Vrad stops working. My computer says that it shuts down this process because it takes up to much memory? It told me to look at something called DEP? Please help!
Hey, I have a problem that may involve cubemaps but I;m not sure what to do. Some textures I place, when I run the game they have a purplish gloss to them. Not like the thing you get when you dont have a texture- the texture just has a real purple shine to it. Do you have any idea what I could do to fix it?:/
@MarcoSolo473 If you upload the map's BSP file after you've built the cubemaps for the map, yes. Be sure to use the BSP that's in the maps folder for the game you're mapping for.
buildcubemaps add the 6 created pictures to the BSP file, so it works for everyone else,
BUT BE WARY, that if you build your cubemaps multiple times, it wont overwrite the existing pictures, it will only use the newer one, and the BSP file's size is just gonna increase for no good
@PipoRuizTV What do you mean? The vertical height doesn't matter too much, it's just that 64 units is head height so it will yield the most accurate reflections.
@3kliksphilip i got a new freaking error!, my $1200 computer gaves me an error that says "vrad.exe is not responding" That sse is really fucked up!.
@cubemap Thank You!! it worked, but the ONLY way i can result to see a cubemap reflection is typing "sv_pure 1" to the console, launch the map type in "buildcubemaps", restart and enjoy the show!
@PipoRuizTV It should work from now on for that map. And when it says vrad.exe is not responding, it hasn't crashed- it simply takes a while to compile.
@3kliksphilip hey 3kliksphilip do ppl have to type buildcubmaps in they're console to get it working too? Is that my minecraft map is almost finished. (i'm the person who asked you something about. can't remeber what)
wow ,im learning so much watching your vids,easily the best on youtube.i just added my first cubemap into my first level and what a difference it makes .lovely shiny textures!
Is it super important that it's in head hight? i thought as I'm making a portal map I would place it where headhight would be most of the time. But I don't get any result. Like, nothing, there's no difference from the map with and without cubemap. Rather confusing.
@SnoweyMan111 Head-height is most accurate since that's the height that most players will be standing at. Cubemaps also tend to be placed in the middle of the room, since that area is the best in terms of what players are likely to see when passing through the room. Cubemaps are not an exact science, you can think of it as- 'If I had one reflection to assign to shiny things in this room, which location would represent the room best?'
I'm not entirely sure if what I'm about to describe has anything to do with the cubemaps I have placed in my map, but it started at about the same time and I can speculate on reasons as to why cubemaps might cause this kind of problem. I'm getting this strange problem where the shade and intensity of the lighting of a room flickers rapidly in reaction to the players movements. I will note that my map does not consist of very typical sized rooms. It's really pissing me off. Any suggestions?
@rockgod111 It sounds like it could be something to do with the HDR in your level. Have you got any tonemap entity in your level or anything? What's it like if you disable antialiasing? How about if you turn off HDR? I can't say I know a fix for this problem, but I know what you're talking about, it tends to happen if you're viewing something that's very over or under exposed.
@3kliksphilip Nope, I've got no tone map entity in my level, nor do I even know what that is. I have tried different levels of anti aliasing and have disabled it. Strangely this glitch doesn't happen sometimes. I have started up the same bsp at different times to find that it is not occurring, however I am very sure that the problem is related to this map. I've just uploaded a video demonstrating the map. Take a look if you like.. watch?v=287PN81f6oY
I made a small map, put light_environment, put light and theyre not making any light at all ! i dont have cubemaps in my map since i dont fully understand what they do/where to place them. so far, my skybox is 2D, idk how to change its texture, and light isnt working in the map (at all !!)
@Juppie902 Um... watch my tutorial on light_environment, sounds like you're quite new to this. Next up, make sure that when you're about to compile, you have RAD set to fast or normal. None will mean that lighting will not be rendered.
@3kliksphilip Solved it, its all about the skybox texture. night texture = you wont see shit without flashlight or any kind of light, day = clearly visible.
Hey, my TF2 Map has Purple & Black textures... I have alots of cubemaps and no leaks, the water works but it is also Purple & Black and i have tryed alot of stuff, changing skyboxs and removing all the cubemaps and replaced them with new ones but it still doesn't work... Please help me!
@SlimySnail44 I agree, I don't explain it too well. Imagine reflections off shiny surfaces. It's too hard to calculate everything properly, so it remembers them in advance, before you load the map. Cubemaps are the locations it remembers the reflections for. Which ever one you're closest to is the reflection you see, it reflects the area around where the cubemap is. It's not too important to get it just right, as long as the reflections are okay for the room you're in.
Where did you get the portal wall texture? I have Portal installed, and I scrolled through all of the textures trying to find it. I'm mapping for HL2E2, so maybe it won't show up?
The closest I've been able to come is "metal/metalwall048a".
@Exzmo No, it's a big mystery. Perhaps they intended to make people's breaths and farts visible or something, but so far I haven't noticed anything different about that setting.
I think the smaller the digits of the GPU, the less power it has to take on games. 5450 is below 5500. So I think anything above5500 is a good choice. A 5970 or a 5870 are both very good cards.
@Beardactal The 5400, 5500 and 5600 series are all fairly slow, the 5700 series is about the same as a 4800 series and is the least I would recommend if you want to play Source games on full everything at 60+ fps. It then goes 6850, 5850, 6870, 5870 then 5970. Of course, there's also Nvidia cards, the only ones worth buying at the moment are the 460 and 580. The rest are excessively hot and power hungry for what they are.
I guess you could say the 5450 runs Portal the same fps as my old 9550, only now i can do HDR, High Shader (9550 only supports medium) and better filters. And its better for non Source games, like command and conquer 3, which 5450 handles flawlessly, but 9550 struggled to get 1 fps (at max quality).
