I need very basic help (which is so basic that I have not even founf in the forums.

I am starting "to try" mapping with desastrous consequences (as i expected anyway). So i did some basic stuff, and then compiled to see who it loos like )just to tell me that i was doing something usefull.
I have (I really have more) some BASIC questions. Here is the great result:

hlcsg v2.5.3 rel Custom Build 1.7 (Dec 9 2002)
Zoner's Half-Life Compilation Tools -- Custom Build
Based on code modifications by Sean 'Zoner' Cavanaugh
Based on Valve's version, modified with permission.
Submit detailed bug reports to (merlinis@bigpond.net.au)
----- BEGIN hlcsg -----
Command line: C:\ARCHIV~1\VALVEH~1\compile\hlcsg.exe C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa3
Entering C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa3.map

Current hlcsg Settings
Name | Setting | Default
---------------------|-----------|-------------------------
threads [ 1 ] [ Varies ]
verbose [ off ] [ off ]
log [ on ] [ on ]
developer [ 0 ] [ 0 ]
chart [ off ] [ off ]
estimate [ off ] [ off ]
max texture memory [ 4194304 ] [ 4194304 ]
priority [ Normal ] [ Normal ]

noclip [ off ] [ off ]
null texture stripping[ on ] [ on ]
clipnode economy mode [ on ] [ on ]
onlyents [ off ] [ off ]
wadtextures [ on ] [ on ]
skyclip [ on ] [ on ]
hullfile [ None ] [ None ]
min surface area [ 0.500 ] [ 0.500 ]
brush union threshold [ 0.000 ] [ 0.000 ]

Using mapfile wad configuration
Wadinclude list :
[zhlt.wad]

0 brushes (totalling 0 sides) discarded from clipping hulls
CreateBrush:
Error: Entity 0, Brush 16, Side 1: plane with no normal
Error: plane with no normal
Description: The map has a problem which must be fixed
Howto Fix: Check the file ZHLTProblems.html for a detailed explanation of this problem

Error: Entity 0, Brush 16: outside world(+/-4096): (-10000,-10000,-124)-(10000,10000,-124)
Error: Entity 0, Brush 16: outside world(+/-4096): (-10000,-10000,-124)-(10000,10000,-124)
Error: Entity 0, Brush 16: outside world(+/-4096): (-10000,-10000,-160)-(10000,10000,-160)
Error: Entity 0, Brush 16: outside world(+/-4096): (-10000,-10000,-160)-(10000,10000,-160)
Error: Entity 0, Brush 16: outside world(+/-4096): (-10000,-10000,-156)-(10000,10000,-156)
Error: Entity 0, Brush 16: outside world(+/-4096): (-10000,-10000,-156)-(10000,10000,-156)
Error: Entity 0, Brush 16: outside world(+/-4096): (-10000,-10000,-142)-(10000,10000,-142)
Error: Entity 0, Brush 16: outside world(+/-4096): (-10000,-10000,-142)-(10000,10000,-142)
Error: Entity 0, Brush 17, Side 0: plane with no normal
Error: Entity 0, Brush 17, Side 2: plane with no normal
Error: Entity 0, Brush 17, Side 2: has a coplanar plane at (-2684, -1820, -124), texture MWOOD1
Error: Entity 0, Brush 17, Side 7: plane with no normal
Error: Entity 0, Brush 17, Side 7: has a coplanar plane at (-2666, -1780, -124), texture MWOOD1
Error: Entity 0, Brush 17, Side 7: has a coplanar plane at (-2666, -1780, -124), texture MWOOD1
Error: Entity 0, Brush 271, Side 8: has a coplanar plane at (-3322, -1597, -29), texture AVACEIL2
(6.95 seconds)

A complete disaster he-he-he
Even though I check the errors with Valve hammer 3.4 and typped fix all (i think it does not work really) (there is this:
"there is no player start" even though there is the two info-player axis-allies and observer,:


1. Do I have to put something to spawn a soldier, another entity?

2. How do I look for an specific brush with hammer? The one said that is out of the world i cannot find it.

3. How can I take a picture in hammer of the evolution of the map with time?

I know that these are neewbie questions so i pleaseplease expect the neewbie mapper help me with them.
thanks

1. Do I have to put something to spawn a soldier, another entity?
Nope, just use info_player_allies/axis

2. How do I look for an specific brush with hammer? The one said that is out of the world i cannot find it.
In hammer: "map" -> "Go to brush number..." then you type the brush number e.g "16".

3. How can I take a picture in hammer of the evolution of the map with time?
use "Print screen" and paste it in to mspaint, or photoshop.

The 'outside world' problem might be because of either of these:

a: You have a brush that is in some axis smaller than 1 unit.

b: You have a brush that goes partly outside the grid in Hammer Editor.

Thanks a lot jolly and Tiberian!!!!
I continue fixing everythinggggggggggggggg!!

