Building Respawn Rooms

Let's learn how to view works created by other users on hammer.

Using BSPSource

BSPSource is a BSP decompiler, it allows to edit maps in Hammer whitout having the original VMF.

Note:Some maps may have decompiling protection, which makes the file not editable in Hammer whitout acquiring the original VMF.

Download the file here. Make sure it matches your operating system, unzip it, then run bspsrc.bat.

Before decompiling, set the BSP format to " Team Fortress 2". This will make opening VMF files with Hammer less error prone. Then You can input a BSP file via the 'add' button and convert it to a VMF file via the 'decompile' button.

Confirm:Setting the BSP Format to "Automatic" might work just as fine as setting it to BSP.

Important:Decompiled maps may not run properly in Hammer++. In simple terms, the standard Hammer is more forgiving, while Hammer++ is stricter and more precise. Hammer tends to ignore certain data losses that occur during the BSP-to-VMF conversion process, but Hammer++ does not. files that open just fine in Hammer might produce errors or fail to open in Hammer++. If Hammer++ refuses to open a file, try using a different converter instead of BSPSource, or open the file in Hammer first, save it, and then try opening it in Hammer++.

Open In Hammer editor

Warning:If there are non- ASCII characters (e.g. Korean, Japanese, Chinese) in the map file path, Hammer++ will crash. If you have already opened a file in a path that contains non-ASCII characters, you can check the broken font by checking recentfile in bin/x64/hammerplusplus/hammerplusplus_settings.ini. Delete those elements and run Hammer++ again.

In this article, we’re going to get some idea the spawn room and regenerating supply. Let's start by opening the VMF file in Hammer.

Visgroups

There are so many elements that it's hard to figure out.

The Visgroup feature allows mappers to inspect and edit maps more easily by hiding unnecessary elements.

It lets you group objects together and toggle their visibility in the viewport for better control and organization.

For analyzing a map, it’s recommended to enable only Point Entities, Brush Entities, and Game Logic in the VisGroup panel.

Visgrouped screen.

'show' button in visgroup panel toggles the effect of temporarily checking all elements. Pressing 'show' again will cause only the originally checked elements to appear in the viewport.

Use Visgroups to help identify and isolate objects in a complex map.

Note:To learn how to use Visgroups in detail, refer to Grouping and VisGrouping.

Regenerate Supply

Note:There are many interesting topics to explore — like the doors that separate each round, Control Points, and materials with func properties — but for now, we’ll focus on the essential knowledge needed for general-purpose mapping.

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Team Fortress 2 Maping

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Building Respawn Room →