(lurking for a while, finally lured out by a need to make portal levels.)

Hi all. Newbie poster, newbie questions.

So I'm working through the tutorials and I decide I want to make a Complementary Victory Lift. Except I can't figure out how to make the piston portion of the lift.

The silvery post that has 3 or more telescoping portions that extend as the top lift platform follows the func_trackrtrain. There are multiple instances of them on Level 15. So here are my questions:

Is there a standard model used for the platform lift? Or is it just constructed?
Do I need to make a separate func_tracktrain for each segment of the telescoping platform lift?
What is the texture used for the polished lift pistons in the game?
And is there an example map of the Complimentary Victory Lift somewhere I haven't found yet?
Thanks!

The whole elevator (the visible parts) is made of prop_dynamics with models (both the platform and piston has got a model, no brush/texture). Don't remember what the models are, I'm not at my Hammer computer right now.

As for making the things move as one, http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Parenting
Parenting makes one thing move just like another thing move.

There is a model for the actual platform of the lift, but most of the pistons you see in game are made with brushes. the texture is "metal_lift" or something like that... I think it shows up black in the texture window.

I've made all my pistons move with a func_door. If you use that method too, then yeah each section of piston would probably need a seperate func_door to move independantly like real pistons would. Otherwise you could use just one and not have the pistons expand, but just raise up.

Why has Valve bothered with making pistons out of brushes when they've already made models for two different (or is it more?) pistons?

Oh, and yeah, the func_door is more practical to use than the func_tracktrain. Is there any reason at all to use tracks instead of doors even with horizontal-moving platforms, unless the platform actually turns and not only moving back and forth?

Thank you. The func_door works nicely for each piece of the piston and I've got them moving together at the same time. Actually was much easier than my first attempts with func_tracktrain.

The metal texture for the pistons is showing up black when I test the map. Suggestions on what to do to fix that?

They show up black until you build your cubemaps.

Cubemaps? Ah, ok. Thanks.

yikkayaya wrote:
Why has Valve bothered with making pistons out of brushes when they've already made models for two different (or is it more?) pistons?

Yeah there's two or three different modeled pistons, but they dont fit all situations, or many parts in the maps. With brushes you can control exactly how big you want it, how far you want it sticking out, etc...