Help:Unusual and Killstreak renders

This Unusual & Killstreaker renders tutorial will show you how to render images of Unusual effects and Killstreakers in Source Filmmaker, for use in update, Unusual, or Killstreak related pages. Only minimal Source Filmmaker knowledge is required.

Getting Started

The following process will provide you with all of the tools you need to open the original project file use for renders from late 2019 and onward. Vanilla SFM is missing a lot of files required for the project to work, and also uses incorrect versions of other files. Following these instructions should fix all of that.

1. First off, download SFM if you haven't already. You'll also want GCFScape and VTFEdit.
2. Download this ZIP file.
3. Open and extract it. You should have a tf folder and a usermod folder.
4. Drag these 2 folders into SourceFilmmaker/game, your main SFM folder.
5. Open SFM and right click on your viewport window. Select Render Settings, and turn off Ambient Occlusion.

Congratulations! You're now ready for rendering rendering Unusual effects and Killstreakers.

Rendering Unusual effects

Below are tutorials on how to render different Unusual effect types.

Cosmetic Unusuals

Using the following process, you can render Cosmetic Unusual effects in the current format. For this tutorial, we'll be rendering the Sparkling Lights Unusual effect.

Adding the particle

1. Set your camera to cam_cosmetic.
2. Click the + icon in animation set editor. Create an animation set for a new particle system.
3. There will be a few fields for you to fill out.
   • Set Particle System Definition File to the .pcf of your Unusual effect set. For Sparkling Lights, this would be smissmas2019_unusuals.
   • We'll ignore Particle System Definition for now.
   • Set Start Time to 0.
   • Set all other fields to 999.

Positioning the particle

1. Switch to the motion editor in the timeline window.
2. Find the transform - pos field of your particle system. In respective order, change each 0 to -3.32202 160.479 1.57848. It should now be in the same position as the particle system named REGULAR. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to REGULAR as possible.
3. In the timeline window, move your current frame to anything below 0, and then to 10 in that exact order.
   • You can get to 10 on the exact frame by using your arrow keys to navigate frame-by-frame through the timeline.
   • 10 is the most used frame for images, but can be adjusted as needed if 10 isn't the best frame for your render.

Finalizing the particle

1. Right click your particle in the animation set editor. Go to Show in Element Viewer, and then Particle System.
2. Replace the particleSystemType field with your particle's filename. For Sparkling Lights, this would be unusual_sparkling_lights_parent02.
3. Your particle should now be ready to export. Click on File at the top left, and export as a poster. The image size should be 1920x1080.
4. When your render exports, it can be found in \SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\elements\renders. Use your favorite image editing software to crop the width to 1080. The image will now be 1080x1080 and is ready for use on the wiki!

Taunt Unusuals

Using the following process, you can render Taunt Unusual effects in the current TF Wiki format. For this tutorial, we'll be rendering the Arctic Aurora Unusual effect.

Adding the particle

1. Set your camera to cam_cosmetic.
2. Click the + icon in animation set editor. Create an animation set for a new particle system.
3. There will be a few fields for you to fill out.
   • Set Particle System Definition File to the .pcf of your Unusual effect set. For Arctic Aurora, this would be smissmas2019_unusuals.
   • We'll ignore Particle System Definition for now.
   • Set Start Time to 0.
   • Set all other fields to 999.

Positioning the particle

1. Switch to the motion editor in the timeline window.
2. Find the transform - pos field of your particle system. In respective order, chhange each 0 to 322.465 -3.76758 -64.2641. It should now be in the same position as the particle system named REGULAR_TAUNT. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to REGULAR_TAUNT as possible.
3. In the timeline window, move your current frame to anything below 0, and then to 10 in that exact order.
   • You can get to 10 on the exact frame by using your arrow keys to navigate frame-by-frame through the timeline.
   • 10 is the most used frame for images, but can be adjusted as needed if 10 isn't the best frame for your render.

Finalizing the particle

1. Right click your particle in the animation set editor. Go to Show in Element Viewer, and then Particle System.
2. Replace the particleSystemType field with your particle's filename. For Arctic Aurora, this would be utaunt_snowring_space_parent.
3. Your particle should now be ready to export. Click on File at the top left, and export as a poster. The image size should be 1920x1080.
4. When your render exports, it can be found in \SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\elements\renders. Use your favorite image editing software to crop the width to 1080. The image will now be 1080x1080 and is ready for use on the wiki!

