The RichDiesel University Tutorial Questions Thread.

[RichDiesal]

Originally posted by The_Preacher

god knows where those sparklies have come from, as i have virtually everything you cant see caulked.

Well there's your problem. EVERYTHING you can't see should be caulked.

 

btw. is there a jedi mapping irc channel, where we could hang out and talk to each other in real time??

JediOutcastMaps.com runs one on... some... IRC server... I don't even know. I'm sure it's linked on their site somewhere.

 

Originally posted by Jagepage

It does too tell you. You should have your target_multiple targetted at your lights, which are in turn targetted at your info_nulls.

[Derisor]

RD: a Couple more from your friendly jawa.

 

I made a cool pipe that the player can jump down from tzhe starting point. It is a cylinder and not capped. The pipe is 8 feet in diameter (64 units) and Kyle floats nicely over it without falling in. From the top view he is pulling a neat aeriel stunt as he is touching no ground at all. What gives ?

 

Also what are the miniimum sizes for sdoors that kyle can get through. What about minimum size for him to walk while ducking ?

[Jemek Sunns]

Hi, I've been trying a few of teh tutorails and I have some questions. My problem may just be that I can't understand what your saying, and that's my fault but I'll ask anyway.

 

1. How exactly do you construct a water basin, I kept looking at the picture and I just couldn't figure it out.

 

2. For the domed ceiling, I've gotten as far as inverting the bevel, but then I'm not quite sure what to do from there.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Derisor]

RichDiesel:

 

How much do patches affect game performance? Do I notice a degradation if I use, for example, 4 bevels instead of a single end cap?

[RichDiesal]

I made a cool pipe that the player can jump down from tzhe starting point. It is a cylinder and not capped. The pipe is 8 feet in diameter (64 units) and Kyle floats nicely over it without falling in. From the top view he is pulling a neat aeriel stunt as he is touching no ground at all. What gives ?

I've never encountered that myself... why don't you just use four bevels? That will work (example is in my Curves 201 tutorial under Hole in the Ceiling, I think it is).

 

Also what are the miniimum sizes for sdoors that kyle can get through. What about minimum size for him to walk while ducking ?

Don't know, actually. I have yet to research that (though if you'd like to and get back to me, feel free. )

 

How exactly do you construct a water basin, I kept looking at the picture and I just couldn't figure it out.

It's basically just four rectangular brushes standing on end in a box shape.

 

For the domed ceiling, I've gotten as far as inverting the bevel, but then I'm not quite sure what to do from there.

Inverting it's matrix? That's where you need to enter (as I think Antilles said?) the wonderful world of vertex editing. Turn on the Vertex Tool (V Key) and draw the vertices in the 2D View. That will get you started.

 

How much do patches affect game performance? Do I notice a degradation if I use, for example, 4 bevels instead of a single end cap?

Instead of 2 end caps, you mean? There is no disadvantage to using four bevels instead of two end caps in that the same number of triangles are drawn in both cases. There IS a disadvantage (in terms of tris) to use patches where you could use brushes instead. But they look so much better.

[VIO]

ok quick thing vis ignores curves so, hmm how to say this... if i but a brush thats the width and hieght iof the curve RIGHT behind it and caulk it, will ther be a difrence in well speed if that brush is father away from the back of the curve....premiss being you can't see behind the curve, or should i even make a brush behind it, i do need a brush behind it right i can't have a curve have its back to the void, right wait no i know thats right

[RichDiesal]

You need to have caulk behind it... somewhere. Specifically where doesn't matter in terms of visual quality, but you will want to make that space appropriately sized (be it big or small) to make your compile times as fast as possible.

 

That is of course assuming you are using the curve in front of a structural brush. If you have curves in the middle of your room (for example, a sphere in the middle of the room), you don't need brushes at all.

[Ah Boon]

Originally posted by Derisor

I can answer that.

 

What he means is that the area outside your map is called the void. The endless void of space. So detail brushes can only be inside other brushes that are touching the void and not detail brushes. This is because the renderer skipps them.

 

why would i wanna make anything outside the map? can u give me a lil bit more example?

[Master Xavier]

Firstly....Rich, great tutorial! Its so easy to understand! Oh and I love your Kimino Map

 

and for some reason I can't find the option to change MP and SP entities off (switch between SP and MP map making), ALL i find in procject settings is the path'ways and a list of goop, I can't find SP entities anywhere?

