User:Gabrielwoj/HLMV Setup Help and Tricks
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Contents
Attention!
As of the April 18, 2024 Patch, HLMV no longer opens. At the moment, the guide hasn't been updated to reflect these changes, and it's unsure when HLMV will be working again.
However, I have discovered a way to still use HLMV, and the older version of HLMV++ (test3_fix). Currently, TFMV is unusable, unless you do some steps every time when you wish to use it.
Download this .zip that includes old bin files before the April 18, 2024 Patch (courtesy of GrampaSwood), alongside a method that allows you to still use 32bits HLMV without having to copy the entire game files. This pack also includes the empty folders fix, all the necessary fixes for HLMV (with the exception of the grey cornea one, as it's driver dependent). The "Dummied Out hlp_bones" also comes on this pack, HLMV++ fixes this automatically without needing anything, but it's needed for regular HLMV. There's no difference on HLMV++ by having this pack installed or not.
Technically, you can extract this .zip anywhere, but I recommend extracting to your Steam/steamapps/common
. Make sure that the "Team Fortress 2 (32bits)" folder is in "common".
If you use the default path for Steam, you're mostly good to go. If you don't, however, you'll have to open "gameinfo.txt" from Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2 (32bits)\tf
.
After opening it, simply replace all instances of C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam
with the path that Steam is located, so, for example, on my case, it would be:
Table automatically collapsed to not occupy space. Click "[Expand]" to uncollapse it. |
gameinfo.txt |
---|
From: |
"GameInfo" { game "Team Fortress 2" type multiplayer_only nomodels 1 nohimodel 1 nocrosshair 0 hidden_maps { "test_speakers" 1 "test_hardware" 1 } nodegraph 0 GameData "tf.fgd" InstancePath "maps/instances/" advcrosshair 1 supportsvr 1 FileSystem { SteamAppId 440 // // Setup engine search paths. // // If a search path contains "_english", and the current language is not english, then // another search path will be inserted above the english one by replacing "_english" with // the appropriate language. // // To debug how the engine has parsed this file, type "path" at the console. // // Search paths are relative to the base directory, which is where hl2.exe is found. // // |gameinfo_path| points at the directory where gameinfo.txt is. // |all_source_engine_paths| points at the directory cintaining HL2 shared content. // SearchPaths { // First, mount all user customizations. This will search for VPKs and subfolders // and mount them in alphabetical order. The easiest way to distribute a mod is to // pack up the custom content into a VPK. To "install" a mod, just drop it in this // folder. // // Note that this folder is scanned only when the game is booted. game+mod+custom_mod tf/custom/* // We search VPK files before ordinary folders, because most files will be found in // VPK and we can avoid making thousands of file system calls to attempt to open files // in folders where they don't exist. (Searching a VPK is much faster than making an operating // system call.) game_lv "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_lv.vpk" game+mod "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_textures.vpk" game+mod "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_sound_vo_english.vpk" game+mod "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_sound_misc.vpk" game+mod+vgui "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_misc.vpk" game "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2/hl2_textures.vpk" game "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2/hl2_sound_vo_english.vpk" game "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2/hl2_sound_misc.vpk" game+vgui "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2/hl2_misc.vpk" platform+vgui "C:\Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/platform/platform_misc.vpk" // Now search loose files. We'll set the directory containing the gameinfo.txt file // as the first "mod" search path (after any user customizations). This is also the one // that's used when writing to the "mod" path. mod+mod_write+default_write_path |gameinfo_path|. // Add the TF directory as a game search path. This is also where where writes // to the "game" path go. game+game_write "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf" // Where the game's binaries are gamebin "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps\common/Team Fortress 2/tf/bin" // Last, mount in shared HL2 loose files game "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2" platform "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/platform" // Random files downloaded from gameservers go into a seperate directory, so // that it's easy to keep those files segregated from the official game files // or customizations intentially installed by the user. // // This directory is searched LAST. If you visit a server and download // a custom model, etc, we don't want that file to override the default // game file indefinitely (after you have left the server). Servers CAN have // custom content that overrides the default game files, it just needs to be // packed up in the .bsp file so that it will be mounted as a map search pack. // The map search pack is mounted at the top of the search path list, // but only while you are connected that server and on that map. game+download "C:/Program Files (x86)/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/download" } } ToolsEnvironment { "Engine" "Source" "UseVPLATFORM" "1" "PythonVersion" "2.7" "PythonHomeDisable" "1" } } |
To: |
"GameInfo" { game "Team Fortress 2" type multiplayer_only nomodels 1 nohimodel 1 nocrosshair 0 hidden_maps { "test_speakers" 1 "test_hardware" 1 } nodegraph 0 GameData "tf.fgd" InstancePath "maps/instances/" advcrosshair 1 supportsvr 1 FileSystem { SteamAppId 440 // // Setup engine search paths. // // If a search path contains "_english", and the current language is not english, then // another search path will be inserted above the english one by replacing "_english" with // the appropriate language. // // To debug how the engine has parsed this file, type "path" at the console. // // Search paths are relative to the base directory, which is where hl2.exe is found. // // |gameinfo_path| points at the directory where gameinfo.txt is. // |all_source_engine_paths| points at the directory cintaining HL2 shared content. // SearchPaths { // First, mount all user customizations. This will search for VPKs and subfolders // and mount them in alphabetical order. The easiest way to distribute a mod is to // pack up the custom content into a VPK. To "install" a mod, just drop it in this // folder. // // Note that this folder is scanned only when the game is booted. game+mod+custom_mod tf/custom/* // We search VPK files before ordinary folders, because most files will be found in // VPK and we can avoid making thousands of file system calls to attempt to open files // in folders where they don't exist. (Searching a VPK is much faster than making an operating // system call.) game_lv "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_lv.vpk" game+mod "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_textures.vpk" game+mod "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_sound_vo_english.vpk" game+mod "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_sound_misc.vpk" game+mod+vgui "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/tf2_misc.vpk" game "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2/hl2_textures.vpk" game "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2/hl2_sound_vo_english.vpk" game "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2/hl2_sound_misc.vpk" game+vgui "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2/hl2_misc.vpk" platform+vgui "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/platform/platform_misc.vpk" // Now search loose files. We'll set the directory containing the gameinfo.txt file // as the first "mod" search path (after any user customizations). This is also the one // that's used when writing to the "mod" path. mod+mod_write+default_write_path |gameinfo_path|. // Add the TF directory as a game search path. This is also where where writes // to the "game" path go. game+game_write "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf" // Where the game's binaries are gamebin "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/bin" // Last, mount in shared HL2 loose files game "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/hl2" platform "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/platform" // Random files downloaded from gameservers go into a seperate directory, so // that it's easy to keep those files segregated from the official game files // or customizations intentially installed by the user. // // This directory is searched LAST. If you visit a server and download // a custom model, etc, we don't want that file to override the default // game file indefinitely (after you have left the server). Servers CAN have // custom content that overrides the default game files, it just needs to be // packed up in the .bsp file so that it will be mounted as a map search pack. // The map search pack is mounted at the top of the search path list, // but only while you are connected that server and on that map. game+download "D:/Games/Steam/steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2/tf/download" } } ToolsEnvironment { "Engine" "Source" "UseVPLATFORM" "1" "PythonVersion" "2.7" "PythonHomeDisable" "1" } } |
After that, make shortcuts from both hlmv.exe and hlmvplusplus.exe. Go to Team Fortress 2 (32bits)\bin
, hold Alt
, and drag-an-drop hlmv.exe, release the left mouse-click. Now do the same for hlmvplusplus.exe.
