mike the mute on 22/8/2021 at 21:07
Under the 'shapes' menu there is a "stairs tool". How do you use it?
Thanks.
R Soul on 22/8/2021 at 22:36
You have to select a 'fill air' cuboid brush, and optionally select one of its faces to determine the stairs' direction. You can then run the tool with various parameters to see if you like the result.
I don't think it's widely used due to the 'initial brush' requirement, and I think it will only save time if you get the parameters right first time. I think most of us just build one step manually (either setting the texture there and then, or leaving that till later) and then clone it. And the tool will only build solid stairs. I prefer to make a wedge and carve the steps out, leaving a thin sloping border on each side.
For the early stages of building it's also valid to just use wedges (checking the gradient is correct, so you can end up with a whole number of steps, especially useful if you want them to be 1 deep and 0.75 high) and build the stairs later on as you start to add details.
mike the mute on 23/8/2021 at 00:37
"You have to select a 'fill air' cuboid brush,"
COOL. Thanks. That works.
My problem was I was trying to start with solid brushes. And nothing happened.
Is it useful? I'll play with it some, and find out.
Wedges look crude. I'm building a 10 story building, one step at a time feels like a pain.
Thanks for your help.
vfig on 23/8/2021 at 03:50
Quote Posted by R Soul
For the early stages of building it's also valid to just use wedges (checking the gradient is correct, so you can end up with a whole number of steps, especially useful if you want them to be 1 deep and 0.75 high) and build the stairs later on as you start to add details.
for blocking out where stairs will go i always use wedges of
8×W×6 (or the double sized
16×W×12) — W being whatever width is appropriate — so as to give the correct gradient. later when im ready to start detailing i will go back and quickly throw in 1×W×0.75 cubes for steps.
your steps should not be steeper than this. but shallower steps are okay (for example, 1.5 or 2 deep or 0.5 high cubes).
R Soul on 23/8/2021 at 18:56
Quote Posted by mike the mute
I'm building a 10 story building,
A few ways to respond to that...
1. Many of us appreciate good writing, but with 10 stories it's best to keep them short and to the point.
2. Be sure you know about area brushes
3. Best to set up your room brushes so you can have a working automap (by having them named, and not just "Default Room", and at least having one set for each floor).
john9818a on 24/8/2021 at 03:28
I use wedges for my stairs as well. Since pathfinding can be pretty crazy on stairs, I move the wedge out just enough to fill in the steps and then run pathfinding. The smooth surface of the wedge gives a cleaner pathfinding than with steps. Before release of the mission I make sure to move the wedge back into its original place.
Yandros on 28/8/2021 at 12:07
Quote Posted by mike the mute
Wedges look crude. I'm building a 10 story building, one step at a time feels like a pain.
Sounds like you might not know about multibrushes...
