Hi. I'm not a mapper-- just an avid user and appreciator of all the great work here. I've d/led a couple of maps that are in .vmf format, but can't figure out how to open them. Anybody mind giving the clueless a pointer?

Thanks!!!!!

If these are contest maps then you can ignore the VMF. The VMF is the source file for the map, and it's a requirement to entering.

If you are downloading shit from the "Other Files" section then odds are you are downloading prefabs or example stuff for other mappers, and not anything playable.

Post a link to one of the files you downloaded and we can tell you which is the case.

Thanks. One example is at The Chamber of Silence .

You're right-- it's a contest entry. I assumed there would be some way to open it, since there is no corresponding .bsp file.

If there's no bsp you could just open up the vmf in hammer, compile the map and then run the resulting bsp from the game.

If there's no BSP and the map isn't an example or an instance for other people to use, you should ask the author why they uploaded it.