You can move these shortcuts to Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2 (32bits)
. After doing so, right-click on "hlmv.exe", and go to Properties.
Note: These use the default paths. If you have Steam / TF2 installed somewhere else, you'll have to replace the "C:\Program Files (x86)" part to where your Steam is installed!
On the "Target:" section, make sure this is written:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2 (32bits)\bin\hlmv.exe" -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2 (32bits)\tf"
On the "Start in:" section, make sure this is written:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2 (32bits)\bin"
Then hit apply.
For hlmvplusplus.exe, it's the same method. Make sure that the "Target:" section is like this:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2 (32bits)\bin\hlmvplusplus.exe" -game "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2 (32bits)\tf"
And the "Start in:" section is like this:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2 (32bits)\bin"
Now to use either HLMV or HLMV++, use the shortcut you just created. This method allows you to use older versions of HLMV++ and the 32bits version of HLMV without having to copy the TF2 game files. This will load everything from "steamapps/common/Team Fortress 2", even if you open from a separate folder.
This comes with some advantages. Namely, if you use mods on TF2, these won't be affected by this folder as it only includes the necessary fixes for HLMV, the empty folders fix, and that's it.
Collapsed tables contain important information, but a lot of them were collapsed to reduce clutter on the page. Make sure to read these if you are having trouble figuring out what to do on HLMV.
Recommended Monitor Resolution
The minimum monitor resolution should be 1920x1080, anything higher is accepted as well, but anything lower will make the image too small for the Wiki.
The blur issue also happens for unknown reasons. HLMV++ fixes the blur problem, and if you are having this problem, it's recommended using it over the regular HLMV.
Note: If you are using more than one monitor on your computer, make sure the monitor with the highest resolution, and the one you'll use HLMV with, is set as the primary/main one. If you use HLMV on a secondary monitor (with higher resolution than the primary monitor), blurry issues will happen:
Pre-requisites
HLMV requires a few files in order to fix a few things before working into image creation.
Does not affect in-game
You can keep these files on their folders and they won't affect in TF2.
Pre-Configured dxsupport.cfg
Make a backup of your current dxsupport.cfg (just in case), and replace it. It's located on "Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2\bin".
This file should technically max up all your settings to the highest. Note that your settings in TF2 does not affect HLMV in any way (I run at incredibly low graphics on TF2, for instance).
Note: Be aware that if you "Verify the Integrity of Game Files" on TF2 via Steam, the dxsupport.cfg will reset to default. You'll have to replace it again.
A good way to check if it's using high texture settings is by loading Engineer, Heavy or Medic's model and checking their class emblem.
If you were unable to reach max quality settings, try doing the HLMV++ method.
Skybox Texture
https://github.com/gabrielwoj/hlmv-resources/raw/main/VPKs%20-%20ZIPs%20-Releases/HLMV%20-%20Skybox%20Background%20-%20Black.vpk (black colored skybox)
or
https://github.com/gabrielwoj/hlmv-resources/raw/main/VPKs%20-%20ZIPs%20-Releases/HLMV%20-%20Skybox%20Background%20-%20White.vpk (white colored skybox)
This will replace the sky-looking skybox on HLMV, you have the choice for either a black BG or white BG, you have to choose one of them, but do not download both. This will make image screenshotting easier as you'll only need to press Ctrl+B to change colors (more on that later).
"Can't Find Directory" Fix
This pack will make all folders for all models used in the game, but doesn't actually include anything. HLMV has a problem when loading via "(Steam) Load Model" where it can't find where the models are. This .zip will fix it. Unlike the other ones, this is not a .vpk, but you can extract on the same folder, "custom".
Will affect in-game
These files may alter some graphical things in TF2, they are mostly unnoticeable changes, though.
You can have a custom folder called "custom_hlmv", where you can drop these files, and your standard custom folder. Whenever you go work on HLMV, you can rename "custom" to "custom_" and the HLMV one to "custom". When you are done using HLMV, change the "custom" folder to "custom_hlmv" and rename "custom_" to "custom".
Fire Overlay Fix
By default, a fire overlay will appear in all models. This file makes the texture invisible. In case you keep this file even when playing TF2, it does not affect in-game very much, you only won't have the fire overlay when someone's burning from a Pyro. The flames and afterburn still appear as normal.
Cubemaps
This replaces the sunrise looking cubemap to one that is easier on the eyes, used throughout most images on the Wiki, especially paint variants. It will replace the cubemaps in-game too. Cubemaps are images that appear on reflective objects (like Macho Mann's reflective lenses).
Strecthy Models
With some cosmetics on Scout, Demoman and Heavy, some models may appear stretched. This pack fixes it by renaming the problematic bones that causes the stretch (hlp_forearm bones). This may affect in-game as the bones that don't work on HLMV do work in TF2.
Grey Cornea
ONLY download this if you are having weird grey eyes on the classes. If the eyes/cornea are white, then this fix is not needed. If you install this fix with the cornea being white, the eyes will become incredibly bright (this is due the fix being a simple brightness change on the eye's lightwrap texture).
This issue usually happens on NVIDIA Graphics Cards, but there has been cases in happening with other graphics cards too.
Note: On AMD/ATI Graphics Cards, updating Windows may cause the grey cornea issue to re-appear. You can try restarting your computer first (after the updates have been installed), but if that doesn't work, a way to fix it is by enabling Radeon Chill on AMD Radeon Software. You can also try this method in case you are still getting this issue regardless of an update on Windows.
