FindPortalSide: Couldn't find a good match for which brush to assign to a portal near ...
Description:
One (or more) brushes in your map were invalid and removed. Hammer doesn't like loading invalid brushes, so it just deletes them.
Solution:
Nice as that is (you can't do anything about it when you actually see the error) it's up to you to find the brush(es) it deleted.
See also:
Reference: What are invalid solids?
Description:
This means a texture is aligned to its face at 90 degrees. This is because the "align"-settings for that face are setup wrong.
Solution:
Either use the problemchecker (alt+p) to fix the error, or do it yourself by selecting the face or brush, and then go to the texture-application tool and select 'align to face' or 'align to world'. if that doesn't work, your brush might be too broken to repair and you'll have to repair/delete it manually.
See also:
Reference: What are invalid solids?
Description:
Either you have a BIG, excessive, ENOURMOUSLY HUGE map, or your map was broken (not saved properly by Hammer). Using quotes or curly brackets (" or { } ) in entity names, values or outputs will break your map.
Solution:
your only two hopes are a backup (called mapname.vmx should be in the same directory as your mapfile, just rename it to vmf to open it) and a long day trying to try to repair your map with notepad. You may want to check if there are any {'s not closed with a }, or check for strange strings. Most often, adding one or more closing brackets ( } ) to the file fixes this error, but be prepared to have lost some, if not a lot of data on your map.
If you really can't figure it out, and you have spend a lot of time on your map already, you may also send me the map and I will take a look and see if i can fix it.So far I have been able to repair all maps people have sent me, so bring em on!
See also:
WIKI: vmf structure
vmf structure
Description:
One of your brushes is invalid. Just remember these three rules and you should be fine:
-no concave brushes (no hollow brushes, you should never be able to draw a straight line through the same brush twice)
-no twisted faces (each face should be completely flat)
-no multiple faces on the same plane
Solution:
Fix the brush or delete it.
See also:
Invalid solids
Description:
Hammer always checks if there's an info_player_start in your map (it's the place the player will be spawned on start).
Solution:
If your mod needs one add one, but usually multiplayer-mods don't (they use info_player_deathmatch or other info_player_), and this error is just to confuse you. Just make sure you have atleast one of a info_player_** entity in your map before you compile it.
Description:
Spotlights usually throw their light in a cone. you just can't make a cone thats larger than or equal to 2*90 degrees (this is a purely mathematical restriction).
Solution:
Go to the specified entity and lower its angle value. for larger angles you should use the normal light-entity, or multiple light_spots.
Description:
This error means the specified entity has wrong outputs or inputs. Either it is targetting a non-existing entity, trying to tell another entity to do something it doesn't do or just using the wrong output.
Solution:
Go to the outputs tab of the entity and fix any values in RED.
See also:
Entity input/output system
Description:
You need to set the color depth in windows to 32 bits, for the models to appear correctly in the browser.
Rightclick anywhere on your desktop, select 'properties', go to the 'settings' tab and set the color quality to 32 bits. Outdated drivers may also be the cause.
Description:
You have set the render mode to wireframe.
Solution:
You need to set the camera mode to 3d-textured. Simply press on the word 'camera' in the 3d window and select '3d textured'.
Description:
Nothing gets rendered in teh 3d view, may be because of drivers or other interfering soft/hardware
Solution:
Once you made sure you aren't just looking at black textures or into the void, you may need to restart Hammer. Opengl is a real bitch if you switch between programs that aren't programmed exactly like they should.
Description:
Something has gone wrong in compiling your map, so when Windows wants to copy your map to the maps-directory of your game, it cannot find the file. (the message Windows returns may vary on it's language)
The cause is usually some fatal error in vbsp.exe (the program that generates the bare bsp-file) so check for other errors in your log.
The other cause is some invalid setup of directories, or bad mapnames, too long pathnames etc. In which case you should also see the effects further upwards in the log (something like the other programs not being able to load your map).
For mapnames, remember to avoid any strange character, like brackets, dots, commas and spaces. try to build your mapname out of characters ( a-z ), numbers ( 0-9 ) and the underscore ( _ ) only.
The exact cause is usally findable in the logfile.
Remember this error is not a cause of your map to not compile, it is merely a sign that your map didn't compile.
Solution:
Check your logfile for errors, check your directory setup or rename your map.
