Wall Worm Forums

I see the problems.

Again, in the Settings your Default Model Path should be just to the modelsrc folder... so in your screen it should say:

C:\Program Files (x86)Steam\steamapps\mad21sun\sourcesdk_content\cstrike\modelsrc

and your Default Material Path should be:

C:\Program Files (x86)Steam\steamapps\mad21sun\sourcesdk_content\cstrike\materialsrc

Those values, once set, do not change between sessions unless you change the mod you are working on.

In the Model & Basic QC rollout, you will enter the name of the folder where your model is going to go starting from the current model folder of your mod. In the example, if you have a folder called "thisProject" inside of your modelsrc folder where the model will go, then you will just enter thisProject (as you did in the screen shot). You will also need to make sure that there is a folder called thisProject inside the model folder of your mod (in Counter-Strike Source models as opposed to the SDK modelsrc).

There are some updates to Sky Writer. The tool is now at Version 0.12 which has the following changes:

Version 0.12 (2011-03-10)
•Added Gamma Spinner to control output gamma of rendered bitmaps
•Added some error checking to alleviate a few uncaught exceptions
•No longer opens the material editor upon render
•Fixed bug when picking existing Sky Writer Helper that had a resolution of 4096 (though in reality... that resolution is WAY OVERKILL in current engine)

The gamma change is important. The gamma spinner defaults to 1.0 with new sky helpers unless the Exposure Control is set to mr Photographic Exposure Control... in which case it defaults to 2.2.

This topic has been moved to WWMT Questions so that more people can benefit from it.

http://www.wallworm.net/index.php?topic=47.0

Good question. I guess this is something that I should have documented more!

In WWMT Settings you choose the SDK Model_Src path... and the model has it's own sub-path to add to that with it's Model Path. When you export... WWMT makes the QC and SMDs in this location along with a BATCH FILE. That batch file is what will run the Source Model Compiler. If there is no BATCH File... then WWMT isn't fully configured: Go into the WWMT settings and click the Bin Dir button and browse to the Bin folder.

Example Bin Dir Paths:
Orangebox:

QuoteC:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\YOURSTEAMUSERNAME\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin

Left 4 Dead:

QuoteC:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead\bin

Now if your Bin Dir is set, when you compile the model there should be the Batch File. That file will automatically run at the end when you click the Run Export if you also have Compile Model on Export checked in the WWMT settings. If not, you can always browse to the batch file and run it.

NOTE! If you are making models for Left 4 Dead, then you also need to set the Game Info Dir which was added to the 0.999 Settings.

When you do this, the compiler will run. Make sure that Steam is running during this process or it will fail.

The compiler will not make MDL files into this directory. Instead, it compiles them into the actual game model folders.

Using CS:S as an Example.

If your QC, SMD and Batches get exported to this path:

QuoteC:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\YOURSTEAMUSERNAME\sourcesdk_content\cstrike\modelsrc\myProjects\thisProject

Then the actual MDL file will (AFTER the Compiler runs in the batch file) be located at:

QuoteC:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\YOURSTEAMUSERNAME\counter-strike source\cstrike\models\myProjects\thisProject

Hopefully that makes sense. Also, I'm going to move this thread up into the WWMT section shortly so others will find it as well.

The next tool by Wall Worm is now here: Sky Writer! You can now send HDR skies into Source quickly...

Please share feedback on this tool as I'm sure it may have quirks I haven't noticed yet.

I've released version 0.999. The main change is that the tool now has a new setting for the Game Info Directory in the settings floater. This is essential to be able to compile models and textures for Left 4 Dead. It isn't required for games like CS:S, HL2.

Actually... I've got the update done now. Version 0.999.

To get L4D to work... there is a new button in the Settings Floater you need to set. You'll need to set the Game Info Dir which is explained here.

I have the solutions. I will be releasing an update sometime today (maybe not until this evening EST).

Essentially, you can fix this by opening the batch files that WWMT creates for your models and textures and adding this info:

-game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead\left4dead"

So for the model add it after studiomdl.exe:

studiomdl.exe -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead\left4dead" ...

and for the materials add it after vtex.exe:

vtex.exe -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\left 4 dead\left4dead"  ...

Of course, the path may be different if you installed it somewhere else.

If it doesn't make sense... you can just wait for my update.

I am looking into the problem... but unforuntately... the error message that pops up when I try to compile anything for L4D isn't helpful... it says it can't find my gameinfo.txt but that file exists... and the link it gives in the error ( http://www.valve-erc.com/srcsdk/faq.html#NoGameDir ) is not actually valid anymore.

I really don't know what is differnet for compiling models and textures for L4D.

I will continue to look into it. In the meantime, you may want to look over at Polycount or Interlopers. If you happen to find something before I post here, please do share here.

It's now at the point where it can compile HDR skies right out of 3ds into Source... but I'm still working on the controls.

Honestly, I am not sure as I have not yet used L4D. I am installing it now to see if there are any differences that I should document in the setup.

I have officially started on Sky Writer now. I'll have a testable version ready next week.

I've been remaking the most popular CS 1.6 map I made (which, embarassingly, had a misspelled name) called de_sacrelige. This update for Source is properly named de_sacrilege.

Here are a couple screen shots of it in Max. Yes, I'm building the level inside 3ds Max instead of Hammer, thanks to an awesome plugin called Convexity (click the Maple 3d icon at the bottom of every page to learn more about it).



Making this map is what led me to start building the Wall Worm Model Tools. I had previously only finished one Source map (de_tension) that was really just a learning experience for getting used to Source tools. Tension was the first map of mine to have models... and making the models was so tedious that when I got ready to do them for Sacilege... I lost all enthusiasm. As there are dozens of models on my list for this map... it sat and collected dust on my hard-drive for months.

Finally I decided to learn some MAXScript... and voila!

Anyway, it's still not done because everytime I start working on a new model, I now keep saying that I should add this or that new feature to WWMT to make it easier.

It's also because of this that I've started a Sky Texture Exporter called Sky Writer. I should have a public beta of that in a week...

For those interested in Convexity... here is a short review I wrote about it a few months back.

[EDIT] Fast forward to 2014 and Convexity is dead. But if reading for the first time, fret not. Wall Worm now exports VMFs all by itself :)

Did you get it to work now?

Version 0.998 is now out. The feature list follows:

•Fixed Pick LOD1 Bug that would pop up when picking a model and you had previously set the Lod List Length in the Settings floater to 0.
•Fixed LOD List Length spinner range so it does not include 0.
•Added new buttons to the Model & Basic QC rollout to open the model and material output folders in explorer.
•Updated the Settings floater to not let you pick an SMD Exporter that isn't currently installed.
•Added new button to Settings floater to add a Wall Worm item to the Max Main Menu with a sub-menu for Wall Worm Model Tools.
•Added support for Wunderboy's upcoming SMD Exporter update.
•Created a new install script that has users first choose settings for WWMT before running.

Note that this version now supports Wunderboy's new SMD Exporter... but that exporter is not yet available. I will keep you posted when it's released.