Talk:Cubemaps

When building cubemaps, I've found that some props become invisible and don't appear in the cubemap. Specifically with translucent or dynamic props in a 3D skybox, the problem can be very apparent for something that is very large. Is there a workaround? --Mungo 17:34, 24 Jul 2005 (PDT)

I think turning props invisible is on purpose to keep cubemap generation consistent. What if a dynamic prop got in the way and ruined the cubemap? Anyway, try building important things out of brushes for the 3D skybox - the performance hit shouldn't be that bad. Or maybe build some rough brushes in the skybox, then tie the brushes to a func_brush and set them to initially disabled. When you run the map, use the console to enable the func_brush and then generate the cubemaps (assuming that entity i/o works with skybox brushes)And voila, no one will ever suspect! ;) --Campaignjunkie 00:58, 25 Jul 2005 (PDT)

HDR cubemaps for non HDR mappers?

Is there a way to build the cubemaps for HDR when the mapper can't run HDR? I guess there's always the solution of having someone do it for you....but we'll all agree it's not convenient.--Furyo 09:00, 26 Nov 2005 (PST)

No, unfortunately that is not possible, as the scene actually needs to be rendered to generate the proper cubemaps. --JeffLane 14:01, 23 Nov 2005 (PST)

Maybe someone will provide a service for that, similar to the remote compile system. —Zevensoft ^(talk) 17:23, 23 Nov 2005 (PST)

There are actually a few proposals I've seen online. Wisemx of AKG actually said he was thinking about making such a section on his site. For the moment MSN and friends will have to do...until Steam friends is fixed ;) j/k --Furyo 08:59, 26 Nov 2005 (PST)

I think a mapper really needs to be able to see what the map looks like in HDR before using such a feature - I have flashbacks of people without 3D accelerator cards blindly adding coloured lighting to their Quake 2 maps without a clue how the end result appeared... ;-) —Cargo Cult _{(info, talk)} 09:04, 26 Nov 2005 (PST)

That would be fine if people didn't EXPECT DoD:Source maps to have HDR all the time. I expect maps to not even be considered without an HDR capability. It's a standard. Plus, adding HDR doesn't change THAT much to your lighting. Colours remain the same, it's the transitions that HDR works on (mostly).--Furyo 13:21, 26 Nov 2005 (PST)

Cubemaps in 3D skybox

Is there a way to enable reflection/refraction on the water in a 3D skybox ? Because I'm making a map surrounded by the ocean, and everything in the 3D skybox (like islands or boats) are not reflected on the surface, and it looks really ugly..