A New Age (okay, not really)

Run Steam.exe with the parameter "-beta sdk"

Open Hammer

Commence euphoric weeping... or silent, brooding disapproval.

• Autosave
• Model browser vastly improved
• Displacements, model wireframes, and shaded polygon in 2D views
• more stuff that I haven't found out yet
  </li>

Does it handle the texture browser in an intelligent maner? I hate it that it has to load 400MB worth of textures just so you can browse through them. How hard would it be to make it 400k worth of thumbnails?

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Some people are like slinkys...

They aren?t really good for anything, but you can't help but laugh when one tumbles down the stairs.

Wow -- I can't wait to check this out. Is there any documentation on this beta?

Campaignjunkie said:
Displacements, model wireframes, and shaded polygon in 2D views

YAY

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

Sweet.

Very neat update that was a long time in coming.

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

God damn it, next time put a descriptive title :biggrin: Such as "new source sdk" :biggrin: I did a new topic because this title wasn't descriptive enough that you could read anything out of it :razz: ... ReNo, lock this thread and give me back my topic instead :razz:

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HL2 tutorials 'n' stuff: http://madedog.pri.ee
217.159.236.34:27050 - CSS Server - Clean | koffer.ee

i've been stuck for a few days, trying to find what's responsible for a lightmap too large error. in the process, i found out how to make hammer eat all of my 2gigs of memory, then shut down without any warning or error. cool trick.

the new beta seems to have dealt with it without any problem, so i'm a happy bunny again, and i can get back to some real mapping. :smile:

XBox Specific Data:
lightmap pages [variable] 0/0 ( 0.0%)
lightmap infos [variable] 0/0 ( 0.0%)

Total XBox BSP file data space used: 10635685 bytes

i wonder if the xboxers will be able to map too.

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i eat paint

I like the new update. Viewing models and dismaps in the 2D views isn't
so important for me but it's handy now and then, so yeah, nice stuff.
The in-Hammer model browser looks a great deal better now, it's much
easier to use. :smile:

I only hope they'll fix the displacement map inverted alpha bug soon, other than that, this looks good.

EDIT: Just noticed that when you select a model, it shows up textured in the 2D views. Nice touch. :smile:

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Create-ivity - a game development blog

i wonder if the xboxers will be able to map too.

Never. First of all, most console-only players do not have the
dedication or the motivation (or perhaps, the wits) to map.
Secondly, any serious gamer would opt to game on a PC instead.

I doubt the console makers will ever support custom maps.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

Somebody hasn't played Timesplitters, Far Cry Instincts, V-Rally 2,
Gripshift, Tony Hawk 2 or higher, etc... Plenty of console games have
editors in them - you just don't play them.

I'm a serious gamer and choose to play the vast majority of games on the consoles.

Honestly though, I doubt there is support for custom maps, at least
those created by general users, on the Xbox version of HL2. It doesn't
have any multiplayer component - I think that just about says all
that's needed. It's probably quite possible to build a custom level
that will work on the xbox version (hence that compile info about the
xbox BSP) and potentially possible to get it working on the xbox
version of the game through a modified xbox, but I doubt they have any
formal custom map support.

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting satchmo</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>I doubt the console makers will ever support custom maps.
</DIV></DIV>

it would appear that the xbox will definately support custom maps, as the 'xbox specific data' that i posted was lifted straight from my last compile, using the beta sdk. it's only a matter of time before cs:s and dod:s are released as multiplayer xbox games. but with only 4 maps released for dod, and cs still missing a few of its old favourites, i don't think it'll be this week, or even next.

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i eat paint

I remember playing around with the Timesplitter's custom map feature,
but the Jigsaw method didn't really do it for me. Is there any
other way for consoles to offer a mapping option that isn't limited?

Far Cry's editor is meant to be about the best of the bunch really - it
lets you build the island shape, then fine tune it, add in whatever
buildings and objects you like, set the time of day, weapon placement,
vehicles placement, objectives, etc... Obviously it still isn't as in
depth as a full blown editor that would ship with a PC game, but it's
fully featured enough to make unique levels. I haven't tried the latest
Timesplitters (Future Perfect), but apparently it's level editor was a
fair improvement over the one seen in Timesplitters 2, which in turn
was a fair bit better than the one in the first game.

What I see as quite possibly the finest "custom content" tool ever
found in a console game is the skin designer in Forza Motorsport on the
Xbox. It is a seriously powerful bit of kit, and using it with enough
creativity and cunning you could create pretty much any design
imaginable, yet it's also intuitive and almost patronisingly simple
(thats a good thing) to pick up and start using.

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

Wow, i cant believe this thing is actually working.. Steam is currently downloading a biig update to the source SDK =).

