Talk:Source VMT Editor
In the works of writing up information for the Material Editor--Kwp17pitts 23:41, 1 January 2012 (PST) If anyone has more information or a tutorial regarding this please add
- I'll be adding info when I can. Through use of the editor I've noticed that you can actually do things you can't manually editing vmt's, such as defining a 2nd bumpmap scale. I am not sure why manually editing vmts and editing them via the Editor saves the process differently, or rather the actual vmt.--MrFourVideoCards 02:32, 3 January 2012 (PST)
Material Editor Issues in Alien Swarm
Currently the material editor for Alien Swarm is largely bugged and crash prone. Trying to figure out if there is a possible solution to correct this problem.--Kwp17pitts 21:02, 17 January 2012 (PST)
Old Info
Note:This information temporarly placed here until the rest of the appropriate pages are made, if you know more about this tool and want to help out let me know--Kwp17pitts 19:09, 27 June 2012 (PDT)
What is a Material?
A material (or VMT) is a script that defines how a texture (or VTF) will render as well as sound properties. Some materials may not even load textures for certain effects depending on the types of shaders used.
Note:This tool will not edit textures, just only scripts see VTFEdit for editing textures
Interface
The top edge of the screen is the main menu. From here you can load and save VMT files, undo and redo actions, and configure your workspace.
- Properties is where the material properties are edited. Any user could set the properties to get the desired look or the material to be worked on.
Tip:You can use your scroll wheel to increase or decrease most values. There are three modifier keys to help with this:
- For increments of 0.1, use Ctrl
- For increments of 10, use ⇧ Shift
- To lock the value to 0-1, use Alt
- The engine viewport shows whatever the game is currently rendering. You can flip control to and from the game with F10, and maximise your view with F11.
- The preview window shows the current material as it may look like. You can manipulate your view by holding
to rotate, 
to zoom, and 
to move on the mouse.Note:Some shaders may not show correctly, so their effect may not be entirely accurate.
Note:The file menu is pretty self explanitory| File | Edit | Material | View |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Shortcut keys Ctrl + Z
Shortcut keys ⇧ Shift + Ctrl + Z
 Confirm:What does this do??
Shortcut keys ⇧ Shift + Ctrl + Alt + E See setting key bindings |
Resets the material parameters |
Shows the Properties Window If Checked
Shows the Preview Window If Checked
Shows the parameter flags If Checked
Shows the tool parameters on the properties window If Checked
Resets the layout to the defualt view |
To Create a new material
click file -> new , then begin editing
see Material for editing information
Selecting Surface Properties
go to $surfaceprop from the properties list and click 
the Select Surface Property window will appear
select from the list or type in the name of the surface property in the filter box
see Material surface properties for more details
Selecting Shaders
go to "shader" from the properties list and click
the Select Shader window will appear
select from the list or type in the name of the shader in the filter box
see Shaders
Ideally, you should pick one of these three.
- LightmappedGeneric -> for world texturing
- VertexLitGeneric -> for model texturing
- UnlitGeneric -> for UI texturing
After your shader type is selected, the list of avalable parameters will update according to what the shader supports.
Selecting textures
go to one of the fallowing parameters and click .
Note:Not all parameters need to be set- $basetexture Primary Texture
- $bumpcompress used on chairacter models to give wrinkle details for facial expressions (Overlaps the bumpmap texture)
- $bumpmap use normal textures only (self shadowing bumpmaps If the $ssbump bool is set to 1)
- $bumpstretch
- $compress used on chairacter models to give wrinkle details for facial expressions (Overlaps the base texture)
- $emissiveblendbasetexture
- $emissiveblendtexture
- $emissiveblendflowtexture
- $envmap "env_cubemap" should be set for this if used
- $envmapmask
- $fleshbordertexture1d
- $fleshcubetexture
- $fleshinteriortexture
- $fleshinteriornoisetexture
- $fleshnormaltexture
- $fleshsubsurfacetexture
the select VTF window will appear
select the desired texture to be used in the material
Type Indications
- _normal = bumpmap
- _ssbump = self shadowing bumpmap
- _ao = ambient occlusion map
regular texture if none
Selecting Colors
go to one of the fallowing parameters and click 
Note:Not all parameters need to be setthe Select Color window will appear
adjust the color swatch, or type in the values to get the desired color
the color box will change to the selected color
Shader Parameters
see List of Shader Parameters for more details
Data types
- bool "short for boolean" in which 0 = false and 1 = true
- color <color255 + int> (ex. 97 11 255 255)
- float "floating point" (ex. 5)
- int "short for integer" (ex. 56)
- matrix "written in binary" (ex. 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 )
- string "file path" (ex. brick\brickfloor001a.vtf) "name" (ex. VertexLitGeneric)
- vector2 "two configureable values" (ex. 23 45)
- vector3 "three configureable values" (ex. 23 45 37)
- vector4 "four configureable values" (ex. 23 45 37 89)
Loading a material
Note:Complex material designs can and may crash the editor when loading
Warning:Do not load material vmts outside of the loaded mod or game directory, the associated vtf files may not load as a resultclick file -> Open..., open the file located only in the mod or game directory currently running
Saving a material
Note:Somtimes settings may not stick, this could be due to having invalid configurationsWarning:Do not save material vmts outside of the loaded mod or game directory, the material will not load as a resultclick file -> save as..., give the material a name, and save only in the mod or game directory currently running