Porting humanoids to Portal 2: Difference between revisions

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(Completely revamped the page by adding more info, trimming out unnecessary info, formatting it for a higher quality standard, converting it to the third person, fixing spelling mistakes and updating out of date info.)
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[[File:Portal2 2017-06-25 19-42-08.png|thumbnail|right|The G-Man in Portal 2, complete with working eyes and skeletal and flex animation. ]]
[[File:Gman in p2.png|thumb|right|The [[G-Man]] in {{portal2|4}}, complete with working eyes and flex animation. ]]
Portal 2, due to numerous and sometimes unknown bugs, will not support the direct (i.e. "drag'n'drop") porting of humans and humanoids, such as those from Half-Life 2. By porting models in this method, the humanoids will crash Hammer, HLMV, and Portal 2 itself. By following this guide, you will be able to successfully port humanoid models to Portal 2. {{todo|Do humanoids from other games, such as CS:GO, possess these same issues?}}
{{portal2|4}}, due to numerous and sometimes unknown bugs, will not support the direct (i.e. "drag'n'drop") porting of humans and humanoids, such as those from Half-Life 2.<br>
{{Note|I am not sure if all of the steps detailed underneath are required. '''Decompiling''', '''Recompiling''', and '''Porting the materials''' certainly are, as well as the shader change in '''Fixing the eyes'''.}}
By porting these models using this method, the humanoids will crash Hammer, [[HLMV]], and Portal 2 itself. By following this guide, you will be able to successfully port humanoid models to Portal 2.
 
{{Note|Some steps detailed underneath are not required but it is still a good idea to follow them. '''Decompiling''', '''Recompiling''', and '''Porting the materials''' certainly are, as well as the shader change in '''Fixing the eyes'''.}}


==Decompiling==
==Decompiling==
# Extract the .mdl, .dx90.vtx, .dx80.vtx (if applicable), and .phy files from the VPK you are porting from, and place them in a handy directory.
# Extract the .mdl, .dx90.vtx, .dx80.vtx (if applicable), and .phy files from the VPK you are porting from, and place them in a handy directory.
# Download Crowbar, if you haven't already, by following the links [http://steamcommunity.com/groups/CrowbarTool here.]
# Download [[Crowbar]], if you haven't already, download it by following the links [http://steamcommunity.com/groups/CrowbarTool here.]
# Open Crowbar's exe file (you may have to extract the archive first). Open the '''Decompile''' tab and under '''MDL file or folder''' browse to the .mdl of the model you are converting. Under '''Output Folder''', choose a nice clean directory to extract your files to. I recommend using the '''Full Path''' option, but it's completely up to you. Under '''Options''', make sure your options are the same as mine:
# Open Crowbar's .exe file (you may have to extract the archive first). Open the '''Decompile''' tab and under '''MDL file or folder''' browse to the .mdl of the model you are converting. Under {{Code|preset=2|Output Folder}}, choose a nice clean directory to extract the files to. It is recommended to use the {{Code|preset=2|Full Path}} option, but it's completely up to the user. Under {{Code|preset=2|Options}}, make sure your options are the same as shown in the image below:
[[File:Crowbar 2017-06-25 19-33-07.png|790px|frame|center|Options for Crowbar decompile.]]
[[File:Crowbar decomp settings.png|790px|frame|center|Options for Crowbar decompile as of version 0.74.]]
{{Note|"include $definebone lines" is required to be turned on or else the compiler will be unable to compile the model again.}}