Far Cry's editor is meant to be about the best of the bunch really - it
lets you build the island shape, then fine tune it, add in whatever
buildings and objects you like, set the time of day, weapon placement,
vehicles placement, objectives, etc... Obviously it still isn't as in
depth as a full blown editor that would ship with a PC game, but it's
fully featured enough to make unique levels. I haven't tried the latest
Timesplitters (Future Perfect), but apparently it's level editor was a
fair improvement over the one seen in Timesplitters 2, which in turn
was a fair bit better than the one in the first game.

What I see as quite possibly the finest "custom content" tool ever
found in a console game is the skin designer in Forza Motorsport on the
Xbox. It is a seriously powerful bit of kit, and using it with enough
creativity and cunning you could create pretty much any design
imaginable, yet it's also intuitive and almost patronisingly simple
(thats a good thing) to pick up and start using.

I have TS2, and FP. The biggests change in FP is that you can
actually build multiple storied levels (as I recall). It still
relied on the jigsaw method, although there was a greater variety of
pieces to choose from.

I guess I shouldn't judge the consoles when I know virtually nothing about them, except that the game controller sucks for FPS games.

I have no doubt that I'll always stick with the PC though. A PC costs more, but it also does everything instead of just gaming (or play movies/songs).

Besides, I'll miss my DOS prompt on a console.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

omfg. i started weeping and crying when i saw the first post. i actually leaned over and hugged the guy sitting next to me in this library. (no joke says the guy sitting next to me... im at school)

oh man, schools out in 7 minutes!!! good, i have a ride home... time for aggressive driving!! WOOOO HAAAAGGGHHHH!!!!! GEEGEEGEEGEE!!!!!

the guy on the comp across from me just asked if im on LSD or something, but a new sdk sure is MY kind of drugs!!!! yeeeeeeehhhhawwwww!!!!!!

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www.nysteo.com

If animals weren't meant to be eaten, then they wouldn't be so delicious and easy to catch!

Face it: if crime didn't pay, there would be very few criminals.

fishy said:
<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting satchmo</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>I doubt the console makers will ever support custom maps.

it would appear that the xbox will definately support custom maps, as the 'xbox specific data' that i posted was lifted straight from my last compile, using the beta sdk. it's only a matter of time before cs:s and dod:s are released as multiplayer xbox games. but with only 4 maps released for dod, and cs still missing a few of its old favourites, i don't think it'll be this week, or even next.</div></div>

Makes sense, but remember, this is the exact same compiler that Valve would be using to make HL2 for xbox. Hence, you can probably make maps for the xbox, but whether you can actually get them to run is an entirely different matter. At least until DoD/CS come out for xbox.

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

Anyone notice the button in models' properties that lets you set fade distances based on your distance from the item?

Crono - No, it doesn't seem to compress the textures for the browser nor does it reduce the amount of memory, sadly =[

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Personal Website - Black Mesa

because im a noob can someone spell it out for me, on how I get the beta sdk?

You make a shortcut to somewhere
You target the shortcut to your Steam.exe
You Right Click and choose Properties on that shortcut
You round the initial Parameter box with quotes, and then add -beta sdk behind it
You will make sure the format would be something like this:

"D:\Steam\Steam.exe" -beta sdk

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HL2 tutorials 'n' stuff: http://madedog.pri.ee
217.159.236.34:27050 - CSS Server - Clean | koffer.ee

Huzzah, I just got HDR working in my HL2 map. It's a wonderful feeling.

(note: You can't run HDR maps with HL2 yet, you have to load singleplayer HDR maps through Lost Coast)

If you guys want to check out the full changelog, it's here:

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SDK_Beta_Changelist

Crono - No, it doesn't seem to compress the textures for the browser nor does it reduce the amount of memory, sadly =[

... kay ...

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Huzzah, I just got HDR working in my HL2 map. It's a wonderful feeling.

How did you do it? Do you have to change anything in your map's
source code from Hammer to enable HDR? Do you simply load up your
custom map within Lost Coast?

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

I believe a tutorial is in order.

If you hurry you'll have one for this year too, CJ.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Valve beat me to the punch.

But in a nutshell: Enable HDR compile (the checkbox on the "Run Map"
dialog); VRAD will compile twice, once for normal lightmaps, once for
HDR lightmaps. Then, copy and paste your map into \lost
coast\lostcoast\maps\, and load 'er up! Don't forget to build cubemaps
either.

The bad part(s):

• Two sets of lightmaps, two sets of cubemaps; double the compile time, double the BSP file size.

