Pwn Call

And by the way you didn't have to post about how much you suck we already know

Yea zunnie I thought you were talking about how much you suck at ren

VIS Tutorial
By Pwn Call
 
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Intro
 
First I recommend that you read through this whole tutorial before you start it as well as the comments on the following pages.  That way you can see why you need to do things a certain way and it may be different for your type of map.  This way you can fix the issue early before you are too far into to it.
 
VIS is a system that Westwood created that allows for better FPS when playing Renegade.  The basic principle behind VIS is that it allows your computer to only load what is visible in that specific map from where you are located.  So for example if you are inside one of your buildings it won't bother to load the interiors (and most likely the exteriors) of the enemy base because they aren't in your line of view. 
 
I learned how to do VIS from YSL Muffins original VIS tutorial which can be found here.  This tutorial is quite in depth but can be quite confusing as well so hopefully mine is a little less confusing while still explaining it well.  Also I use one of his pictures in my tutorial so credit goes to him.
 
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Step 1 - Create your level
 
Usually I like to make my level first then add my VIS sectors at the end, you can add them as you go if you want but I think it gets more confusing that way.  Also you should only set up the sectors in Level Edit once you are done with everything else, otherwise things can get messed up easily.
 

 

Step 2 - Determine which type of sectors will work best with your map type

If your map is:

Flat - Use the plain sectors as shown in this tutorial for the entire thing, also make sure you add them for lower or higher levels of terrain, for example the tops of high rise structures or other high or low places you can get to.

Very Hilly terrain - Use the method to create sectors where you clone your terrain, and detach several vertices at a time. This will take much moretime but works much better with hilly terrain, allowing for much fewer VIS glitches later on.  Also make sure to look closely for VIS glitches around the really steep parts of your map.

Mostly flat with some steep hills - Use the flat plain method for the flat parts of the map and use the clone terrain part for the hills.

Step 3 - Create your VIS Sectors
 
Alright here we go!  So VIS sectors are basically meshes that lie below the surface of your map and you must create a VIS sector anywhere the player's camera can reach.  For example when you are in first person mode the camera is exactly where the players head is, however in 3rd person mode, or more importantly when you are in a vehicle, the camera is somewhere above and behind the player.  So with that being said you don't only have to put the sectors anywhere your player can go, but also off the edges of the map where they camera may be. 
 
So look in this next example of me making my sectors for my map,  they might not need to be that far off the sides but it is better to make them further off rather than not far enough off because it will give you hassles later on.  Also I use a standard plane with 1 segment to keep poly's low and I believe the size I used was 25x25 meters.  I wouldn't go much bigger than this with your sectors or a whole lot lower, it also depends on the size of your map.
 

 
Another important thing to do is to name your sector, I usually call the first one I make VIS and then when you clone it it will name the next one VIS01 and so on.  This way you can select them all easily later because they will go under all of your terrain.
 

 
Now before you start cloning them all over your map make sure you lower them on the between about 1 and 1.5 meters.
 

 
Then clone it.
 

 
And repeat until you have the VIS sectors cover all of your terrain like so.  It is extremely useful to use the Grid tool for this so it is easy to line them up, if you don't know how to use the Grid there is a tutorial I made here.
 

 

 
Also remember this map I am doing is all flat so planes work well for this.  For most maps which are not flat you will have to create your VIS sectors a little differently.  The best way to do it is to clone your floor terrain and lower it.  Once you lower it you will have to select several vertices at a time and detach them until you have all of the sectors separated.  Don't forget to lower it!  It also helps if you do this before you texture it but it isn't necessary.
 
 
Now not only do you have to do this for your terrain it has to be done anywhere where your character can get to.  For example you can see White Nyte's here which is walk onable so I have to make a sector for this like so.
 

 
And don't forget to lower it!
 

 
Now you don't have to put VIS sectors on everything, just things that are much higher or lower than the existing sectors.  For example the top of White Nyte's is most likely too high for the sector and the ground to be effective, that is why I am adding on for the roof of the building.  But smaller things like curbs or rocks that you can go on are low enough that you don't need to make a different sector for.  I believe a sector works 10 meters above it but remember it is 1 meter below the ground and the camera can go up higher than your character or even higher in vehicles.  Test it out and see what works best for your terrain.
 
Also the renegade buildings come with their own VIS sectors built in so you don't need to add them to the buildings.
 
Step 4 - Exporting
 
Before you export there is one more thing you have to do.  First select all of your VIS sectors.  Do this by selecting them by name which is really easy (if you named them VIS like I told you to earlier)
 

 

 
Now we have to set the W3D options of the VIS sectors.  With them selected click on the Hammer icon on the upper right of your screen, then W3D Options.  Then check off both hide and VIS under the collision settings.  This allows your VIS sectors to be invisible but still work.  They won't disappear in Gmax but they will be gone in LE.
 