Weapon Unusuals

Normal Weapon Unusuals

Using the following process, you can render normal Weapon Unusual effects in the current TF Wiki format. Normal Weapon Unusuals only use 1 control point, and the effect does not "trail up" the weapon. For this tutorial, we'll be rendering the Cool Unusual effect.

Adding the particle

1. Set your camera to cam_cosmetic.
2. Click the + icon in animation set editor. Create an animation set for a new particle system.
3. There will be a few fields for you to fill out.
   • Set Particle System Definition File to the .pcf of your Unusual effect set. For Cool, this would be weapon_unusual_cool.pcf.
   • We'll ignore Particle System Definition for now.
   • Set Start Time to 0.
   • Set all other fields to 999.

Positioning the particle

1. Switch to the motion editor in the timeline window.
2. Find the "transform - pos" field of your particle system. In respective order, change each 0 to 49 20.5 -23.25. It should now be in the same position as the particle system named WEP_HOT. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to WEP_HOT as possible.
3. Find the "transform - rot" field of your particle system. In respective order, change each 0 to -2.63369 13.6412 -127.413. It should now be in the same angle as WEP_HOT. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to WEP_HOT as possible.
4. In the timeline window, move your current time from 0 to anything below 0, and then to 10 in that exact order.
   • You can get to 10 on the exact frame by using your arrow keys to navigate frame-by-frame through the timeline.
   • 10 is the most used on Unusual effect images, but can be adjusted as needed if 10 isn't the best frame for your render.

• ParticleRender positionParticle.png

  Switching to motion editor

• ParticleRender positionParticle2.png

  transform - pos and transform - rot

• ParticleRender positionParticle4.png

  Moving your current frame correctly

• ParticleRender positionParticle5 weapon.png

  What your particle should look like after doing everything correctly

Finalizing the particle

1. Right click your particle in the animation set editor. Go to Show in Element Viewer > Particle System
2. Replace the particleSystemType field with your particle's filename. In the case of Cool, it would be weapon_unusual_cool_shotgun_vm.
3. Right click on your viewport window, and go to Render Settings. Your settings should match the picture's.
4. Your particle should now be ready to export. Click on File at the top right, and export as a poster. The image size should be 1920x1080.
5. When your render exports, it can be found in \SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\elements\renders. Use your favorite image editing software to crop the width to 1080. The image will now be 1080x1080 and is ready for use on the Wiki!

• ParticleRender renderParticle weapon.png

  Going to the Particle System in Element Viewer

• ParticleRender renderParticle2 weapon.png

  What particleSystemType should look like, replace with your particle filename

• ParticleRender renderParticle3 weapon.png

  Exporting

• ParticleRender renderParticle4.png

  YOUR SETTINGS MUST MATCH THESE

• 

  The final product

Dynamic Weapon Unusuals

Using the following process, you can render dynamic Weapon Unusual effects in the current TF Wiki format. Dynamic Weapon Unusuals normally use 4 control points, which allows the effect to "trail up" the weapon. For this tutorial, we'll be rendering the Isotope Unusual effect.

Adding the particle

1. If a new Unusual has been added to the game, you'll first want to check the Unusual files by opening \Team Fortress 2\tf\tf2_misc_dir.vpk with GCFScape and then opening the particles folder.
   • New Unusual sets should normally be found with the prefix weapon_unusual_.
   • If there is a new Unusual, extract it from GCFScape into \SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\particles.
2. Switch over to SFM and set your camera to cam_weapon.
3. Right click on the animation set editor. Create an animation set for a new particle system.
4. There will be a few fields for you to fill out.
   • Set the definition file to the .pcf of your Unusual effect set.
   • Set the definition to weapon_unusual_(effect)_shotgun_vm. For this tutorial, we'll be doing weapon_unusual_isotope_shotgun_vm.
   • Set the start time to 0.
   • Set all other fields to 999.

• ParticleRender positionParticle3 weapon.png

  Switching the camera

• ParticleRender createParticle.png

  Creating a new particle system

• ParticleRender createParticle2 weapon2.png

  Customizing your new particle system

Positioning the particle

1. Switch to the motion editor in the timeline window.
2. Find the "transform - pos" field of your particle system. In respective order, change each 0 to 49 20.5 -23.25. It should now be in the same position as the particle system named WEP_ENERGY. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to WEP_ENERGY as possible.
3. Find the "controlPoint4 - pos" field of your particle system. In respective order, change each 0 to 15 20 0. It should now be in the same trail position as WEP_ENERGY. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to WEP_ENERGY as possible.
4. In the timeline window, move your current time from 0 to anything below 0, and then to 10 in that exact order.
   • You can get to 10 on the exact frame by using your arrow keys to navigate frame-by-frame through the timeline.
   • 10 is the most used on Unusual effect images, but can be adjusted as needed if 10 isn't the best frame for your render.