See also:
Logfile-checker (see search above)
Description:
Half-life couldn't open your map. Did you recieve any errors in the compile process? Got your paths set up right?
Solution:
Scan your compile-log for other errors and fix those
See also:
Logfile-checker (see search above)
Description:
As you create bigger maps, the compile process will take longer and longer. You can prevent a lot of this by optimizing your map. By telling the compile tools what to ignore and how to work, you can seriously decrease the time needed to build your map.
Solution:
Optimize your map. Use func_detail and hints to speed up the compile process. Alternatively, you can use visgroups or cordon tools to only compile a part of your level. This is great for checking only a part of your level. Lastly, you can set vvis.exe and vrad.exe to [-fast], so they do a worse job (not for final compiles!) but much faster than before.
See also:
Optimization tutorial
WIKI: Optimization
Controlling what to compile
Reference: Compiling theory
Generally, this error may be ignored
Description:
These warnings can be completely ignored, they have nothing to do with your map (but with crappy programming by Valve!).
Solution:
Become a Valve programmer and fix the problem.
The affected object may not work/appear properly
Description:
One of your brushes is smaller than the smallest allowable brush-size. This size (when it will be warned about) is specified in the compiler, but can be changed (it's an option for vbsp, [ -micro #] default is 1.0 cubic unit).
Solution:
Find the brush using 'view->go to brush number' in Hammer or ctr+shift+G in Hammer and enter the specified brush number. Either delete it, or enlarge it, whatever you desire. If you need small brushes, you may be better of with models instead.
See also
WIKI: Vbsp
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
You have too many vertices in your map (point from which brushes are made).
See also:
MAX_MAP_VERTS
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
You have tied a displacement to an entity. Displacements aren't supposed to be entities. (they don't need to be func_detail, vvis.exe ignores them anyway)
Solution:
Find your displacement and de-entify it. The easiest method to find it in a big map is to select all displacements at once (select the "displacements\ visgroup (in the visgroup-window to the right in Hammer), then press "mark") in the ignore group mode (button "IG"). Now tie all of the displacements to an entity, and "to world" them again right after that while they are still selected.
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
Your map is too big (you have brush(es) too near to the edge of the grid) or you have invalid brushes.
Solution:
If the problem-checker in Hammer (alt+p) doesn't find any offending brush(es), and you can't see brushes near the edge of the grid, you should use the cordon tools or visgroups to find them.
See also:
Reference: Finding the unfindable
Reference: Invalid solids
Generally, this error may be ignored
Description:
Usually preceded by some coordinates, the best explanation I can give at the moment is that this is caused by certain models Valve made. In particular the "/wasteland/InteriorFence002d.mdl"-model. I've also heard small panes of glass and some other models can cause this error to occour.
Solution:
You can look for ages to find the model causing the problem, after hiding all your models first and see if that is causing your problem. If so, you have a long way ahead of you to find the specific model if it isn't the afore mentioned one...
In other words, leave it be, it won't hurt you. Unless you bite first! I haven't seen any bad effects caused by this error ingame.
The affected object may not work/appear properly
Description:
You've tried to use a water texture which should only be placed in the map automatically by the compiler, or the water-texture you did use has an invalid bottom-texture. Invalid materials usually end in _beneath or _bottom or _dx* .
Solution:
There will be a matching texture without those suffixes which you can use instead. Try another water texture.
See also:
WiseMx's list of water examples
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
One of your info_overlays is spanning more faces than the maximum of 64. This number is based on the faces after bsp cutting, so it might look allright in Hammer but doesn't work ingame.
Solution:
Check each overlay in your map, and make sure it doesn't cover more than 64 faces. Allthough easier said than done, you must try to find the overlay in Hammer (where you can only guess where your faces are cut) so its best to check big (stretched) overlays first, and also make sure you have no world brushes cutting each other up near these overlays (eg. near stairs, or when you use a small lightmap scale). The use of func_detail will stop that.
See also:
Reference: Finding the unfindable
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
One of your brushes has a face with a bad normal (a normal is a oriėntation of a texture on a face).
Solution:
First see if the problemchecker in Hammer can find and fix it. If it can't, find the brush and fix it manually (usually it's best to delete it and start all over) or select the brush and "align to face" it in the texture-tool.
See also:
Reference: Finding the location of errors
The affected object may not work and/or cause general errors
Description:
One of your brushes has no visible sides. My best guess is that this is caused by an invalid brush.