 
Alright now you are good to export your map to Level Edit.
 
Step 5 - Level Edit Set Up
 
So now you should have exported your map with all of your sectors into Level Edit.  First I would make sure you set everything else up in Level edit like buildings, waypaths, presets, etc.  Also you have to have a Pathfind Generator somewhere on your map to set up the VIS or else Level Edit will crash when you set it up.
 

 
Now to start setting up you must do these 4 things in this order.  The last 2 will take a while because it is creating all of the VIS points, and make sure you set the granularity to about 5, if you go any lower it takes a TON of time.  If you have a crappy PC I recommend 8, you will just have to add more manual VIS points later.
 

 

 
Alright that took a while!  Now you are almost done.  Now what you have to do is walk around and look for VIS glitches.  A VIS glitch is where the system thinks you cannot see an object so it won't load that object when in reality you should be able to see it.  It looks something like this...
 

 
That is the inside of the refinery and there is a mesh there covering up that hole but it doesn't think you are supposed to be able to see that mesh.  So what you must do is create a manual VIS point.  To do this just hold down the control key and hit the accent button which has these symbols on it ` and ~ (left of the 1) so Ctrl+`.  Once you do that it should fix the VIS glitch and make that mesh or object reappear.  If it doesn't reappear try moving around or moving the camera around slightly and try it again, some VIS glitches are stubborn!  Some cases if it can't be fixed it may be because there isn't a VIS sector in that location and in that case you need to go back to RenX and fix it.
 
Common places to look for these VIS glitches are as follows:  Most of the Renegade buildings have them especially in and around the doorways,  the hand of nod by the ped area windows has a ton of them so look there very thoroughly or add your own sectors to that spot, entrances and exits to tunnels, areas that have really steep slopes,  corners, etc.
 
Also for finding ones around doors you can hit Ctrl+Shift+T which will hide the doors.  Note that this also hides all tiles like trees or other objects you have made in your level, so once you are done around the doors hit Ctrl+Shift+T to make them reappear.
 
Once you make a manual VIS point it will appear in LE like a little camera to show where you have them.
 

 
Now walk all over your level and look for them, it is easier to find them in 3rd person mode because the camera swings wider so you will have more luck finding them.
 
After you walk around the whole level and find them all you can do it one more time only with tanks viewpoint.  Do this by going to the Camera tab then choose the Mammoth Tank.
 

 
This should make your view look somewhat like this
 

Now when you are going around in this view you don't have to go anywhere a tank couldn't go.  Also use the Mammoth tank because it has the widest turn radius for the camera.  Really check the edges of your map and around buildings well cause these are places that are prone to VIS glitches.
 
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Flying Maps
 
For flying maps you have to have more than just the VIS layer under the ground, every 9 meters or so in height you need to add another layer until you reach the flight roof.  That is really the only difference for flying maps.
 
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This is a very confusing tutorial for those of you who are new to VIS, so ask any questions you have below and I will help to answer them.  Also if you know more about VIS than me let me know if I did something wrong or if there is a better way to do something!!!

This looks pretty sweet and can't beat it for the price, I'm in!

For some objects that don't have collision settings, like tiberium cystals or some other objects, sometimes they aren't selectable if you make them a tile.  If it won't let you select and move an item once you make it try temping it under the Objects folder instead, something like Daves arrow is good for those items and it should be selectable.

Looks good!

I agree with trunks I have never had to put those blockers there and haven't had any issues either.

For the texture you need the HUD texture for the level edit settings correct? Although the models texture should be included in the .mix file?

Also do the HUD textures need to be .dds or can they be .tga files?

Lookin good!

I love the old WW maps they just need a little "sprucing up"

I'm assuming this works for any other vehicle you would want to add?

Thanks for the tutorial I've always wanted to add these in my maps

I decided to have a topic for miscellaneous tips and hints that you might not know about in Level Edit, Renx/3ds Max, or some of the other editing programs.  If you have a hint or tip to add to the list post it and I'll add it.

Ren X

Grid -  Using the grid function helps you to line up your meshes without having to zoom in super far and manual align them.  It can be turned on by left clicking on the Magnet with the 3 icon in the lower left part of RenX like so

To change the distance that it snaps to simply right click on it and a menu will pop up, go to Home Grid then change the Grid spacing to your desired distance.

You can tell if your grid is on if there is a large cyan cross over your cursor like in the below image

Also when using the grid remember not to move an object by grabbing the X, Y, or Z arrows as those will move the object without the grid spacing on, move it by selecting the object itself.