• ParticleRender positionParticle.png

  Switching to motion editor

• ParticleRender positionParticle2.png

  transform - pos and transform - rot

• ParticleRender positionParticle4.png

  Moving your current frame correctly

• ParticleRender positionParticle5 weapon2.png

  What your particle should look like after doing everything correctly

Finalizing the particle

1. Right click on your viewport window, and go to Render Settings. Your settings should match the picture's.
2. Your particle should now be ready to export. Click on File at the top right, and export as a poster. The image size should be 1920x1080.
3. When your render exports, it can be found in \SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\elements\renders. Use your favorite image editing software to crop the width to 1080. The image will now be 1080x1080 and is ready for use on the Wiki!

• ParticleRender renderParticle3 weapon2.png

  Exporting

• ParticleRender renderParticle4.png

  YOUR SETTINGS MUST MATCH THESE

• 

  The final product

Rendering Killstreakers

Below is a tutorial on how to render Killstreakers. Using the following process, you can render Killstreakers in the current format. For this tutorial, we'll be rendering the Incinerator Killstreaker.

Adding the particle

1. Switch over to SFM and set your camera to cam_cosmetic.
2. Right click on the animation set editor. Create an animation set for a new particle system.
3. There will be a few fields for you to fill out.
   • Set the definition file to the .pcf of your Killstreaker.
   • We'll ignore the definition for now.
   • Set the start time to 0.
   • Set all other fields to 999.
   • Repeat this, so you have 2 Killstreaker particle files.

• ParticleRender positionParticle3.png

  Switching the camera

• ParticleRender createParticle.png

  Creating a new particle system

• ParticleRender createParticle2.png

  Customizing your new particle system

Positioning the particle

1. Switch to the motion editor in the timeline window.
2. For the left eye:
   • Find the "transform - pos" field of your particle system. In respective order, change each 0 to -6.58228 88.4583 3.20387. Under this, find "transform - rot". In respective order, change each 0 to 0 0 -139.361. It should now be in the same position as the particle system named REGULAR. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to KS_EYE_L as possible.
3. For the right eye:
   • Find the "transform - pos" field of your particle system. In respective order, change each 0 to -3.38623 86.2521 1.85855. Under this, find "transform - rot". In respective order, change each 0 to 0 0 -75.4642. It should now be in the same position as the particle system named REGULAR. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to KS_EYE_R as possible.
4. In the timeline window, move your current time from 0 to anything below 0, and then to 10 in that exact order.
   • You can get to 10 on the exact frame by using your arrow keys to navigate frame-by-frame through the timeline.
   • 10 is the most used on Killstreaker images, but can be adjusted as needed if 10 isn't the best frame for your render.

• ParticleRender positionParticle.png

  Switching to motion editor

• ParticleRender positionParticle2.png

  transform - pos

• ParticleRender positionParticle4.png

  Moving your current frame correctly

• ParticleRender positionParticle5.png

  What your particle should look like after doing everything correctly

Finalizing the particle

1. Right click your particle in the animation set editor. Go to Show in Element Viewer > Particle System
2. Replace the particleSystemType field with your particle's filename. In the case of Incinerator, it would be killstreak_t6_lvl1.
3. Right click on your viewport window, and go to Render Settings. Your settings should match the picture's.
4. Your particle should now be ready to export. Click on File at the top right, and export as a poster. The image size should be 1920x1080.
5. When your render exports, it can be found in \SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\elements\renders. Use your favorite image editing software to crop the width to 1080. The image will now be 1080x1080 and is ready for use on the Wiki!

• ParticleRender renderParticle.png

  Going to the Particle System in Element Viewer

• ParticleRender renderParticle2.png

  What particleSystemType should look like, replace with your particle filename

• ParticleRender renderParticle3.png

  Exporting

• ParticleRender renderParticle4.png

  YOUR SETTINGS MUST MATCH THESE

• ParticleRender renderParticle5.png

  The final product