Making your first map question(s)

OK so I an going by the video about Hammer and all of that is fine but where do I find the list of entities so I can change what I'm putting on the map? When I click on the entity tool and drop it on the map, it places a transport. Where do I find the other things including the players? If I go to edit and click on find entities it wants to know the targetname to find. What are the names and where do I find these.

Something else I ran into. Going by the video, I did everything and hit F9. It compiled and the game started. The problem is the play now button at the bottom is grayed out. Any clues?

Haha yea. You need power to your transport gate (where players spawn). Unlike other games, you can't just place a spawn location to appear. Place an entity, double click it and scroll up to where it says nd_info_powerplant_ct. All the nd_info entities are Nuclear Dawn structures, and the ct/emp at end are for consortium or empire. Now you need a spawner next to your power plant, then you can spawn ingame.

To place normal objects, place an entity, and scroll down to prop_dynamic and hit apply. Now go to the setting of "world model", double click, and browse to a tree or something. Voila, you have a tree

Now I don't wanna go to work this morning lol. Thanks. I'll give it a go later today when I get home.

Snivilous wrote:

Haha yea. You need power to your transport gate (where players spawn). Unlike other games, you can't just place a spawn location to appear. Place an entity, double click it and scroll up to where it says nd_info_powerplant_ct. All the nd_info entities are Nuclear Dawn structures, and the ct/emp at end are for consortium or empire. Now you need a spawner next to your power plant, then you can spawn ingame.

To place normal objects, place an entity, and scroll down to prop_dynamic and hit apply. Now go to the setting of "world model", double click, and browse to a tree or something. Voila, you have a tree

You should place a prop_static instead, I use prop_dynamics when I have a moveable brush for example or if the brush is animated.

I'm really confused. I put a power station and transport in the map. I hit F9 just to see what it looks like but still can't do anything. The play now button is still grayed out. I get a ton of error messages. Don't know if this helps anyone but here it is:



Pred42 connected
Receiving uncompressed update from server
Set Gravity 800.0 (0.250 tolerance)
Loading: 7.59 seconds
Queued Material System: ENABLED!
Warning! Client listens to event 'player_enter_commander_mode_failed' unknown by server.
Warning! Client listens to event 'player_restocked_from_supply_struct' unknown by server.
VAC secure mode disabled.
CTFSteamStats: failed to download stats from Steam, EResult 2
ConVarRef cl_names_debug doesn't point to an existing ConVar
Pred42 joined EMPIRE
GizmoUnlockMgr: Unlocked gizmo - ID: 6
class id: 0
Error! Variable "$flags" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/avenger_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/avenger_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/avenger_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/avenger_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/att_bullets_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/att_bullets_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/att_bullets_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/att_bullets_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/grenade_launcher_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/grenade_launcher_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/grenade_launcher_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/grenade_launcher_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/att_none_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/att_none_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/att_none_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/att_none_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/psgl_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/psgl_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/psgl_additive"!
Error! Variable "$flags_defined2" is multiply defined in material "vgui/icons/weapons/kitselection/psgl_additive"!
class id: 0
class id: 0

LMAO! Never mind. I put the empire power station with the consortium transport lol

Small suggestion, if you want to test your maps it's a good idea to run the game from Steam. I heard that it can be glitchy if run from the ND SDK.

Well another stupid question: How do I do that? The other thing I'm running into is trying to put the skybox on. It doesn't not like it at all. But I did make a very small test map and it worked.

For the skybox, apply the skybox texture (search skybox, and the bottom second to last one that is light blue) to the cube surrounding your map. Then go to the menus at the top, map, then map properties and change the value for the skybox (like third option down). You will need to find a skybox you like, you can google nuclear dawn skyboxes, or later on download custom ones. Try sky_tokyo for a good starting one (metros skybox). You then need the entity light_environment and place it in the middle of your map above the ground, and change the pitch to -90 so that the skybox will light up your map, -90 is a good starting value as the light will just shine vertically straight down.

