Help:Unusual and Killstreak renders
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A todo list has been written for this article. The specific instructions are: I need to go back in and fix a lot of these images and also write the control point weapon tutorial sometime later. |
This Unusual Renders tutorial will show you how to render images of Unusual effects in Source Filmmaker for use in update or Unusual related pages. Only minimal Source Filmmaker knowledge is required.
Contents
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.
- First off, download SFM if you haven't already. You'll also want GCFScape and VTFEdit.
- Once SFM is installed, you'll first want to download the [hhttps://www.mediafire.com/file/dros68i42cp2rq3/unusualdemo.dmx/file original project file] used for current renders. Place this file in
\SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\elements\sessions
. - Before you open the project file, you need to download all of the files it uses firsts. Currently, two SFM Workshop files are used to fix the Molten Mallard particle and fix Weapon Unusuals.
- Open
\Team Fortress 2\tf\tf2_misc_dir.vpk
with GCFScape. Open theparticles
folder and extract every file ending in_unusuals.pcf
to your desktop. As of the December 16, 2019 Patch, this should leave you with:halloween2015_unusuals.pcf
halloween2016_unusuals.pcf
halloween2018_unusuals.pcf
halloween2019_unusuals.pcf
invasion_unusuals.pcf
smissmas2019_unusuals.pcf
- Move the particle files to
\SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\particles
. If this filepath doesn't exist yet, create it. - Open
\Team Fortress 2\tf\tf2_misc_dir.vpk
again. Extract thematerials\effects
folder to your desktop. - Open
\Team Fortress 2\tf\tf2_textures_dir.vpk
. Extract thematerials\effects
folder to your desktop. This should merge it with the already existing folder and there should now be an assortment of .vtf and .vmt files. - Delete
\SourceFilmmaker\game\tf\materials\effects
and replace it with theeffects
folder from your desktop. - In your new effects folder, find the following files and do as instructed:
- Open
\Team Fortress 2\tf\tf2_misc_dir.vpk
once more. Extract thematerials\unusual
folder to your desktop. - Open
\Team Fortress 2\tf\tf2_textures_dir.vpk
. Extract thematerials\unusual
folder to your desktop. This will merge it with the existing folder. - Place the
unusual
folder in\SourceFilmmaker\game\tf\materials
Congratulations! Your SFM files should be ready to go for rendering Unusual effects.
Rendering Unusual effects
Below are three tutorials on how to render the different Unusual types: Cosmetic, Taunt, and Weapon Unusual effects.
Cosmetic Unusuals
Using the following process, you can render Cosmetic Unusual effects in the current TF Wiki format. For this tutorial, we'll be rendering the Sparkling Lights Unusual effect.
Adding the particle
- If a new Unusual series 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 theparticles
folder. If it's an existing particle, finditem_fx.pcf
instead.- New Unusual sets should normally be found with the suffix
_unusuals.pcf
. - If there is a new Unusual set, extract it from GCFScape into
\SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\particles
.
- New Unusual sets should normally be found with the suffix
- Switch over to SFM and set your camera to
cam_cosmetic
. - Right click on the animation set editor. Create an animation set for a new particle system.
- There will be a few fields for you to fill out.
- Set the definition file to the .pcf of your Unusual effect set.
- We'll ignore the definition for now.
- Set the start time to 0.
- Set all other fields to 999.
- 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
- Switch to the motion editor in the timeline window.
- 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. - 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
- ParticleRender positionParticle4.png
Moving your current frame correctly
- ParticleRender positionParticle5.png
What your particle should look like after doing everything correctly
Finalizing the particle
- Right click your particle in the animation set editor. Go to
Show in Element Viewer
>Particle System
- Replace the particleSystemType field with your particle's filename. In the case of Sparkling Lights, it would be
unusual_sparkling_lights_parent02
. - Right click on your viewport window, and go to
Render Settings
. Your settings should match the picture's. - 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. - 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
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
- If a new Unusual series 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 theparticles
folder. If it's an existing particle, findtaunt_fx.pcf
instead.- New Unusual sets should normally be found with the suffix
_unusuals.pcf
. - If there is a new Unusual set, extract it from GCFScape into
\SourceFilmmaker\game\usermod\particles
.
- New Unusual sets should normally be found with the suffix
- Switch over to SFM and set your camera to
cam_taunt
. - Right click on the animation set editor. Create an animation set for a new particle system.
- There will be a few fields for you to fill out.
- Set the definition file to the .pcf of your Unusual effect set.
- We'll ignore the definition for now.
- Set the start time to 0.
- Set all other fields to 999.
- ParticleRender positionParticle3 taunt.png
Switching the camera
- ParticleRender createParticle.png
Creating a new particle system
- ParticleRender createParticle2.png
Customizing your new particle system
Positioning the particle
- Switch to the motion editor in the timeline window.
- Find the "transform - pos" field of your particle system. In respective order, change 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. - 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
- ParticleRender positionParticle4.png
Moving your current frame correctly
- ParticleRender positionParticle5 taunt.png
What your particle should look like after doing everything correctly
Finalizing the particle
- Right click your particle in the animation set editor. Go to
Show in Element Viewer
>Particle System
- Replace the particleSystemType field with your particle's filename. In the case of Arctic Aurora, it would be
utaunt_snowring_space_parent
. - Right click on your viewport window, and go to
Render Settings
. Your settings should match the picture's. - 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. - 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 taunt.png
The final product
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 effects.
Adding the particle
- 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 theparticles
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
.
- New Unusual sets should normally be found with the prefix
- Switch over to SFM and set your camera to
cam_weapon
. - Right click on the animation set editor. Create an animation set for a new particle system.
- There will be a few fields for you to fill out.
- Set the definition file to the .pcf of your Unusual effect set.
- We'll ignore the definition for now.
- 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 weapon.png
Customizing your new particle system
Positioning the particle
- Switch to the motion editor in the timeline window.
- 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. - 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 the particle system named WEP_HOT. If not, manually move your particle system to be as close to WEP_HOT as possible. - 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
- 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
- Right click your particle in the animation set editor. Go to
Show in Element Viewer
>Particle System
- Replace the particleSystemType field with your particle's filename. In the case of Cool, it would be
weapon_unusual_cool_shotgun_vm
. - Right click on your viewport window, and go to
Render Settings
. Your settings should match the picture's. - 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. - 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.png
Exporting
- ParticleRender renderParticle4 weapon.png
YOUR SETTINGS MUST MATCH THESE