To enable Radeon Chill on HLMV, right-click on your desktop and select AMD Radeon Software. Go to the Gaming tab, click on the three dots, and click Add a Game...
. Add hlmv.exe
from Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2\bin
's folder. Now click on the hlmv icon that will appear on the list, and enable Radeon Chill, without changing any of its values.
Other Programs
GIMP
https://www.gimp.org/downloads/
GIMP is a free image editing software similar to Photoshop. It's used to remove the background from screenshots taken in HLMV and making them transparent.
Optional
Other Programs
Paint.NET
https://www.getpaint.net/download.html (download the free version from dotPDN's Mirror Host)
Paint.NET can be useful in certain situations (such as specific cases in paint variants where it can make the process faster), but it's not required for the removal of the background in HLMV.
TFMV
https://www.mediafire.com/file/9zfv7b6u7cr44at/TFMV_1.9.2_-_No_Auto_Bodygroup.zip/file
Note: This is a slightly modified version of TFMV that removes the custom texture files that the program uses for automatic bodygroup (default headgears) hide. This is due the automation of bodygroup change causes the class texture to be slightly more desaturated than the official textures in the game. The only downside to this is that you'll have to manually hide them via HLMV, and have to press "Okay" on a message that will appear everytime when you launch TFMV.
If the program is still automatically hiding bodygroups by default, make sure to close it and delete the files inside "TFMV\config\cached". The rgba_grey_
and player_masks.zip
are automatically generated upon lauching TFMV, but these will not affect your class textures.
TFMV is a program that lets you equip weapons and cosmetics easier with a friendly User Interface, as well letting you choose styles and paint with all available paint cans very easily. It's incredibly useful for making paint variant table previews.
- TFMV has an annoying functionality that adds a background "model", making you unable to quickly switch to the black or white skybox with the Ctrl+B shortcut.
- If you plan in using TFMV, consider downloading this: https://github.com/gabrielwoj/hlmv-resources/raw/main/VPKs%20-%20ZIPs%20-Releases/TFMV%20-%20Invisible%20tfmv_bg.mdl.zip (extract it and drop it to "tf/custom").
- This will make this "background model" completely invisible, letting you use the Ctrl+B shortcut without having to manually unload
tfmv_bg.mdl
from the model everytime you load a new item on TFMV.
- TFMV may show an error when you open that a file is in use, simply click "Continue" to fix it.
- TFMV does not list any item with the
medal
equip_region. You'll have to load it manually and paste to the "custom model path..." typing box and press "Add".- Checking the
items_game.txt
file on "steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\scripts\items" can be useful to find the internal file name of models.
- Checking the
Advantages of TFMV:
- Lets you easily load any cosmetics/weapons;
- Makes painting extremely easy, very useful for making paint variant images;
- Automatically fixes the "white colored" bug that older cosmetics has.
- HLMV / TFMV reads the
$color2
value for the color, where TF2 reads$colortint_base
, some old cosmetics does not have thecolor2
string, so it shows completely white. TFMV will automatically copy the values of$colortint_base
and make a$color2
line. - Another advantage of loading in TFMV is that some items incorrectly has a
$color2
line, in which makes the cosmetic have a visual problem (examples include: BedBug Protection, Kapitan's Kaftan and Man in Slacks). Because TFMV will automatically apply the value from$colortint_base
to$color2
, this issue is resolved upon loading anything via TFMV. - Some cosmetics may also have different values for these 2 strings for inconsistent reasons, where TFMV will again be useful when loading these.
- HLMV / TFMV reads the
Disadvantages of TFMV:
- Items with a medal equip_region are not easy to load as they are not on the cosmetics list.
- Some styles are missing from the cosmetic list (such as Triad Trinket's Bear style).
My TFMV settings:
Collapsed for less clutter on the page. |
---|
Click on the Items tab:
Settings tab:
|
HLMV++
https://www.mediafire.com/file/c7elfehaoymujwl/hlmvplusplus_test3_fix_mirror.zip/file (Mirror) (version: test3_fix
)
HLMV++ is a recently released program that is a more powerful version of HLMV (although it's still in development). HLMV++ can be useful to set your graphical settings to max in case the pre-configured dxsupport.cfg doesn't work, or if you are having other issues with regular HLMV.
After some testing, it seems the program wields identical results to HLMV, as well fixing the blur issue that regular HLMV has. It also fixes many other problems featured in regular HLMV, such as the Grey Cornea issue, older cosmetics being painted white, cosmetics being colored incorrectly (such as Breakneck Baggies, Man in Slacks and Kapitan's Kaftan), stretchy models for some items on Scout, Demoman and Heavy, and a couple more.
Previously, the 1st Test Build for HLMV++ saved different camera values on the Registry, as well having a different FOV whenever a model was loaded/refreshed. Back then, I mentioned that paint variants should not be made with HLMV++, however, the discrepancy with the camera values and FOV has been fixed on the 2nd Test Build. Now both HLMV and HLMV++ store the exact same values and their camera angles look the same on both sides. Meaning that it's now safe to use for paint variant pics considering the values has been fixed.
I have done comparisons in the past comparing an identical shot on regular HLMV (without any problems from above) and HLMV++, and they were 1:1 matches.
This version of HLMV++ is a test build, meaning there will be bugs and problems, including crashes.
Some menus are a bit different than from HLMV, however, if you learned how to use HLMV's settings with this guide, you'll probably have already a good grasp on how HLMV++ works.
"Installing" HLMV++
Simply open the zip, and extract both files to "Team Fortress 2\bin".
If it gives an error regarding that it couldn't find gameinfo.txt
, do the following:
- Click and hold
hlmvplusplus.exe
. - Before letting the left mouse button go, hold
Alt
, and let it go with theAlt
button being held.- This will create a shortcut.
- Right click the shortcut and go to "Properties".
- On the "Target:" section, add the following (after the last quotation mark):
- Add an empty space.
- After the empty space, add:
-game "*path_to_tf_folder*"
.- Example:
"E:\Jogos\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2\bin\hlmvplusplus.exe" -game "E:\Jogos\Steam\SteamApps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf"
.
- Example:
- Now try opening HLMV++ via the shortcut.
Maximizing quality settings with HLMV++
- Close your regular HLMV if you have it open.
- Open
hlmvplusplus.exe
from "Team Fortress 2\bin". - On the "Render" tab below, change these values:
- Change "Picmip:" to "Best".