Yeah, but benchmarks are so vague. Also, i put a couple filters on low (basics are all on max, like texture and shader), here are my advanced settings:
1024x768
DirectX 9.0+
Motion Blur On
AntiAliasing 2x
Anisoptric 2x
Multicore Rendering Off
Wait for Vertical Sync Off
High Dynamic Range Full
Most of these settings dont make a difference for me. AA 2x runs about 15fps faster than AA 4x. Blur doesnt seem to affect it. The medium resolution runs really nice.
@tyrian869 how much memory is it and how much does it cost?
Tested ATI 5450 512MB on HL2 and Portal. 40-100 FPS on HL2, and 30-60 FPS on Portal, both at maximum quality. Even ran HL2 Lost Coast at max, with 50-100, which i've heard is a stressing game on video cards. Not bad since it came with a $600 system :D
@jord8851 That's strange, since the benchmarks I've looked up for the 5450 show it to manage about 23 fps on HL2 Ep2 and a staggering 16 fps on Left 4 Dead!
Well i'm sure the 5450 would run Portal 2 okay, but maybe not maxed out. I still need to test my new video card on Source games, although it ran my next best game, C&C3, with a decent framerate at maximum quality, whereas my old 9550 would literally get about 1 frame every 2-3 seconds at high quality, even when nothing was happening. My 9550 was able to push my Source games to their highest quality, aside from AF, AA, and all that. So I am expecting more from the 5450.
I didn't buy the 5450, it came in the system. Thats why upgrading wouldn't be a huge problem, I didn't pay for anything in the first place :) the PC was only $600, which is a really good price for a Core i3 with a decent video card. Should I get a 5770 at a low price or wait for something better?
@jord8851 I don't know, why don't you use your system, see if it's okay, then if it isn't, upgrade the graphics card? I don't know how much performance you want.
@jord8851 Depends compared to what. I think it is. right now, but it could just be that the market is different to what I percieve it to be. I feel that progress has been slow since the 4000 series. Which is good for me, since I bought a 4850 as soon as it came out, for £114. Try beating that. Best chance is a 5770 for about £90 right now, which is only slightly faster... over 2 years on.
My parents got the PC for $600 and just said they wont buy upgrades. I know what you mean, my friends ati 57-something gets him 100 fps minimum on HL2. usually its about 300. How much is a decent 5700?
@jord8851 The prices will probably drop over the next couple of days because the new generation of graphics cards just came out today. I'd say they'll end up being about £80 in a week or so. But currently, it's a terrible, terrible time to buy a pc.
@3kliksphilip LOL you told me to upgrade my system, so it would better handle Portal 2. Ironically, my PC broke several days after you said that. So I got a new one, and I think IT should be OK. You tell me... My OLD Specs: AMD Athlon XP 2.1GHz 1GB DDR RAM ATI Radeon 9550 256MB GDDR My NEW Specs: Intel Core i3 3.2 GHz 4GB DDR3 RAM ATI Radeon HD 5450 512MB GDDR2 How will THIS do? :D
@jord8851 How much are you spending on it? I'm guessing not much, the graphics card will do okay, but you'll really see the difference if you opt for a slightly more powerful graphics card. If you want to run all Source games properly (And the next generation of Source based games) I suggest at least an ATI 5700 series graphics card. It all depends on how much you're willing to spend, you can find benchmarks for the 5450 online to see how it handles games.
@3kliksphilip my water look so dull and boring. i look at your water types video and chose a nice looking one and it comes out proper dull. i have tried few different ones and had no luck.
@kerog6 I might have put some lights around it to light it up, just for the sake of having a very bright, glowing block to be visible in the env_cubemap reflections.
Oh yeah, i understand its old, and it is rather slow, but it is good for games. I said AT LEAST 20 fps, but when no insane effects are on-screen, i get up to 60 or 70. I think if i played on low settings i could probably squeeze a decent framerate out of Portal 2.
First of all, what are SandyBridge and Fusion? Second, if my CPU runs the Source Engine flawlessly already, then the only thing that could slow down Portal 2 is graphics, right?
@jord8851 Sandybridge and Fusion are AMD and Intel's attempts to combine a CPU and GPU into one thing. They can't compete with high-end systems but I'm impressed by just how powerful they seem to be.
Also, I wouldn't call 20 fps 'flawless'. As the Source engine is updated it's going to become more demanding to run. I don't know how to put it in simpler terms, but the more stuff that's drawn on-screen, the slower it will run. And your computer is OLD, slow, and in need of upgrading :P
@jord8851 a graphics card uses hardware and a small processor to help with, or even run the graphics systems on a game. a high-end graphics card is more important than a good cpu if you want to play games. like that whole 'can it play crysis?' phase of computer-testing, you need a graphics card that didnt exist when crysis came out, some good RAM, and a non-archaic CPU to play the game on high settings.
Every single one of my friends' PCs uses the HDR and Shader effects. Aside from the one with a Core 2 Duo 2GHz, they can't get a decent frame-rate. They ALL have better processors, equal to at least Pentium Dual-Core, vs my single-core, but even on lower quality, they can't beat my frame-rate.
Keep in mind that the whole reason Portal runs so well for me is because my PC doesn't support any crazy shader effects (fine by me, still looks amazing), so it doesn't even try. I play Portal with basic settings at max, and yet my performance far surpasses that of my friends' newer PCs. If it just didn't use the crazy graphics in Portal 2, then it might run okay. If I could play Portal 2 with Portal 1 graphic effects, it would be awesome.
