IN THIS THREAD I WILL ANSWER YOUR SOURCE QUESTIONS

[Makaveli]

Heh, but still im not getting sepcularity like i used to...even with the specular map in "Alpha 1" channel and i did save in 32bit. Any ideas?

[Tequila]

How do I tell VTEX where my .tgas are to be converted? They're currently in C:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\tequila@nildram.co.uk\counter-strike source\cstrike\materialsrc and apparently I should tell it this using the '-game' tag, but that just utterly fails.

[Makaveli]

Well, when you convert .tgas to .vtfs they go from the materialsrc folder to the materials folder. If you havent created a sub folder, they should just be in the root materials directiory.

[DelaZ]

How do I tell VTEX where my .tgas are to be converted? They're currently in C:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\tequila@nildram.co.uk\counter-strike source\cstrike\materialsrc and apparently I should tell it this using the '-game' tag, but that just utterly fails.

Noobie video tuts :

How to create vtf & vmt files (textures) :

http://www.insmod.net/team/delaz/files/texture_creation.rar

:roll:

Put them in :

C:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\steam@account\sourcesdk\cstrike\materialsrc

[Tequila]

How do I tell VTEX where my .tgas are to be converted? They're currently in C:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\tequila@nildram.co.uk\counter-strike source\cstrike\materialsrc and apparently I should tell it this using the '-game' tag, but that just utterly fails.

Noobie video tuts :

How to create vtf & vmt files (textures) :

http://www.insmod.net/team/delaz/files/texture_creation.rar

:roll:

You can cut those rolling eyes right now. I tried that tut. vid a while ago and it totally wouldn't play. I'll try again now.

Edit: updated my codecs, a nice little tutorial, sir. Thing is, I already knew how to do this yet there must have been some small detail I was missing, because now it has worked fine.

Double edit: And this was dragging and dropping from the counter-strike source folder, not the sourcesdk one, so I guess I don't have to tell VTEX where it all is after all.

[Makaveli]

Zaphod, i tried a few more things, and i cannot get specularity working in the alpha channel of the normal map. Is there a sepcial method? Right now ive just created a new alpha channel and threw the color grey i wanted in...and nothing happens when i test it out ingame. Any help would be great.

[zaphod]

make a test spec mask of pure black and white checkers so it's real obvious when you get it working.

make sure you have

"$envmap" "env_cubemap"

"$normalmapalphaenvmapmask" "1"

then make sure you are specifying a skybox in your test map, when there aren't cubemaps compiled (which I guess you guys cant get working) then it uses the skybox by default.

[Fletch]

In the E3 HL2 Tech Demo there was the demonstrated ability to have real time cameras. Is this still in the engine and does CS:S have access to it.

Point being: could we have a control room with real time security cameras?

[JynxDaddy]

Fletch, the camera is missing from the techdemo map in CSS. So I would say the camera was removed, or atleast not available right now.

[Kamikazi!]

My guess is that the camera can't show yourself. Like in thirdperson your model is all jittery and shows the v_weapon at the feet.

[Tequila]

http://www.hl2world.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=13834&start=0

Above is an updated .fgd and assorted content pack that re-enables the camera entity for CS:S, among other things. It works just fine in multiplayer.

[zaphod]

the camera shows anything, and you can parent it to anything. You could parent it to a barrel, and create the BARRELCAM and get dizzy watching it rolls down a ramp from the barrels point of view. All it does it render the scene to a texture. Thus is expeinse too, it you have a camera in a different part of the map, it has to render that part as well as the part you are in.

[mikezilla]

make sure you have

"$envmap" "env_cubemap"

"$normalmapalphaenvmapmask" "1"

Don't even bother with this until the SDK is updated. Valve left some sort of source control precaution in the software that prevents CS:S from actually building your cubemaps (the console command buildallcubemaps results in a message basically telling you off because you don't have the map checked out.) Which is especially odd because all the maps rely on cubemaps for a lot of their visual appeal and in the sdk YOU CAN'T EVEN MAKE THEM. Good catch ya'll.

In addition, if you try to do terrain painting with multiple textures blended together. Forget that too, they broke it as well.

So until the SDK is updated mappers are up shits creek.

What a let down.

[skdr]

I wonder when they'll enable HDR in Source. It could be nice for high-end cards.

[kleinluka]

does Source even have that?