Solution:
Try Hammer's problemchecker (alt+p) to find and fix it, otherwise you'll have to find the brush and use vertex manipulation or a good ole delete.
See also:
Reference: Finding the cause of errors
Reference: Invalid solids
The affected object may not work and/or cause general errors
Description:
Your map is too big (you have brush(es) too near to the edge of the grid) or you have invalid brushes.
Solution:
If the problem-checker in Hammer (alt+p) doesn't find any offending brush(es), and you can't see brushes near the edge of the grid, you should use the cordon tools or visgroups to find them.
See also:
reference: Finding the unfindable
Reference: Invalid solids
The affected object may not work and/or cause general errors
Description:
You have an model-based entity (prop_something) without a model specified.
Solution:
To fix, delete it or give it a model. It can be hard to find, and if you really cant find it, use this trick:
open your map (.vmf) in wordpad, and search for the string:
"model" ""
replace it with something you never used in your map, eg.
"model" "somenameineverusedforanentity"
Save the file, and open it up in hammer again.using 'entity report' in Hammer, you can search for the string " somenameineverusedforanentity " and your entity comes up.
Alternatively, you may delete the entire entity, by removing it entirely:
entity
{
"some stuff" "more stuff"
"model" ""
"origin" xx xx xx"
editor
{
"color" "220 30 220"
"visgroupid" "2"
"visgroupshown" "1"
}
}
would be what you can delete. after the last "}" the next entity will be specified. Remember to delete the entire entity, and only that one, or your map may get broken. better backup your map before trying to fuck it up even more.
The affected object may not work and/or cause general errors
Description:
This error means you have a brush with coplanar planes (aka an invalid brush). simply put, two sides of the same brush aren't allowed to be on the same plane.
Solution:
The fix is to repair the brush, by either merging the two brushsides or moving them so they aren't on the same plane anymore.
See also:
Reference: Invalid solids
Generally, this error may be ignored
Description:
A degenerate triangle is a triangle with no area. for instance, when two of its points are at the same place or all three on one line. I believe this error only affects displacements, but i am not entirely sure. It also seems to be used in collision data (for the displacements?)
Solution:
Find the triangle (using the coordinates, each set represents a vertex) and see if you can fix it (e.g. by moving one of the vertices, or deleting it. For displacements, you may need to destroy the displacement and start all over if you can't seem to fix it. It wont harm you if you leave it, but make sure the area doesn't look weird because of it. (holes in the displacements, overly stretched textures)
See also:
Finding coordinates
Generally, this error may be ignored
Description:
Your map has a node without a volume. (a node is what a clipnode was in hl1, in other words a volume denoting where the player can get to and where not.)
Solution:
Unless you just did some vertex-manipulation or placed static props in a wall, or added a funky new displacement, you shouldn't hunt this error down, as it may take you ages to find, unless you get strange effects in your map. Just fix (simplify) the awkward gemetry if you find it. May also be the sign of an invalid brush, or simply vertices offgrid (unlikely?).
See also:
Reference: Finding the unfindable
Generally, this error may be ignored
Description:
Your map has a node with an infinite size. (a node is what a clipnode was in hl1, in other words a volume denoting where the player can get to and where not.)
Solution:
Unless you just did some vertex-manipulation or placed static props in a wall, or added a funky new displacement, you shouldn't hunt this error down, as it may take you ages to find, unless you get strange effects in your map. Just fix (simplify) the awkward gemetry if you find it. May also be the sign of an invalid brush, or simply vertices offgrid (unlikely?).
See also:
Reference: Finding the unfindable
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
You have used the ORIGIN texture on a brush that isn't allowed to have the ORIGIN texture. ORIGIN is only allowed on parts of brushbased-entities, and only on brushes that have all sides with ORIGIN.
Solution:
Simply replace the offending ORIGIN textures.(there's a replace option in the texture browser menu)
On a side note, if you turn on helpers (the diamond shaped button in the right, top bar) you can specify an origin without the use of origin-brushes. much easier and safer. The origin-brush is just there for compatibility with hl1 maps, you shouldn't use it for hl2 maps.
Generally, this error may be ignored
Description:
You can specify for each cubemap which faces should be using it. However, each face can only have one cubemap attached to itself this way. If you want the face to use multiple cubemaps you shouldn't tie them statically to cubemaps this way, but split the face (into multiple brushes).
