I hate hammer...

[Snipe]

Ok, so I have gotten pretty good at using hammer. But the one that that pisses me off soooooo bad about the damn thing, is that it ALWAYS screws up my stuff. only stuff that is very detailed, with small brushes. But it never fucking fails... every time.



the 2 right windows, the multimple diagonal lines were originally together. thats where 2 brushes are supposed to meet up. well, not now hammer. thanks a lot you fuckin buggy program. it does this EVERY time i save, exit, and reopen the map later on. and if you look at the left upper window, you can see ever so slightly between the brushes to the nodraw texture behind.

my god someone please help me before i give up on this shit and never map again...

[squeek.]

Unfortunately, as far as I am aware, this is just what happens with intricate brush geometry. Hammer has weird rules about the shape of geometry and it seems to enforces them sporadically. I'm not sure there's a way around it except by using displacements or models instead.

[R00Kie]

This has only happened to me when I use the vertex tool. I usually use the clipping tool when I can.

[Snipe]

yay... now i have to go back and fix all the crap. I am assuming when it screws up the brushes like that it will cause leaks? plus i am a perfectionist.... cant leave it like that even if you cant tell unless you are up close.

guess i better keep practicing using displacements... cause it looks like thats what i am going to switch to using.

Thanks guys.

[Snipe]

ok, so after some research on this BS, I have found that it is something called decimal-loss (whatever that means). does anyone know if this will indeed cause leaks? And is there anyway possible to avoid this problem? like tips or anything? i know using displacements would fix the problem, but is there any other way to keep the brushes? does size of the brush have something to do with it? angle of corners? number of sides? there has to be a reason why hammer screws it up.

oh, and i tried using manual vertex manipulation, AND the clipping tool to make the exact same shape brush. and both of them were messed up when i reopened the map.

ugh. i need to learn displacements. i know the basics on how to create one and add noise (or whatever its called) but as far as anything else goes, im a noob. anyone got a tutorial on more than just the basics of using displacements?

[R00Kie]

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/...Displacement01
https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Displacements

A basic overview of displacements.

I believe those tiny gaps do cause leaks. From my experience it happens from small details at weird angles. I'm not for sure, but I hope it helps.

[Crazycarl]

Always put your vertices on the grid (1-unit increments) if you can help it. That eliminates the chance of rounding errors.

Tips: if you use the clip tool to make sloped edges, try and clip at a regular slope, like 2:1 or 3:2, that way it's easier to make a new edge that's on-grid. I once made a tunnel that was some crazy slope like 11:24, but I was able to add geometry on the same slope that all lined up.

Once you have angled an edge, don't resize that brush or the angle will be thrown off. Use the vertex tool to resize the brush instead. If you know what you're doing, you can use the vertex tool all the time and never have problems.

Never use the carve function, or the hollow function.

If Hammer changes a brush on load, it's because you've made an invalid brush. Any face on a brush has to have all vertices lying on the same plane. Imagine a table that has one short leg. The table wobbles, so you can't really tell when it's level. In the same way, when you make an invalid solid, Hammer has to guess what you really want it to look like. Press Alt-P in Hammer to search for problems like invalid solids. Don't "fix" the errors; look at each one to see what's wrong with it, and how you can avoid the problem in the future.

[Snipe]

Originally Posted by Crazycarl

Always put your vertices on the grid (1-unit increments) if you can help it. That eliminates the chance of rounding errors.

Tips: if you use the clip tool to make sloped edges, try and clip at a regular slope, like 2:1 or 3:2, that way it's easier to make a new edge that's on-grid. I once made a tunnel that was some crazy slope like 11:24, but I was able to add geometry on the same slope that all lined up.

Once you have angled an edge, don't resize that brush or the angle will be thrown off. Use the vertex tool to resize the brush instead. If you know what you're doing, you can use the vertex tool all the time and never have problems.

Never use the carve function, or the hollow function.

If Hammer changes a brush on load, it's because you've made an invalid brush. Any face on a brush has to have all vertices lying on the same plane. Imagine a table that has one short leg. The table wobbles, so you can't really tell when it's level. In the same way, when you make an invalid solid, Hammer has to guess what you really want it to look like. Press Alt-P in Hammer to search for problems like invalid solids. Don't "fix" the errors; look at each one to see what's wrong with it, and how you can avoid the problem in the future.

thank you for the tips. but i DO put my vertecies on the grid since i brought this issue up. and still does not help. all faces of every brush is "flat" and all vertecies are on grid. im ready to give up on this.