This is kind of a longshot but...

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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 07, 2012
Does anyone have any nice custom 2D skyboxes for Portal 2 levels? The in-game selection is rather depressing (flat white, grey or black, good luck!) and I'd like a nice sharp blue with some cloud cover... I suppose I could decompile some from other source games but if anyone's already done the ground work I will love you forever!

I tried searching (here and on google) and couldn't find anything reasonable...

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CamBen
973 Posts
Posted Mar 07, 2012
Replied 7 minutes later
I have some custom ones, but they are not perfect.
Attachments
Landscape.zip
0.17 MB 66 downloads
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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 07, 2012
Replied 1 hour later
So I thought I was smart and could figure it out myself, but I'm a total freakin' noob apparently.

I installed the Landscape folder in \common\portal 2\portal2\

I tried to put in the filename into my map properties but it does not render. I even tried case-sensitive stuff since you have caps in your filenames... what am i doing wrong?

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ChickenMobile
2,460 Posts
Posted Mar 07, 2012
Replied 11 minutes later
you need to put these files into portal2/materials/skybox in order for these to work. THEN reference it it in map -> map properties inside the skybox texture name field.
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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 07, 2012
Replied 11 minutes later
Hm.. ok I did that and it still doesn't work... I must be stupid.

I made a new \skybox folder in \materials (it wasn't there.. can you tell I'm new to this? lol)

then i referenced the filename in properties and it still doesn't draw in. I even tried referencing Landscape/[filename] since the .vmts reference the Landscape folder but that didn't work either (i tried both having the files in just the \skybox folder and adding the Landscape folder and referencing that)

Grah...

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chimera201
129 Posts
Posted Mar 08, 2012
Replied 6 hours later
try mat_reloadallmaterials

like the sharingan

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josepezdj
2,386 Posts
Posted Mar 08, 2012
Replied 3 hours later
Hey Kaleido:

I think the problem could be located into the .vmt files:

  1. All materials need to be compossed by 2 files: the .vtf (Valve Texture File) and the .vmt (Valve Material Type).

  2. First you create the .vtf (the "visual" file, the drawing, the texture itself). Then you create the .vmt based in the .vtf. These .vmt can be created/modified simply with a notepad. They contain the path of the $basematerial (the corresponding path for the texture file:". vtf").

  3. My guess is that you didn't change those vmt files and they all contain Camben's paths.... Just open them and set the correct path for the basematerials (path where you have placed the .vtf)

I hope I'm right and you solve it...

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CamBen
973 Posts
Posted Mar 08, 2012
Replied 12 hours later

josepezdj wrote:
Hey Kaleido:

I think the problem could be located into the .vmt files:

  1. All materials need to be compossed by 2 files: the .vtf (Valve Texture File) and the .vmt (Valve Material Type).

  2. First you create the .vtf (the "visual" file, the drawing, the texture itself). Then you create the .vmt based in the .vtf. These .vmt can be created/modified simply with a notepad. They contain the path of the $basematerial (the corresponding path for the texture file:". vtf").

  3. My guess is that you didn't change those vmt files and they all contain Camben's paths.... Just open them and set the correct path for the basematerials (path where you have placed the .vtf)

I hope I'm right and you solve it...

now that I think about it, that would work. I made those textures to be inside the updates pak01_dir pack originally. :rolleyes:

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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 08, 2012
Replied 2 hours later
What should I change the path to then?

I'm not at my computer right now so I can't trial and error it...

Is it just C:\Prog[...]\Portal 2\portal2\materials\skybox\ ?

edit: man, why aren't there any freakin' clear tutorials on this... I'm home now, I decompiled a random skybox from portal and looked at the .vmf and the path is set to "skybox/[skyboxname].vtf"

i tried that with the new textures and NOTHING still... wtfffff

i feel like i'm missing something really obvious. this should be working...

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RustyDios
154 Posts
Posted Mar 09, 2012
Replied 6 hours later
Have you set the texture to tools/skybox and set the skybox in the map properties to the skybox filename ?

What are you getting... nothing at all (like a hall of mirrors effect) or the horrible missing texture checkerboard ?

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josepezdj
2,386 Posts
Posted Mar 09, 2012
Replied 3 hours later

RustyDios wrote:
Have you set the texture to tools/skybox and set the skybox in the map properties to the skybox filename ?

What are you getting... nothing at all (like a hall of mirrors effect) or the horrible missing texture checkerboard ?

Yes... and Kaleido, can you see the textures properly into your texture browser when you type "skybox" into the filter blank? you should at least be able to see them in there properly.

Tell us so we can go delimiting your problem, ok?

