Vertex tool issue

[KubeDawg]

So I've tried numerous attempts to create something nice looking for my map but hammer just doesn't seem to like me.

Here's an example of what I'm trying to create:

Firstly, I make a cylinder with 8 sides and cut it in half. To make things easier for the vertex tool, I cut the cylinder into 4 wedges:


After that, I break out the vertex tool and start making changes to the top portion of the triangles:

which then ends up looking like this:


But as soon as I save my map, exit hammer and open it up again, this happens:


Notice in the 3rd screenshot in the top view where they connect, the top and bottom parts of the wedge are 3 units apart diagonally. If you look at the distance between the two middle wedges, the distance is 4 units horizontally. This, to me, is what is causing the problem because they are not the same length and hammer is auto correcting what geometry it can handle. So when I open hammer after saving, it's corrected the angle of each wedge so the top and bottom parts of the wedges share the same angle. I'm using the smallest grid size so it's not possible for me to try to match up the angles more perfectly.

Even if I match up those angles again so they look like I want them to, restarting hammer only shows the same issue again.

Is there any way I can get around this problem or am I sol?

[Jay Mofo Mills]

Kube see if this works for you,

Create your half cylinder, dont carve it up. With the vertex tool active and your cylinder selected, in one of the side/front views highlight all the upper vertices and then press alt+E, you can raise or lower the scale of each vertex. maybe try clipping after?

[KubeDawg]

I tried without carving the first, 2nd and 3rd times heh and figured making them into a less complex shape would help making the vertices. Regarding the clipping after, not a bad idea. I will try this and see if it works out.

[KubeDawg]

This worked like a charm! Thanks Jay. Only problem I have now is they won't line up to the grid like I want them to so I'm going to have to Alt click while clipping to get an exact 180 degree clip so it won't mess up the angles of the remaining half.

That is unless there's a way I can use the center point of the pillar to snap to the grid and that would make things a lot easier.

[FDA_Approved]

Seems like you're making things way to complicated for yourself and hammer.

To make things easier for the vertex tool, I cut the cylinder into 4 wedges

You don't need to hold the vertex tools hand. Try recreating cylinder, cut it in half but this time don't cut it up into chunks, and just edit it's vertices.

[KubeDawg]

I did that the first few times and had worse results which was why I tried making simpler shapes for the vertex tool to try to handle afterwards.

[homie in reboks']

What are you making that requires such precise geometry? Will anything be lost if you make it simpler?

[KubeDawg]

Oh believe me, I'm trying to find the most simple way to achieve what I want, but unfortunately it seems to still be somewhat time consuming to do.

Anyway, here's the finished product of the pillars I wanted. They don't look exactly like what I had envisioned in my head, but they'll do for now:




This map is maybe 20% complete so do not judge my ugly textures. :P

[ddm999]

lol kube sucks look at his ugly textures

#whoneedscurvedblockswhenyouhavethismuchswag

why have you put lights in when it's only 20% done?

waste of time if you ask me

need to spend 5 more seconds every time you boot the map for it to run lighting

5 seconds adds up

in 5 seconds i could

uh

eat a whole cake

jk

[Headz]

He is using energy saving light bulbs, so its ok.

I like the pillars, would like them even more if you got one and turned it upside down and joined it to another, so it goes thick/thin/thick.

As for the texture alignments, select a texture on your wall so it is highlighted and hold down left alt and then right mouse click on the adjacent brush, then select that texture and do the same.

Good luck with your first map, since it is your first map you will be proud of it, it's your little baby.

[KubeDawg]

Not a bad idea. I'm sure I'll have some ways to get to and from each floor so it might be feasible.

I actually made them into corner pieces so they'd stick to the grid better, so I could put them in the corners inside the base if I wanted to.

Any idea where I can get some decent textures and how I install them so they can be used in hammer? I'm looking for some black/obsidian colored textures for these pillars.

[NeonLight]

fps_banana will be your best bet for textures. Just drop whatever in a folder in your materials folder and hammer will pick up on it the next time it loads (I actually don't remember if you have to restart it or not)

[Jay Mofo Mills]

You could probably use displacements to do what you want easier as well. I included a couple links that have some cool shit on them.
One of those lathing tuts talks about when hammer invalidates one of your faces. His fix would prob work for your original problem.
More than one way to skin a cat.....
Lathing 1
http://www.interlopers.net/tutorials/17781
Lathing 2
http://www.interlopers.net/tutorials/20874
curved roads
http://www.interlopers.net/tutorials/31415