map creation

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 7:49 pm

i'm just having a problem , i'm trying to create my first map and i couldnt compile it, the first map i tried i had an error that said something like "can not import shader f_im ^%$#" cant remember what one it was but yeah. the second one said "unable to parse materials. and structure import failed." can someone help me?

halo0001 · Post by **halo0001** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 8:21 pm

well your first error was due to u not spelling 'f_im flat_flat_light_scratchy' and the other one was from you not linking the b_levelroot and the actual bsp correctly,that or you just forgot to add materials

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 9:12 pm

i'm just gonna go through the tutorial step by step again, i wanna know 3ds max better anyways.

EDIT:
okay i got past that part, where exactly would you put the water in, and i'm having trouble with the water shader tut. any help?

McJix · Post by **McJix** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 9:16 am

johnnyblaz20 wrote:okay i got past that part, where exactly would you put the water in, and i'm having trouble with the water shader tut. any help? didnt mean to double post sry.

You have to use a shader for it. http://www.h2vista.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4093

I don't know where to find the water .bitmaps to animate it, so someone could help me on that. I wish adding water was a lot simpler though.

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 11:07 am

k, but what tool or program do you use to put it in? is it something you do in max?

McJix · Post by **McJix** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 11:17 am

johnnyblaz20 wrote:k, but what tool or program do you use to put it in? is it something you do in max?

You have to use Guerilla

T1xAnton · Post by **T1xAnton** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 11:25 am

Water, you have to create a plane in MAX. Then give it the Object symbol of water. Then give it material of the water shader. Then you edit in guerilla.

McJix · Post by **McJix** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 12:28 pm

T1xAnton wrote:Water, you have to create a plane in MAX. Then give it the Object symbol of water. Then give it material of the water shader. Then you edit in guerilla.

So, you just need the shader, not the bitmaps?

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 1:39 pm

okay, i dont know how to give the object symbol of water or apply the shader.. i'm 1 day old at this but i catch on fast. do you do either when your applying bitmaps? & wow i'm having alot of triangle problems when compiling. how do you connect 2 areas in max?

T1xAnton · Post by **T1xAnton** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:34 pm

The shaders are linked to the bitmaps. You point the material ID names to the shaders. The shaders are then read by Tool.

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:51 pm

2 questions in 3ds max
1. i pulled up an area for a ramp to a higher surface and i had a whole lot of errors like triangle left the bsp and others, is there a better way to do it than in vertex mode and just pulling area up?

2. is there a way to connect 2 surfaces in max without overlapping if the surfaces arent flat? is there a way to totally merge 2 surfaces?

i threw my first map togather, it was really a trial and not a very good one but it worked great but it seems like the questions above are the two main things need to work on for now. i personally thing learning 3ds max is the main thing in making a good map.

McJix · Post by **McJix** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:59 am

johnnyblaz20 wrote:2 questions in 3ds max
1. i pulled up an area for a ramp to a higher surface and i had a whole lot of errors like triangle left the bsp and others, is there a better way to do it than in vertex mode and just pulling area up?

2. is there a way to connect 2 surfaces in max without overlapping if the surfaces arent flat? is there a way to totally merge 2 surfaces?

#1 Its normal for triangles to be thrown from the bsp. That just means that it had a confilict with other geometry, meaning that it was touching something else.
Its not a serious warning or error. Just ignore it.

#2 Select an object that is touching each other. Under the create menu, click where the scroll down bar is (By default, it says "Standard Primitives"). Scroll down to compound objects. Select Boolean. Select the button that says "Pick Operand B". Before you click your other object, scroll down on the option menu a bit futher. Then, select the radio circle that says "Union". Now, select your merging object, and your 2 objects will now be 1.

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Tue Aug 14, 2007 3:32 pm

AWSOME!!! i just played on my first map and your right, those "triangles thrown from bsp" dont mean anything except it makes it a little laggy scrolling in saipen. but i dont think its a very bad map for my first, i just have to fix up the spawn points and its done..

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:59 am

how do you make a ramp up to a higher plain in max? i can make a ramp but it has curved edges and i want strait edges.. i just raise an area in vertex mode. i'm sure theres a better way.. i'm just trying to get good with 3ds max because thats the main part of mapping..

McJix · Post by **McJix** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:06 am

johnnyblaz20 wrote:how do you make a ramp up to a higher plain in max? i can make a ramp but it has curved edges and i want strait edges.. i just raise an area in vertex mode. i'm sure theres a better way.. i'm just trying to get good with 3ds max because thats the main part of mapping..

One way would be to rotate and pull a polygon into that position. Another way would be just to create a box, texture it, then fuse it with the main ground.

llama_juice · Post by **llama_juice** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:52 am

quick demo thinger...

in editable poly mode I selected a few faces on a plane

(I made them different material IDs so that you could see the different faces...)

then using the "Hinge from edge" tool I was able to make a nice ramp

McJix · Post by **McJix** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:13 pm

Nice example. To tessalate the plane, there is a tool under the Editable Poly menu.

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:21 am

awsome, thanks... i just need to learn more about 3ds max, one more question, if i made another box in my map do i have to connect it to the b_levelroot sphere along with the map itself or can i connect the box to my map and connect my map to the levelroot?
how do you make a cave that goes through to the other side? or like an underground area?
and also if you know anything else awsome you'd like to share about 3ds max i'd appreciate. i'm using all the help your giving me in my new map.. as of now its just a large empty room but i'm gonna spend alot of time on this one..
and - McJix how long have you been doing this? or using 3ds max?

McJix · Post by **McJix** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 9:13 am

johnnyblaz20 wrote:awsome, thanks... i just need to learn more about 3ds max, one more question, if i made another box in my map do i have to connect it to the b_levelroot sphere along with the map itself or can i connect the box to my map and connect my map to the levelroot?

Either by fusing it to your ground, or simply leave it where it is and just connect it to your b_levelroot along with the rest of your map.

johnnyblaz20 wrote:how do you make a cave that goes through to the other side? or like an underground area?
and also if you know anything else awsome you'd like to share about 3ds max i'd appreciate. i'm using all the help your giving me in my new map.. as of now its just a large empty room but i'm gonna spend alot of time on this one..

There are lots of ways. The simplist way would be to use a tube, change the number of sides to something like 4, and then usuing the other stuff in this topic to make it look more cave like. Remmber, there is an option called Msmooth under the Editable Polygon menu. Try messsing around with it. It can create some pretty cool looking complex shapes.

johnnyblaz20 wrote:and - McJix how long have you been doing this? or using 3ds max?

Probably around 2 months. I'm still not "good" compared to others, but I sure am a hell of a lot better tham when I started.

johnnyblaz20 · Post by **johnnyblaz20** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:04 am

ya, i just started. i got 3ds max like when halo2 came out bet never even attempted until like a week ago to make a map. i was into sparkedit and hmt on halo 1 but this is way better.