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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 09, 2012
Replied 13 hours later

RustyDios wrote:
Have you set the texture to tools/skybox and set the skybox in the map properties to the skybox filename ?

What are you getting... nothing at all (like a hall of mirrors effect) or the horrible missing texture checkerboard ?

Yes, I know how to use a stock skybox lol

I was using sky_white before but goddamn that thing is ugly, and so are the other stock options :sad:

and like i said above, I've tried many different paths in both the .vmf and the map properties and nothing seems to work.

I get the 'no draw' leak, not a checkerboard. It acts like there is nothing there whatsoever.

josepezdj wrote:
Yes... and Kaleido, can you see the textures properly into your texture browser when you type "skybox" into the filter blank? you should at least be able to see them in there properly.

Tell us so we can go delimiting your problem, ok?

AFAIK all there is is the tools/skybox texture in the browser (blue square that says SKY on it), and the only way to change the texture is in Map Properties. Am I wrong about that? Is there a way you can see skyboxes in textures and manually apply them? that would help a lot...

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chimera201
129 Posts
Posted Mar 10, 2012
Replied 7 hours later
Did you try

chimera201 wrote:
try mat_reloadallmaterials

like the sharingan

If you keep Portal 2 open and change "materials" stuff Portal 2 doesn't update it.mat_reloadallmaterials is a console command that does that.(Last resort- restart Portal 2)

Also make sure the path in the 6 vmts,location of vmts and vtfs and path in map properties correspond.
See these tutorials to see if u are missing something:[1] [2]

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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 10, 2012
Replied 20 hours later
I don't leave Portal 2 running... I recompile every time I change something. Reloading the materials does nothing.

I think my vmt is royally fucked. I don't know how to fix it.

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Spam Nugget
492 Posts
Posted Mar 10, 2012
Replied 19 minutes later
upload your vmt then?
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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 11, 2012
Replied 23 hours later
Nah, I gave up on using that custom skybox and just did what I initially was planning, and ganked one from HL2...

So I have a new problem now!

When I compile, the skybox draws over all my brushes, so all I can see are models floating in sky... WTFFFFF

Anyone encounter this? Have any thoughts? Ideas? This is such a nightmare...

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josepezdj
2,386 Posts
Posted Mar 12, 2012
Replied 10 hours later
Man, that should be due to a leak in your map. Watch this tutorial and check if what you are seeing looks like in the video:

http://www.tophattwaffle.com/?p=1353

Kaleido wrote:
AFAIK all there is is the tools/skybox texture in the browser (blue square that says SKY on it), and the only way to change the texture is in Map Properties. Am I wrong about that? Is there a way you can see skyboxes in textures and manually apply them? that would help a lot...

I didn't mean the toolskybox texture thumbnail... I meant that, if you have the proper files with their proper vmt and all in their right place, you should see the skybox textures' thumbnails in the browser. Otherwise, in the case that something is worng with the files, you'll see a little checkerboard in pink/black colour... Of course, I'm not pretending that you use these textures in hammer (you should only texture your brushes with the toolskybox texture), but it's a method to check if your skybox textures are OK or not. If they're shown correctly in the browser then they are OK...

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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 12, 2012
Replied 3 hours later

josepezdj wrote:
Man, that should be due to a leak in your map. Watch this tutorial and check if what you are seeing looks like in the video:

http://www.tophattwaffle.com/?p=1353

Kaleido wrote:

AFAIK all there is is the tools/skybox texture in the browser (blue square that says SKY on it), and the only way to change the texture is in Map Properties. Am I wrong about that? Is there a way you can see skyboxes in textures and manually apply them? that would help a lot...

I didn't mean the toolskybox texture thumbnail... I meant that, if you have the proper files with their proper vmt and all in their right place, you should see the skybox textures' thumbnails in the browser. Otherwise, in the case that something is worng with the files, you'll see a little checkerboard in pink/black colour... Of course, I'm not pretending that you use these textures in hammer (you should only texture your brushes with the toolskybox texture), but it's a method to check if your skybox textures are OK or not. If they're shown correctly in the browser then they are OK...

That's not what it looks like. The skybox draws in now, it's just all I can see in my map. Just a bunch of floating models and the skybox texture. The brushes are still there (collide, etc..) I just only see skybox.

Wouldn't I at least get errors if I had a leak somewhere?

I should've taken a screenshot. I'll post one tonight when I get back to my computer.

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chimera201
129 Posts
Posted Mar 12, 2012
Replied 1 hour later

Maybe u forgot the sky camera.

chimera201 wrote:
See these tutorials to see if u are missing something:[1] [2]

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Kaleido
272 Posts
Posted Mar 12, 2012
Replied 5 minutes later
Do I need skycamera for a 2D skybox?