PackBSP: Easy custom content packing [Updated Mar 25th 2011]

[Terr]

PackBsp is a Java application designed to make it incredibly easy to pack your custom content into your .BSP map, for all games supported by the Source SDK. (Currently it has issues with SourceSDK games that have no GCF/NCF/VPK files, since it can't determine which files are or are not 'custom'. This will be addressed eventually.)

Updated: Mar 25th 2011, latest version 2.0.5
Click to visit homepage

Features:

• Directly reads the BSP file to determine the assets it depends upon
• Examines the same information Steam and the Source engine does in order to determine what directories and archives (e.g. GCF files) are used by a game.
• Examines the game archives (ex. GCF) when finding assets, so it knows when an asset is truly "missing".
• Reads materials and discovers required materials/textures
• Reads models and discovers required materials for skins. For static models, only the skins actually in-use are packed.
• Reads soundscapes and includes custom .wav files
• Reads particle manifests and includes .pcf files
• Includes detail sprites
• Includes custom skyboxes
• Handles custom attributes from TF2 control points and flags (more mods later)
• Finds miscellaneous requirements, like from move_rope and func_smokevolume, among others
• Includes ambient_generic sounds (WAV)
• ... and other minutia and special cases.

"How do I use it?"... Please read the readme.html file, since details may change with each release.

[Absurdistof]

Downloaded-- will try.

[Terr]

TODO items:

• Detect and ignore cubemaps
• Warn when someone has a file both on-disk and in-gcf with the same relative path
• Support SourceMods somehow, probably with an option for a passed-in exclusion list
• Option for a "must include" list as well, so mappers can easily handle edge-cases.
• Get up to speed with the new TF2 entity dependencies (like custom flag models)
• Figure out how to best manage map entity checks to support multiple mods' features beyond TF2s
• Clearer command-line output.
• GUI interface
• Installer

Edited: Completed TODO items

• "Try to crack the MDL format and include VMTs for them" -> Works! Reads VMT paths right out of the MDL!

[Terr]

Updated.

• Now has a mini-gui.
• MDL dependencies work, although it can't "know" if an MDL has had 100% of its requirements met. Since it doesn't yet hold of big flashing "OMFG SOMETHING IMPORTANT IS MISSING" sign, this isn't an issue quite... yet.
• Bugfixes (see changelog)

[Spike]

Does it pack model textures and vmts?

[Terr]

As of this latest version, yessiree it does. It literally opens up each MDL file, applies some binary magic to it, and uses that to get a bunch of possible VMTs. Then it handles the VMTs (like it does for VMTs from other sources) and finds their VTF requirements. (For some reason I've started to think of everything in terms like extensions like "MDL" instead of "model". It may be a bad sign )

Note that I don't know it gets all required textures for models. It at least gets the selectable skins, but I'm not sure whether it gets everything.

Perhaps someone can make a geometrically-simple model (ex. a cube) that uses lots of different texture-related stuff and I'll add it to my unit tests

[Benzin]

my map crashes friends games if i have included my custom stuff in bsp with packbsp

[Terr]

Could you post the output?

Since PackBSP uses BSPZIP under the hood, that means any actual bsp-changing code is all Valve's (thus, as reliable as it gets.)

Is it possible one of your custom models or materials is causing it?

[Benzin]

im gonna do a new compile tonight and run packbsp.Models & stuff seems fine when working with hammer & then testrun map on my PC. My friends just say that their games ( DoD ) just shut down when they load my work-in-progress-map.

[Benzin]

I can run both maps - the one with and the one without custom poop - no game crashes.

this shows in console when i start map

Code: Select all

map dod_project_b2
Unknown command "sv_rollangle"
Unknown command "mp_facefronttime"
Unknown command "sv_unlag_fixstuck"
Network: IP 192.168.1.36, mode MP, dedicated No, ports 27015 SV / 27005 CL
SOLID_VPHYSICS static prop with no vphysics model! (models/props_foliage/grass3.mdl)
SOLID_VPHYSICS static prop with no vphysics model! (models/props_foliage/grass3.mdl)
ConVarRef sk_suitcharger doesn't point to an existing ConVar
Executing listen server config file
Error, bad server command exec dod_project_b2.cfg
��������.�Z�'��9�T&|�����
Error reading weapon data file for: weapon_ifm_steadycam
exec: couldn't exec listenserver.cfg
Invalid allies spawnpoint at (2079.1,69.0,69.0)
Invalid axis spawnpoint at (2302.0,68.0,68.0)
Invalid axis spawnpoint at (2288.6,68.0,68.0)
Invalid axis spawnpoint at (2302.0,68.0,68.0)
Invalid axis spawnpoint at (2118.0,68.0,68.0)
Invalid axis spawnpoint at (2302.6,68.0,68.0)

