LONG Tool++ Problem

[scout1337]

this is weirding me out cause everytime i start a new map i have a new problem but this one i have NEVER seen b4

when i goto compile my structure in Tool++ i w8 a few secs like normal.....


BOOM! thousands of rows and rows and rows of words and sentences making tool++ not respond a few times then come back and then my whole computer starts to freeze up and not respond, my mouse moves very very slow...

if u can help me plz tell me anything that can help!

[Limited]

Got a picture of what it says? Is it a bunch of garble?

[scout1337]

i couldnt do anything because when i mean long i mean LONG!!!!

the scroll bar was tinyier than ive ever seen o.o

and then my whole computer would freeze
but one thing i do know is that some of it looked like it was saying 9 choices for thousands of differant things and id have to choose one

[TPE]

Copy and paste a section of it otherwise nobody can do anything to help you besides guess whats wrong.

[scout1337]

i cant copy it cause it goes so fast and my prnt screen isnt wrking ethier most likley for that same reason =\

[Dr Pepper]

this has happened to me. what happends is that your tool++ errors but after you close it it is still running in the background and it makes your computer slow. your tool++ is screwed up. I recommend HEK + tool funtion

[scout1337]

no no it STAYS up and just stops responding a few times and then my computer starts to freeze up

if i close it b4 it happens with task manager (it wont let me click X) then im fine

[Con]

just use normal tool

[teh lag]

just use normal tool

THIS.

What's happening here is :

1) Tool++ tries to execute the structure command

2) Your model references a shader that doesn't exist

3) Tool *usually* then gives you a prompt to create that shader

4) Tool++ can't use that prompt, so it skips over it

5) Since no shader was made, setps 3 and 4 happen infinitely, making your pc lock up.

Just copy cmd.exe (or a shortcut to it) into your CE directory and run the normal tool.exe with it. An example of a command you type in would be :

tool.exe structure levels\test\mymap mymap

[scout1337]

ohhhh i KNEW IT!
my normal tool.exe nvr used to work but now that i remember i used to have cmd in there

omg teh lag u r THE BEST u always fix my problems

EDIT: w8888 now tool.exe stays up for 2 secs not less then 1 and it says alot of stuff and still closes :(

EDIT again: the debug.txt says this:


08.19.08 13:49:06 tool pc 01.00.00.0609 ----------------------------------------------
08.19.08 13:49:06 reference function: _write_to_error_file
08.19.08 13:49:06 reference address: 42ca20
08.19.08 13:49:06 Couldn't read map file './toolbeta.map'

[dydo]

Is there anymore in the debug.txt? Ignore the couldnt read map file error. It always says that.

[scout1337]

nope thats it

[teh lag]

nope thats it

You do know how to run tool, right? You have to open up cmd.exe, not tool.exe. Tool only works when it's called through the command prompt. Once cmd is open, you type the command and hit enter.

[scout1337]

w8 so i dont open tool.exe? i open CMD?

[teh lag]

w8 so i dont open tool.exe? i open CMD?

Yes.

[scout1337]

what do i type in?

[FRain]

Well, what are you trying to do?

Type tool help or just tool and it should give you a list of commands and what they do.

[teh lag]

what do i type in?

You're trying to run the Structure command, right?

first, type "Tool.exe Structure" (Minus the quotes). Then, add a space and put the directory your level is in - for example, if your .jms is saved in levels\test\mymap\models, you would type "levels\test\mymap" (minus the quotes). Then, add a space and put the name of your .jms - if it is named "MyModel.jms," you would put MyModel.

So, if you exported to Levels\Test\Mymap\Models\MyModel.Jms, you would type in :

Tool.exe Structure Levels\Test\Mymap MyModel

[scout1337]

yes ye si know what to type for the commands bu when i open CMD isnt that just CMD not tool.exe?

so from what u guys said im guessing that i just type in normal stuff?

i though ti would have to type in stuff to GO to tool.exe i thought i ws just normal cmd

[teh lag]

yes ye si know what to type for the commands bu when i open CMD isnt that just CMD not tool.exe?

so from what u guys said im guessing that i just type in normal stuff?

i though ti would have to type in stuff to GO to tool.exe i thought i ws just normal cmd

No. Just open CMD and type that stuff. The "tool.exe" at the start tells it what program it's going to run.

[FRain]

No.

Because of where CMD is, it will activate tool stuff when you type tool ______

If you want to run a structure command, open up CMD in your halo folder, not tool.exe

Now, type:

tool structure levels\(blank) (jmsname)

[scout1337]

whoops srry forgot to read rest of teh lags post btw this is what i got in tool++ whats this mean?

only thing is that in tool++ it would say this infitnitly

http://i35.tinypic.com/2ce2qfa.jpg

[teh lag]

whoops srry forgot to read rest of teh lags post btw this is what i got in tool++ whats this mean?

only thing is that in tool++ it would say this infitnitly

http://i35.tinypic.com/2ce2qfa.jpg

That shader doesn't exist in your tagset. Tool is giving you the option to create one, but it needs to know what kind of shader it is. You can

1) Choose a type there - unless it's something like a light or water you should make it a shader environment.

2) Open guerilla and make a shader of the appropriate type yourself.

You will need to also reference the correct bitmaps for the shader in Guerilla - tool will not do this automatically. You will also need to make sure the shader is saved in a folder called "shaders" located inside your level's main folder in tags (not data). Ex : tags\levels\test\mymap\shaders.

