Detailing metal walls: Difference between revisions

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{{Back|Portal Level Creation}}
{{Back|Portal Level Creation}}
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[[Category:Level Design Tutorials]]
[[Category:Level Design Tutorials]]
[[Category:Sbrown Tutorials]]
[[Category:English]]


== Introduction ==
[[Image:wall1.jpg|right|thumb|Our starting wall]]
Detailed metal walls will make any standard room in Portal look professional. They are more aesthetically pleasing than a standard repeated tile.
The walls in official [[Portal]] test chambers tend to be made of blocks of various sizes. It's considered more aesthetically pleasing to simulate the effect in custom maps than to have generic walls of the same sized tile.


=== Step 1 ===
==Steps==
Find the wall you wish to detail. It helps to turn off everything except world geometry.
Find the wall you want to detail. It may help to [[Hammer Cordon Usage|cordon]] it off. Resize the wall to 128x128 and texture it with the largest metal wall texture. Copy the block to random places on the wall, snapping them to a 32x32 grid so as to not create problems later. [[Image:wall7.jpg|right|thumb|What your wall should look like when finished]]
[[Image:wall1.jpg|right|thumb|]]


Repeat this process for the medium and small blocks.


Move some of the blocks back 32 or 64 units and texture them with a light texture like <code>lights/white001</code>. Be sure the player can't jump inside them and cheat (you may want to use a [[clip texture]]).


Remember to turn off cordon and re-enable any disabled [[visgroup|visgroups]]. For the final touch, place [[env_cubemap]] entities around the distinct sections of the wall (no more than three for most average-sized walls).


 
Compile and <code>buildcubemaps</code> in the console. When it's all finished, you should have a blocky wall like in most test chambers that accurately reflects light.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Step 2 ===
[[Hammer_Cordon_Usage|Cordon]] off the wall; that way you can move pieces of the wall around quickly and efficiently in 2D.
[[Image:wall2.jpg|right|thumb|]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Step 3 ===
Resize the main block to 128*128 and then change its material to the largest metal wall texture.
[[Image:wall3.jpg|right|thumb|]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Step 4 ===
Duplicate the block and move it around in random places. Make sure they snap to a 32*32 grid to avoid problems later.
[[Image:wall4.jpg|right|thumb|]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Step 5 ===
Resize a block and re texture it with the medium wall texture. Repeat step 4.
[[Image:wall5.jpg|right|thumb|]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Step 6 ===
Repeat step 5 for the smallest metal wall texture.
[[Image:wall6.jpg|right|thumb|]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Step 7 ===
Move some of the blocks back 32 or 64 units and texture the block with white001. This will create the characteristic lighting seen in the chambers. Only use small blocks on the walls, so a player can't jump into it and cheat.
[[Image:wall7.jpg|right|thumb|]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Step 8 ===
Turn off the [[Hammer_Cordon_Usage|Cordon]], and enable all entities. [[Hammer_Check_For_Problems_Dialog|Check for problems]] and you're done.
 
Repeat for each wall.
[[Image:wall8.jpg|right|thumb|]]
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
=== Step 9 ===
Once you're done with detailing, place env_cubemaps near the center of each distinct area in your map. Ensure they are no closer then 16 units near the wall.
 
Start the game, go to Developer Console and type
 
  buildcubemaps
 
After The process is done, go back to console and type these in
 
  ''mat_reloadallmaterials'' and ''mat_reloadtextures''
 
and you can get the reflective effect you see in Portal
[[Image:Reflectivewall.jpg|right|thumb|]]

Revision as of 20:10, 19 December 2013

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← Portal Level Creation
Our starting wall

The walls in official Portal test chambers tend to be made of blocks of various sizes. It's considered more aesthetically pleasing to simulate the effect in custom maps than to have generic walls of the same sized tile.

Steps

Find the wall you want to detail. It may help to cordon it off. Resize the wall to 128x128 and texture it with the largest metal wall texture. Copy the block to random places on the wall, snapping them to a 32x32 grid so as to not create problems later.

What your wall should look like when finished

Repeat this process for the medium and small blocks.

Move some of the blocks back 32 or 64 units and texture them with a light texture like lights/white001. Be sure the player can't jump inside them and cheat (you may want to use a clip texture).

Remember to turn off cordon and re-enable any disabled visgroups. For the final touch, place env_cubemap entities around the distinct sections of the wall (no more than three for most average-sized walls).

Compile and buildcubemaps in the console. When it's all finished, you should have a blocky wall like in most test chambers that accurately reflects light.

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