Wall Worm Forums

Wow, that's pretty much what I was looking for. I had to do things a little differently because I don't use the Slate editor (I never got used to that thing), but all in all it was just what I was looking for. I basically used the plane technique for rendering out the textures for both the walls and the ground. I'm guessing that's the only way to get textures out of Max and into Source, by using Render to Texture?

Is there a way to add a player spawn in Max or do I have to add one in Hammer? From what I understand, it has to be an "info_player_teamspawn" type because SFM is currently based on TF2 and I guess that's the type of spawn entities it uses? (I'm not completely sure on these things as you can probably tell.) I'm merely asking out of a curiosity since SFM has a function to spawn a player where the SFM camera is.

Also note that I'm not trying to make a map for people to actually play in, I'm basically just wanting to build virtual sets for animations or posters.

Thanks again for all your help! I wouldn't be making anything creative at all if it weren't for your great tools, hard work, and personal help!

Ok, I've gotten Wall Worm to successfully export a model of mine from 3DS Max to Source Filmmaker. That's the first part of the journey. Now I'd like to try to make a few small and simple set pieces. My problem is, I don't know how to go about this at all! What I'd like is a very small tutorial showing the steps needed to get an extremely simple map from Max to SFM. Consider that I have absolutely no knowledge in Hammer at all!

Here's the specs of the small room,

ground: L: 1024, W: 1024, H: -32
walls: L: 32 W: 1024 H: 512
sky: L: 1024, W: 1024, H: 32

I added world geometry tags to the ground and walls and added a skybox tag to the sky. I then added very simple textures to the ground and walls. (Don't know what to do to the sky) I then hit "Export VMF" In the VMF Exporter, I chose the "default" preset and then hit "Export VMF (and Compile if Applicable)

After that, I started up Source Filmmaker. My first message was an error "This map is missing high dynamic range (HRD) lightmaps. The SFM requires HDR lightmaps to render properly. You can create HDR lightmaps for your map with hammer or vrad. See the Source Developer Wiki for more info."

After that, it loads the map, but there's no textures on anything. Now I know that this is simply because of my ignorance. I simply don't know what to do.  So is there a simple tutorial that will explain the steps 1 by 1 to do something as simple a making a small room? Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! I'll do my best to continue to contribute my models and scenes here.   ;D

The Medic and the Scout from Team Fortress 2 meet for thier final show down on Mustafar!

3D Studio Max, Source Filmmaker, After Effects, Photoshop

So with some help by the Great Wall Worm himself... I was able to get a custom model of mine from 3D Studio Max into Source Filmmaker!  ;D

I don't have a screenshot of it, but I do have a video! So I thought I would share it here and thank Wall Worm for helping me to make this happen!

Quote from: wallworm on July 16, 2012, 11:02:56 PM
I discovered that SFM does not honor the $origin command. As such, you cannot use the Use Local Origin as Origin option in WW when exporting directly into SFM for static props. I may find a workaround in the future.

First of all, Thanks so much for helping me on this issue! I finally got a model exported directly from 3DS Max without the need for running external programs on my own.

Now you mentioned something about $origin not being supported and I'm guessing this has something to do with the central pivot point of the model being exported. Well while listening to a tutorial online about SFM, he mentions that SFM is using an older version of TF2 than the version that everyone is playing. So since it's older, certain things from the current TF2 are not completely compatable with SFM's version of TF2. That may be why $origin doesn't work in SFM. I'm also guessing this is the reason the model I've imported doesn't have a centered pivot point. (a minor nuisance)

Thanks again for your help.

Now I'm off to try and learn me some new things about SFM.  ;D

That's quite alright, I know it's a big download. I'm very grateful that you're taking the time to help me in this situation. :)

Here's the directory list:

So I've a little success in importing a model into Source Filmmaker, but without the help of Wall Worm... :(

Using a titorial I found online, I used "Item test" from the Source SDK.

This has it's limitations since it wants to "bind" the item to a certain class of characters like a Medic or Scout. I'm guessing it's because it's more for making weapons or hats and things. I just want to make standard "props".

