Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Q&A

    Backup post for me in case I mess it up...

    Spoiler

    Question1: Where are all the files stored (textures, models, maps, ...)? And how to open/edit them?

    Question2: Which file formats do materials, models etc. have?


    Answer:

    Maps:

    • File formats:
      • compiled maps: *.vpk
        • can be opened/decompiled with Source2Viewer
        • the equivalent to *.bsp in S1
      • source files: *.vmap
        • can be opened with Hammer
        • the equivalent to *.vmf in S1
    • File paths
      • Official maps (*.vpk): ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo\maps
      • Workshop maps (*vpk): ...\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\730
      • Your compiled maps (*vpk): ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo_addons\*addon_name*\maps
      • Your map projects (source files, *vmap): ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\content\csgo_addons\*addon_name*\maps

    Textures:

    • File formats:
      • compiled textures:
        • *vmat_c
          • the real material file loaded by the engine
        • *vtex_c
          • compiled image file
          • equivalent to *.vtf in S1
        • both can be opened/decompiled with Source2Viewer
      • source files:
        • *.vmat
          • a plain-text version of *.vmat_c
          • can be edited
          • equivalent to *.vmt in S1
          • can be opened with the Material Editor of the S2 Workshop Tools (or with a simple text editor like Notepad)
        • *.png, *.tga, ... (or any other supported file type)
          • the actual uncompressed texture file
    • File paths
      • compiled textures: hidden inside *.vpk files
        • Stock materials: ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo
        • materials of custom maps: packed into their *.vpk
      • source files: ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\content\csgo_addons\*addon_name*\materials

    Models:

    • File formats:
      • compiled models:
        • *.vmdl_c
          • the real model file loaded by the engine
        • *vmat_c, *vtex_c: compiled texture files of the model, see above ("Textures")
        • both can be opened/decompiled with Source2Viewer
      • source files:
        • *.vmdl
        • *.vmat, *.vtex: texture files of the model, see above ("Textures")
    • File paths
      • compiled models: hidden inside *.vpk files
        • Stock models: ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\game\csgo
        • models of custom maps: packed into their *.vpk
      • source files: ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\content\csgo_addons\*addon_name*\models

    Question: Are there any example map files (from Valve) to learn from?

    Answer: Not much atm (early 2024), no complete maps. But there are a couple of interesting *.vmaps here:

    ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\content\csgo\maps\editor

    For example this small part of dust2: "toolscene_lighting_de_dust_day.vmap"


    Smart Props Zoo:

    ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\content\csgo\maps\editor\zoo


    Some basic entities that you might want to use in your map:

    ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\content\csgo\maps\templates


    Some information about lighting:

    ...\Steam\steamapps\common\Counter-Strike Global Offensive\content\csgo_addons\*your_addon_name*\maps\content_examples

    Question: How to quickly remove the triangulation of the meshes after porting a map?

    Answer:

    ->

    Select the faces (double click selects all connected faces), then hit "backspace" (=combine faces)

    Don't forget to check these before:


    But be careful, sometimes this collapses some faces...

    In any case some manual cleanup will be needed afterwards.

    -> A useful post on Discord (video)

    Question: (Porting maps from CS:GO to CS2) The script creates three vmap files of my map (*map_name*.vmap, *map_name*_environment_prefab.vmap and *map_name*_prefab.vmap). Why?

    So when I port a map, these 3 vmaps are created:

    1. *map_name*.vmap: Which imo should be the actual map file, but it's just one single prefab there (->2.).
    2. *map_name*_prefab.vmap: Here I can only edit some entities like lights, player spawns, bombsites but also water brushes. The rest is a prefab (->3.).
    3. *map_name*_environment_prefab.vmap: The actual file where I can do something.

    What is that good for?

    Question: Is there an equivalent to "shift+drag" duplicate of the old Hammer?

    Answer: It's still the same, but be aware that "Translate" mode is active.

    Then just hold "shift" while click+drag the arrows/squares.