- Change "Antialias:" to "x8".
- Change "Anistropic:" to "x16".
- Close HLMV++.
- Now use HLMV as normal with max quality settings.
Using HLMV
This section will explain each area and option on HLMV, and which ones are used in image creation.
Sections marked in dark green means important tabs for image creation. |
Sections marked in dark yellow means important options that are used in specific scenarios. |
Sections marked in dark red means things you should not change in HLMV for image creation. |
Sections marked in grey represent the following:
|
Top Tabs
Menu | Option | More Information |
---|---|---|
File | Load Model... | Opens the Windows Explorer file explorer to open a local model file, you can't load models from the game files via this way. |
(Steam) Load Model... | Opens a window that lets you choose models from the game files, as well custom models downloaded on community servers. | |
Refresh (F5) | Refreshes the window. This will cause the following things to reset:
| |
Load Weapon... | Opens the Windows Explorer file explorer to open a local model file to be attached to the current loaded model, you can't load models from the game files via this way.
| |
(Steam) Load Weapon... | Opens a window that lets you choose models from the game files to be attached to the current loaded model, as well custom models downloaded on community servers. | |
Unload Weapon > | Shows a list of models attached on your model, letting you unattach the ones you want or unattach all models. | |
Load Background Texture... | Unavailable. Not possible to click it and/or use it. | |
Load Ground Texture... | Unavailable. Not possible to click it and/or use it. | |
Recent Models > | Shows a list of the most recent loaded models (does not include models loaded via "Load Weapon"). | |
Exit | Closes HLMV. | |
Options | Background Color... | Opens the Color Picker menu and lets you choose the color of the background.
|
Ground Color... | Opens the Color Picker menu and lets you choose the color of the ground.
| |
Light Color... | Opens the Color Picker menu and lets you choose the color of the light source.
| |
Ambient Color... | Opens the Color Picker menu and lets you choose the color of the ambient.
| |
Center View | Resets the camera angle and model position (this will reset to the same position when you first load a model via HLMV). | |
Viewmodel Mode | Switches the camera to use the "Viewmodel Mode". Only used when making "first-person perspective" images. This will reset the camera angle and model position settings. | |
Make Screenshot... | Doesn't work, provides a corrupted screenshot.
| |
View | File Associations... | Unavailable. Not possible to click it and/or use it. |
Show Activities | Shows a list of animations using a different nomenclature. Not recommended enabling it. | |
Show hidden | Shows hidden animations that are hidden by default, which makes the list of animations a lot bigger. It's recommended enabling it when making complex poses in HLMV. | |
Help | Not required or used in image creation. |
Bottom Tabs / Control Panel
Tab | Option / Item | More Information |
---|---|---|
Render | Textured | Shows a drop-down menu of various rendering options to choose from:
|
[X] Normal Mapping | Enables normal mapping. Disabling it will make it look like -dxlevel 80 graphics.
| |
[ ] Attachments (Ctrl-A) | Shows where attachments are on the model.
| |
[ ] Bones (Ctrl-O) | Shows the bone structure of the model.
| |
[ ] Normals (Ctrl-N) | Shows normal points located on the model.
| |
[ ] Tangents (Ctrl-T) | Shows tangent points on the model.
| |
[ ] Wireframe (Ctrl-W) | Shows a wireframe representation of the model while still showing the proper render of the model behind it.
| |
[X] Specular |
| |
FOV: | Changes the Field of View value.
| |
[ ] Ground (Ctrl-G) | Shows a ground on the screen.
| |
[ ] Movement (Ctrl-M) | Shows a box related to movement. Unknown.
| |
[ ] Background (Ctrl-B) | Enables the background (either white or black depending on what skybox color you downloaded it).
| |
[ ] Hit Boxes (Ctrl-H) | Shows hitboxes.
| |
[ ] Seq. Boxes | Show sequence boxes.
| |
[ ] Shadow (Ctrl-S) | Draws a shadow. Only visible if the Ground option is also enabled.
| |
[ ] Software Skin | Unknown.
| |
[ ] Enable Overbrightening | Unknown.
| |
[ ] Physics Model | Shows the physics model attached to the main model.
| |
None | Requires the Physics Model option enabled to use it. Shows a drop-down menu, letting you choose specific physics model areas from the current loaded model to show on the rendered.
| |
[ ] Enable IK | Makes the class' hands hold a weapon correctly to a weapon with some animations when manipulation certain bones, or "merging" with other animations. Can be useful in some situations, as well not recommended in other situations.
| |
[ ] Head Turn | Unknown.
| |
[ ] Ilum. Position | Unknown.
| |
[X] Play Sounds | Play sounds associated with certain animations (like the Burstchester noises). Recommended muting HLMV's audio from Windows' Volume Mixer instead.
To mute HLMV on Windows, make sure to make some audio come out of it. Then, right-click your speakers/volume indicator icon on the corner of your screen, and click "Open Volume Mixer". | |
[ ] Show Origin Axis | Shows the origin of the model.
| |
Axis Len: | Increases the size of the Origin Axis. | |
Sequence | ref Speed 0.00 (.) ref |-------------- ( ) ref |-------------- ( ) ref |-------------- ( ) ref |-------------- ( ) |
Clicking on any "ref" lets you change the animation currently playing.
|
---------------------| x 1.00 = 30.0 fps | Adjusts how fast all animations move (including animations set on other tabs). Since you will be taking static screenshots, it's recommended setting this to "|--------------------- x 0.00 = 0.0 fps". | |
[ ] Blend Sequence Changes | Unknown.
| |
[Blend Now] 0.000 ------|----------- | Unknown.
| |
Activity modifiers | Unavailable. Not possible to click it and/or use it. | |
[ ] Animate weapons | Unknown
| |
Frame |---------------------------------- *Number of frames* | Adjusts the frame of the currently animation being played.
| |
------|-------------- 0.0 body_pitch ---------|----------- 0.0 body_yaw |-------------------- 0.0 r_hand_grip |-------------------- 0.0 r_arm ---------|----------- 0.0 move_x ---------|----------- 0.0 move_y |
Adjusts specific bones used in certain animations.