Although this is limited, I was able to get the model into SFM. (Also with having to edit the .vmt)

I've learned that my problem was definitely revolving around directory placement.

Item Test exported to: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\<username>\team fortress 2\tf\models\player\items\demo\0x0105dd2e\<modeldir>"

I copied it to:C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\models\player\items\demo\0x0105dd2e\<modeldir>"

I did the same thing with the "materials" directory and it worked!  Pic 1

I tried to do the same thing with Wall Worm, but I got an error when exporting the materials.    Pic 2

Here's the batch file for the materials made by Wall Worm:

@echo on
cd "c:\program files (x86)\steam\steamapps\d0y3n\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin>"
vtex.exe -mkdir  -shader VertexLitGeneric -vmtparam "$model" "1" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\materials\models\player\items\demo\0x0105dd2e\ball2\ballthingie_uvw.tga"
@pause

Ok, I'm still working on this problem...  :)

I tried out a tutorial last night that had step by step instructions on how to model a "hat" and use "Item test" to get it into Team Fortress 2.  I followed it step by step and it all worked great. But when I copied the files to Source Filmmaker, it didn't show up! :(

I have a new theory now. I noticed while following the tutorial that the .vmt file has file paths set inside. I'm guessing that the other files have file paths as well. So I'm guessing that the model isn't showing up in Source Filmmaker because of this. What I'm wondering is how people make models for Garry's Mod and they work in SFM just fine.

I've also noticed that SFM is installed in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SourceFilmmaker" and not in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\<username>\SourceFilmmaker"   Is this significant in some way?

Can I possibly use the "Game Info" button to make it complie just for SFM? Is there a way to compile that makes the models work independant of directory placement?  :-\

While searching for answers I found this page: http://sourcefilmmaker.wikia.com/wiki/Fixes,_Tips,_and_Other_things

In the middle of the page there's a section called "custom maps" that mentions "Source Filmmaker cannot accept the newer version of VTFs (material files)"  Can this have something to do with my problem?

Also on the bottom of the page is a section called: "Spawning Props and other Models". I can't really follow it too much as this is all completely new to me, but maybe it will make more sense to someone here?

Ok, I've tried both restarting Max and restarting windows. Both still give me the error message when exporting a texture.

Now when I view the model using the "Model Viewer" from Source SDK, everything looks fine. The model shows up and with textures!

As a 2nd test, I started up Team Fortress 2, loaded a test map and spawned a Heavy with my test torusknot as an item.

It shows up in the game just fine. (Kinda big, but I don't yet know the scale to use.)  -  First image

So here's my current problem, the reason I wanted to make a model in the first place is to use it in Source Filmmaker.

So I copy both the model and material directories to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SourceFilmmaker\game\marty" and start up the SFM. Now when I "Create Animation Set For New Model" and find it in the model browser, it shows up on the list but not in the viewer.  -  Second image

Any idea how I can fix this?

Thanks for the reply. I checked my PMs but there's nothing there. But you were right, I didn't update to SP2.

So I did the update, but now I have a new error. Strangely enough, the model shows up in the model viewer with textures now! (Unfortunately, I have to make the 2nd LOD version of the model and figure out how to export it all over again. ;) )

Here's what the new error says.

So I've been playing with this for hours now trying to figure this out and it seems as though a batch file gets created that's supposed to make the VTM file for me... or at least that's what I'm coming away with so far. Well I tried to delete the batch file and windows won't let me because it says that it's in use by 3DS Max. So I think what's happening is it's creating the batch file, but it's not being executed... maybe? I don't know for sure, but that's the best I can come up with right now. Perhaps there's something I'm doing wrong? Here's a screenshot of where I'm at so far.

Hello. I've made a model and I've gotten it to export using the Wall Worm Tool. (Super Duper Thanks for that!!!)

I can view it in the Model Viewer, but I can seem to export the textures. I get this far but when I hit "Export Selected Textures" nothing happens.

Any help would be appreciated.  :)