I just watched the 60 min, basic video. In it they said several things that i was curious about and want them to be expanded on.

1. Why is it best to have your brush centered?
2. where is it best to put your reflection probes and how many should be used?
3. Should i use the hollow tool? or will it mess up my map?
4. Can i use the CSG subtraction tool or Will the CSG subtract tool mess up my map?

Anything else important i should know please let me know :). thanks!
Xfire:stahlsta210

I can't answer all the questions but I'll give you my 2 cents worth.

1. You should overlap brushes....will cause graphic errors
2. I normally don't use a whole lot of reflection probes, but I will put them in large rooms.
3. I use the hollow tool fairly much and it won't mess up your map. Some use it for making the skybox (myself included). I also use it for making trenches or crawl spaces (I just remove the ends).
4. Don't know....I've never used the CSG subtract tool.

I'm fairly new to mapping, but I'm sure some more knowledgeable folks will chime in.

Thanks man!
5.Also is a static model different then any other type of model?

rdxradar writes...

1. I meant to say that you should NOT overlap your brushes....sorry

Stahlsta210 writes...

Static models you can walk through.

Static meaning "not moving" is normally referring to a model with no animations tied to it (like vehicles without wheels moving).

Some models have collmaps, some do not. I don't know if static is also implying about the collmaps (collision map files) as I remember a static_berlin_bench (dont know exact name) which was not solid.

CSG Subtract and Hollow have been a NO NO for quite a while. The CSG tools were just left over from a different engine and are really not needed, they will cause you errors eventually. Hollow is the only one that people sometimes use, but even then it's for simple cubes, do not hollow too much at any one time. I never use CSG, rarely use clipper. It's so easy to draw the brush, hit esc, draw another.

CSG is a main cause in the node without a volume errors/infinite brushes.

Indeed. There's really no reason to use CSG Subtract.

In fact, those CSG commands were frowned upon when they were brand new :D


I use CSG Hollow for fast prototyping but I always miter the resulting brushes (make the faces meet). Overlapping brushes will eventually pee-pee off the compiler.

So, yeah. Don't touch CSG Subtract. I'm surprised it was put back in as an option after being taken out in CoD4Radiant

Any non-solid model can be made solid in COD5 - but it has to be done via script (which, for some, is a handicap).

All you do is choose a collision shape from the available collmaps in raw/collmaps.

Find the coordinates for your xmodel (non-solid), and in your level script dynamically spawn the collmap on top of your xmodel:



That will make the model solid, to all intents and purposes.

spawncollison() is a hardcoded function, so you cant edit it. However, it is pretty versatile, and nearly all of the collmaps in raw/collmaps can be dynamically spawned this way.

edited on Jan. 5, 2009 05:58 am by Tally

couldn't you achieve the same effect by wrapping the model in a brush or two textured with a *_clip texture?

Yes. Proabbly the best method as that would allow you to get it lined up perfectly in the editor.

Although wouldn't Tallys idea allow us to spawn any kind of brush in the map after compile?