Terrain againnn.................

(eRRoLfLyNN) #1

Working on a small map to take to our LAN party this Saturday. Of course I left the terrain to the end saying to myself, I’ll figure out how to fix that when the time comes. :bash:

Anyway, got no problem making the terrain and importing etc and it displays fine in game. The only thing is I need some help cutting it. Basically there is a house in the wilderness and most of the map is “underground”, all in alleys and tunnels under the house. So when I put the terrain in it goes through the underground rooms etc. I had thought I could just cut a big square out of it where the house is, so the underground parts wouldn’t be touched by it. :bored:

I was looking for a tut on 3point clipping but only saw Sock’s tut on 2point clipping. And I don’t even know if it will work anyway. I saw a thread saying how to cut like a tunnel through a hill, but this won’t seem to work, because I need to cut DOWN into the terrain. Dunno if i’ve explained this too well, maybe I should put up an image or 2 to show what I mean. Will try to do that when I get home.

But does anybody have any other ideas how to go about this? Basically I need to cut a (vertical) square/rectangle out of the middle of my terrain…

(Mark.C) #2

2 point clipping ?

(eRRoLfLyNN) #3

Don’t work, because it cuts all the way along the terrain. It chops it in half. I need to say, cut from here to here, and not past here, and then chop downward. Does that make sense? :?

(eRRoLfLyNN) #4

It would look kind of like this, if you were looking down at it from above:

Forgive the rushed graphic, but I hope it illustrates what I am talkin’ about \o/ :???:

(Drakir) #5

Fastest way: Make a brush the size u want your hole. place it where u want the hole, have it selected and then hit the CSG Substract button. This way is the fastest way, but its not always a good way. As you may end up with some weird brushes so remember so save your map before u start your CSG carving. And always do a brushcleanup afterwards.

(Java.Lang) #6

I always try to remove entire segments of terrain to keep from losing too much when I cut into it. Another idea is to duplicate your terrain and use the duplicate to fill in the gaps for the segments you may ultimately end up losing.

(eRRoLfLyNN) #7

Drakir, I was afraid to try CSG subtract because I heard so many people say just don’t use it! Maybe I will try it quickly tonight to see if it does the job.

Java, I have experimented a bit with your technique, but sometimes it leaves small parts of the terrain brushes inside the buildings - and when I delete these then there are gaps outside where the terrain meets the buildings. Then when I try to manipulate the triangles etc to get them to reach the buildings they move about instead of stretching, and their shapes get all distorted. I am trying to stretch them with the the E/edge, but they change very unpredictably. CAn I make another brush to fit and just put the “terrain” texture on it? I think I tried it before and it came up invisible (like caulk) in the game though…
Just noticed, is this what you use the duplicate for, do you use pieces of it to fill in gaps like this?

(nUllSkillZ) #8

I’ve found a tutorial (unfortunately in german language).
It says that you can manipulate the terrain-brushes by selecting the edges (“E”).
For manipulating in x-y direction you must use the “top”-window.

If you choose the vertices (“V”) you must use the “side”-view windows.

Here’s the link to the tutorial:
http://www.fragpoint.de/index.php?section=easygen11

(badong) #9

the best and easiest way to do it is to make a model in max.
To make it fit perfectly with the rest of the map you can actually export your map as a .ase and import it in max, then you can make a cave/tunnel/whatever and fit it in max.

If max isn’t your thing than don’t be afraid of using Vertex tweaking. I know it has a bad reputation, but if used correctly and especially if you have triangular brushes, it’s perfectly good.
Just run a brush cleanup after you’re done to make sure everything is fine.

(Java.Lang) #10

I was basically just saying make the size of the hole, the same size as the triangles, so you don’t have to cut, only delete the triangles themselves. That’s the easy way.

A more painstaking process is duplicating the terrain…if it is all one texture, then yes, like you asked, you can just copy the particular terrain areas, toss them into a regular func_group without any special key/values and apply the proper texture to the face. In this manner you can copy/cut the terrain as many times you like to achieve the right look. I did this in a few areas of my current project, it was just really fortunate that there was only one solid texture area there…now if there is blending…well, I guess in that specific instance, you want to completely copy the terrain and include the alphamap and what not, and make several instances.

Like badong mentioned, you could also do a model, but more often than not, the models of terrain can look just as inconsistent as your brushwork.

(MadJack) #11

errol, you can make a brush to fill up a hole but make sure it’s joined to the terrain after you’re done placing it. I’ve done it two or three times and it’s not a problem.

After it’s placed, ESC to unselect everything. Selec the brush(es) you made (always first) then select a terrain brush. In the 2D window, right-click and choose Move into entity. If you did it right, radiant will tell you how many brushes were joined in the func_group. If you did it wrong, it’ll tell you those brushes joined worldspawn.

Always save before doing that :slight_smile: Just in case :smiley:

HTH

(buttrot) #12

yo errol http://planetwolfenstein.com/4newbies/terrain.htm I just used this tutorial after putting about 10 bldgs in terrain and then having to cut out all the terrain around them.GREAT tutorial. Also try the “change views” button in radiant (labeled xyz) to cut terrain at different angles.I dont reccommend csg subtract with terrain. Clipping works great the key thing I learned from this tut is : shift + enter saves both pieces when clipping that way you can clip aroung cornrs and weird angles and such.good luck.

(eRRoLfLyNN) #13

Cheers for all the tips guys and the nice tutorials. Couldn’t read the German one, but it made some sense anyway :slight_smile: I’ve been both deleting and clipping the brushes and then using a mixture of vertex editing and adding brushes to the terrain to make it fit, and I have to say it’s working out surprisingly well! Thanks a lot!! :clap:

(MadJack) #14

Nice then! :slight_smile:

I’ll take the payment directly to my paypal account. 10.75$ and no taxes for ya! :wink: lol