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Version 1.772 released on 3-30-2012

◦ Added VMF Export Presets. You can save presets for re-using in the VMF Exporter.
◦ VMF export options are now saved in the file.
◦ Fixed bug in Proxy orientation in the VMF Exporter that was introduced in the 1.771. I'm sorry this bug made it to the last version... I was pressed for time and did not get to test as much as I should have... and was unable to work on WW over the last couple of weeks (my sister was in town and we've been spending a lot of time with my Dad who was recently diagnosed with cancer).

The current VMF Exporter has a problem with the rotation of the proxies on the Z index. I'm addressing this now.

I posted the first Wall Worm blog today. I also sent it out as a newsletter to all forum members. If you didn't get it... you may need to check your junk folder (I wouldn't have called it junk... but I am, of course, biased :) )

I plan on posting a new update that way once or twice a month.

Version 1.771 released on 3-16-2012

◦ Updated the default Z Rotation of models. This has a siginificant impact on models you've already compiled. The previous "Flip" rotation is now the default... and the old default rotation is now the Flip. This change means that models compiles straight from 3ds will match the rotation of models in Source.
◦ Updated the QC code for the $origin to better accomodate values that caused models with prop_data to be offset in the Z axis. You should now be able to export prop_physics without having to adjust the model in Hammer in the z-axis.
◦ Updated the prop type select menu in Anvil to allow the selection of "prop_physics". It was broken in previous versions.
◦ Added Detail tags in Anvil. You can now tag geometry as func_detail geometry.
◦ Added a Brush and Sky button to tag geometry as both brush geometry and a skybox object.

Regarding the z rotation. Thanks to K@rt for pointing this out. I've missed it for so long since I compensated for it in the VMF exporter by adding a rotation in the prop angles output. But this fix does mean that you will need to re-export any models in scenes you will export with the latest VMF exporter.

THere is a bug with the Quick Hull and the Hull Helper's function to Create Hulls from Selection. The hulls are offset from the mesh in many circumstances. I'm looking onto a fix.

New video on how to use 3ds Max and various Wall Worm tools to create your collision hull.

Version 1.77 released on 3-6-2012

◦ Fixed a bug that caused a MAXScript error if you tried to process a collision hull when an object was in sub-object mode.

◦ Fixed an error if you tried to select a WWMT helper as the model's name or objects started with numbers.

New docs on the VMF Exporter.

I loaded two updates today. The second fixes a bug that I found after loading the first.

I am going to start posting most dev news on the dev site blog area... and I will start sending out newsletters via that site soon. If you want to start getting news releases via email, enter your email here. I'll likely send one or two emails a month.


Version 1.769 released on 3-3-2012

◦ Fixed texture exporting bug in VMF Exporter. Now the VMF Exporter version number is 1.22.

Version 1.768 released on 3-3-2012

◦ Updated VMF Exporter to version 1.21. Now exports correct UVW (texture translation, scale and rotation on brush geometry).
◦ Added Prop Type controller in Anvil. You can change the prop-type of a WWMT helper in Anvil with this... and if you set a prop to prop_dynamic or prop_physics, you can then manipulate the I/O of those entities in the Entity Outputs UI.
◦ Updated default displacement material to accomodate updated material handling functions. Because of this update, displacements with materials created in older versions of Anvil (and Anvil's predecessor the Wall Worm Displacement Tool) must get new materials applied to properly export the UVW data.
◦ Updated the Material Library Generator to accomodate newer implementations of Materials. Materials generated with older versions will not properly export with the VMF exporter. You should update your material libraries with the updated generator.
◦ Updated the VTF exporter to make Refract Shader materials if there is a bitmap in the Refract slot of your standard material or the refract slot has a color_correction texture applied. When used, the Bump/Normal map becomes the $normalbump of the refract shader.
◦ Added Image File List (.IFL) bitmap support to the VTF Exporter. The images in the IFL must be named with the correct format (so if the IFL file is named myimage.ifl then all the images in the IFL must be named like myimage001.tga, etc and must start at 0). Note that the WWMT SMD Exporter is currently the only exporter that will translate this into your model at the moment. The upcoming version of Wunderboy's SMD Exporter will probably also support this. This feature allows you to add animated textures to your models. NOTE: you must manually add the correct Proxy block to your VMT for this texture to make the animation work; also, the VTF/VMT will be named with a trailing "0" in your materialsrc and mod materials folder.
◦ Added a compression setting for exporting VTFs. You can now use the following settings : default, DXT5 and nocompress.
◦ Fixed a VTF export UI bug that was listing a WWMT Auto Material for models and adding a texturegroup block to QC files even when there were not multiple skins assigned.
◦ Moved the location of install.ms into the root WallWorm.com folder.