And my video card does support DX9.0c, i had to upgrade from DX9 just to make the new drivers work. A game update started causing D3D errors, and i went through hell trying to fix it. I had to update XP so i could use .NET Framework, so the new drivers would work, so DX9.0c would work. But its finally working :D
@jord8851 My bad, it was shader model 3 that was added to the later dx9 cards. As for you being able to run Left 4 Dead 2, I wouldn't recommend it. I see no reason for it not to work, but your pc is below the minimum specs and it would run very, very slowly. As for Portal 2... I don't know until I play it myself, there seem to be some upgrades to the graphics so I'm guessing it would run even slower.
Well, i haven't got the money to just buy new stuff, and besides, its actually upgraded A LOT compared to before. Video used to be 32MB INTEGRATED and only 512MB RAM. Though it doesn't run HDR, it performs admirably. I can always expect at least 20 FPS when playing Portal or Half Life 2. Not that it's really a problem. I am concerned about if it could handle Portal 2. Its got roughly the requirements of L4D2, i've heard. Think it could manage?
@jord8851 AMD 2800 XP+, 1 GB of Ram and an ATI 9600 - my old PC sounds VERY similar to yours, and mine wasn't capable of running HDR at any decent speed. Also remember that it wasn't until 2 generations after the 9000 series that ATI actually adopted DX 9.0c specifications. I think your card is only DX 9. You're better off upgrading your entire system. You won't regret it!
I never get detailed shine on objects or weapons, just lighting effects. I use DX9c. Aside from Anisoptric Filtering and Multicore Rendering and all that junk, i play with the basic settings maxed-out, and just 4x AA. My PC is about 7 years old, but I upgraded its video card to a 256MB ATI Radeon 9550 (AGP) and doubled its RAM to 1GB. Its processor is 2.1 GHz and is equal to Pentium 4.
For some reason, even though all my friends' PCs do, my PC doesn't have HDR. Thus I can't get that beautiful shine on the Portal Gun, or cubes and turrets. Does my PC not SUPPORT HDR or do I just have to find a way to activate it? Right now it only renders lighting, but not shine on objects or weapons.
@jord8851 Well, does it work normally on maps you haven't made? What are your graphics settings set to in-game? How old is your PC? Do you know your PC's specifications?
@moomind1 Just wondering, have you ever made a mod before? I can't say I have. I'd have guessed there would have been a folder specific to the mod that you made, instead of it being inside a Source SDK content folder... I'm afraid I can't help, I suggest you just go back to making maps for already-existing games if problems persist.
first if you want your map to not have that hole in the roof problum
just add 5 of them in the room. one in the middle, and the rest in the corners spread out evenly.
and why it does this is because the reflection comes from the cube map not by the player view. simply because valve did not have the right engine for that. witch is why hl2 ep3 is going to have a new engine with new props textures and remade npc's.
@Exzmo Depends what you've got the config set to, but yes, once you've built the cubemaps, you should be able to reset the map (ie, the entire GAME) and have it set properly.
Got a texture creation question here, hope you can help. I understand how cubemaps work and how to use them. what i need to know is, when creating a custom texture, how do you get them to have a glossy surface like with the tile at 1:08 , i noticed the glossy effect shown by the cubemap, but I just can't seem to get this same effect with any of my custom textures. I do create bumpmaps for most if not all of my textures but still cannot achieve the "shiny" effect. is there something i'm missing?
@wolfservant5 No. Well, you could, but it's unlikely to help much unless there's something shiny near that location. You're better off putting them near anything shiny. But then again, putting one in the middle of each room is probably just as good.
@loenning12 A cubemap reflects the surroundings, so unless every room in your level is identical (which is always a possibility) then it makes sense to use a different cubemap in each room, since otherwise the reflections on your gun model etc will reflect different surroundings to what's actually around you at the time.
@danieleliasson19 You don't HAVE to put them anywhere, but they reflect the surroundings, so if you go into a blue room and the nearest cubemap is in a red room, don't be surprised to see everything with a red tinge that looks really weird.
Not quite relevant to this video, but is there some way to download more textures without making them yourself? I just cant find any good textures, so my maps always look like crap. Great tutorials once again..
@Zerosopp There really should be enough textures available for you to make some good looking levels, are you sure it's not just your mapping that's limited here?
You could download textures from fpsbanana probably, it's the biggest mapping resource site I know
@3kliksphilip There's a lot of textures, but I cant find any basic ones, like pure green/red etc, without them looking like shit ingame. (sorry for language).
@Zerosopp You can cheat by getting a texture with a bit of the colour you like on it, then by using the Toggle Texture Application Tool on the left hand side of the screen to change its texture scale to a large number, like 9999. This will make it appear as just one colour from the texture. You can then alter some of the numbers to change which part of the texture is displayed until you find the colour you want.
I'm going to make a staircase outside the spawn and then a wall along the stairs. Could you make a quick video on how to make rotating blocks fit other blocks?
@Chekkogrnteam It's not that easy, I'd use the arch tool to make the blocks go around in a spiral. I'd use the vertex tool to manipulate the blocks and to change the shape of them. As long as it follows the grid, and doesn't lead to blocks being .5 of a unit long or anything, you should be okay.
when i put env_cubemap to my map (l4d2 authoring tools) it deleted almost all my textures >:( In hammer i see everything as white and in map purple-black ;(
@niklasvp What textures you deleted? How did you delete them? Were they custom textures? What were they and how does that have to do with this video in the slightest?
So I"m kinda confused on compiling cubemaps... you said in the video to type buildcubemaps into the console then quit the game and load it up again. Does this mean i have to load up Half life 2 to build the cubemaps, then exit the game and load it again, or can i build cubemaps directly from compiling it in the source SDK? Thanks for all your help!