Level Edit

Creating Good Lighting/ Fixing some texture glitches - So if you want your map to have good lighting in Level edit go to the Lighting tab then go down at the bottom and Compute Vertex Solve.  This adds shadows to your map and fixes some minor texture glitches!

Stamping Objects - I actually just stumbled upon this by accident but you can use a preset as a stamp tool.  To do this create the object that you want.  Once it appears move it to the position you want that preset.  While holding down left click on the object right click and it will put that object in that position.  You can do this as many times as you want.  It is really useful if you want a bunch of presents around an area because you don't have to hit make everytime then move them to the position that you want.

That is all that I have for now, if you know of any that would be good additions post them up, not every simple trick is general knowledge to everyone.

Hey zunnie, if you ever come back, do you know how to make this work for vehicles that no one is in?  I want to use this for my airstrip teleporter so when you buy a vehicle it is teleported somewhere.

All my tuts have the images hosted here at MPF now

Thanks zunnie!

Making Preset Objects in Level Edit
 
By: Pwn Call     (aka ESCALADE)
 
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Intro
 
First I would like to thank Halo38 for making some great objects that work perfectly for this tutorial, you can find his pedestals, teleporters, and other cool objects in the downloads section which all work really well for this tutorial.
 
This is so you can make objects, like teleporters, bunkers, or almost any stationary object in Level Edit without having to make it or move it around in RenX some things are just easier to use in Level Edit.
 
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Alright so first you need to start out with your object in RenX.  Here I have Halo38's pedestal pack.
 

 
Now we don't want all three together for this so delete two of them, whichever one you want to export you can leave.
 

 
Now go to the Top view and make sure that it is centered in RenX, that is going through the solid black lines on the grid.
 

 
Also make sure that it has the correct W3D options set so your player doesn't walk through your object (unless that is what you want of course)
 

 
Now go to File> Export
 

 
Now you need to export it into your level package in Level Edit.  I have a folder in Level Edit for all of my AOW maps, then I created another folder to put all of my preset files in, which I recommend that you make, it just keeps things neater.  Either way remember where you export it to and make sure it is in your Level Edit folder somewhere.  Also name it a unique name that you will remember and also don't forget to select .W3D as the export setting, then hit save.
 

 
Then the Westwood Export window will pop up make sure you change it to Renegade Terrain then hit OK,  it will take a few seconds to export.  Now you are all done for the RenX part of it.
 

 
Now open up Level Edit and select your package where you put it.  You don't have to load up a map but I did so you can see what it looks like. 
Now go to the presets menu on the right and highlight Tiles and hit "TEMP"
 

 
The window below will pop up, for the name enter the exact name that you exported it as in the Name field.
 

 
Then click on the Physics Model tab and by Physics type hit the arrow and choose StaticPhys
 

 
Over by model name hit the folder icon and then find where you put your .W3D file, mine is in the presets folder so I will open that.
 

 
Once I'm in where my files are located I will find the exported file and then hit open.
 

 
Then it comes back to the original window and just click ok
 

 
Now it will create a new preset under the Tiles section with that name of your file,  Click on it then hit Make and your object should appear!!!!
 

 
Now you can move your object wherever you want in Level edit as well as rotate it!!  You can make as many as you want as well and you can use them for all of your maps.  Look in this next picture you can see that the lightpost is selectable, thats because I have created a preset for that as well.  You can do this for all of your commonly used objects and it can save some time.
 
Also you can do this with bunkers, the bunker in the lower left was also a preset.
 

 
IMPORTANT!!
 
One last thing to remember before you are finished.  When you export your map make sure you include the .W3D file as well as the textures for that model in your .mix or else they won't show up when you play your level!!!

Thanks man!

Let me know if you  have any suggestions for this tutorial.  I'll update it here and there.

Also I have a theory to try,

I was thinking instead of having the furthest out collision box, that stops you from breaking the tiles, have the tiles that are breakable set to no physical collisions.  This way you don't have to make as many boxes.

The only thing is that it might still allow them to break when you walk by them, or it might look like you walk to far into them because the core isn't super close to the outside.

I will have to test it and see first.

Destructible Pillars Tutorial

By: Pwn Call (a.k.a. ESCALADE)

This is a tutorial that will teach you how to make destroyable pillars in C&C Renegade.  Think of the scene from the movie the Matrix where all of the pillars are exploding from gunfire (only a little less epic)

Here is a quick video to show you what your final outcome could look like.

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Quick disclaimer before you start.

Make sure when doing this you don't put too many of these in your level as it requires a lot of meshes depending on how you make your pillars.  I wouldn't recommend making the breakable tiles as small as I did in the video that was just a quick test level.

Also to allow for fewer meshes you could only make them breakable in the areas that are around the height of a player where you would normally only shoot anyways so you don't make too many extra meshes.

