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Creative CSGing Tutorial
This is an online tutorial, if you wish to download an offline version of this tutorial instead Click-Here!
Overview: This tutorial will go into different tips and tricks using Qoole CSG and Texturing. This Game select is on Quake2 but applies to the other games (Hexen2 and Quake) as well. Zen Killgrin will create a kewl-looking hallway with primarily using CSG Subtracting.
Remember it is easier to start off with a size reference, as in this pic, with the Player Start in view so that you can see the size comparison with ease. I have chosen a Texture for my Hallway and placed my Brush with the texture on the screen. Taking the Texture lock off, I want to freely move the brush and have the texture lined up by sight. I have found it is easier to move the brush, than dig into the texture properties and attempt to line each face up.
as you can see here I have lifted the brush, lining it up in my Rendering window(3D viewer). You can make the Hallway as long as you want, notice I have the snap on 4, this makes it easier to line up to the gridlines.
Now I make the Hallway brush hollow, I want enough wall so I can attach other hallways and have enough wall to insert a door, 8 is a good size for this (the grid is 16 units wide).
Hallway is now hollow, I move my Rendering view inside the hollow to get a better look, and now I want to change the ceilings and the floor to different textures. So now to make this a little easier, I UNGROUP the hallway brush, select the ceiling... since I'm already lined up to the large gridlines, everything should line up like clockwork. I have chosen a darker color for the floor, once I am done with texturing the hallway, I REGROUP the hallway so that I don't accidentally move a wall out of place.
Now my Idea is this... I like the outside of this door texture, but I don't want the door itself... I want to be able to walk through the door unopposed. In otherwords, I want to cut a nice hole exactly where the door should be. I've created the door brush with the texture I want, nice and thick so that I can set in some lights in the door jam itself. Once I have a good brush fit in the hallway I turn off the texture lock and move the door brush out to where I can work on it without the hallway interfering.
Having it moved, I attempt to line the texture up, now since my hollowing has reduced my door a little, I estimate about a 15% reduction on the texture on both x and y axis.
Once one side is lined up, I rotate the door brush and apply the same alterations on the opposite side. On the edges of my door brush I texture it with a more solid color to avoid line up hassles the texture when I cut my door hole out.
I have inserted a brush with yellow lights, and lined them up. I want them to show up in the doorjamb when I cut out the hole. Now as you see in the picture you can attempt to try lining up trapezoid shaped brushes and give yourself a big headache in the process.
Now here's the Killgrin methods of doing this door alignment BS, Using several blocks I then line them up using the rotational tool for one side only... then you group those two brushes, copy them and paste them, rotate the pasted brushes 180 and slide them into place. The top and bottom blocks are then easy. Hey. I'll save this weird set of blocks as a prefab to cut door shapes later...
Now with my grouped angled blocks, I insert a new brush to be cut to shape, Selecting the (darker) grouped blocks surrounding it I CSG subtract. This will leave me with a (lighter)block shaped like the door opening that I will use to cut the door hole with.
I move my cutting block into place, I have it close to my viewing side of the door so I am sure that it lines up with the door, the extra red angled line is a minor rotational imperfection, no problem, it will look fine when I'm finished.
CSG and it cuts the hole, then I delete the cutting brush, as you see in the picture, then I select the lights brush and use it to CSG getting rid of the door/light brush overlap (guaranteed to cause a texture glitch). Now before you go ahead and in all your excitement, move that door and mess up your textures...
Move that hallway instead! All that texture reduction will slip your doorframe into a herniated mess!
Group your Doorframe... copy... paste...
:)
We needed some lights, now you are ready to put in some light entities, Hey! Doesn't it look kewl? CSG is your friend and can help you create some awesome texturing effects if you use it with some imagination. Remember! Zen Killgrin is not a level maker, I'm a Prefab Artist. YOU ARE THE LEVEL MAKER!
Now do me proud, go out there and create me a level!
~~~Zen Killgrin