(Odd Q to ask here, but what the hey) AlphaMod but in Source

Post by **Hipshot** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 10:52 pm

Hmm, I know this place really isn't the place to ask, but I'll try anyway. Does anyone know how to make alpha mod or similar in Source (HL2)? Source material information is scattered over the net and I don't know what to search for, so I'm gonna ask in all forums that I know...

Post by **seremtan** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 12:57 am

ok, i'm not sure how au fait you are with source but it already includes alphamod (called blend). it's two textures and a shader combined into a .vmt file. all the grass/dirt/rock in hl2 is blend.

if you want to know how it's done simply decompile one of the .vmt files in the 'nature/' folder and copy the shader then recompile it with your own textures.

you can find all you need here:

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki ... ial_System

Post by **Hipshot** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 1:43 am

I know valve has a similar system, I've ofc seen the grass and rocks they use. But I'd never come around testing that out. Do you know if it can be used to make transparency or is it just for another texture?

Have you done anything Source yet Ser?

Post by **seremtan** » Sun Jul 17, 2005 10:33 am

hm, now i'm even less sure what you're after

alpha blends as used in grass etc are two tgas (converted to vtf) and a shader compiled into a vmt

transparencies - as in decals & overlays - are 32-bit tgas with alpha channels compiled into vtf and with shader added to make the vmt

i haven't actually made any source materials as yet, but i'm currently working on an SP mini-expansion for HL2, picking up from the end of the game (totally different to Aftermath). it's incredibly time-consuming. i'm about 5/6ths done on the first map, and that's taken me about 6 weeks. there will be around 9 maps in total according to my plan.