Shifting textures on curved blocks.

[skulz87]

Hello, this is my first post and I did search google to find a correct tutorial but didnt find anything which covers stuff like complex models.

Im trying to curve this model to 90 degrees but im messing it up.





I managed to create the thing I wanted , I duplicated and curved with Vertex tool.



But I cant align texture properly because its shifting.



And I realized after saving and opening again its being messed up like this.




Can anyone give a proper tutorial?

many thanks.

[Gambini]

You can´t expect such complex offgrid structure to not get fucked up when saving and reloading the map. Try to work with the grid or use models. As for texturing it, go for all the ones on the top (the flat surfaces) Aling the first one as desired and then click on it, then alt+right-click on the next one, then click on that one and then alt+right-click on the next. Repeat the procedule until all them are textured, then do the same but with top+lower: I mean click on the one on top then alt+right-click on the one at the bottom, etc.

[wereMole]

You can divide the structure up in a arch (top part) and a clipped/select-deleted torus (lower part). I made one with two rows of curved brushes on the lower part which results in more curvature but if you adjust the number of sides of the cross-section radius without fucking the structure up then maybe it's possible to do it with just one row of torus brushes. The structure's gridpoints are alligned and the structure remains identical pre- and postsave. Perhaps you can turn it into a model to prevent it from chewing up the brushcount. Depending on the texture used you may still be faced with strange texture orientation but I choose a pretty simple concrete texture and it looks 'ok'.

Torus is a tricky tool though.

[nub]

Yeah, this kind of complex brushwork is always hard to texture properly. Such structures are better off being 3D models where you can use UV unwrapping to texture them. But I totally understand if that's not an option for you. 3D modelling is an entirely different facet of asset creation from level design, so naturally it takes a lot of time and effort to learn both.

[skulz87]

I understand better now using the Torus tool is very confusing (for me), seems like its not possible to create such complex faces using only hammer without messing it up.
Thanks for the tips!

[wereMole]

If it helps you: I always use the torus tool to create a donut and then cut it into the shape I want to by removing the obsolete parts. That's usually the only way I can create things with it as trying to directly make the desired structure with the torus usually goes wrong.

[ErikKiller]

Technically this is the point sometime would suggest Propper but I've never used it AND it's supposedly broken with 2013.

[MayheM]

You can create it, but it is only possible if you slice the angled parts into triangles. I created a kidney shaped pool once and it was near flawless, but brushwork like this is often best done as models.

As for texturing, the alt right click method is the way to go. It is single handidly the most useful thing you will learn about texturing.

[nub]

Yes, alt right-click is your best friend when aligning textures to faces. Although that may or may not be enough for this.

[skulz87]

Ive used alt right-click on those blocks already, ill try again when i finish my map, thanks again.

[SM Sith Lord]

You can minimize the stretching by rotating the brush to be at nearly the correct angle, and then adjusting it in vertex mode (as opposed to simply cutting it). Alt + Right clicking will probably work better then. Cutting up brushes or heavily altering them in vertex mode sometimes creates surfaces that I can not texture properly; very annoying.

[wereMole]

Technically this is the point sometime would suggest Propper but I've never used it AND it's supposedly broken with 2013.

Although using propper post-steampipe/SDK2013 feels like performing surgery with a blunt axe it still works. I'm still using it regularly ass its an ideal tool for beginning mappers such as myself. It requires a mod running on Source SDK 2007 that runs propper from its old directory and then putting the textures the models need in the mods directory. You can create the brush-based model, save it in an empty map and then open/run with the propper mod.

But this workaround requires save/load and thus doesn't help the moved vertices issue nor does it do anything with improper alligned textures - how will it help the OP if I may ask?