I just wanted to share some of the new things coming to WWMT this week (probably Friday or Saturday).

First and foremost, the VMF Exporter will finally export proper UVW texture coordinates on brush geometry.

Next are new material exporting features: Animated VTF Exporting (when you've rendered TGA sequences and put them into an IFL file); compression controls (default, dxt5 and nocompress); and Refract shader exporting for models with a Refract bitmap.

I'm now testing all these... so if all goes smooth the efficiency of building source assets will get even better this weekend.

For anyone who has been testing the VMF Exporter inside Wall Worm, you have noticed the obvious problem that the texture rotation, scale and translation has not been correct. Well that is soon to end.

Several people have been trying to solve this dilemma for weeks. Among them have been Gulli "K@rt" Thoday, Andrew Penry and myslef--along with many people in various forums like on Steam and CG Society.

I can finally say, Thank Goodness for the Math Gods. Actually, I'm simply regurgitating an exultation from Mr. "AndraX2000" Penry. Andrew finally cracked the formula. So by this weekend, Anvil will finally be able to export properly UV'd brush geometry (and hopefully displacements).

For my part... I did learn more about the intricacies of vectors, matrices and related math functions--but I am glad that I'm surrounded by people like Andrew and Gulli who picked up the challenge because math is simply not my strong suit. Had it been left to just me... I'm confident the problem would have gone unsolved because (after looking at the solution) it would have been too much trial and error for me to solve--and I probably would have given up because it would have taken too much time.

So everyone in the Wall Worm nation can thank Andrew with a cheer (or a hug, if you're into that kind of display...). I'll settle on splitting a 6-pack of some dark brew :)

There will be some other goodies in the next update but I'll leave those for the release. Keep your eyes out... I'll release this all sometime over the next week.

The default setting for $staticprop being ON was not being saved in new WWMT helpers. Thanks to Gulli for finding this bug. It's fixed in 1.7671.

A new version of Wall Worm is out. Most of the updates are for Sky Writer, but there are also some Anvil and WWMT updates too. See the changelog.

The VMF Exporter 1.17 and older had a bug that would cause scenes with non geometry in layers labeled Convexity Floors and Convexity Walls to get duplicated each time the scene was exported to VMF. That bug was fixed in WWMT 1.766. After that update, the VMF Export dialog should read Version 1.18 or later.

It is important to get that fix to avoid any possible explosion of file size. (In one set of tests, I had successfully made 32,000 extra nodes in the scene before I noticed the dilemma because the exporter started to slow dramatically and Max itself was starting to crawl).

The VMF Exporter is not exporting Convexity Walls or any grouped geometry. I have already fixed this in the upcoming release.

At the moment, only point entities export. There is a bug when trying to export Convexity Brush Entities. I have fixed it but can't load this update as the VMF Exporter is half dismantled at the moment while I'm working on the UVW of brushes.

I've got all the Entity Inputs/Outputs done. The UI needs cleaned but I've now been successfully creating entity I/O straight in Max now.

You may notice that the Docs have moved to a new location. I had to do this to make it easier to maintain. When I first loaded the WW docs, I never really expected the toolset to grow to the point it did... so I started with a small static site. But that isn't convenient for updating.

So now all docs are up at http://dev.wallworm.com/ . I have already added a few new pages and will start documenting some of the aspects, tools and functions in WW that are either unknown or mysterious. Feel free to ask for any specific doc you feel is needed. After over a year of answering questions, I think I have a good idea of the things I need to explain more but am happy for suggestions. I won't promise any timeline... but I'm sure I'll start getting better at updating things now.

I loaded an update today to fix some errors in the Process CM and Hull Helper functions.