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If you already know how to set W3D settings for objects and are experienced in map making there is a quick outline of how to set up the pillars at the bottom.

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First step is to create the core of your pillar in RenX.  Create a small vertical box about .5 X .5 (depending on how you want your pillar or object) and whatever height will fill your room.  For the core I recommend the texture  "ref_cemnt_tmp.tga" which is from the Renegade texture pack.

Also when you create the core of your pillar make sure to name it something like "core" because you will want to know what everything is by name for setting W3D options which I will explain later, also it makes it much easier to duplicate your pillar and select all the necessary parts later on.

Here is my pillar with the outer "destructible" pieces near the bottom

Next you will create the "destructible" part of your pillar as seen in the above image is the brown tiles at the bottom.  In that picture there are 8 tiles that surround the core pillar,  you will need to make these go all the way to the roof so your pillar is completely covered.  Do this by selecting them from the "Top" view and then go to the Edit Menu>Clone.  To move them up I would switch to the side view and I would also change your snap to grid settings to the same height as your breakable tiles so you don't have to line them up manually.

Again make sure that they have a common name like "shatter" or "Break",  just something so you know what they are so you can select all of them later.

As you can see in this picture make sure they are outside of the core of your pillar so the core doesn't show through and they completely cover it.

Here is the side view to clone them up to the ceiling.

Next what you will need to do is create a collision box that is completely outside of the entire pillar and outer breakable layers as seen in this picture.  Again name it something like "collision" so you know what it is.  It only needs to be the height of the player but you can make it all the way to the ceiling, this is necessary because it stops the player from breaking the outer breakable layer when walking into them.

Now your pillar is complete and all you need to do is set up the collision settings.  If you want to make more pillars simply clone this one and move it where you want it.  Create however many pillars you want and then set the W3D settings after because when clones the W3D settings are reset.

So first I will go into detail on how to set up the W3D settings for the Outer collision box.  First to select all of your collision boxes go to Edit>Select By> Name.  Now you will want to select all of the meshes that are called "collision" or whatever you named them, this is only for the outer collision box.  Once you have them all selected go to the Utilities Tab then W3D options then scroll down to where it says W3D export settings. Under Geometry you will check the Hide box and under Collision settings only click Physical.

You can leave all of the other options the same,  this will hide this box but make it so you run into it with your character.

Now for your Pillar Core's again go to Edit>Select By>Name and select all of your cores, this time under W3D options only check Camera, Physical, and Projectile under Collision settings and leave everything else the same.

And finally for your destroyable tiles around the pillar go to Edit>Select By>Name and select all of the meshes that you named "shatter" or "Break" or whatever you named them.  There will be very many of these meshes.  For these W3D settings check off Shatter under Geometry and check off Physical, Projectile, and Camera for Collision settings.

Now your Pillars are ready to go!!

All you have to do to make more is select them all and hit clone and move the new pillars where you want them.  Make sure when cloning you redo the W3D options because the clones don't have any W3D options set!

Play around with these settings to see what other cool things you can create.

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Quick Overview for Experienced Map Makers.

Create the pillar core with normal W3D settings, Physical, Projectile, Camera

Create your destructible outer meshes completely covering the core,  W3D settings > Shatter on Geometry, then Physical, Projectile, Camera

Create a box just bigger than all of the meshes, W3D settings > Hide on Geometry, then Physical

The last box stops the player from bumping into the outer layers and destroying them.

you should add the teleporter model that Halo38 made into this tut.  Those are good models,  and a great tut!

Ah, so this is they way these maps are made, no wonder my old maps were super laggy and had missing textures and such. 

This makes so much sense, I wonder why I haven't seen a tutorial for this

Alright thanks, I think I have just one last question for now.

Thankfully it looks like this level edit fix allows for direct .mix exports is that correct?   And for this if we make custom textures do they need to be in the level edit folder for that specific level to load when played online?

Thanks for all the help, these updated tools make this way easier than previously

The first time it didn't work but then I tried it again and it worked.

What are the differences in the Mod packages that are listed?

ALWAYS

Characters

Editor Cache

presets

Alright I think it overwrote the files but how do I know if it worked or not?

Is there anything that I can see that will let me know if it worked, or should the file be a certain size?

Thanks for all the help with these little issues.

So I downloaded the windows 7 registry and fixes file from your site to fix level edit.  I ran and merged the correct .reg file into my Renegade Public tools folder and it created all new sets for everything that was originally in the renegade public tools folder.  Now my question is which level edit application should I use because it left all the old files in there so there is a copy of all of the old stuff, as well as all of the new stuff. 

Do i need both copies or can I delete the old stuff?  And when running Level Edit i'm assuming i'm supposed to use the new Level Edit applicaion correct?

Sorry it wasn't super clear.