==Recompiling==
==Recompiling==
# Find the QC and open it in a text editor. Look for the line beginning with "$ModelName" and remember the string in quotes. Next, scroll down to the area where every line begins with $Attachment -- it should look something like this. [[File:QC Attachments.png|center|$Attachment section]]
# Find the .QC file and open it in a text editor and look for the line beginning with [[$attachment]]. It should look something like this:<syntaxhighlight lang="c">
# If you see attachments named "EyeRightAttach" and "EyeLeftAttach", proceed to **Step 4**.  
$Attachment "eyes" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 3.23 -3.49 0.12 rotate 0 -80.1 -90
# Copy and paste the line that contains "eyes" in this section twice. Change "eyes" to "EyeRightAttach" in the first copy, and to "EyeLeftAttach" in the second. The section should now look something like this. [[File:QC Attachments 2.png|center|$Attachment section after editing]] Save and close the QC. Don't worry about what this is doing -- it will come in handy later.
$Attachment "mouth" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 0.6 -5.5 0 rotate 0 -80 -90
# Open Crowbar and switch to the **Compile** tab. Under **QC file or folder**, browse to the QC file you just opened.
$Attachment "chest" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Spine2" 5 4 0 rotate 0 90 90
# For '''Output Folder''', switch to '''Full Path''' and type in ''C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Portal 2\portal2\models\[x]'', substituting ''[x]'' for the string you noted earlier, but with the file removed. Essentially, if the QC read ''"$ModelName"   "props_test\testanim\deyork.mdl"'', you would enter ''C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Portal 2\portal2\models\props_test\testanim\'' in the '''Full Path''' dialog, correcting for your Steam install directory.
$Attachment "forward" "ValveBiped.forward" 0 0 0 rotate 0 0 0
# Under the '''Options''' section, make sure that '''Game that has the model compiler''' is set to Portal 2. Hit Compile! {{Note|Depending on your Steam library setup, you may have to run '''Set Up Games''' first.}}
$Attachment "anim_attachment_RH" "ValveBiped.Anim_Attachment_RH" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_LH" "ValveBiped.Anim_Attachment_LH" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_head" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
</syntaxhighlight>{{Note| If you see attachments named "EyeRightAttach" and "EyeLeftAttach", proceed to '''Step 4'''.}}
# Copy and paste the line that contains "eyes" in this section twice. Change "eyes" to "EyeRightAttach" in the first copy, and to "EyeLeftAttach" in the second. The section should now look something like this.<syntaxhighlight lang="c">
$Attachment "EyeRightAttach" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 3.23 -3.49 0.12 rotate 0 -80.1 -90
$Attachment "EyeLeftAttach" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 3.23 -3.49 0.12 rotate 0 -80.1 -90
$Attachment "eyes" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 3.23 -3.49 0.12 rotate 0 -80.1 -90
$Attachment "mouth" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 0.6 -5.5 0 rotate 0 -80 -90
$Attachment "chest" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Spine2" 5 4 0 rotate 0 90 90
$Attachment "forward" "ValveBiped.forward" 0 0 0 rotate 0 0 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_RH" "ValveBiped.Anim_Attachment_RH" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_LH" "ValveBiped.Anim_Attachment_LH" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_head" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
</syntaxhighlight>
#Save and close the QC.
# Open Crowbar and switch to the {{Code|preset=3|Compile}} tab. Under {{Code|preset=2|QC input}}, browse to the QC file you just opened and select it.
# For {{Code|preset=2|Output Folder}}, switch to {{Code|preset=2|Game's "models" folder}}{{Note|For this to work you have to have your games set up properly by going into the {{Code|preset=3|Set Up Games}} tab}}
# Under the '''Options''' section, make sure that {{Code|preset=2|Game that has the model compiler:}} is set to Portal 2.
# Hit Compile!