@HatingSociety Placing cubemaps isn't an exact science, I'd say to put it in the middle of the open area, and if you play the game and it looks a bit weird (ie, the reflection shows a shaded indoor place when it should be outside) then you should try moving it about. It jumps to the nearest cubemap to the player's position, work from that.
Vrad stops working. My computer says that it shuts down this process because it takes up to much memory? It told me to look at something called DEP? Please help!
MasterCheeser 4 weeks ago
cubemaps only work when hdr is enabled correct?
KYLEFUCKINGMILLER 1 month ago
Hey, I have a problem that may involve cubemaps but I;m not sure what to do. Some textures I place, when I run the game they have a purplish gloss to them. Not like the thing you get when you dont have a texture- the texture just has a real purple shine to it. Do you have any idea what I could do to fix it?:/
Andrewmaster0 1 month ago
when i type in console buildcubemaps, it says "building cubemap samples for (name) map...." should i wait or do something?
need help, thank you
badxmax 2 months ago
Thanks for your tutorials! You have a clear voice so i can understand..
saxoncola23 2 months ago
brilliant, straight to the point, easy to follow, thanks
FullMetalSynthesist 4 months ago
haha I love this tutorial. Im watching it every time I make a map for source
Kampy187 5 months ago
Great, now i have to find TheKeyboardabuser's comment
cokefan3 6 months ago
@cokefan3 'wow you idiot thats not a cubemap thats just a square you retard. learn more before you post false videos.'
3kliksphilip 6 months ago 11
your tinyurl link no longer works :((
AnythingButHuman 6 months ago
@jcuk87 I just used CSS and those textures come as standard.
3kliksphilip 6 months ago
So if i do the console command while testing my map, it will work for everyone else when the map goes on a server?
MarcoSolo473 6 months ago
@MarcoSolo473 If you upload the map's BSP file after you've built the cubemaps for the map, yes. Be sure to use the BSP that's in the maps folder for the game you're mapping for.
3kliksphilip 6 months ago
@3kliksphilip how do you put the pictures into hammer??
sparkie1j 2 months ago
@MarcoSolo473
buildcubemaps add the 6 created pictures to the BSP file, so it works for everyone else,
BUT BE WARY, that if you build your cubemaps multiple times, it wont overwrite the existing pictures, it will only use the newer one, and the BSP file's size is just gonna increase for no good
TheOnlyRealTapir 5 months ago
Comment removed
boomerxxx 6 months ago
how do i know to place it for 64 units?
PipoRuizTV 8 months ago
@PipoRuizTV What do you mean? The vertical height doesn't matter too much, it's just that 64 units is head height so it will yield the most accurate reflections.
3kliksphilip 8 months ago
@3kliksphilip i got a new freaking error!, my $1200 computer gaves me an error that says "vrad.exe is not responding" That sse is really fucked up!.
@cubemap Thank You!! it worked, but the ONLY way i can result to see a cubemap reflection is typing "sv_pure 1" to the console, launch the map type in "buildcubemaps", restart and enjoy the show!
PipoRuizTV 8 months ago
@PipoRuizTV It should work from now on for that map. And when it says vrad.exe is not responding, it hasn't crashed- it simply takes a while to compile.
3kliksphilip 8 months ago
you lie!!!!! i put in a cubemap over here and now there is an antlion outside!
blinx503 9 months ago
Its not really called a cubemap, its globally called an environment map
Francis115pinoy 10 months ago
@Francis115pinoy No, a cubemap is a method to achieve environment mapping. It happens to be the way that Source uses, which is why I call it that.
3kliksphilip 10 months ago
@3kliksphilip hey 3kliksphilip do ppl have to type buildcubmaps in they're console to get it working too? Is that my minecraft map is almost finished. (i'm the person who asked you something about. can't remeber what)
KIUBIX3 6 months ago
@KIUBIX3 The answer's in the video.
3kliksphilip 6 months ago
Comment removed
Francis115pinoy 10 months ago
wow ,im learning so much watching your vids,easily the best on youtube.i just added my first cubemap into my first level and what a difference it makes .lovely shiny textures!
ryanmelv 10 months ago
@3kliksphilip
Is it super important that it's in head hight? i thought as I'm making a portal map I would place it where headhight would be most of the time. But I don't get any result. Like, nothing, there's no difference from the map with and without cubemap. Rather confusing.
SnoweyMan111 11 months ago
@SnoweyMan111 Head-height is most accurate since that's the height that most players will be standing at. Cubemaps also tend to be placed in the middle of the room, since that area is the best in terms of what players are likely to see when passing through the room. Cubemaps are not an exact science, you can think of it as- 'If I had one reflection to assign to shiny things in this room, which location would represent the room best?'
3kliksphilip 11 months ago
@3kliksphilip Mm I see. Is there no way of making different surfaces reflect with different cubemaps? That would be neat.
SnoweyMan111 11 months ago
Question, does the tiled floor you showwed also have a bump map texture? Just interested.
OwnageFish 11 months ago
So 1 cubemap for a single map? 0_0?
GiveMeBass93 11 months ago
@GiveMeBass93 What, you've just got a massive flatmap or something?
3kliksphilip 11 months ago
@3kliksphilip Yeah I usually don't mess with terrain.
GiveMeBass93 11 months ago
@GiveMeBass93 In that case, one cubemap will be enough.
3kliksphilip 11 months ago
You make some of the best tutorials, keep up the good work Philip : D
MrAlihakan 11 months ago
You are just awesome!