More information about these here. | |
Model | *classname* | A drop-down menu to select a specific bodygroup to be changed (varies per class). |
Submodel 0 |--------------- |
Lets you select a specific bodygroup, such as hiding default headgear.
| |
Non-functional drop-down menu. | ||
Skin 0 | Lets you change the current skin of the model. It usually follows as:
| |
[ ] Auto LOD | Enables automatic "Level of Detail" change depending on how far away the model is from the camera.
| |
0 | The specific LOD being rendered on HLMV. 0 is the highest quality one, while the higher number is the lowest quality one.
| |
LOD Switch: | These sections are non-editable, they are just for showing information. Not required for image editing. | |
Materials used: | ||
VMTs Loaded: | ||
Shader: | ||
Flex | Each tab/drop-down menu | Shows the specific facial area to modify. Each class comes with a default set of tabs/drop-down menus.
|
Sliders | Adjusts the facial flex selected from the drop-down menu. | |
[Reset] | Resets all your facial flex changes to the default one. | |
[Random] | Randomizes all facial flex areas.
| |
[Zero] | Same functionality as "[Reset]" | |
[One] | Sets all facial flexes to the very end of the slider.
| |
Physics | Not required or used in image creation. | |
Bones | ||
Attachments | ||
IKRule | ||
Events |
Mouse Controls
Action | Key/Button | More Information |
---|---|---|
Rotate model | LMB in centre of the screen. | Rotate the current model in all directions. |
Turn Model | LMB at edges of the screen. | Turns the current model around from the viewing angle. |
Pan Model | Left Shift+LMB anywhere. | Pans the model around the screen. |
Zoom Model | RMB | Zooms the current model in and out. |
Rotate Lighting | Left Ctrl+LMB anywhere. | Rotates the light source around the model.
Note: The rotate lighting control should be used with caution. It's okay to slightly adjust the lighting to add more "depth" to an image, but do not rotate it too drastically or the image will look way too dark in comparison to other images uploaded to the Wiki. It's also recommended to use it to adjust Pyro's lenses, as it tends to appear completely white in certain angles. |
Good info about many things
Bodygroups per class
Class | Bodygroup | Submodel | Class | Bodygroup | Submodel | Class | Bodygroup | Submodel |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scout | hat | Submodel 0: Keeps the default hat. Submodel 1: Hides the hat. |
Soldier | rocket | Submodel 0: Hides the rocket. Submodel 1: Shows the rocket (used for reloading animations). |
Pyro | head | Submodel 0: Shows Pyro's default gasmask. Submodel 1: Hides Pyro's default gasmask. |
headphones | Submodel 0: Keeps the default headset. Submodel 1: Hides the default headet. |
hat | Submodel 0: Keeps the default hat. Submodel 1: Hides the defalt hat. |
grenades | Submodel 0: Keeps the default grenades. Submodel 1: Hides the default grenades. | |||
shoes_socks | Submodel 0: Keeps the default shoes and socks. Submodel 1: Hides the default shoes and socks. |
medal | Submodel 0: Adds the Gentle Manne's Service Medal on Soldier.
Submodel 1: Removes the Service Medal on Soldier. |
backpack | Submodel 0: Keeps the default oxygen tank. Submodel 1: Hides the default oxygen tank. | |||
dogtags | Submodel 0: Keeps the default dogtags chain and tags. Submodel 1: Hides the default dogtags chain and tags. |
grenades | Submodel 0: Keeps the default grenades. Submodel 1: Hides the default grenades. |
righthand | Submodel 0: Keeps Pyro's default right hand. Submodel 1: Hides Pyro's default right hand (used on Hot Hand). | |||
Demoman | smile | Submodel 0: Hides "smile" sticker. Submodel 1: Shows the "smile" sticker (used when taunting with Demoman grenade launchers). |
Heavy | hands | Submodel 0: Keeps Heavy's default fists. Submodel 1: Hides Heavy's default fists (used on glove primaries and the Yeti arms). Submodel 2: Adds the Purity Fist hand to Heavy's left hand (Purity Fist must be added manually). |
Engineer | hat | Submodel 0: Keeps the default hat. Submodel 1: Hides the defalt hat. |
shoes | Submodel 0: Keeps his default shoes. Submodel 1: Hides his default shoes. |
rightarm | Submodel 0: Keeps Engineer's default orange/yellow glove. Submodel 1: Changes his glove to the Gunslinger. Submodel 2: Hides Engineer's default orange/yellow glove (used for Short Circuit). | |||||
grenades | Submodel 0: Keeps the default grenades. Submodel 1: Hides the default grenades (the weird shadows are part of Demoman's texture and should be kept as is). | |||||||
Medic | medic_backpack | Submodel 0: Keeps Medic's default Medi Gun backpack. Submodel 1: Hide Medic's default backpack (used for other Medi Guns and a few cosmetics). |
Sniper | arrows | Submodel 0: Hides Huntsman arrows on his quiver. Submodel 1: Adds Huntsman arrows on his quiver. |
Spy | spyMask | Submodel 0: Hides Spy's disguise mask. Submodel 1: Shows Spy's disguise mask (the disguises change depending on the Skin set, "Skin 0", "Skin 1", "Skin 22" and "Skin 23" shows Spy disguising as a Spy). |
hat | Submodel 0: Keeps the default hat. Submodel 1: Hides the defalt hat. | |||||||
bullets | Submodel 0: Keeps the default bullets on his vest. Submodel 1: Adds the Sydney Sleeper darts to his vest. |
Skins per class
Class | Skin Name | Explanation |
---|---|---|
Scout Soldier Pyro Demoman Heavy Engineer Medic Sniper |
Skin 0 | RED Team. |
Skin 1 | BLU Team. | |
Skin 2 | Ubercharged RED Team. | |
Skin 3 | Ubercharged BLU Team. | |
Skin 4 | RED Team Zombie-fied (requires loading player/*classname*/*classname*_zombie.mdl as a "Weapon" for the full thing).
| |
Skin 5 | BLU Team Zombie-fied (requires loading player/*classname*/*classname*_zombie.mdl as a "Weapon" for the full thing).
| |
Skin 6 | Ubercharged RED Team Zombie-fied (requires loading player/*classname*/*classname*_zombie.mdl as a "Weapon" for the full thing).
| |
Skin 7 | Ubercharged BLU Team Zombie-fied (requires loading player/*classname*/*classname*_zombie.mdl as a "Weapon" for the full thing).
