Very interesting technique. I like it.
BTW, you don’t have to have XSI to export to Source. There are tools for all of the major 3d programs.
Here’s one guy’s site. He has lots of useful stuff for mapping in HL2, including a 3dsmax exporter.
http://www.chaosincarnate.net/cannonfodder/cftools.php
Looking forward to seeing this completed! I’d love to play in it.
other entries are in deep doodoo…superb work.
I got a more fantastical idea in mind, but the gritty realistic approach you are taking is crazy mad super nice and fly doooood.
lol…can’t wait to see it all come together. This may have already been discussed, so pardon me if so but…what engine are you going to plop this into. I noticed some references to HL2…do they have a free level editor like UT does…and if so how can I land it???
-KDX-
WOW!
Your like an machine! Ya just keep on truckin’…
:applause:
Keep up the good work.
-Daren Loney
If I remember correctly, it came with the game
If your just looking for the source engine you might be able to download it online
Since there is so much interest, I will ask around, and scrap up all the online tutorials online for everyone and post it in the main rules thread tomorrow
PS: The rules dont require the contestant to export the level to an engine.
[EDIT] -for post below-
:)…I’m trying to get part of this model into source today. …seems very complicated though
orko60 …I’m using that guys tools & his tuts
The first link I can think of off the top of my head for Source Tutorials would be here.
hey thanks DevilHacker…I’ll add any relevant links I’ve found
the Source engine can be downloaded for free at www.steampowered.com
Download STEAM, make an account, go to “Play Games” and double click “SDK”.
(a warning though,dealing with steam is a pain in the ass,especially if your on dialup…lol)
:)…I’m trying to get part of this model into source today. …seems very complicated though
orko60 …I’m using that guys tools & his tuts
do they have a free level editor like UT does
the source model editor is called ‘Hammer’,I’m pretty sure it’ll come with the sdk,I got all the tools when I bought halflife2
grr…messing around witrh cannonfodders StudioCompiler for Source & I keep getting a "too many indices in source’ error
does that mean my paths are too long??
:)…he’s real,currently sleeping ontop of the hard drive
http://home.xtra.co.nz/hosts/polycount3d/CGTalk/Pets.jpg
btw,‘indices’ has nothing to do with path lengths,though I’m not really sure what it does mean…
getting something into source is a surefire way of going slightly insane 
I have no idea. Going to see King Kong at midnight now 
Email Cannonfodder, I’m sure he will help you. All of those guys who make the tools have been very helpful to me!
-Zack
I’m watching the premier red carpet stuff on the news now,might catch it over the weekend
I’ll be posting in cannonfodders forum tonight…just need to work out what exactly I need to know/ask
after looking into what it takes to get to this into the source engine I’ve learned it would basically need to be rebuilt inside the Hammer editor…some parts could be exported as ‘props’(.smd files) to be imported to hammer…but the basic structure needs to be built from brushes…all the walls floors etc have to be created inside Hammer
everything in my max model is built to powers of two so at least I have an easy start
the unreal editor looks alot easier to use than Hammer…but I’ve never thought much of the gameplay of unreal(or what I’ve seen of it at least)…I like the realism of environments & gameplay that the source games offer
more model updates tomorrow
I totally agree with you about Unreal, UnrealEd is really easy which is why I use it. I wish there was a game out right now with Unreal 3 and the new edition of UnrealEd. I havent been able to use it because I bought it for Mac so I cant tell you how difficult or easy it is, but there is always the Doom 3. Also something else, I just downloaded the demo for Quest 3D.
maybe this is why there’s a lack of level designers,because we only have the level editors to build levels…& in hammers case it’s very limited in what you can do
3dsmax has always been held up as the app to have if your into gaming graphics…but it can’t even build a level?..I guess when they say 3dsmax is good for gaming they mean the game characters & not levels/maps
I watched a video for getting a prop into Doom3 & it seems straight forward,but again that’s only a prop…it’s pretty hard to build a level when half of it is being built in a level editor & the other half in Max
so far Unreal-ed is the most appealing of the editors…but again I’m not a fan of that kind of ‘in ya face’ gameplay so I’ll have another go at Hammer
any other level editors out there I should be looking at??
grrr
lol
Cheers
If you dont like the game play of UT2004, check into Rainbow Six 3, it uses Unreal 2 and has a version of UnrealEd that uses a different map file format, RSM or something.
There is a program out there for Max, called Jamlander, that can make levels for Unreal (I think it was unreal) right in Max. As far as source goes, yeah, you just have to make your props in Max, and build the main geometry in Hammer. Most of the stuff I see in your level, though, is really basic, so it wouldn’t be hard to do; it would just be a pain, 'caus eyou’ve already done it.
Great stuff you have here man! I love the props at the start of the thread, they are amazing! One thing I would say you should do is have some of the cells opened so you can go inside of them, might just make it look a little more interesting in there. I feel really dumb asking this but I have never had anyreason to do it before. But how do you tile in max? I am guessing you do it like you would for the checker texture they have in there…just with your own. I tried making a quick little level and got stuck at that part because everything looked horrible, cuz i tried to UV map everything. Also does it matter how many times the texture is tiled? Because once the engine loads it once it should be fine right?
Anyway your level looks amazing keep it coming
you can use the material editors to tile,& yes just like the checkerboard texture you can control the tiling…I’ve used face mapping for this which wouldnt offer the same kind of control,but I’m not sure a game engine would accept tiles as 3dsmax does them.
as long as each face is perfectly square when the uv’s are applied it works fine,so rather than having to unwrap anything I model a gridlike mesh & apply a uv face map to the whole model…then I usually go through selecting faces & applying different 512 textures
does it matter how many times the texture is tiled
I dont think so,then again I’ve never sent anything to a game engine so I may be wrong,tiling is heavily used in games so I doubt there’s any limits worth worrying about
Cheers
& some open cell doors,will do,I imagine in game there would be somekind of pickups or something in the cells…or maybe prisoners reaching out to passing players…heh
I’ve just had a look at all this, and I must say… awesome work!
But I’m just curious as to whether or not you’ll be using specular mapping at all? Judging from what you’ve put up so far… it doesn’t seem like you will be. But I’ve been playing with specular mapping lately and found it’s an extremely effective way of nudging up the detail even further…
In any case, good luck.
Yes, you could use specular maps on the metal stuff, doesn’t have to be highress either. At a project I worked on earlier we used specmaps that used half or less of the diffusemaps resolution and it works fine. And I say it again, I want more images 
more pics later tonight.I’ve been busy modelling(or trying to) a shipwreck for work
I’d never thought of using spec maps on the hard stuff,always regarded it as more for organic models
but as all my textures are 512x or 256x theres plenty of room for spec maps if needed,I’ll look into it & see if it adds anything worthy
so far I’m using diffuse,alpha & normal maps
Cheers
