I'm having this problem when i go to compile my map; it says

### ERROR couldn't build bsp because of overlapping surfaces (orange)
### ERROR couldn't build bsp2d
### ERROR couldn't build leaf
### ERROR failed to import collision bsp.

I'm a new map maker and i got a tutorialfrom hce.halomaps.org and it worked until the part listed above. any help will be very helpful. thanks for helping


PS: ive had to restart models over and over again and im hoping that i dont have to again. and that i use Gmax.

import the nameoflevel.wrl (found in ce root directory into max and uncheck the 3 boxes.
look for orange faces then delete the imported wrl stuff then fix the overlapping (orange) faces by deleting 1 and creating another.

overlapping surfaces, i usually get that when I've modeled the whole map in quads. all I did was convert them to triangles. i model in blender so I wouldn't know how to do that in 3ds.

could u explain that step by step plz?

uh... what? this isn't that complicated a problem. tool just can't make leaf nodes with certain types of quads, there are no open edges. I usually model the whole bsp in blender, convert all quads to triangles with one simple command, then bring the model into 3ds and add materiel/export with blitzkrieg. whenever I don't convert quads to triangles i get that co-plainer surface thing if my map is complicated.

all you have to do is figure out the command in 3ds that converts quads to triangles.

blender is an independent program separate from 3ds/gmax. After modeling i convert it to wavefront object (.obj) because the materials go with it in that format.

blitzkrieg only works for 3ds, chimp and bluestreak were created for g-max but can work for 3ds(it's more widely used because 3ds is expensive.)

Don't use poly for halo, trust me you'll run into a lot of problems with collision. start with mesh, end with mesh.

btw blender is free here: http://www.blender.org/

no, it's easier. halo doesn't accept polly and when you convert it to mesh you'll get enough open edges to keep you busy for hours.

also you get allot of geometry you can't see but is still there, takes up memory and produces lag.