| |
Spy | Skin 0 | RED Team. |
Skin 1 | BLU Team. | |
Skin 2 | Ubercharged RED Team. | |
Skin 3 | Ubercharged BLU Team. | |
Skin 4* | RED Team when disguised as Scout. | |
Skin 5* | BLU Team when disguised as Scout. | |
Skin 6* | RED Team when disguised as Sniper. | |
Skin 7* | BLU Team when disguised as Sniper. | |
Skin 8* | RED Team when disguised as Soldier. | |
Skin 9* | BLU Team when disguised as Soldier. | |
Skin 10* | RED Team when disguised as Demoman. | |
Skin 11* | BLU Team when disguised as Demoman. | |
Skin 12* | RED Team when disguised as Medic. | |
Skin 13* | BLU Team when disguised as Medic. | |
Skin 14* | RED Team when disguised as Heavy. | |
Skin 15* | BLU Team when disguised as Heavy. | |
Skin 16* | RED Team when disguised as Pyro. | |
Skin 17* | BLU Team when disguised as Pyro. | |
Skin 18* | RED Team when disguised as Spy. | |
Skin 19* | BLU Team when disguised as Spy. | |
Skin 20* | RED Team when disguised as Engineer. | |
Skin 21* | BLU Team when disguised as Engineer. | |
Skin 22 | RED Team Zombie-fied (requires loading player/*classname*/*classname*_zombie.mdl as a "Weapon" for the full thing).
| |
Skin 23 | BLU Team Zombie-fied (requires loading player/*classname*/*classname*_zombie.mdl as a "Weapon" for the full thing).
| |
Skin 24 | Ubercharged RED Team Zombie-fied (requires loading player/*classname*/*classname*_zombie.mdl as a "Weapon" for the full thing).
| |
Skin 25 | Ubercharged BLU Team Zombie-fied (requires loading player/*classname*/*classname*_zombie.mdl as a "Weapon" for the full thing).
| |
* Requires "spyMask" bodygroup set at "Submodel 1" to show the differences per skins. |
Most used and important facial flex tabs
Internal name | What it does |
---|---|
left_BrowOutV / right_BrowOutV **
|
Controls classes eyebrows. |
left_Frown / right_Frown **
| |
left_BrowinV / right_BrowinV **
| |
left_Smile / right_Smile
|
Pulls each side of the mouth to make a smile. |
multi_Smile
|
Changes the position of the mouth, resulting in a different smile look. Only has effect when left/right_Smiles sliders are changed. |
left_LipsV / right_LipsV
|
These will open the lips of the classes, revealing their teeth. It's a bit complicated and it's usually class-dependant how hard it is. |
left_LipUpV / right_LipUpV
| |
left_LipLoV / right_LipLoV
| |
JawV
|
Opens the class mouth. You can make "screaming" expressions with this, for example. Other Jaw options are available but JawV is the most important one.
|
eyes_updown
|
Moves the eyes. It may not have effect depending where your camera is located. The class' eyes will usually always focus to the camera. But you can use these if you want them to focus somewhere else (like the cosmetic, a hat, a shirt, etc.). |
eyes_rightleft
| |
left_CloseLid / right_CloseLid *
|
Opens and closes classes eyes. multi_CloseLid lets you "move" both eyes to make different eye expressions. |
multi_CloseLid *
| |
* Hidden by default, requires changing facial flex from one of the drop-down menus. I tend to replace the ones above "eyes_updown". | |
** Most of these are hidden by default on Medic's model. Highly recommended setting these before doing facial flexes because they will guarantee reset your facial flex upon changing these. |
Internal names of noteworthy taunts/animations
These will show animations that are usually used around the Wiki, as well some that are class specific. This won't go into details of advanced posing, but I'll be including on how to use the sliders for body_pitch
and others, which can be used in certain animations.
Class | Internal name | What it does |
---|---|---|
All classes | taunt01 -taunt_zoomin_broom_exit
|
Internal names for taunts. Also includes taunts for Item sets (Frankenheavy, for instance), and consumables (Sandvich eating, Bonk! drinking, etc.). |
competitive_loserstate_idle
|
Animations used in Competitive Mode. Please check Competitive Animation Errors for precautions when using these. | |
competitive_winnerstate_idle
| ||
secondrate_sorcery_*classname*
|
Internal name for the Second Rate Sorcery taunt. | |
selectionMenu_all
|
Animations related to the class selection screen. Recommended using Anim01 and setting a specific frame.
| |
selectionMenu_Anim01
| ||
selectionMenu_Idle
| ||
stand_
|
Animations used when a class is holding a weapon.
| |
run_
|
Animations used when a class is running with a weapon.
| |
crouch_
|
Equivalent of stand_ but with the class crouching instead. Same sliders applies here.
| |
crouch_walk_
|
Equivalent of run_ , but with walking while crouching instead. Same sliders applies here.
| |
*classname*_taunt_replay
|
Director's Vision animation. | |
primary_death_backstab
|
Death animations, including the unused burning animation. | |
primary_death_burning
| ||
primary_death_headshot
| ||
dieviolent
|
Death animation when killed by the Cow Mangler and other energy based weapons. | |
Soldier | primary_fall_stomp_A
|
Animations used when rocket jumping with the Mantreads (I think?) |
primary_fall_stomp_B
| ||
primary_floatA -primary_floatD
|
Animations used when Soldier is rocket jumping. | |
Demoman | true_scotsmans_call
|
Bad Pipes animation. |
Heavy | SPELL_arm_pose_raw
|
Unused pose. |
diesimple
|
Death animation, only available on Heavy. | |
freeze
|
Death animation related to the Spy-cicle (?). | |
Engineer | bucking_bronco_end
|
Bucking Bronco animations. |
bucking_bronco_intro
| ||
Sniper | a_grapple_wall_idle
|
Unused (?) animation of Sniper clinging on a wall, related to the Grappling Hook. This was used on the Master's Yellow Belt's cosmetic preview. |
killer_solo
|
Killer Solo animation. | |
Spy | disco_fever
|
Disco Fever animation. |
Competitive Animation Errors
Class | Sequence | Reason and explanation |
---|---|---|
Scout | competitive_loserstate_idle
|
Using this pose causes the Dogtags on the Scout model to disappear completely. Avoid using this pose when making images, however, feel free to use this pose if the Cosmetic Item in question hides Scout's Dogtags. |
Pyro | competitive_loserstate_idle competitive_winnerstate_idle
|
Using this pose causes the default Napalm Grenades on Pyro to be flipped on a strange orientation. Avoid using this pose, and only use it in case the Cosmetic Item being shown hides the Grenades entirely. |
Pyro | competitive_loserstate_idle
|
Along with the issues described above, equipping a Cosmetic Item that uses the bone associated to Medals (mostly being Tournament Medals and other types of Medals), will cause the medal to float on the incorrect side, and in front of the Napalm Grenades. |
Demoman | competitive_loserstate_idle
|
Similar to above, this pose causes the Grenades on the Demoman's chest to show all too close together. Only use this pose in case the Cosmetic Item you are showing hides the Grenades. |
Sniper | competitive_winnerstate_idle
|
This pose does not have any visible problem at first glance, however, the bone related to Medals is incorrectly placed. Avoid using this pose when creating image previews for Medals Cosmetic Items, or for other Cosmetics that use the same bone. |
Important Stuff
Player Models
- Always use HWM models for cosmetic previews on the Wiki, do not use regular models (
player\*classname*.mdl
). HWM models are located inplayer\hwm\*classname*.mdl
.- There are exceptions to this, when a cosmetic item replaces the entire class head (like Chicken Kiev), or cosmetics that merge with parts of the model (such as the Aloha Apparel on Scout and Burly Beast), use regular models. In-game, regular models are used instead, which is why items that merges with the textures of the class' head or neck may look different in HWM.