MikkelDM 1 year ago
I'm not entirely sure if what I'm about to describe has anything to do with the cubemaps I have placed in my map, but it started at about the same time and I can speculate on reasons as to why cubemaps might cause this kind of problem. I'm getting this strange problem where the shade and intensity of the lighting of a room flickers rapidly in reaction to the players movements. I will note that my map does not consist of very typical sized rooms. It's really pissing me off. Any suggestions?
rockgod111 1 year ago
@rockgod111 It sounds like it could be something to do with the HDR in your level. Have you got any tonemap entity in your level or anything? What's it like if you disable antialiasing? How about if you turn off HDR? I can't say I know a fix for this problem, but I know what you're talking about, it tends to happen if you're viewing something that's very over or under exposed.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip Nope, I've got no tone map entity in my level, nor do I even know what that is. I have tried different levels of anti aliasing and have disabled it. Strangely this glitch doesn't happen sometimes. I have started up the same bsp at different times to find that it is not occurring, however I am very sure that the problem is related to this map. I've just uploaded a video demonstrating the map. Take a look if you like.. watch?v=287PN81f6oY
rockgod111 1 year ago
Everytime you load up the level will you have to type in 'Buildcubemaps' Or when you do it first time will it update the .bsp?
killertoby1234 1 year ago
@killertoby1234 You only need to do it once, after that it's saved to the BSP.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Does this has connection with light in the map?
I made a small map, put light_environment, put light and theyre not making any light at all ! i dont have cubemaps in my map since i dont fully understand what they do/where to place them. so far, my skybox is 2D, idk how to change its texture, and light isnt working in the map (at all !!)
Juppie902 1 year ago
@Juppie902 Um... watch my tutorial on light_environment, sounds like you're quite new to this. Next up, make sure that when you're about to compile, you have RAD set to fast or normal. None will mean that lighting will not be rendered.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip Solved it, its all about the skybox texture. night texture = you wont see shit without flashlight or any kind of light, day = clearly visible.
Juppie902 1 year ago
@Juppie902 in hammer when yo ucompile the "no" you checked do them "normal"
Ldinos 1 year ago
Hey, my TF2 Map has Purple & Black textures... I have alots of cubemaps and no leaks, the water works but it is also Purple & Black and i have tryed alot of stuff, changing skyboxs and removing all the cubemaps and replaced them with new ones but it still doesn't work... Please help me!
watri124 1 year ago
@watri124 When ingame, type buildcubemaps , then QUIT the game and reload it.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
wow you idiot thats not a cubemap thats just a square you retard. learn more before you post false videos.
TheKeyboardabuser 1 year ago
@TheKeyboardabuser Wow, how did you manage to pack so much fail in one comment?
3kliksphilip 1 year ago 26
@TheKeyboardabuser Why watch Hammer tutorials when you haven't even touched a Half-Life game, or Source SDK?
ReshiramTheArtist 4 months ago
I dont understand when i see maps, people put cubemaps everywhere. do you only need one or more?
midgar8784 1 year ago
@midgar8784 Watch the video
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip oh ok, yea thanks. by the way can cubemaps be outside? like some?
midgar8784 1 year ago
@midgar8784 Yes
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Thank You :)
lindy2017 1 year ago
So, if I stick cubemaps in my map. Will nobody see it unless they decide to type in buildcubemaps ?
I can't see anybody going out of their way to type that in every time they want to play. So does that make them obsolete ?
240Gromit 1 year ago
@240Gromit
No, when you build the cubemaps in-game, it will update the map file with the cubemap information.
This process will only be needed to be done once.
Acerracer202 1 year ago
@240Gromit no once you build the cubemaps into the level itll look that way for ever. atleast thats what i was told
DragonMan933 1 year ago
Good Disclaimer!
Thx for that warning me about that
jungoba 1 year ago
I'm still confused, what exactly is a cubemap? something about reflecting everything around it to make it more realistic? erm.. i don't get it.
SlimySnail44 1 year ago
@SlimySnail44 I agree, I don't explain it too well. Imagine reflections off shiny surfaces. It's too hard to calculate everything properly, so it remembers them in advance, before you load the map. Cubemaps are the locations it remembers the reflections for. Which ever one you're closest to is the reflection you see, it reflects the area around where the cubemap is. It's not too important to get it just right, as long as the reflections are okay for the room you're in.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
the cubemaps are p&b..
devhook23 1 year ago
@devhook23 I'm guessing that means purple and black. Try restarting the ENTIRE game, then build them again.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip that seemed to work. thanks
devhook23 1 year ago
Comment removed
devhook23 1 year ago
Where did you get the portal wall texture? I have Portal installed, and I scrolled through all of the textures trying to find it. I'm mapping for HL2E2, so maybe it won't show up?
The closest I've been able to come is "metal/metalwall048a".
Thanks for your help [=
maxslusher 1 year ago
@maxslusher Nevermind, realized that it was metalwall048a from your description. Thanks for your tutorial :D
maxslusher 1 year ago
You know whats the "World is cold" setting in the map properties?
Exzmo 1 year ago
@Exzmo No, it's a big mystery. Perhaps they intended to make people's breaths and farts visible or something, but so far I haven't noticed anything different about that setting.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
I think the smaller the digits of the GPU, the less power it has to take on games. 5450 is below 5500. So I think anything above5500 is a good choice. A 5970 or a 5870 are both very good cards.