==Porting the materials==
==Porting the materials==
# After compiling your model, hit '''Use in View''' on the bottom bar of Crowbar. Then click on '''View'''. This will open HLMV straight to the model.
# After compiling your model, hit {{Code|preset=2|Use in View}} on the bottom bar of Crowbar. Then click on {{Code|preset=2|View}}. This will open [[HLMV]] straight to the model.
# If you have not already ported the materials, your model will appear black. Navigate to the '''Model''' tab and look at the '''VMTs Loaded''' section. The VMTs listed here are the ones you will need to port. Extract them from the original VPK and move them to the corresponding location in Portal 2's directory -- for example, you would place ''models/test/bestmap.vmt'' in ''C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Portal 2\portal2\materials\models\test\bestmap.vmt''. once again correcting for your Steam install directory.
# If you have not already ported the materials, your model will appear black. Navigate to the {{Code|preset=3|Model}} tab and look at the {{Code|preset=2|VMTs Loaded}} section. The [[vmt]] files listed here are the ones you will need to port alongside their corresponding [[vtf]] files. Extract them from the original VPK and move them to the corresponding location in Portal 2's directory -- for example, you would place {{Code|preset=2|\materials\models\gman\gman_sheet.vmt}} in {{Code|preset=2|C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Portal 2\portal2\materials\models\gman\gman_sheet.vmt}}. once again correcting for your Steam install directory.
# Open all of the just-ported VMTs and find the VTFs they reference, and repeat the same process for them as well.
# Hit F5 to refresh [[HLMV]]. The model should now be perfectly textured.
# Hit F5 to refresh HLMV. The model should now be perfectly textured.


==Fixing the eyes==
==Fixing the eyes==
This is the step of the porting process that has stayed elusive to most modders.  
This is the step of the porting process that has stayed elusive to most modders.  
# In HLMV, navigate to the '''Attachments''' tab. In the left column, select "eyes", and mess with the translation values so it is level with the eyes and about far away from them as in this picture on the right.
# Find the [[vmt]] files for the eyes by looking at the {{Code|preset=2|VMTs Loaded}} section of [[HLMV]] again. They will most likely be named eyeball_r.vmt and eyeball_l.vmt. Find them on-disk in your Portal 2 directory and open them.  
{{Note|This is unnecessary. Just using the same attachment coordinates as the center eyes works.}} [[File:Eyesdistance.png|thumbnail|Your model's "eyes" attachment should be in this position.]] '''Make sure that the blue arrow is pointing up, the red arrow is pointing away from the eyes, and the green arrow is perpendicular to them!''' Copy the '''QC String''' and replace the original '''$Attachment''' string for "eyes" in the QC with that.
# In the left column, select "EyeRightAttach" and mess with the '''Translation''' settings to get it centered on all axices in the model's ''right eye''. Once again, make sure the blue arrow is pointing up, the red arrow is pointing away from the eyes, and the green arrow is perpendicular to them. Copy the '''QC String''' and replace the original '''$Attachment''' string for "EyeAttachRight" in the QC with that.
# Repeat the last step. except instead selecting, modifying, and replacing "EyeLeftAttach".
# Repeat the earlier process for compiling the model and hit F5 to refresh it in HLMV.
# Find the VMTs for the eyes by looking at the '''VMTs Loaded''' section of HLMV again. They will most likely be named eyeball_r.vmt and eyeball_l.vmt. Find them on-disk in your Portal 2 directory and open them.  
# Replace the contents of the file with this:  
# Replace the contents of the file with this:  
<syntaxhighlight lang="c">
<syntaxhighlight lang="c">
Line 55: Line 67:
}
}
</syntaxhighlight>
</syntaxhighlight>
Be sure to replace ''iris_texture_goes_here'' with the name of the original texture for $iris. Hit F5 to reload the model -- you're done!
Be sure to replace {{Code|preset=2|iris_texture_goes_here}} with the name of the original texture for [[$iris]]. Hit F5 to reload the model -- you're done!
{{Note|To actually have the eyes appear correctly it is advised that you combine the pupil and eyeball texture into one single texture.}}
{{Note|To actually have the eyes appear correctly it is advised that you combine the pupil and eyeball texture into one single texture.}}