- The reason as to why using regular model for cosmetics that covers the class head, like bird heads, is because you can use facial flexing that will affect the cosmetic (like opening Chicken Kiev's mouth).
- There are exceptions to this, when a cosmetic item replaces the entire class head (like Chicken Kiev), or cosmetics that merge with parts of the model (such as the Aloha Apparel on Scout and Burly Beast), use regular models. In-game, regular models are used instead, which is why items that merges with the textures of the class' head or neck may look different in HWM.
Weapons
- Most old weapons are located in
weapons\c_models
, including stock.- Weapons can also be found at
workshop\weapons\c_models
orworkshop_partner\weapons\c_models
.- However, always use stock weapons when making cosmetic images and such. Certain poses may not actually require holding a weapon.
- Also, do not add attachments like Festivezers, Botkillers, or Australium versions of stock weapons, always use the default Stock weapon (Normal quality).
- The only exception of non-stock weapons is when making a preview for an Item set that has a weapon on the set. Where in this case, including the specific weapon from the set is highly recommended.
- Weapons can also be found at
Cosmetics
- Most old cosmetics are located in (as well Valve-made ones and the Yeti set for heavy):
player\items\*class name*
.- mvm_loot have a few other models like the Mann Up medals and canteens. Taunts is self-explanatory, though not all taunts are there.
- Other cosmetics are found in:
workshop\player\items\*class name*
and onworkshop_partner\player\items\*class name*
.- Most newer taunts are located in their class folders on the Workshop folder, usually with the prefix "taunt_", but not always.
Making a cosmetic preview
Posing on HLMV
Follow the instructions above on how to make a good cosmetic preview. Everything you should know is explained above. The most important ones being how to load weapons and cosmetics, how to hide class default headgear/bodygroups, and how to use the facial flex functionality.
If you would like for good references on well made images, you can check images made by these users:
- Seederat: https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Team_Fortress_Wiki:Wiki_Cap/Nominations/Approved/User:Gabrielwoj/SeederatNominationTable
- Tekinz: https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Team_Fortress_Wiki:Wiki_Cap/Nominations/Approved/User:Gabrielwoj/TekinzNominationTable
These are two tables I made when nominating both users for the Cap, it shows the majority of their work, and it can be very useful for you to check for references on well made pictures (how they angle their poses, what animations they use, etc.).
You can also visit my "Images" page for all images I have made to the Wiki, for even more references:
- Gabrielwoj: https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/User:Gabrielwoj/Images
- This page will take a bunch of bandwidth from your Internet (around 50mb), so if you have a limited bandwidth, be careful visiting it.
- This page will take a bunch of bandwidth from your Internet (around 50mb), so if you have a limited bandwidth, be careful visiting it.
Images from the first section "Imagery That Contains Classes (Mostly)" is what you may be looking for, cosmetic previews.
Once you are happy with the results (both facial-flex wise, camera angle, and pose), make sure to set the background color to either "Red 255, Green 255, Blue 255" or "Red 0, Green 0, Blue 0", depending on your skybox choice (if the skybox you download is black, use 255 255 255 in the RGB, do the reverse if you download the white skybox, setting the RGB to 0 0 0).
Make sure to keep the background white, and take your first screenshot (use Win + PrintScreen to take fast screenshots that will be saved on your "Pictures" folder). Now, press Ctrl + B and take another screenshot. You must keep everything the same on both screenshots other than the background color, absolutely do not change anything like posing, camera angle, lighting, etc.
Removing background with GIMP
- Open GIMP.
- Drag-n-drop the screenshot you took with the background being colored white.
- After it opens, drag-n-drop to the GIMP's window the screenshot with the background being colored black.
- You may need to "zoom out" the image before adding the black background screenshot, as it may be positioned incorrectly.
- You can zoom in/out by holding Ctrl and using the scroll wheel of your mouse.
INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT NOTE: The white background version NEEDS to be at the bottom of the layers, while the black one has to be on top. Doing the reverse will add faint white outlines around your image.
- After adding the black background as a layer, click on the layer, and set the mode to difference.
- If your top layer had a different position than the bottom layer, some outlines will appear, this is due the image not being loaded at the correct place. Make sure to zoom out GIMP's image area before drag-n-dropping the black background screenshot in case this happens.
- This will most likely not happen if you just have 1 monitor connected to your computer, I use dual-monitors, so.
- If your top layer had a different position than the bottom layer, some outlines will appear, this is due the image not being loaded at the correct place. Make sure to zoom out GIMP's image area before drag-n-dropping the black background screenshot in case this happens.
- Go to second tab of the layers tab, where it will show "Red, Green, Blue, Alpha" channels.
- Right click on "Red" (always use Red even if you are doing an image for the BLU team, in case you do paint variants), and select "Channel to selection".
- Press Ctrl+X.
- Now delete the other layer (the white background one), by selecting it and then clicking the squared X icon.
- Select the Rectangle Select tool and select the area of your cosmetic preview (where the class is).
- Be sure to not select anything outside (such as HLMV's window and such), only select the transparent areas.
- Go to the tab "Image" and click "Crop to Selection".
- Go to the "Image" tab once again and click "Crop to Content".
- Go to "File" and "Export As" your new image. Save it as .png. The file name does not matter if you are uploading directly from a red link or replacing an existing image.
- If you are making an image to be featured on the "Gallery" section (which I call "class gallery"), then you'll have to name it accordingly with the filename being used on the article, which includes the file extension.
- Do not upload images in JPEG or other formats. JPEG will remove the transparency.