And when you compile your map (Run Map/F9), it will compile a version into your maps folder. Launch Nuclear Dawn then, and you can go to create game and select that map (when you compile, check off the area saying "Don't run map after compile" or what ever. I find nothing wrong with running the map through the SDK, it can act a little laggy at times, but it's a lot faster than opening Nuclear Dawn independently up I find, and yields the same result (though I also switch my major compiles onto my mac which is more powerful, and test the compile on the computer just to make sure stuff is working, not actually test it).

Snivilous wrote:

For the skybox, apply the skybox texture (search skybox, and the bottom second to last one that is light blue) to the cube surrounding your map. Then go to the menus at the top, map, then map properties and change the value for the skybox (like third option down). You will need to find a skybox you like, you can google nuclear dawn skyboxes, or later on download custom ones. Try sky_tokyo for a good starting one (metros skybox). You then need the entity light_environment and place it in the middle of your map above the ground, and change the pitch to -90 so that the skybox will light up your map, -90 is a good starting value as the light will just shine vertically straight down.

OK I don't see or know what you're talking about. When I bring up map properties, I honestly don't understand what I'm suppose to do. There are 3 tabs on the top: Class Info / Outputs / Inputs. Now if I click on (it clicks it off) the smart edit button on the Class Info tab, it does have value and a 0 in the box. But i still have no idea where to find the sky_tokyo and where i'm suppose to put it.

Wow fuck this forum what the hell.


You want the blue looking texture called "skybox" on all the walls that
contain your map. Then go to the top bar, very fucking top, near file,
and should be a "map properties" area you can click on on one of the
drop down menus. There, you should find an area for the skybox name.

Dude I know where the map properties is at. Chill. I told you I have never even sniffed trying anything like this before. I'm more than a noob. I now understand what you were saying and I did it. Now all I gotta do is figure out why there are 'lines' coming from the edge of the sky. (the clouds look great but the closer to the edge of the map I get, it starts turning into color lines) I'll keep messing until I figure it out. Thanks for your help even though I frustrated the hell out of you.

Nah dude, wasn't you. I was pissed since I was trying to find my textbooks for this semester, and my internet is total shit so it stop working from 6-10pm every night. So I tried to reply, then it deleted all my shit

Pred42 wrote:

Dude I know where the map properties is at. Chill. I told you I have never even sniffed trying anything like this before. I'm more than a noob. I now understand what you were saying and I did it. Now all I gotta do is figure out why there are 'lines' coming from the edge of the sky. (the clouds look great but the closer to the edge of the map I get, it starts turning into color lines) I'll keep messing until I figure it out. Thanks for your help even though I frustrated the hell out of you.

Can you post a screenshoot about it?

I'm thinking that I need to build up around the sides or something...... Anyway the other issue as you can see is when I get to edge of the map, I can see down to another level but I'm at the edge and I can't fall down or anything. I assume that I do not have the boxes/layers correctly aligned.





THis is what it looks like when I'm standing in a 'hole' in the ground:

Easiest way is to have the inside edge of the skybox come flush with the edge of your map. Also raise the bottom of the skybox to flush with the bottom of your map so it doesn't need to compile all that empty space.

Pred42 wrote:

I'm thinking that I need to build up around the sides or something...... Anyway the other issue as you can see is when I get to edge of the map, I can see down to another level but I'm at the edge and I can't fall down or anything. I assume that I do not have the boxes/layers correctly aligned.

It is kinda normal for it to be like that. What you have to do is make some mountains for example or maybe some walls or buildings and stuff wich block the skybox visibility or you can either do this http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=116

Here's an example map wich I made with a proper skybox http://www.mediafire.com/?uakdj4tv77qcdbf

With a displacement http://www.mediafire.com/?7as6aux2qx2th4p

Notice: to make proper and detailed displacements you should make brushes wich have a grid size of 512 hammer units ("alt + ]" to change the grid's size or "alt + [" to lower it).