Skybox/Radar making dilemma (Hammer)

[Sirlock]

So I am trying to make a radar for my map so I can potentially put it out for people to play test and have an easier time with it. Right now it is currently in all dev textures and I am just working on the layout for balancing and don't plan on progressing any further until I managed to get peoples input. But the issue I am currently running into is that I am trying to make a radar for my map but following the tutorial is not working for me because when I noclip and level overview my map doesn't show up at all. I am not sure whether its because the walls could be too high in my map or if it's because I do not have the skybox properly designed. Pretty much when I noclip and put level overview on with levelmarker 1024, all I see is a black screen. I know something like this is hard to understand without actually hands on figuring out what's up but I was hoping maybe someone might have some input.

[grapen]

Did you disable r_skybox and try out different values for cl_leveloverview?

[Sirlock]

Yeah I disabled skybox but it seems like no matter what value I got to with leveloverview it just is a black screen.

[Lizard]

Did you set yourself above the map?

[Sirlock]

Did you set yourself above the map?

Yes I did and to no avail, its like I am going through the skybox and everything goes black, even though I have it disabled.

[Lizard]

Well try lower values of overview or try to use arrows to position the view. Sometimes you can actually choose the height of the view so you can cut roofs etc.

[El_Exodus]

stay inside the map. you cant shoot the leveloverview if you are in the void. /ignore

Edited October 5, 2015 by El_Exodus

[Sirlock]

Here is exactly what is happening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNymhKM4GGA

[Deathy]

What resolution are you using specifically? Not sure this is the issue, but just wondering. Also, your brushes are meeting ends with the skybox, right? Try putting your outer walls a bit higher so your "inner level" walls are below the skybox.

Edited October 4, 2015 by Deathy

[Sirlock]

I am using 1280x960 stretched at the moment. but it does it even if i switch to the recommended resolution.

[jackophant]

stay inside the map. you cant shoot the leveloverview if you are in the void.

I take my screenshots outside the skybox in the void, otherwise I get strange issues where some faces draw black.

@Sirlock try and set all your game settings before you compile. That includes setting res to 1280x1024 and maxxing out your graphics (it doesn't matter if you're lagging, it's a static shot you're taking). Using another resolution can lead to misalignment in editing afterwards. Those black and green screens are also what I suffered with. You need to set your level overview value to 4 or higher and set it after you noclip out of the map. If 4 still isn't enough, try it in whole integer intervals until you can see something, and then fine tune.

Otherwise maybe you have a problem with your skybox as it looks a little rough atm, and perhaps have some sort of leak which has allowed you to still compile.

If you don't know how to check for leaks, in hammer go to Map > Load Pointfile and then look for a squiggly red line, if it asks you about trying to find the file, then hammer didn't create the .lin file during compilation and you should be ok.

I may have missed something, but have a mini-guide here if you this help still and other stuff:

[El_Exodus]

I take my screenshots outside the skybox in the void, otherwise I get strange issues where some faces draw black.

woops, i've been wrong then. always took them from inside the map without problems.

[Sirlock]

I take my screenshots outside the skybox in the void, otherwise I get strange issues where some faces draw black.

@Sirlock try and set all your game settings before you compile. That includes setting res to 1280x1024 and maxxing out your graphics (it doesn't matter if you're lagging, it's a static shot you're taking). Using another resolution can lead to misalignment in editing afterwards. Those black and green screens are also what I suffered with. You need to set your level overview value to 4 or higher and set it after you noclip out of the map. If 4 still isn't enough, try it in whole integer intervals until you can see something, and then fine tune.

Otherwise maybe you have a problem with your skybox as it looks a little rough atm, and perhaps have some sort of leak which has allowed you to still compile.

If you don't know how to check for leaks, in hammer go to Map > Load Pointfile and then look for a squiggly red line, if it asks you about trying to find the file, then hammer didn't create the .lin file during compilation and you should be ok.

I may have missed something, but have a mini-guide here if you this help still and other stuff:

So, I tried what you said, it still isn't working. Everything was set to max, I tried at value 4 and then went all the way up to 20 and got nothing, and hammer didn't create any .lin files.

[Vaya]

can you upload the vmf and post here? I'll test it and see what happens.

[jackophant]

Yes, please share vmf by dropbox/google drive or some other trusted file share site, I'd be interested to see what's going on. Have you tried the interlopers compile log checker? See if that's turning up with anything crazy?

I'm just going to put this out there and no offence intended, but more often than not in circumstances such as these it's the mapper at fault, not the software. It's usually down to missing something simple as you aren't used to these processes, so I would take a real, good hard look at your process and start from scratch, maybe even copy the map into a new vmf and try again.

I'm speaking from experience, I massively derped out while trying to make working radars. But now (luckily) it's second nature.