source model checkerbox texture

[Sentura]

so i managed to work out the deal with getting a model exported from max to the source engine, but now it's giving me problems with the textures. for some reason, whatever i do it wont show the proper texture in the model viewer. the QC is pointing to the right directory (ep2\materials\models\sentura), but it's been so long working with VMT files that i hardly remember how they work.

i only have 1 VMT file for a set of 3 textures on the model:

Code: Select all

"LightmappedGeneric"
{
   "$basetexture" "models/sentura/mayan_totem"
   "$bumpmap" "models/sentura/mayan_totem_NRM"
   "$envmap" "env_cubemap"
   "$envmapmask" "models/sentura/mayan_totem_SPEC"
   "$translucent" 0
}


any help would be appreciated.

[Juice]

I think for models it is "VertexlitGeneric"
Not "LightmappedGeneric"

[Sentura]

i changed it, but it has no effect. the texture still shows up as checkerbox pink.

[marks]

pink checkerbox texture means 99% of the time your QC isn't pointing to the right place, or your material was named wrong in max when you exported to smd. Double check everything.

[Sentura]

pink checkerbox texture means 99% of the time your QC isn't pointing to the right place, or your material was named wrong in max when you exported to smd. Double check everything.

i haven't changed the name of the material at all, only the extension (from PNG to VTF). the QC seems to be pointing at the right directory, but how can i double check?

hammer isn't showing the texture, should i take that a s a sign? (the texture is in ep2/materials/models/sentura)

EDIT: here's the full QC:

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$scale 1
$modelname   "sentura\mayan_totem.mdl"
$autocenter
$staticprop
$opaque
$body mayan_totem "mayan_totem.smd"
$collisionmodel "mayan_totem_hull.smd" {
$mass 250000

}
$surfaceprop "boulder"
$cdmaterials "<truncated>\steamapps\user\half-life 2 episode two\ep2\materials\models\sentura"
$sequence idle "mayan_totem" loop fps 30

[Juice]

i haven't changed the name of the material at all, only the extension (from PNG to VTF).

I hope you mean you converted the texture. Not just changed the extension...

[Sentura]

i haven't changed the name of the material at all, only the extension (from PNG to VTF).

I hope you mean you converted the texture. Not just changed the extension...

obviously.

[marks]

nothing is obvious when you're troubleshooting, except that something isn't working.

[Sentura]

nothing is obvious when you're troubleshooting, except that something isn't working.

admittedly there are some things that aren't obvious, but there is a degree of common sense expected (this is coming from a guy who used to debug C code).

anyway, i "double checked" the texture files, and reconfiguring them show the textures in hammer - which should mean they are fine. i guess this means something is wrong with the QC, but i haven't been able to figure out what or how.

i've changed cdmaterials around a couple of times to see if it was a problem with long path names or something, but i get the same results with shortened paths. i checked every other option that could be interfering with the material path, to no avail. i am pretty much at a standstill right now.

EDIT: i also checked that the SMD files had their materials properly renamed from PNG to VTF (in case i haven't mentioned it).

[Smurftyours]

Use Nem's tool for checking a models texture directory. If its leading to the correct spot and your 100% sure that you used the right texture name in the SMD, then its probably the location of your VMT/VTF that are incorrect. Make sure that the names and directories of your VMT/VTF are correct. For example I compiled one of my models and it showed up Pinkcheckers and I was dumbfounded when I saw that it was pointing to the correct spot and the correct names were being used. Turns out I accidentaly had the names of the textures to use inside of the VMT were incorrect and there for gave me an error. Check everything.

[Sentura]

everything checks out, unless the name of the texture cant be the same as the name of the model? also, what tool are you talking about? nem's site is down or i can't view it atm, but i don recall a tool that let you check paths.

[Smurftyours]

MDLtexinfo.exe, It tells you information about the model. Drag and drop a MDL on it to see information about its texture paths.

[Jike]

open your reference mesh. just scroll through it. if you repeatedly see the name of the VMT you created, you're fine there. The extension doesn't matter in this case

Then open your VMT and check if its pointing to your VTF. No extension required here as well. A common mistake is not putting your path behind models or putting your entire path behind a materials.

However your VMT looks correct, so I look at your qc. What do I see there? Ah, $cdmaterials is linking to a ridiculous path. Remove everything in front of models. And yes, models are usually VertexLitGeneric.

Good luck!!

[shawnolson]

Yes... the $cdmaterials should always start from the material root... so to convert your example:

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$cdmaterials "<truncated>\steamapps\user\half-life 2 episode two\ep2\materials\models\sentura"

Change it to:

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$cdmaterials "models\sentura"

If you are using the Wall Worm Model Tools to make the QC... make sure that you enter only "models\sentura" in the Material Folder Path field of the Export Options Rollout.

[Groxkiller585]

MDLtexinfo.exe, It tells you information about the model. Drag and drop a MDL on it to see information about its texture paths.

Had no idea about that, I just opened the MDL files in a text editor. 90% of it is computer language but toward the bottom is the names of textures and skins the model uses. i had ths problem when i recompiled the box model from Portal so it could have 3 skins, but i mvoed it and renamed it. I had forgotten to add in the old skin that is looks for, and because I didn't specify that, the replacement skins did not work. Once I specified the BMP texture that is built into the model, everything worked. (granted, skin 0 is pink/black checkerboard but that's cus I didn't put the old box model skin back in. My other skins, however, show up flawlessly. )