[scout1337]

i found a water TUT on halomaps said it take a panel where i want to then it gave me a TIFF and i put it on it and it gave me a shader to put on it and then i made a new folder (where my bitmaps and models folders r) named shaders put it in there like it said

so dont i already have the shader for the water?

[teh lag]

i found a water TUT on halomaps said it take a panel where i want to then it gave me a TIFF and i put it on it and it gave me a sahder to put on it and then i made a new folder (where my bitmaps and models folders r) named shaders put it in there like it said

so dont i already have the shader for the water?

Well, obviously you don't have the one that you referenced in the map's model. Make sure the name of the shader tag is the same as the shader you put on the model.

E: Also, any tag file goes in /tags/, not /data/. It sounds like you put into a folder that was located somewhere in /data/.

[scout1337]

yes it told me too "make a folder if not there and name it shaders then put it in it"

E: ok i went to tags levels water_Canyon (my map) and then made a new folder THERE and put the shader in it and deleted the other folder in data levels test and istill get the same thing

oh w8 a sec put the shader ON THE MODEL?

[teh lag]

yes it told me too "make a folder if not there and name it shaders then put it in it"

E: ok i went to tags levels water_Canyon (my map) and then made a new folder THERE and put the shader in it and deleted the other folder in data levels test and istill get the same thing

oh w8 a sec put the shader ON THE MODEL?

Well, in 3ds or GMAX you created a material with the name "water_canyon" and applied it to your model. There isn't a shader anywhere in your tagset that has that name.

[scout1337]

what?

i made a panel in my map model and named it: water!$

then put the TIFF on it and made the folder and pasted the shader in it?

im dont get it

what do i do to get it normal? without all these errors and stuff?

[teh lag]

what?

i made a panel in my map model and named it: water!$

then put the TIFF on it and made the folder and pasted the shader in it?

im dont get it

what do i do to get it normal? without all these errors and stuff?


http://i35.tinypic.com/2ce2qfa.jpg


Right there it says your problem is that you're missing a shader that is named water_canyon. All you need to do to fix that error is make sure that for every material name you have on your model in 3ds or gmax, you have one with the same name as a tag.

[scout1337]

so i rename the shader from water.shader_transparent_water

to water_canyon.shader_transparent_water?

[teh lag]

so i rename the shader from water.shader_transparent_water

to water_canyon.shader_transparent_water?

What is the shader named water_canyon supposed to do? If it is supposed to represent water, then yes. If not, then make a different shader and name it water_canyon.

[Roostervier]

what?

i made a panel in my map model and named it: water!$Stop right there. The model shouldn't have any of those symbols in it. Just name it water. You put those symbols in the material name. I.e. "water_canyon!$" But, without the quotes.

[scout1337]

guy in TUT said ! tells the game its water and $ does something else (forgot)


this is what i did to make the water:


1. make a big panel
2. name it water!$
3. applyed the white TIFF he included to it
4. made a new folder in data levels test my map
5. named it shaders
6. pasted the shader that he inlcuded in it

[legionaire45]

...
I'd recommend that you read through the tutorial that is included with the game before preceding. It covers how to get materials and such into the game very well. You can find the tutorial here (http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/hek_tutorial/).

(BTW, ! means that a surface is render only (eg. no collision) and $ means that the surface is a fog plane.)

[scout1337]

im trying to upload a video to tinypic.com (youtube will take too long) with voice in it to clear everything up

[scout1337]

turns out i had to use youtube =\

other website wasnt working so here u go....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUuFur-UT80
(mic makes me sound like a 7 year old :|)

btw this is what it says in the CMD:


http://i33.tinypic.com/2z65x4z.jpg

[legionaire45]

Make sure your mesh is completely sealed (eg there are no open faces to what would be "outside" of your map). Assuming you are working with editable poly, go ahead and select all of your vertices and weld them. That should fix any open-edge errors caused by extra having two verts on top of each other that aren't connected. Then convert it to an Editable Mesh and try sending it through blitzkrieg/bluestreak and then through tool again.

Once again, look through that tutorial if you haven't.

[scout1337]

i looked in the tutorial but i found some things but not how to fix this and how do i weild stuff?

i just select my entire map and wield it? how do i do that? and by bluestreak u mean the JMS model exporter?

[scout1337]

also i did figure out how to seal stuff with the create tool thingy but i dont see anything open or that has to be sealed =\

while modeling my map all i did was make a box hide ETC all stuff
then put the ground in vertex mode (editable mesh) THEN lefted then up about 75% of my hieght and then made panels to make bridges

[FRain]

(Panels) correct spelling: planes

Planes are open on one end and can only be used with the ! (renderable only) on the shader, but it will cause it to not collide, so do not use planes to create bridges.

[Con]

Even though you may not see any openings to the outside of the map, you can still have them at seams. Welding fixes this by merging any vertices that are close enough, sealing the hole between them. Good practice is to start with a sealed environment and just continually check that what you're doing will not violate any of the rules.

[scout1337]

so i just slect my entire map? then where is the wield tool?

[legionaire45]

First things first, make sure you are working with an editable poly (if you aren't, right click -> convert to editable poly) and then go to the vertex edit mode. Select every single vertice (make sure that you untick "ignore backfaces" before doing this if it isn't already unticked) and then click the little box next to "weld" (under the "Edit Vertices" Submenu). It should give you a little pop up menu that tells you the number of vertices before and after the weld tool does it's magic.

From the sound of it your issue is with your bridge planes. Just model the bridge into your level mesh (prefered method) or make a scenery object and use that.

[scout1337]

so i convert to editable POLY and select my bridges? or the whole map?