==Important Notes==
==Important Notes==
* Everything works except automatic lipsync. You'll have to do it manually. And be "manual" I mean adding your own flexes -- the phoneme system is broken entirely in Portal 2. (After all, why would they need it? The only human in the game doesnt even talk!) However, everything else works, including skeletal animation, facial expression animation, gestures, and eye tracking.
* The game '''will''' crash if the models {{Code|preset=2|male_gestures.mdl , male_postures.mdl, male_shared.mdl, male.ss/female_gestures.mdl , female_postures.mdl, female_shared.mdl, female.ss}} are not included in the map.
* Everything works except automatic lipsync. You'll have to do it manually. And by "manual" it means adding your own flexes -- the phoneme system is broken entirely in {{portal2|4}}. (After all, why would it be needed?) However, everything else works, including skeletal animation, facial expression animation, gestures, and eye tracking.
* '''''Ported human models' eyes will completely bug out UNLESS you set their prop type as "generic_actor"''''' (or maybe another NPC).  At first glance, this appears to remove some features like the "SetAnimation" input. However, generic_actor grants to access to using Faceposer to animate and choreograph scenes. It can accomplish everything that can be accomplished with prop_dynamic and more, but takes a bit more effort and work, and requires scenes/scenes.image to be distributed along with your BSP.
* '''''Ported human models' eyes will completely bug out UNLESS you set their prop type as "generic_actor"''''' (or maybe another NPC).  At first glance, this appears to remove some features like the "SetAnimation" input. However, generic_actor grants to access to using Faceposer to animate and choreograph scenes. It can accomplish everything that can be accomplished with prop_dynamic and more, but takes a bit more effort and work, and requires scenes/scenes.image to be distributed along with your BSP.
* Walking animations are very buggy. A generic actor when walking will glitch and visually teleport around. This is probably an issue with the Inverse Kinematics of these models being incompatible with the ones in use in Portal 2.
* Walking animations are very buggy. A generic actor when walking will glitch and visually teleport around. This is probably an issue with the Inverse Kinematics of these models being incompatible with the ones in use in Portal 2.

Revision as of 14:46, 26 October 2023

The G-Man in Portal 2 Portal 2, complete with working eyes and flex animation.

Portal 2 Portal 2, due to numerous and sometimes unknown bugs, will not support the direct (i.e. "drag'n'drop") porting of humans and humanoids, such as those from Half-Life 2.
By porting these models using this method, the humanoids will crash Hammer, HLMV, and Portal 2 itself. By following this guide, you will be able to successfully port humanoid models to Portal 2.

Note.pngNote:Some steps detailed underneath are not required but it is still a good idea to follow them. Decompiling, Recompiling, and Porting the materials certainly are, as well as the shader change in Fixing the eyes.

Decompiling

  1. Extract the .mdl, .dx90.vtx, .dx80.vtx (if applicable), and .phy files from the VPK you are porting from, and place them in a handy directory.
  2. Download Crowbar, if you haven't already, download it by following the links here.
  3. Open Crowbar's .exe file (you may have to extract the archive first). Open the Decompile tab and under MDL file or folder browse to the .mdl of the model you are converting. Under Output Folder, choose a nice clean directory to extract the files to. It is recommended to use the Full Path option, but it's completely up to the user. Under Options, make sure your options are the same as shown in the image below:
Options for Crowbar decompile as of version 0.74.

Recompiling

  1. Find the .QC file and open it in a text editor and look for the line beginning with $attachment. It should look something like this:
    $Attachment "eyes" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 3.23 -3.49 0.12 rotate 0 -80.1 -90
$Attachment "mouth" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 0.6 -5.5 0 rotate 0 -80 -90
$Attachment "chest" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Spine2" 5 4 0 rotate 0 90 90
$Attachment "forward" "ValveBiped.forward" 0 0 0 rotate 0 0 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_RH" "ValveBiped.Anim_Attachment_RH" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_LH" "ValveBiped.Anim_Attachment_LH" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_head" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
    Note.pngNote: If you see attachments named "EyeRightAttach" and "EyeLeftAttach", proceed to Step 4.
  2. Copy and paste the line that contains "eyes" in this section twice. Change "eyes" to "EyeRightAttach" in the first copy, and to "EyeLeftAttach" in the second. The section should now look something like this.
    $Attachment "EyeRightAttach" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 3.23 -3.49 0.12 rotate 0 -80.1 -90
$Attachment "EyeLeftAttach" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 3.23 -3.49 0.12 rotate 0 -80.1 -90
$Attachment "eyes" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 3.23 -3.49 0.12 rotate 0 -80.1 -90
$Attachment "mouth" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 0.6 -5.5 0 rotate 0 -80 -90
$Attachment "chest" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Spine2" 5 4 0 rotate 0 90 90
$Attachment "forward" "ValveBiped.forward" 0 0 0 rotate 0 0 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_RH" "ValveBiped.Anim_Attachment_RH" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_LH" "ValveBiped.Anim_Attachment_LH" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
$Attachment "anim_attachment_head" "ValveBiped.Bip01_Head1" 0 0 0 rotate -90 -90 0
  3. Save and close the QC.
  4. Open Crowbar and switch to the Compile tab. Under QC input, browse to the QC file you just opened and select it.
  5. For Output Folder, switch to Game's "models" folder
    Note.pngNote:For this to work you have to have your games set up properly by going into the Set Up Games tab
  6. Under the Options section, make sure that Game that has the model compiler: is set to Portal 2.
  7. Hit Compile!