Beardactal 1 year ago
@Beardactal The 5400, 5500 and 5600 series are all fairly slow, the 5700 series is about the same as a 4800 series and is the least I would recommend if you want to play Source games on full everything at 60+ fps. It then goes 6850, 5850, 6870, 5870 then 5970. Of course, there's also Nvidia cards, the only ones worth buying at the moment are the 460 and 580. The rest are excessively hot and power hungry for what they are.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
I guess you could say the 5450 runs Portal the same fps as my old 9550, only now i can do HDR, High Shader (9550 only supports medium) and better filters. And its better for non Source games, like command and conquer 3, which 5450 handles flawlessly, but 9550 struggled to get 1 fps (at max quality).
jord8851 1 year ago
Yeah, but benchmarks are so vague. Also, i put a couple filters on low (basics are all on max, like texture and shader), here are my advanced settings:
1024x768
DirectX 9.0+
Motion Blur On
AntiAliasing 2x
Anisoptric 2x
Multicore Rendering Off
Wait for Vertical Sync Off
High Dynamic Range Full
Most of these settings dont make a difference for me. AA 2x runs about 15fps faster than AA 4x. Blur doesnt seem to affect it. The medium resolution runs really nice.
jord8851 1 year ago
@tyrian869 how much memory is it and how much does it cost?
Tested ATI 5450 512MB on HL2 and Portal. 40-100 FPS on HL2, and 30-60 FPS on Portal, both at maximum quality. Even ran HL2 Lost Coast at max, with 50-100, which i've heard is a stressing game on video cards. Not bad since it came with a $600 system :D
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 That's strange, since the benchmarks I've looked up for the 5450 show it to manage about 23 fps on HL2 Ep2 and a staggering 16 fps on Left 4 Dead!
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Well i'm sure the 5450 would run Portal 2 okay, but maybe not maxed out. I still need to test my new video card on Source games, although it ran my next best game, C&C3, with a decent framerate at maximum quality, whereas my old 9550 would literally get about 1 frame every 2-3 seconds at high quality, even when nothing was happening. My 9550 was able to push my Source games to their highest quality, aside from AF, AA, and all that. So I am expecting more from the 5450.
jord8851 1 year ago
I didn't buy the 5450, it came in the system. Thats why upgrading wouldn't be a huge problem, I didn't pay for anything in the first place :) the PC was only $600, which is a really good price for a Core i3 with a decent video card. Should I get a 5770 at a low price or wait for something better?
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 I don't know, why don't you use your system, see if it's okay, then if it isn't, upgrade the graphics card? I don't know how much performance you want.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@jord8851 i have a ATI radeon HD 5670 its good
tyrian869 1 year ago
Is a 5770 worth getting or should i wait?
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 Since you've bought the 5450 now you might as well wait until you can no longer play games.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Are PCs overpriced right now?
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 Depends compared to what. I think it is. right now, but it could just be that the market is different to what I percieve it to be. I feel that progress has been slow since the 4000 series. Which is good for me, since I bought a 4850 as soon as it came out, for £114. Try beating that. Best chance is a 5770 for about £90 right now, which is only slightly faster... over 2 years on.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Ok 80£ is like $130, which is reasonable i guess. But why is it a bad time to buy a PC?
jord8851 1 year ago
I'm not entirely sure how much 80£ is in Canadian currency. Isn't 1£ equal to about $2.00?
Why is it a bad time to buy a PC?
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 Use Google, dudeee... answer to everything. (ie, type £80 in canadian dollars)
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
My parents got the PC for $600 and just said they wont buy upgrades. I know what you mean, my friends ati 57-something gets him 100 fps minimum on HL2. usually its about 300. How much is a decent 5700?
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 The prices will probably drop over the next couple of days because the new generation of graphics cards just came out today. I'd say they'll end up being about £80 in a week or so. But currently, it's a terrible, terrible time to buy a pc.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 How much are you spending on it? I'm guessing not much, the graphics card will do okay, but you'll really see the difference if you opt for a slightly more powerful graphics card. If you want to run all Source games properly (And the next generation of Source based games) I suggest at least an ATI 5700 series graphics card. It all depends on how much you're willing to spend, you can find benchmarks for the 5450 online to see how it handles games.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
do you use cubamaps to make water look nice?
thegregster101 1 year ago
@thegregster101 No, why would I need cubemaps to make my water look nice? (At least, close up)
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip my water look so dull and boring. i look at your water types video and chose a nice looking one and it comes out proper dull. i have tried few different ones and had no luck.
thegregster101 1 year ago
@thegregster101 PM me some links to pictures of your map's water
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
why is that orange box glowing?
kerog6 1 year ago
@kerog6 It's not glowing, it's just in the sunlight.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip then is it transparent? i see some diffuse lighting coming off the side that isnt in the sunlight.
kerog6 1 year ago
@kerog6 I might have put some lights around it to light it up, just for the sake of having a very bright, glowing block to be visible in the env_cubemap reflections.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip pretty awesome.
kerog6 1 year ago
Oh yeah, i understand its old, and it is rather slow, but it is good for games. I said AT LEAST 20 fps, but when no insane effects are on-screen, i get up to 60 or 70. I think if i played on low settings i could probably squeeze a decent framerate out of Portal 2.
jord8851 1 year ago
First of all, what are SandyBridge and Fusion? Second, if my CPU runs the Source Engine flawlessly already, then the only thing that could slow down Portal 2 is graphics, right?
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 Sandybridge and Fusion are AMD and Intel's attempts to combine a CPU and GPU into one thing. They can't compete with high-end systems but I'm impressed by just how powerful they seem to be.
Also, I wouldn't call 20 fps 'flawless'. As the Source engine is updated it's going to become more demanding to run. I don't know how to put it in simpler terms, but the more stuff that's drawn on-screen, the slower it will run. And your computer is OLD, slow, and in need of upgrading :P
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
So their PCs aren't working well because they're trying to use graphics they're not intended for?
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 CPUs don't tend to be too good at running 3D games. (All that might change next year, with Sandybridge and fusion!)
