"How to create an overview image for custom maps?"
This is a step by step guide to create overview files for your map. The final result will be a image (size 1024x768) whether
as .BMP (8 Bit colors) or .TGA (24 bit colors). If you don't care about installer file sizes use .TGA for overview files, since
it offers a better resolution.
- Start "HL.EXE -console", switch to the particular MOD
- Choose OpenGL or DirectX as video mode, also 1024x768 as screen resolution
- Go to console
- Set "developer 1" and "sv_cheats 1"
- Load map with "map mymap"
- Choose the spectator class (if possible)
- Set "hud_draw 0" to disable any HUD elements
- Switch to developer overview mode with "dev_overview 1"
- Move map with FORWARD,BACKWARD,RIGHT & LEFT
- Zoom map so it fills the screen completely with ATTACK and ATTACK2
- if everything looks perfect note the overview parameters: Zoom, Map Origin X Y Z, Z Min, Z Max, Rotated
- now disable parameters on screen with "dev_overview 2"
- bind "bind p screenshot" and make a clean screenshot by pressing 'p'
- that's it.
After renaming the screenshot to "mymap.tga", create the overview description file "mymap.txt". Fill it with the overview values
you just noted before making the screen shot. Take a look at the existing description files the see how it should look like.
// overview description file for mymap.bsp
global
{
ZOOM (Zoom)
ORIGIN (Origin X) (Origin Y) (Z Max)
ROTATED (Rotated)
}
layer
{
IMAGE "overviews/mymap.tga"
HEIGHT (Z Max)
}
Copy both files into the \overviews folder.
Tweaks
If your map looks too dark, set the video gamma value to maximum before loading the map. You can also set "r_fullbright 1"
before loading the map to remove any shadows. You can toggle entities on/off with "r_drawentities 0/1". Often it's a good
thing to load the screenshot into a photo editing application to polish things. Remove unreachable areas or add a logo etc.
You can also adjust gamma or contrast values to gain an optimal image.
The HL SDK (public HL source code to creat new MODs) contains a
HLTV SDK Readme as Word document. Beside some code examples it explains also how to generate custom overview maps. Check files on
www.planethalflife.com for the complete HL SDK.
German tutorial to create overview maps can be found at borgnet.de.
Another one in italian here.
"My MOD support for HLTV doesn't work anymore?"
I've changed a couple of things in this release. Since a new SDK for 1109 isn't available yet, I wrote a quick guide to
add minimum HLTV support again (HLTV_1109_Code_changes.txt).