How do you make a video vmf file?

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How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby mrfranswa on Mon Apr 05, 2010 6:56 am

Self explanatory. I want to make a video play on a vmf texture akin to the l4d2 intro being played in the dead before dawn campaign. I know valve made the vmf's for them and sent them over, however how did they do it? I can't find anything about it anywhere.

Thnx
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby nub on Mon Apr 05, 2010 7:59 am

Um, the intros to the campaigns are done within the maps in real time. I'm not sure if they just used a point_viewcontrol entity on a track using path_track entities, or a view control parented to an invisible animated dummy model that moves in a smooth fasion (Zeno Clash used this technique for their cutscenes).

I can't say the same for the Dead before Dawn campaign, but if it is a video, it uses the Bink video player I'm sure. I forget how you do it exactly, but I think it's just a console command that plays the video you tell it to. So in other words you would have to record a video and convert it to the bink video format to play it in-game.
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby mrfranswa on Tue Apr 06, 2010 3:59 am

um no you don't understand. In dead before dawn they have brushes play videos akin to func_monitor, however they are textures and not func_monitors...
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby Jordash on Tue Apr 06, 2010 7:52 am

You can make animated VTFs, however they can get quite large in file size due to the nature of VTF compression, if you had a 100 frame texture it would be 100 times the size of a regular texture. Also its difficult to sync it with audio

As far as I know the two methods nub suggested are the only feasible ways to put such scenes in source
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby mrfranswa on Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:39 pm

that is what I believe valve did for the DBD campaign. However, each of the files are single vtf's and not a collection of textures. It's as if they were all compiled into vtf's which could be played.

I remember reading in the news back in the day valve made the custom animated textures for them, so I know it's possible.
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby Jordash on Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:05 pm

animated VTF files are easy enough once you get your head around it

tutorial http://www.editlife.net/tutorial.php?tutid=43

program that makes it easier http://nemesis.thewavelength.net/index.php?c=178
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby PhoeniX1992 on Tue Apr 06, 2010 2:48 pm

You could make a texture with a proxy which refers to an AVI, but I recall you would have to make some changes to the game engine's code. Since it's all done that would be a simple copy and paste job.

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/AVI_Materials
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby Jordash on Wed Apr 07, 2010 7:32 am

I've tried the AVI method and its not all its cracked up to be. The only codecs that work with it are all outdated and difficult to convert videos to, and if the files are too large the game crashes. Looking at the videos in game causes a lot of lag, affecting the video's framerate, so it is literally impossible to match it to any audio
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby mrfranswa on Wed Apr 07, 2010 5:52 pm

I guess I can shoot Mike Durand an email asking about this.
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby Spindoctor on Sun Jul 24, 2011 1:53 pm

Anyone found an easy solution to this?
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby cra0kalo on Sun Aug 28, 2011 12:56 pm

Im interested now

i saw that nyan cat portal thing but that uses .bik (blink video)

Anyone got an solution yet?
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Re: How do you make a video vmf file?

Postby Gary on Sun Aug 28, 2011 9:21 pm

To make .bik(s)?

I've done that since Halo2 modding, just google their tools.
Have a question related to modding or something I posted? Something that needs staff attention? I haven't been active lately, but feel free to PM me or message me on Steam(link below)

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