• Outdoor maps generally need a custom HDR skybox thingmajig. I'm not

sure how easy it is to make one, but Valve made it sound like a lot of
work in all those tech interviews (or maybe they were exaggerating to the press? who knows)

lol, I just ticked HDR in the simple compile options and it worked,
albeit rather randomly, and reflections on water don't seem to work.
I'll have to fiddle some more. I hope its not as complex to do outdoor
area's, as thats all I've been working on :smile: .

Oh, and that was in DOD: Source, which seems to be included in the beta
SDK with fully functioning HDR lighting. I'll have some screens of my
latest dod map up soon, something I've been working on between job
applications.

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Ham and Jam Contributor
http://www.hamandjam.org

'Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!'

Exactly why I won't use HDR, CJ. Double filesize for something by far
not everyone can see (yet)? Maps are already quite large files...

I think it's something to use in the future, when it's more mainstream. Not for me right now yet. :smile:

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Create-ivity - a game development blog

Im currently having issues with hammer. It worked fine until i fired up
steam today and loaded my current project. The program crashed.

It seemes like every time i load a map or try to create a new one,
hammer crashes. Seemes like i have to reinstall the SDK again.. =(

I'm pretty hesitant when it comes to beta software. Did they at least fix the detail sprite and alpha mask bugs?

[edit]

Did they at least fix the detail sprite and alpha mask bugs?

Erm...no. But the other features are nice though.

MisterBister, are you sure you restarted steam with -beta sdk in the parameters? :wink: I did that mistake, used wrong shortcut for it :wink:

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HL2 tutorials 'n' stuff: http://madedog.pri.ee
217.159.236.34:27050 - CSS Server - Clean | koffer.ee

the model selector is really getting on my nerves now. ok, it gives a nice 3D preview of the model, but i was a lot happier spotting what i need by running my good eye over some pictures, rather than searching through a big list of names to see a preview of something i'm about to see anyway, at the next click of my mouse, and in the context of my map.

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i eat paint

Same, it's kind of a cool concept but the thumbnails were much more efficient.

I have some issues with the brushes too - They drag in the 2d views way too slow and you have to be able to see the origin when you drag them or it starts a selection box instead.

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Personal Website - Black Mesa

Different isn't necessarily better.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

I wish they fixed the displacement issues already. :sad: The detail sprites
(aka the grass) were the only thing that distracted people from the
ugliness of the grass textures.

What are you talking about Andrei? I've never had any troubles with displacements or detail sprites.

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Ham and Jam Contributor
http://www.hamandjam.org

'Get your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!'

Erm...I was referring to the inverted alpha problem and...uh...the fact
that detail sprites aren't being drawn anymore on any of the grass
materials (that previously supported such a thing). I've heard others complain about these problems aswell.

You might have to recopy a detail.vbsp file, I think the update gets rid of it from the bin folder. It did for me at least.

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Personal Website - Black Mesa

interesting update.....

nothing has worked right since, and i have no obscure setup variants in play....it actually added an fgd, and then took it away, among other things...

wtg valve.... :\

Doc B... :dodgy:

hopefully, the troubles surrounding detail sprites (not that i've seen any at my end) will have something to do with being able to use a custom detailsprite.vtf.

atm, the only way to use custom datail sprites is to embed them into the bsp, and run that bsp before any others. this will, however, cause any stock detail sprites to be knackered on any other maps loaded after it. not a good situation. :sad:

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i eat paint

MisterBister, are you sure you restarted steam with -beta sdk in the parameters? :wink: I did that mistake, used wrong shortcut for it :wink:

lol, i noticed that earlier today. Thanks anyway. Problem solved =).

It's a beta test guys - it's very purpose is to iron out bugs and
issues. If you have problems, report them and they will hopefully be
fixed. If people want something that is stable, they shouldn't use a
beta release.

Report bugs here...

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/SDK_Beta_Bugs

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

I managed to fix the detail sprite issue by replacing the detail.vbsp
file with a fresh one. The old one was there, but it was corrupted (why
and how, I don't know).

It first didnt update, then i restarted my computer, this actualy makes me want to give hl2 another try!

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RUST Gamedesign
pepper design

The strength of the turbulence is directly proportional to the temperature of your coffee.

For those who want to try it once, or can't seem to get the 'old' hammer to work after using the beta.

I got an error after trying the beta once, when I loaded up steam in
normal mode ( without -beta sdk), hammer.exe was missing for some
reason...buggy update.

Anyway just hit "Refresh SDK Content" and you'll be fine.

It said in the wiki there was dod support..but when I tried with the beta flags I saw nothing.

I know how to set it up manually in a very hokey way, but it'd be nice
to have official support for the game seeing as it's been two months
now with no new map(s) and no official tools or support.