[Derisor]

Originally posted by Ah Boon

 

why would i wanna make anything outside the map? can u give me a lil bit more example?

 

No, you dont get it. Your maps hang in an endless void of space according to the 3d engine. You define your map sort of like building a space station in space. Detail brushes are like thin walls made of wood. Structural brushes are like big thick metal walls. Obviously in our space station we want the big thick metal walls to be touching space. Not the thin walls. This is a metaphorical desription.

 

To be more technically correct, when the compiler renders your map, it creates big spaces that constrain your map. Then it only worries about those spaces. If you have structural brushes then they constrain the space. Only what is inside that space matters. If you dont have structural brushes then it would have to worry about hte entire endless void.

 

However if you have structural brushes inside others completely (like you make a table out of 6 brushes) then you are making those big cubes used for calculating things smaller and smaller and smaller which is obviously bad for compile.

[Derisor]

Originally posted by Master Xavier

Firstly....Rich, great tutorial! Its so easy to understand! Oh and I love your Kimino Map

 

and for some reason I can't find the option to change MP and SP entities off (switch between SP and MP map making), ALL i find in procject settings is the path'ways and a list of goop, I can't find SP entities anywhere?

 

YOu have to edit this in the project settings if you are using JKradient. If you are using the new package of GTK for JKII then its in the project settings.

[Grets Sirob]

Uh-oh, he's a moderator, I'm dead!

 

(I had to say that...)

 

 

 

 

You will die, painfully.

[RichDiesal]

Originally posted by Master Xavier

ALL i find in procject settings is the path'ways and a list of goop, I can't find SP entities anywhere?

But if you look in the project settings, you should see SP_Entities.def (by default) in the entitypath. Just copy the path to your JK2 dir from the other options (assuming you already set them correctly) and after GameData, add the text "\\tools\SP_entities.def" (without quotes)

[Derisor]

By the way.

 

The smallest tunnel Kyle can duck through is 48 units heigh by 36 units wide.

[Guardian Omega]

Exactly how you put chaulk on the nonvisible sides of any patch mesh? (Including cylinders, bevels, the likes......)

[RichDiesal]

The smallest tunnel Kyle can duck through is 48 units heigh by 36 units wide.

Thanks! Useful information.

 

Exactly how you put chaulk on the nonvisible sides of any patch mesh?

You don't! Patches are technically only textured on one side, so the engine treats them as if caulk was on the backside anyway.

[Derisor]

I build a door according to the info you gave in the tutorial but there is one problem. As soon as I put the area portal inside the door brush, I now get a wacky HOM effect instead of a door. What did I do wrong ?

[Master Xavier]

(praises the mapping god that is Rich)

 

thanks for the help

 

(i'd send you pic's of my map but I have nowhere to upload them)

[Derisor]

Get a free site from lycos. =)

[RichDiesal]

Originally posted by Derisor

I build a door according to the info you gave in the tutorial but there is one problem. As soon as I put the area portal inside the door brush, I now get a wacky HOM effect instead of a door. What did I do wrong ?

 

That means you didn't put the areaportal in the right place. The area portal should fit ENTIRELY inside the door - as in, in Radiant, you should be unable to see the areaportal itself from any side of the door. You should also only use it on doors that block off entire corridors from other areas.

 

You can create a HOM when you place an areaportal in a visible part of a door.

[snakeeyesa27]

Hey Rich, I am having a compile problem.

Whenever I reach a certian level of complexity (for lack of a better word) I get the compile error NUM POINT EXCEED MAX POINTS ON WINDING. It doesn't matter what kind of compile, and I don't know what to do, since I get this problem even though this is barely the beginning of my level. Also Raven's maps are far more complex, and apparently they compiled. This has happened on various level's i've made. Also, changing brushes between detail and structural makes no difference. Have you ever had this problem?

 

p.s. if you'd like specifics i can send you my .map

[snakeeyesa27]

uh.. he he... nevermind. sorry for asking before i looked at all the old posts.

 

if anyone else has this

http://teamhuh.com/articles.asp?articleid=22

[jedihunter]

I have a rather simple question.

 

How can you tell if a brush is set as detailed or structural?

Is there a little button or icon you can check?

[RichDiesal]

Any time you want to tell the difference, press CTRL+D and all the Detail Brushes will disappear. Anything left is (obviously) Structural.

[Redvan]

How did you get so GOOD?!!