These outside brushes with coords like 10000 are probably brushes which are not convex. First thing to try is export you map to .MAP file then reload this file into hammer. You will probably see large triangles extending way beyond your map. They are generated from bad brushes, auto-fix funcion of hammer rarely works ok, so you have to fix them manually.
Pay attention to these things:
1) Brush have to be convex - line betwwen two vertices have to go THRU BRUSH ONLY.
2) You can't have two faces on one plane, even when they have different textures. So edge can't go "on" face.
3) You can't have vertex (white box) placed "on" edge. If you see vertex along edge (not on the end, but in middle), move it to either end and join both.
If you fail to fix such complicated brush, cut it to simpler parts along edges.

Thanks to the constructive answers!
I have been going through the brushes (not the map since it is not any map), and even exported to .map to see large triangles: here is 2 pics of what can be seen:

no extrange triangle going through the map or similar,
then I start to compile these brushes. I choosed no Rad (because I have no lighting except for the sky morningdew (which I hope will be lighting the map and be able to see something, am I wrong??).
This is what I got, this time no errors in brushed but:

0 brushes (totalling 0 sides) discarded from clipping hulls
CreateBrush:
10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90 %... (7.01 seconds)
SetModelCenters:
50%... (0.00 seconds)
CSGBrush:

** Executing...
** Command: C:\ARCHIV~1\VALVEH~1\compile\hlbsp.exe
** Parameters: "C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test"

Here it actually hlbsp says that it crashes and an error log will be created, anyone know why could this happen, possible reason (map, installed compiler tools, problem halflife) and where to find this error file

hlbsp v2.5.3 rel Custom Build 1.7 (Dec 9 2002)
Zoner's Half-Life Compilation Tools -- Custom Build
Based on code modifications by Sean 'Zoner' Cavanaugh
Based on Valve's version, modified with permission.
Submit detailed bug reports to (merlinis@bigpond.net.au)
----- BEGIN hlbsp -----
Command line: C:\ARCHIV~1\VALVEH~1\compile\hlbsp.exe "C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test"
Error: Error opening C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test.bsp: No such file or directory

----- END hlbsp -----




** Executing...
** Command: C:\ARCHIV~1\VALVEH~1\compile\hlvis.exe
** Parameters: "C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test"

hlvis v2.5.3 rel Custom Build 1.7 (Dec 9 2002)
Zoner's Half-Life Compilation Tools -- Custom Build
Based on code modifications by Sean 'Zoner' Cavanaugh
Based on Valve's version, modified with permission.
Submit detailed bug reports to (merlinis@bigpond.net.au)
----- BEGIN hlvis -----
Command line: C:\ARCHIV~1\VALVEH~1\compile\hlvis.exe "C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test"
>> There was a problem compiling the map.
>> Check the file C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test.log for the cause.

----- END hlvis -----



Error opening C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test.bsp: No such file or directory

Is this hlbsp error normal with a somehow wrong map?



Any help will be greatly thanked.

I did not checked the blue intensity, sorry

Error opening C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test.bsp: No such file or directory

Is this hlbsp error normal with a somehow wrong map?


Any help will be greatly thanked.

An entity outside world will be found a coordinates 0,0,0 and you can use the entity manager to find it. Just delete those entities and then do a search for errors. Usually it picks them up (in your case an object that can't be rendered.) Otherwise search for them at listed coordinates and delete them.

That No Such File error is because the map didn't render so you can't play it. When there are error in rendering something it won't run. You can get away with missing a texture or two but not with chunks of the level missing.

Hi mumblyjoe,
I do not so far have any entities on the area. I have the only three info axis-allies-observer and they are all three inside the box. At the lattest compiling I did not get the errors of the brushes because it crashed (hlbsp.exe) and said in the compiling box that:
Command line: C:\ARCHIV~1\VALVEH~1\compile\hlbsp.exe "C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test"
Error: Error opening C:\SIERRA\Half-Life\dod\maps\africa test.bsp: No such file or directory.

What can i do about it?
Any suggestions-help are greatly appreciated.
Thanks

...but not with chunks of the level missing
what do you mean by this?
sorry but new quite new I am and i cannot follow you, can you please be more specific.

dude i know exaclty what your talking about (i think lol) fist go threw your error 'list'(?) when you try to compile the map and find all the brushes that are coplanar, fix em or delete them. then in the Map tab (in editor) goto the entitiers list and find all the brushes that take you to 0,0,0 and delete em. i think that might help.
cheers

It's very hard to tell why compiler is crashing. If might want to post RMF file here. Crash may be due to your computer, not map.
If not, you can try:
download HLFIX (http://extension.ws/hlfix/) program, it will convert your RMF to MAP. I don't recommend to use this MAP file to compile. Program is still buggy and it probably don't fix your map the way you want it to look like, but it's very useful for fining bug in your map. Just read what it 'fixes' and then correct it manually in Hammer (using oryginal) RMF file.
or
delete some things from you map and try to compile. With trial and error you find problem-thing. Map doesn't look too complicated so it won't take too much time.

HL is touchy with the spaces in file names, remove them use _. that might help

Firstly u shouldnt make a big box around ur map... and also one of those shapes looks like the vertxes are invalid (impossible shape)