Adding Custom Textures

[acsam12304]

Ok I got the VTF of my texture. so how do i convert it so i can use it in Hammer i open it in note pad and it came upw ith this

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what do i need to do?

[Megadude]

So open a VMT file in notepad, you will see something like:

"LightmappedGeneric"
{
"$baseTexture" "yourfolder/yourtexturename"
}

Not VTF. Re-read step 4 of the tutorial.

[acsam12304]

there is not VMT fiel next to my textrue only a empty text doc and a VTF file in my materials folder

[L-DOE]

im doing evrything that he says but its not working :< ...and i have the vtex.exe in D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\sugativa00\sourcesdk\bin\ep1\bin
and here..D:\Games\Steam\steamapps\sugativa00\sourcesdk\bin\orangebox\bin


unable to find game info.tx

[Rakkerzero]

3. Now comes the hard part although it's not that hard. Go to Valve\Steam\SteamApps\username\sourcesdk\bin\ and you'll find in there a exe called VTEX. Now right click on it and select the "create shortcut" option. This will create a shortcut to that program in which we can add several command options, so open the shortcut properties and in the end of the target field add the following commands:

-mkdir -shader LightmappedGeneric C:\Valve\Steam\SteamApps\username\sourcesdk_content\cstrike\materialsrc\texturedir\*.tga

I have i little problem on this one.

My folderpath of Steam is:
H:\Valve Steam\SteamApps\username\.... etc..

So when i create that command in the shortcut it will be:
-mkdir -shader LightmappedGeneric
H:\Valve Steam\SteamApps\username\sourcesdk_content\cstrike\materialsrc\texturedir\*.tga

But the VTEX doesn't like the space-character in the "Valve Steam"-foldername. How can i use a space-character in VTEX??

I tried to add quotes ( "" ) on the foldername and the whole filepath, but that doesn't work.

[vcool]

Eh, I know that problem. I named my textre with a space and it was all FUBAR.

First of all, I suggest using vtfEdit. Link: http://nemesis.thewavelength.net/index.php?c=149

It is a very useful application, that has a fullblown GUI. If you hate command prompts, this is your choice. Just Import a texture, and then "Save as..." a VTF.

It is very useful if you use your textures in Episode 1 games (Hl2, Hl2:Ep1, CSS, DoDS, HL2DM, sin episodes, and most mods). However if you want to use the new VTF format, which is only used in Orange Box games, you have to use VTEX. (Note that compiling a texture with Orange Box VTEX only works for OB games - they will appear as black'n'hotpink checkers in Episode 1 games.)

How to use VTEX without rammaging with directories:

Find the directory required for the game. If I would be needing my texture in HL2, it would be the following:
steamapps/account/sourcesdk_content\hl2\materialsrc

If it'd be CSS, it would be:
steamapps/account/sourcesdk_content\cstrike\materialsrc

Get your TGAs inside the materialsrc folder of the game you need. Open another Explorer window, and navigate to steamapps/account/sourcesdk/bin/ep1/bin and find VTEX there. NOTE: if you want to use Orange Box VTEX, then you must go to: steamapps/account/sourcesdk/bin/orangebox/bin

With 2 Explorer windows opened, select all your TGAs you want to compile, and just drag them over VTEX. A command prompt will appear, showing all info you need. Now the VTFs are in your steamapps\account\game folder (eg "half life 2"\game subfolder (eg "hl2")\materials folder.

After you have those VTFs there, you need to write a VMT file, but that's a different story. If you need help with that too, just post it.