    • In "Meshes"/"Objects"/"Groups" mode shift+drag duplicates.
    • In "Vertices"/"Edges"/"Faces" mode it extrudes

    You can also use shift+arrow keys of your keyboard.

    Question: Console command to directly load a Workshop map?

    Answer: map_workshop *ID* *mapname*

    So you will need the exact map ID. Every workshop map has a unique ID number. You can find it here: ...\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\730

    Example: map_workshop 3121217565 de_thera

    Backup post for me

    Spoiler

    Quote from Radu

    On 2/4/2024 at 6:58 PM, Radu said: Thanks for putting all this together! You da' real mvp @Radix

    Thanks! But I have to say that this didn't work as intended. Originally I hoped to get some people involved to get some answers for my own questions while doing the tedious work of putting it all together. But obviously people/communities have changed in the last years.

    But I will keep this thread up for everybody or even just for me in case I need to look up something.

    Question: Many entities have unused keyvalues after porting a map. Can I just delete these?


    Answer: (Edit: This answer is probably wrong) These keys are obsolete and not used anymore (?). If you want, you can remove all of them by clicking 'Map'->'Check for problems' and then hitting 'Fix':

    Question: Some entities have an 'obsolete' icon after porting. What's up with that?

    Answer: These entities are not used anymore. You can remove or replace them.

    Question: (Porting CS:GO maps to CS2) All the instances that I had in my CS:GO map don't exist in the ported map (as a prefab). They are only inside the maps/prefabs folder, but all func_detail geometry is missing. How to fix this?

    Answer: If you want to preserve your func_instances, replace "-usebsp" with "-usebsp_nomergeinstances" in the Python script parameters:

    python import_map_community.py <s1gameinfopath> <s1contentpath> <s2gameinfopath> <s2addon> <mapname> -usebsp_nomergeinstances

    (Import Tool Documentation)

    Question: How to upload a map to the Workshop?

    Answer: Open the CS Workshop Tools and select the project you want to publish. Then open the Tools tab (top right) and select "Counter-Strike 2 Workshop Manager"

    The rest is self-explanatory...

    Question: How to achieve a seamless transition between the water in your map an the water in the skybox? (like in de_anubis)

    (water texture scale in skybox; cubemaps?)



    I've been struggling with this for a while now. I tried to decompile de_anubis map, because it works pretty well there. There the skybox map uses the exact same water texture as the actual map. But in my map the skybox water looks scaled too large (=> larger waves) compared to the water in the actual map. It seems like the texture scale of the water texture doesn't have an effect (like in Source1).

    Also I'm not sure how to get the cubemaps right, since I can't assign a cubemap to a specific face anyore (Can I?).

    Question: How to create water in CS2?

    Answer1:

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    Quote from Radix

    On 4/15/2024 at 10:45 PM, Radix said: Question: How to achieve a seamless transition between the water in your map an the water in the skybox? (like in de_anubis)

    de_anubis water uses a material that fades at a certain distance in the skybox.

    How to make a water material that fades at the distance you want:

    1. make a water material using the "CSGO water fancy" shader, or decompile a water material using the source2viewer (i did the last method since i had no ideea how the shader really worked)

    2. in your fancy water material settings look for these parameters:

    [Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/3RjQVu8.png]

    Those values don´t have to be equal, or the mesh a square, they just dictate the distance from the center of the editor to where the material fades into the skybox.

    [Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/bSOyv89.png]

    3. Place a big cubemap or a combined light probe volume on your water.

    4. do not place other materials besides nodraw or solidblocklight beneath the water in the distance.

    Here are some results: the first is the desired one, the others if you place other materials beneath the water in the distance. (Also in the 3d skybox map place a cubemap or a combine light probe cubemap right in the center of the skycamera, end extend it to cover all the water´s surface.)

    [Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/HKgzD7A.jpg]

    [Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/8RAnk4b.jpg]

    [Blocked Image: https://i.imgur.com/go8KcCn.jpg]

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