) rebrushing the room outside Port Engine hive with the spiral 'ramp' leading up around behind a column in it, should I just toss that out, texture it, or finish the rebrushing (pipes along ceiling, floor, ceiling itself) and send it to you to let the PortEngine guy merge it in and texture it? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Seeing as how DarkATi hasn't done the room outside yet, you should probably keep it. It really depends how far you are with it. If you just started, do subspace instead. If you've fixed all the brushes and are doing texturing, there is no point in throwing it out.
1. This Light. What are all the textures being used on this light I cant seem to get it right.
2. This is REALLY weird. It won't let me texture these lights with the light texture found in ns_nancy.wad It keep going to this door tex and oddly enough the doors have the light I want on them, but it would be nice to eb able to use the light texture and just "fit" it on all the lights.
3. This light. He used these lights alot. It appears to me that he used teh white texture and either told his .rad file to make white emit blue-ish green light or he had a teal green whatever texture somehwere.
4. What vent texture did he use. I can't find it either and because I couldn't get Quake Army Knife to work I couldn't see for myself.
Also, could you send over the .rad file you are using please, I'd very much appreciate it just so I could show these fine folks some in-game shots of teh final or beta stage product. Thank You.
~ DarkATi
~ DarkATi
The vents were actually done using what I believe looks like wall1-b from the Natural Selection wad file, and the red texture lights in the vents do the rest of the work there.
The problem with the light swapping with the door probably has something to do with the fact that the Natural Selection wad file has a door texture with the exact same name as the light in question (which is found in the Nancy wad file). I'm not sure off hand how to get around it, but I don't have any problem like that here - the light seems to work for me when I tested just now. If worse comes to worst I'm sure the texture name in the Nancy wad can be renamed.
And for the teal lights, my best guess is either that he did use the white texture and set up his texlight info appropriately, or he used a very scaled up ~SPOTBLUE (from the Half-Life wad), scaled to the point where all you can see is the light blue part in the middle of the texture (which is probably safer in case white is needed elsewhere).
The vents were actually done using what I believe looks like wall1-b from the Natural Selection wad file, and the red texture lights in the vents do the rest of the work there.
The problem with the light swapping with the door probably has something to do with the fact that the Natural Selection wad file has a door texture with the exact same name as the light in question (which is found in the Nancy wad file). I'm not sure off hand how to get around it, but I don't have any problem like that here - the light seems to work for me when I tested just now. If worse comes to worst I'm sure the texture name in the Nancy wad can be renamed.
And for the teal lights, my best guess is either that he did use the white texture and set up his texlight info appropriately, or he used a very scaled up ~SPOTBLUE (from the Half-Life wad), scaled to the point where all you can see is the light blue part in the middle of the texture (which is probably safer in case white is needed elsewhere). <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nice, thanks for all the help you crazy texture guru you, how the crap did you know all those textures off hand? Thanks.
~ DarkATi
Anyway, I just checked and the textures in the wad can be renamed trivially, so I'll see if I can get a "fixed" wad uploaded somewhere to see if it fixes the texture mix-up.
[edit] Alright, well if a fixed wad isn't needed then I won't go looking for a host. If something really needs to be fixed there for some reason though, let me know [/edit]
~ DarkATi
~ DarkATi
Certainly, we are not changing the vent layout whatsoever just flushing them off level and fixing minors stuck or other problems like when you couldn't get into the vent as a skulk sometimes. Things of that nature, the layout stays the same as far as I know anyway.
~ DarkATi
~ DarkATi
Gosh you don't have to curse at me... ha ha just playin'! Thank You very much.
~ DarkATi
Also, nice Port Engine. I just finished Mother and Maintenance Shaft. Now I just gotta connect Auxiliary Generator with Mother through the other hallway and then we can think about connecting Port Engine to Auxiliary Generator.
The white strip was actually a texture I believe called light_stripgrn and he just scaled in on the center of the light. The vents use a wall1-b (i'm pretty sure thats the name) and the light that was part of a door texture is in that nancy wad minsk posted a few pages back. Hopefully that helps.
Having two or three areas is convenient for me, as I can shuffle between them so I don't get too bored with the tedium of working on only one area.
That, and Subspace is a PAIN... I was wondering, actually, do you want me to try to get the mish-mashed texturing the original had, or does this look okay so far? And yes, the red areas are untextured still, and yes, the 'infestation' is an extra 32 polygons worth of brushwork to have it 'overlay' the computer bits like that. The original had semi-random texturing on each of those columns, and the same texture applied carte-blanche over almost the entire set of walls, while I found a few textures in the NS pack that looked more appropriate.
If you really want the original hive, I can do that too, just Subspace was one of the hives with the most texturing misalignments. :-) Then again, it was also one of the hives with the most complex (from a texturing perspective) brushwork, too.
As for the room outside DarkATi's hive, I have about 70% of the brushwork fully rebuilt, just not the outer perimeter wall and ceiling yet, but I paused and switched to Subspace hive when you asked. It's not textured, but texturing is the slowest step for me as I'm one of those pedantic "sit there and tweak everything one value at a time until it lines up" folks that uses all sorts of tricks to make textures line up neatly. :-)
The 'spiral ramp' is rebuilt, as is the staircase/lookout post and the middle pillar in the room, along with the pipes in the ceiling.
Um... I'm confused now.
Original and fixed texture alignments done for it before adding assorted details?
For some reason my brain's parser is just utterly failing on that wording. =O.o=
Was that requesting that I re-texture it with the original mish-mash of textures, or just the vertical columns with their mis-mash of textures underneath the infestation, or that I post a comparison screenshot of the two? Sorry, just I'm thrown for a loop now. :-)
And yes, I know the 'very top' isn't the same texture it used previously, as it wasn't an infestated texture. I used the closest thing I could find that did have infestation, as I couldn't see any explanation for why that one spot was medical-floor-scrubbed clean of the goo.
As it stands, I'm using almost nothing but alien_lab4a instead of the original 'lab3X/lab4X' mishmash, except where one of the other ones specifically DOES look noticably better, so it's giving a much more consistant texturing across the entire hive. Thank goodness for BSP_View though, I can float through the original and track down textures with it MUCH faster than looking through the entire texture list by hand every time. :-P
And I am making sure to make as exact a copy as I can, before changing anything like the infestation hanging over the computer console, or in the case of the floor (which I hadn't noticed had gotten re-textured on accident when I was texturing the block beside where the RT goes) putting a layer of infestation 'over' it to help with various clipping problems it used to make. These 'changes' can be backed out by simply deleting a handful of brush entities and sometimes a simple find/replace on texture names on the underlying brushwork. :-)