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CS:GO SDK Texturing: Applying Textures and Principles for Optimizing Early

Category: Source: CSGO SDK
February 14, 2013

It is time to get rid of our developer textures and make the simple room look like an environment. This requires to texture bsp brushes. There are hundreds if not thousands of textures available for you to use in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

In this tutorial I will cover how to texture your geometry, how to replace textures, how to apply and align your textures as well as how to start optimizing early and use nodraw texture.

You will learn:

  • Using developer textures
  • How to use Replace Texture Tool
  • How to apply textures to your brushes and texture your map
  • How to align and manipulate textures
  • How to use nodraw texture to start optimizing early

DEVELOPER TEXTURES

When you begin to block in your map, focusing on the layout, you want to use developer textures. Dev textures allow you to focus on the functionality of the map and gameplay without being sidetracked texturing.

Texturing should be done in later phase of map production, when you have finalizedyour bsp geometry and gameplay.

To find developer textures, filter 'dev' in Texture Browser window:

REPLACE TEXTURE TOOL

Our simple room is covered with developer textures. Simple and quick way to get rid of them is to replace them with another texture.

To replace any texture already used in the map, first enable Toggle Texture Application Tool to open up Face Edit Sheet.

Face Edit Sheet is what you will be using to perform a lot of texture functionality to for your surfaces.

With Face Edit Sheet open, Left Click on any texture in your map to set that texture in the Face Edit Sheet.

Once you have it set, click on Replace:

Replace Texture window will pop up. Here you can define what texture you want to use to replace the current texture with.

Options I choose depend on what I want to replace. Usually I keep everything at default as you see in the image below.

Click browse to choose the texture you want to use to replace current texture.

Texture Browser will pop up. This is where you will browse for different textures you want to use in your map.

In the filter box, type in a search for 'wall'. You can type in any search query you want. Such as floor, ceiling etc.

Double click on the texture you want to use.

Click OK to replace.

HOW TO APPLYTEXTURES

Replace tool is great, but it has limitations. It replaces every texture with the chosen texture. Replace tool is something I use later in the texturing production, when I don't like certain textures within my map and I want to quickly swap them for something else.

For more control we need to manually texture our environment.

To do this first enableToggle Texture Application Tool to open up Face Edit Sheet.

Keep the Face Edit Sheet open the entire time you are applying and manipulating textures in your environment.

To apply already placed texture from one brush to another, first Left Click on the brush face to set current texture in Face Edit Sheet. Then Right Click on any brush you want to place that texture on.

  • Left Click to pick, Right Click to Apply.

To use a new texture, click Browse. Filter and look for texture you want. Double click to set that texture and then Right Mouse Click on any brush to apply.

  • Browse. Choose new texture, double click to set. Right Mouse Click on a brush face to apply.

To apply a texture to entire brush (all faces) and not a single individual face, hold Shift and Right Click on the brush. This will apply the texture to entire brush, instead of a single face.

  • Hold Shift+Right Mouse Click = Apply texture to entire brush

HOW TO ALIGN, SCALE, ROTATE TEXTURES

If you need to align, scale, justify or rotate your textures in the scene for more precise positioning here is how.

Face Edit Sheet open, Left Click on the face of the brush for texture you want to manipulate. So it is set in the preview window. It will also be highlighted red in the viewport.

Then use the options to manipulate and align your texture. You can scale, rotate, justify (top, bottom, left, right, fit) or move your textures. Use the up/down arrows to change values.

You will see the texture being manipulated in the perspective viewport as you change input values.

OPTIMIZING BRUSH GEOMETRY WITH NODRAW TEXTURE

One of the most important principles to your map is optimization. Your map has to run fast for other players. Especially when you will have 20-30 players playing it.

To start optimizing, one of the key elements is to NOT have any textures on brushes the player cannot and will never see. So any texture outside the world and textures that player will never see have to have a specific texture applied to those faces.

That texture is NODRAW.

Nodraw texture will not be rendered by the engine. That means it doesn't have to calculate those faces during compile. Making your map better optimized.

Filter nodraw in Texture Browser to find it.

Apply this texture using the techniques above to every face of the brush that the player will never see.

CS:GO SDK Beginner Basics Series:

How to Download, Install, Launch Hammer World Editor

Level Editor Navigation and Interface Basics in 15 minutes

Player and Architecture Scale, Dimension and Proportion

BSP Brush Geometry: How to Create Your First Room

Adding Prop Models: Using Models In Your Map

Adding Lights: How to Light Your First Room (Lighting Basics)

Texturing: Applying Textures and Principles for Optimizing Early

How to Compile and Run Your First Map

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