How can I decompile .vmf and .vtf files into normal pictures?
I've already extracted the textures out of the PortalContent folderfile thing.

(I can go taking screenshots from the source SDK texture browser but that's a bit silly. I'll do this if there isn't anything thou.)

I would really love to fight in Portal setting with UT3, so if anyone has a way please do tell me how to get the textures.

I don't know if just screenshotting the textures would be an adequate solution, what would you do about the texture mapping? It would come out looking very UT99-ish without maps. Very neat idea though, if it works out I'd like to download the texture pack in the UT3 format. I'd also like to play your Portal-on-UT3 maps

else I'll just ask, they won't loose money with what I'm doing here.

rellikpd wrote:
i'm pretty much 100% sure that taking the Valve OWNED textures and porting them into a non-valve game would = theft and copywrite issues

I know there are UT3 skins of characters that are owned by other companies, such as the Master Chief one, and i haven't heard anything about that being illegal, so maybe a map in aperture laboratories wouldn't be illegal? It sounds like a great idea for a map there and i hope it works out.

they let you use them for free for hl2 engine based maps because... it keeps the engine alive, and they make more money. but if you do this for a different engine, you are pulling attention away from THEIR engine, and i'm sure thats not allowed.

What you guys are worried about is fair use, which "provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test. " ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use ) These four factors are as follows:

Wikipedia wrote:
1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

I don't know of any legal precedents for fair use of things like maps, but I could see things like Halo skins and Portal textures being used in UT3 going either way. Essentially, there is no case law on the topic, so it's a very large gray area. However, I wouldn't worry about getting sued, because Bungie or Valve would likely just send you a cease and desist order to stop using their stuff.

However, remember, I am not a lawyer.

At least, I thought so. There's still the issue of the icon Master Chief, he's a trademark, I think.

but in the meantime, can I have some sort of way of decompiling vtf and vmf files?

can I remake it the textures?

EDIT:
Questions are fine though.

Google is your best friend

I asked if I could extract and decompile them from the Portal Content.
And then use it for myself.
Then I asked if I could publish maps for UT3 with Portal Content.

Hey I got an idea. I could make a Portal based CounterStrike map! They won't mind that.

But you run in hell a lot of other issues. It's strongly disrecommended to mix game content, so you gotta include the textures in the map file. It's yet the question if that is allowed, but I think Valve doesn't really care if their stuff is used across Source games. As long as you note in the map description that you picked stuff of Portal.

But I'm getting slightly off-topic here...

Its hard to get the materials working right, and light doesnt bounce like it does in source, neither are there any light emitting textures.

You will need to place point_lights where you want light to come from.
And to get the right ambient light, you need to place some point_lights with lower brightness but with large radius in the middle of the room.

The challange is to get it as closely looking to a real portal map.
Below some screenshots of my crappy attempt.

It's harder then it looks like.

Anyways, I know quite a bit about copyright law through my work with t-shirts. Plus I have a lot of experience with mod work. It is 100% legal (and fun) to use textures from game A to create maps on game B. The only time you can get into legal trouble is if you sell your maps or mods with someone else's textures. When Valve says you aren't allowed to use their textures in other engines what they're really saying is "Please don't, or people might play your game instead " If it was illegal they would have used the word "illegal" however, they didn't use the word "illegal" because saying something's illegal when it isn't illegal is illegal.

So by all means, extract those textures, create bump maps for them, and make me a fun UT3/Portal map!