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@jord8851 a graphics card uses hardware and a small processor to help with, or even run the graphics systems on a game. a high-end graphics card is more important than a good cpu if you want to play games. like that whole 'can it play crysis?' phase of computer-testing, you need a graphics card that didnt exist when crysis came out, some good RAM, and a non-archaic CPU to play the game on high settings.
kerog6 1 year ago
Every single one of my friends' PCs uses the HDR and Shader effects. Aside from the one with a Core 2 Duo 2GHz, they can't get a decent frame-rate. They ALL have better processors, equal to at least Pentium Dual-Core, vs my single-core, but even on lower quality, they can't beat my frame-rate.
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 They probably don't have a dedicated graphics card.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Keep in mind that the whole reason Portal runs so well for me is because my PC doesn't support any crazy shader effects (fine by me, still looks amazing), so it doesn't even try. I play Portal with basic settings at max, and yet my performance far surpasses that of my friends' newer PCs. If it just didn't use the crazy graphics in Portal 2, then it might run okay. If I could play Portal 2 with Portal 1 graphic effects, it would be awesome.
jord8851 1 year ago
And my video card does support DX9.0c, i had to upgrade from DX9 just to make the new drivers work. A game update started causing D3D errors, and i went through hell trying to fix it. I had to update XP so i could use .NET Framework, so the new drivers would work, so DX9.0c would work. But its finally working :D
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 My bad, it was shader model 3 that was added to the later dx9 cards. As for you being able to run Left 4 Dead 2, I wouldn't recommend it. I see no reason for it not to work, but your pc is below the minimum specs and it would run very, very slowly. As for Portal 2... I don't know until I play it myself, there seem to be some upgrades to the graphics so I'm guessing it would run even slower.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Well, i haven't got the money to just buy new stuff, and besides, its actually upgraded A LOT compared to before. Video used to be 32MB INTEGRATED and only 512MB RAM. Though it doesn't run HDR, it performs admirably. I can always expect at least 20 FPS when playing Portal or Half Life 2. Not that it's really a problem. I am concerned about if it could handle Portal 2. Its got roughly the requirements of L4D2, i've heard. Think it could manage?
jord8851 1 year ago
Sorry but...
How do I make cubemaps STAY in my map after I've done it? Because whenever I build my cubemaps and restart my map, the cubemaps are GONE! :O
(This is for 'Half-Life 2'.)
TheCrapName 1 year ago
Do I have to enable HDR through Launch Options or is it impossible for me?
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 AMD 2800 XP+, 1 GB of Ram and an ATI 9600 - my old PC sounds VERY similar to yours, and mine wasn't capable of running HDR at any decent speed. Also remember that it wasn't until 2 generations after the 9000 series that ATI actually adopted DX 9.0c specifications. I think your card is only DX 9. You're better off upgrading your entire system. You won't regret it!
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Oh, and entering "mat_hdr_enabled 1" into the console will just say "HDR Disabled" in red text.
jord8851 1 year ago
I never get detailed shine on objects or weapons, just lighting effects. I use DX9c. Aside from Anisoptric Filtering and Multicore Rendering and all that junk, i play with the basic settings maxed-out, and just 4x AA. My PC is about 7 years old, but I upgraded its video card to a 256MB ATI Radeon 9550 (AGP) and doubled its RAM to 1GB. Its processor is 2.1 GHz and is equal to Pentium 4.
jord8851 1 year ago
For some reason, even though all my friends' PCs do, my PC doesn't have HDR. Thus I can't get that beautiful shine on the Portal Gun, or cubes and turrets. Does my PC not SUPPORT HDR or do I just have to find a way to activate it? Right now it only renders lighting, but not shine on objects or weapons.
jord8851 1 year ago
@jord8851 Well, does it work normally on maps you haven't made? What are your graphics settings set to in-game? How old is your PC? Do you know your PC's specifications?
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
when i try to type in buildcube maps in console it doesnt work and has red text that says: Current mod isn't in a subdirectory of "game"!
bounce: 1/1 sample: 1/1
C WHYYYY!!!!?!?!?!? :(
moomind1 1 year ago
@moomind1 What's the directory of your game in?
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip its in my sdk_content folder
moomind1 1 year ago
@moomind1 Just wondering, have you ever made a mod before? I can't say I have. I'd have guessed there would have been a folder specific to the mod that you made, instead of it being inside a Source SDK content folder... I'm afraid I can't help, I suggest you just go back to making maps for already-existing games if problems persist.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@moomind
i had the same problem and this worked
1 load map
2 type in console buildcubemaps
3 type in console disconnect
4 type in console mat_reloadallmaterials
5 load up your map again!
6 it works!
RomanTheOmen 1 year ago
just a tip for people using cubemaps.
first if you want your map to not have that hole in the roof problum
just add 5 of them in the room. one in the middle, and the rest in the corners spread out evenly.
and why it does this is because the reflection comes from the cube map not by the player view. simply because valve did not have the right engine for that. witch is why hl2 ep3 is going to have a new engine with new props textures and remade npc's.
gmodwirehelp 1 year ago
@gmodwirehelp and i recomend putting a note on the side on the begging of this video. just for a more detail on cubemaps
gmodwirehelp 1 year ago
btw when i start my half life 2 deathmatch map the game just close and i get a error h2l- have stop working etc. :(
Johanop 1 year ago
Do you know if i can use half life 2 map that i have made on counterstrike?
Johanop 1 year ago
So if I set my map to add a comman "Buildcubemaps" automaticly, cubemaps should compile when I start the map? Automaticly. :o
Exzmo 1 year ago
No wait, now I didn't listen. So when I have once launched the map and typed that command, it should start doing that automaticly?