Day of Defeat: Source
Map: dod_project_b2
Players: 1 / 32
Build: 4013
Server Number: 1

Attemped to precache unknown particle system "blood_impact_red_01"!
Attemped to precache unknown particle system "blood_impact_green_01"!
Attemped to precache unknown particle system "blood_impact_yellow_01"!
Attemped to precache unknown particle system "slime_splash_01"!
Attemped to precache unknown particle system "slime_splash_02"!
Attemped to precache unknown particle system "slime_splash_03"!
Adding master server 72.165.61.136:27012
Adding master server 72.165.61.136:27009
No pure server whitelist. sv_pure = 0
Connection to Steam servers successful.
   VAC secure mode is activated.
#Game_connected
Error reading weapon data file for: weapon_ifm_steadycam
hit surface has no samples
hit surface has no samples
hit surface has no samples
hit surface has no samples
hit surface has no samples
hit surface has no samples
hit surface has no samples
hit surface has no samples
hit surface has no samples
Redownloading all lightmaps
*You will spawn as Rocket
*** Invalid sample rate (64000) for sound 'feldman\flyover_slow.wav'.
*** Invalid sample rate (64000) for sound 'feldman\flyover_slow.wav'.
*** Invalid sample rate (64000) for sound 'feldman\flyover_slow.wav'.
*** Invalid sample rate (64000) for sound 'feldman\flyover_slow.wav'.
Dropped |$m0k!n|-Feldman from server (Disconnect by user.)

No errors in Hammer - cant say why spawnpoints is crappy ?

unknown particle system - wtf is that ?

[Terr]

There are some things you may need to fix up on the map.

Code: Select all

SOLID_VPHYSICS static prop with no vphysics model! (models/props_foliage/grass3.mdl)


Is this some grass being manually-placed as prop_static, but not marked as non-solid?

Code: Select all

Error, bad server command exec dod_project_b2.cfg
��������.�Z�'��9�T&|�����


I have no clue what that gobbledeygook part is.

Code: Select all

Error reading weapon data file for: weapon_ifm_steadycam


This is worrisome. See this thread.

Code: Select all

Invalid allies spawnpoint at (2079.1,69.0,69.0)
[... more ...]


I think that's something you need to fix in the map. Maybe the spawn point needs more room around it? Hammer doesn't really "know" how big the players are who are spawning, the little green man is just a suggestion.

Code: Select all

Attemped to precache unknown particle system "blood_impact_red_01"!
[... more ...]


I wouldn't worry about this one, although if you are using custom particles the "!" in the particle path means to cache it across maps--custom particles in a single map don't need that.

Code: Select all

hit surface has no samples


Map issue. See thread here.

Code: Select all

*** Invalid sample rate (64000) for sound 'feldman\flyover_slow.wav'.


May want to redo your wav files in a different rate.

[Benzin]

yeah .. sound saple rate is bad

I dont even have " models/props_foliage/grass3.md "

My STEAM dir is on a disk part that almost never change, its the same trough all reinstalls of Windoze ( many yrs ) .. maybe i should do a cleanup ? and delete all in SDK dir and reinstall it ?

[Terr]

I'd repost that information into another thread.

[Benzin]

I must thank you for all info .. ive lerned a lot more ;D for ex " NODRAW on terrain surface " had 2 of those bastards and they where really hard to find .. you have made a good tool . My case seems to be more of " shit behind the keyboard "

[Gurluas]

I cant get it to work, i get this error:
Working... IOERROR
Err details: java.io.IOException: com.technofovea.packbsp.ExternalProgramException: ---------------------

The bsp it packs is the same size as the original one, are there are special procedures i need to do to make this work?
There is no installation instruction or use instruction.