Solution:
I hope you can find out by the name of the texture which face vbsp is talking about, because that's the only reference you have. No nifty stuff will help you find the problem, you have to check each texture or cubemap individually to find it. Or just leave it, as far as i know it defaults to one of the two env_cubemaps anyway, so it wont harm you one bit if you leave it.
The affected object may not work/appear properly
Description:
You aren't allowed to have the "tools/nodraw" texture one a displacement.
Solution:
So find this displacement (this can be hard, you might want to check each displacement in your map).
Another strategy is to select all displacements at once (select the "displacements" visgroup (in the visgroup-window to the right in Hammer), then press "mark") in the ignore group mode (button "IG"), then use the texture browser to replace every instance of the nodraw texture to another one (with the "only in marked solids" button checked).
See also:
Reference: Finding the unfindable
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
See Max_map_texinfos
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
You have too many brushsides in your map. The mentioned brush is simply the first one that didn't fit in the buffer.
See Max_map_brushsides
This error will cause your map to fail compiling correctly
Description:
You have a prop_static outside the map, or you have a big leak.
Solution:
Delete the entity, or fix the leak.
See also:
Reference: Leaks
WIKI: leaks
This error will cause your map to fail compiling correctly
Description:
You have a leak. A leak is a hole in your map that exposes any entity in your map to the void (the black space outside your map).
Solution:
Fix the leak.
See also:
Reference: Leaks
WIKI: leaks
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
(from Jeff Lane, Valve) "VBSP does cleanup of edges where func_detail geometry meets world geometry to avoid getting visual cracks. One of the ways it does is this by elminating t-junctions. It sounds like you may have hit a limit of the number of those cleanups in the level.
Solution:
If that is the case, you could fix the problem by reducing the number of func_detail brushes in the level, especially ones that touch non-detail geometry. It's probably a sign that you have too much complex brush geometry in the level, and would benefit from having some of it be model geometry instead."
See also:
WIKI: making models out of brushes with XSI
The affected object may not work/appear properly
Description:
You have used (created yourself?) a model without the data compiled in it for it to become a non-static entity. These kind of models can only be used on prop_statics, unless you recompile them with the neccesairy data.
Solution:
Find them using the coordinates, or simply recompile the model with the appropriate data
See also:
Find coordinates in a map
Compiling models
Generally, this error may be ignored
Description:
You shouldn't use this texture, but this one: glass/glasswindowbreak070a. The b-texture is used after the glass is broken, so you should never put it into your map manually. Sometimes this error occours and you dont have this texture anywhere in your map. Probably being some strange bug, might as wel leave it, it seems to cause no harm.
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
See Max_map_portalverts
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
A render order determines which overlays are drawn on top over the others (or under). These render orders are simple numbers, ranging from 1-3. Other numbers are invalid, causing this error.
Solution:
f this error is accompanied by insanely huge numbers, it is most likely a badly placed info_overlay (atleast it was in my case). These entities don't like to be placed on the edge of a brush.
If even that is not the case, try to open the map in a texteditor and look for the numbers. They may be caused by a b0rked map, or something along those lines.
See also:
Finding the unfindable
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
You have too many planes (a plane is an angle for a brushside to exist) in your map. The mentioned brush is simply the first one that didn't fit in the buffer.
See Max_map_planes
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
Displacements can only have four sides, no more, no less.
Solution:
Find your displacement (you'll have to check each one in your level) and recreate it so it has four sides again.
You may need to be creative with some vertex manipulation for some shapes you want to create with displacements.
See also:
Finding the unfindable
This error will cause your map to fail compiling completely
Description:
Either you have placed your sky_camera in a brush, or your map has a leak.
Solution:
Use entity report to find the sky_camera and move it, or in case of a leak, fix the leak.
See also:
3d skybox tutorial
Reference: Leaks
WIKI: leaks
The affected object may not work and/or cause general errors
Description:
One of your areaportals touches either too many, or to few areas. Possible causes are:
-areaportals touching/intersecting each other (this causes them to touch more than two areas)
-areaportals that dont seal an area ( you can move from one side of the areaportal to the other side, without crossing world geometry or other areaportals). This is also regared as a leak.
Solution:
The fix would be to move your areaportal(s) around so the above situations don't occur. You may need to read up on the usage of areaportals if you do not understand the problem. I suggest you find...
You wanna take this to Fuck Town?
Oh gadzooks, yes!