Exzmo 1 year ago
@Exzmo Depends what you've got the config set to, but yes, once you've built the cubemaps, you should be able to reset the map (ie, the entire GAME) and have it set properly.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Got a texture creation question here, hope you can help. I understand how cubemaps work and how to use them. what i need to know is, when creating a custom texture, how do you get them to have a glossy surface like with the tile at 1:08 , i noticed the glossy effect shown by the cubemap, but I just can't seem to get this same effect with any of my custom textures. I do create bumpmaps for most if not all of my textures but still cannot achieve the "shiny" effect. is there something i'm missing?
mediumhardass 1 year ago
@mediumhardass You need a line in the VMT file that says $cubemap
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip i can't believe it was something so small as a line of text. Thanks for the help.
mediumhardass 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip Great tut on cubemaps btw, really helped me understand how they worked :)
mediumhardass 1 year ago
how do you hide the fraps logo when recording?
AnimationStationS 1 year ago
@AnimationStationS
Buy the full version
MistaX8 1 year ago
You place the cube map next to every light, right?
wolfservant5 1 year ago
@wolfservant5 No. Well, you could, but it's unlikely to help much unless there's something shiny near that location. You're better off putting them near anything shiny. But then again, putting one in the middle of each room is probably just as good.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip oh okay, cause when i opened up one of the half life maps they had a cubemap next to every light, at least in the asylum level.
wolfservant5 1 year ago
@wolfservant5 Maybe they were using a reflective prop for the light model, and wanted the reflections perfect on each one.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
If I publish my map, do they have to enter the console command to see the cubemap?
GrandTheftAutoModded 1 year ago
@GrandTheftAutoModded Not if you've built it already
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Could you tell me the reason of putting a cubemap in each room?
loenning12 1 year ago
@loenning12 A cubemap reflects the surroundings, so unless every room in your level is identical (which is always a possibility) then it makes sense to use a different cubemap in each room, since otherwise the reflections on your gun model etc will reflect different surroundings to what's actually around you at the time.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
How did you maked the light at 0:50? Did you maked a block with "func_illusionary" and placed a light in it and make a playerclip around the block?
xGoFabian 1 year ago
@xGoFabian light_environment, pointing it so that it shines through the hole in the ceiling towards that particular place.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Om nom nom specularity. So delicious with the right normal maps.
Freechips1 1 year ago
I building a map, its outside and inside. I dont have to put a cubemap in all of my rooms? i just need one in my whole map, no mather how big it is?
danieleliasson19 1 year ago
@danieleliasson19 You don't HAVE to put them anywhere, but they reflect the surroundings, so if you go into a blue room and the nearest cubemap is in a red room, don't be surprised to see everything with a red tinge that looks really weird.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Not quite relevant to this video, but is there some way to download more textures without making them yourself? I just cant find any good textures, so my maps always look like crap. Great tutorials once again..
Zerosopp 1 year ago
@Zerosopp There really should be enough textures available for you to make some good looking levels, are you sure it's not just your mapping that's limited here?
You could download textures from fpsbanana probably, it's the biggest mapping resource site I know
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip There's a lot of textures, but I cant find any basic ones, like pure green/red etc, without them looking like shit ingame. (sorry for language).
I'll check the site out, thanks again.
Zerosopp 1 year ago
@Zerosopp You can cheat by getting a texture with a bit of the colour you like on it, then by using the Toggle Texture Application Tool on the left hand side of the screen to change its texture scale to a large number, like 9999. This will make it appear as just one colour from the texture. You can then alter some of the numbers to change which part of the texture is displayed until you find the colour you want.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip Ah, sweet. Thanks again! :D
Zerosopp 1 year ago
I'm going to make a staircase outside the spawn and then a wall along the stairs. Could you make a quick video on how to make rotating blocks fit other blocks?
Chekkogrnteam 1 year ago
@Chekkogrnteam It's not that easy, I'd use the arch tool to make the blocks go around in a spiral. I'd use the vertex tool to manipulate the blocks and to change the shape of them. As long as it follows the grid, and doesn't lead to blocks being .5 of a unit long or anything, you should be okay.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
when i put env_cubemap to my map (l4d2 authoring tools) it deleted almost all my textures >:( In hammer i see everything as white and in map purple-black ;(
niklasvp 1 year ago
@niklasvp buildcubemaps in console
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip and what about those textures what it deleted??? i cant get them to hammer!
niklasvp 1 year ago
@niklasvp What textures you deleted? How did you delete them? Were they custom textures? What were they and how does that have to do with this video in the slightest?
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip i didnt deleted anything.. when i placed cubemaps it deleted
niklasvp 1 year ago
@niklasvp You'll have to show me a picture of what you mean.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
Its really cool you share your knowledge with the crowd (: i bet almost every good mapper has atleast seen one of your videos :D
denniswarcrafter1 1 year ago
@denniswarcrafter1 I reckon that most good mappers hate me because they all have their own methods of doing things :P
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
So I"m kinda confused on compiling cubemaps... you said in the video to type buildcubemaps into the console then quit the game and load it up again. Does this mean i have to load up Half life 2 to build the cubemaps, then exit the game and load it again, or can i build cubemaps directly from compiling it in the source SDK? Thanks for all your help!
calebrockinout123 1 year ago
@calebrockinout123 It has to be in-game
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
So how exactly do I know where to place a cubemap if let's say it's outside?
HatingSociety 1 year ago
@HatingSociety Placing cubemaps isn't an exact science, I'd say to put it in the middle of the open area, and if you play the game and it looks a bit weird (ie, the reflection shows a shaded indoor place when it should be outside) then you should try moving it about. It jumps to the nearest cubemap to the player's position, work from that.
3kliksphilip 1 year ago
@3kliksphilip So there's no way of always knowing it's basically trial and error? Well anyway thanks that helps out.
HatingSociety 1 year ago