Video
Making the process of background removal faster (with GIMP)
Instead of clicking things manually, you can set some Keyboard Shortcuts to make your work easier.
- Open GIMP.
- Click on "Edit" at the top, and select "Keyboard Shortcuts".
- Open the "Tools" section.
- Set "Rectangle Select" to "1".
- Open the "Image" section.
- Set "Crop to Content" to "3".
- Set "Crop to Selection" to "2".
Now you can do this part by simply pressing these buttons. The "Rectangle Select" may not be needed as GIMP saves your last used tool upon program close/launch.
The previous steps are not possible to set keyboard shortcuts (or at least not that I am aware of).
If both of your white background and black background images are 100% identical other than the background being different in HLMV (including Windows elements like the taskbar, clock, etc.), you can instantly press 2 and 3 after deleting the white background layer.
This is due to the "Crop to Selection" going to crop only where GIMP found a difference, in this case, the HLMV renderer area, where your cosmetic preview is located.
If both pictures have some difference, pressing 3 will give an error. Simply use the "Rectangle Select" tool and do this part manually.
Advanced Posing
First, it's highly recommended enabling hidden animations (go to the top bar, select "View" -> "Show hidden"). Note that enabling it will cause your body_pitch
, move_x
, etc., sliders to reset. It seems facial flex are not reset upon clicking on it.
Advanced posing uses the other tabs on the "Sequence" tab on the bottom control panel. It has been mentioned above that it's recommended keeping the first tab as ref
while using the others (unless you are using 5 animation at once).
So, for instance, if you use the animation run_PRIMARY
on Scout, you can also add his reload animation to the current pose. Also, load his Scattergun as a "Weapon": weapons\c_models\c_scattergun.mdl
(note that this is inside the "c_models" folder, not inside the "c_models/c_scattergun" folder).
Enable the third radio button "(.)", and increase the slider until the very end. Now choose either PRIMARY_reload_loop
, PRIMARY_reload_start
or PRIMARY_reload_end
. While keeping the third radio button selected, move the Frame slider at the bottom to switch the frame of the reloading animation. For instance, frame 8.0 on PRIMARY_reload_loop
will have the Scout elevating the Scattergun's handle.
Because you are using an animation that you can use the different bones on the right (the body_pitch
and etc.), you can also modify these bones along with it, creating unique poses.
You may notice that the class' hand might appear unattached from the weapon. To fix this, enable "Enable IK" on the "Render" tab at the bottom panel.
Interestingly, some reload animations for some classes let you use completely different animations and the class will still hold the weapon appropriately. So for instance, try changing the animations you used on Scout to taunt_chicken
at frame 37.0, while keeping PRIMARY_reload_loop
at frame 8.0 on the third tab.
You'll see that the Scout will hold the Scattergun in a "boss-like way". Experiment these radio buttons to make unique poses for your images.
Note that usually, non-primary weapon reload animations start with ReloadStand_*
, you can use other Reload
animations as well.
Another helpful hidden animations are r_armposes
and r_handposes
. With these, you can adjust the r_hand_grip
and r_arm
values on the right. One of the best uses of this is for holding melee weapons with different animations. Select r_handposes
on the third, fourth or fifth tab, and move the slider at the very end.
Try loading weapons\c_models\c_bat.mdl
as a "Weapon" for this example (note that this is inside the "c_models" folder, not inside the "c_models/c_bat" folder).. Now that you have it loaded, type "14" on the r_hand_grip
value. You can see that Scout is now holding the bat. You may slightly adjust r_hand_grip
to make Scout hold the bat more "naturally".
It's recommended keeping the r_armposes
and r_handposes
at the last animation tabs, and use the 2nd and 3rd one for other animations. Keep the r_armposes
animation above the r_handposes
animations so classes hold things properly when the r_arm
value is higher than 2.0.
If you use any animation that ends with _ALLCLASS
, you won't need to add these two animations in order to use the two sliders at the right (the r_arm
and r_hand_grip
).
Engineer has an additional animation called r_handposes_engineer
, you can make the Engineer hold his pistol on basically any animation, it looks really cool.
Lastly, you can use layer_gesture_
animations when using multiple animations for a pose. The diference between the layer versions with the standard gesture ones, is that the layer versions won't move the class body, only the arms.
One more thing. Some classes have layer_*_WepGrip
animations. For the example of Scout, he has layer_ITEM1_WepGrip
(Mad Milk), layer_ITEM2_WepGrip
(Shortstop), layer_MELEE_WepGrip
/ layer_STUN_WepGrip
(Melee and Sandman, STUN = Sandman, but the Sandman one is identical to the MELEE one). Using these will make the class hold the weapon very naturally with basically any other animation enabled.
You can decrease the sliders for some animations to make the animation more "subtle". For instance, reducing layer_gesture
animations will make the raised arm more close to the animation above it, in other words, more close to the class, depending on the animation you may use.
Decreasing sliders can be extremely useful to reduce clipping in image creation. For instance, when doing Scout shirt cosmetics, and you plan in using either competitive_winnerstate_idle
or any of the selectionMenu_
animations, you can slightly increase (from the initial point) the animation from a layer_gesture_
. This way, it will make Scout's hand that is holding his hip clip less on the shirt cosmetic.
broom_look_anim
is an animation that may be useful for slight head rotation, when used with conjuction of other animations.
_animatrix_idle
animations are incredibly useful enabling it with other animations to fix small clipping problems (or create very unique posing). On Scout, you have ITEM1_animatrix_idle
, ITEM2_animatrix_idle
, MELEE_animatrix_idle
, MELEE_ALLCLASS_animatrix_idle
, PASSTIME_animatrix_idle
, PRIMARY_animatrix_idle
, SECONDARY_animatrix_idle
and STUN_animatrix_idle
. You can use any of these regardless of the weapon you are holding. I usually use the MELEE_animatrix_idle
. Each one may have different "strength" on how much it will change your current pose.
With these enabled with conjuction of other animations on top, you can adjust the body_pitch
and body_yaw
with any animation, as long as the _animatrix_idle
has its slider up (either fully or the amount you want).
Using a_broom_steer_matrix
lets you adjust the move_x
and move_y
sliders with any animation. Other _matrix
may do the same with slight different results, similar to the _animatrix_idle
animations explained above.
You also have MELEE_swing
and MELEE_allclass_swing
, I think these are self-explanatory.
Feel free to mess around with different animation on other Sequence tabs for unique poses! I mentioned the majority of useful ones, but there's a few others not mentioned here.
Making Paint Variants
Coming soon.