Porting the materials

  1. After compiling your model, hit Use in View on the bottom bar of Crowbar. Then click on View. This will open HLMV straight to the model.
  2. If you have not already ported the materials, your model will appear black. Navigate to the Model tab and look at the VMTs Loaded section. The vmt files listed here are the ones you will need to port alongside their corresponding vtf files. Extract them from the original VPK and move them to the corresponding location in Portal 2's directory -- for example, you would place \materials\models\gman\gman_sheet.vmt in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Portal 2\portal2\materials\models\gman\gman_sheet.vmt. once again correcting for your Steam install directory.
  3. Hit F5 to refresh HLMV. The model should now be perfectly textured.

Fixing the eyes

This is the step of the porting process that has stayed elusive to most modders.

  1. Find the vmt files for the eyes by looking at the VMTs Loaded section of HLMV again. They will most likely be named eyeball_r.vmt and eyeball_l.vmt. Find them on-disk in your Portal 2 directory and open them.
  2. Replace the contents of the file with this:
EyeRefract
{
$Iris "iris_texture_goes_here" 
$AmbientOcclTexture "models/player/chell/gambler_eye_ao" 
$Envmap "Engine/eye-reflection-cubemap-" 
$CorneaTexture "Engine/eye-cornea" 
$EyeballRadius "0.5" 
$AmbientOcclColor "[.6 .4 .3]" 
$Dilation ".6" 
$ParallaxStrength "0.25" 
$CorneaBumpStrength ".5" 
$halflambert 1
$nodecal 1
$ambientocclusion 1

$RaytraceSphere 1 
$SphereTexkillCombo 0 

}

Be sure to replace iris_texture_goes_here with the name of the original texture for $iris. Hit F5 to reload the model -- you're done!

Note.pngNote:To actually have the eyes appear correctly it is advised that you combine the pupil and eyeball texture into one single texture.

Important Notes

  • The game will crash if the models male_gestures.mdl , male_postures.mdl, male_shared.mdl, male.ss/female_gestures.mdl , female_postures.mdl, female_shared.mdl, female.ss are not included in the map.
  • Everything works except automatic lipsync. You'll have to do it manually. And by "manual" it means adding your own flexes -- the phoneme system is broken entirely in Portal 2 Portal 2. (After all, why would it be needed?) However, everything else works, including skeletal animation, facial expression animation, gestures, and eye tracking.
  • Ported human models' eyes will completely bug out UNLESS you set their prop type as "generic_actor" (or maybe another NPC). At first glance, this appears to remove some features like the "SetAnimation" input. However, generic_actor grants to access to using Faceposer to animate and choreograph scenes. It can accomplish everything that can be accomplished with prop_dynamic and more, but takes a bit more effort and work, and requires scenes/scenes.image to be distributed along with your BSP.
  • Walking animations are very buggy. A generic actor when walking will glitch and visually teleport around. This is probably an issue with the Inverse Kinematics of these models being incompatible with the ones in use in Portal 2.
  • If you want to adjust the pupil size of a ported model, you have to manually resize the pupil on the texture in an image-editing program. This is due to the limitations of the EyeRefract shader.

See Also

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