Hello all. Before I get started, I just wanted to apologize to the Halomaps modding community. I haven't been pleasant to deal with in the past, so everyone, including Dennis....I'm sorry.

Here is my latest project. It is a modified tool.exe, coupled with a new "bsp_fixer.exe," to add a feature to HEK that was only before in Halo 2 Vista's map editor.

This...mod, I guess you could call it, allows you to compile JMS data files into structure bsps even when holes are found in the geometry, and even when polygons overlap.

Here is the catch: the bsps don't work right out of the box after they are compiled...you must run lightmaps on them and then drag them onto bsp_fixer.exe. It fixes null (-1) surface and edge references in order to prevent Sapien and Halo crashes. It works. I tested everything.

Here is a Youtube video of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN2uZfZoysU

And here is the download link:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ljcnme8jt46eff6/BSP_HACKZ_HALOMAPS.zip

The tool.exe was modded by me in assembler language, and the bsp_fixer.exe was programmed by me in Visual C++.

Enjoy. I wish from now on to be a more productive member of Halomaps.org.

Thanks! This tool could prove to be useful to other members.

No, not at all. It would be better to just make it right in the first place. This is just as bad as that other tool that was modified to ignore all errors. Errors are meant to be fixed, not bypassed.

Well...when using this tool.exe, you're not supposed to just compile and go. The bsp_fixer.exe actually fixes the errors.

Tool was designed to error-out upon open edges, etc, because they create null references...that is, references to edge -1, surface -1, etc, which obviously don't exist. My program resolves the null references, and in theory, fixes all errors even in an open bsp.

It doesn't crash Halo or anything....but you must run lightmaps on the bsp and process it with bsp_fixer before the bsp is actually error-free.
Edited by adolif2 on Aug 24, 2011 at 01:01 PM

That's not the point. You shouldn't have errors in the first place.

The problem is that tool likes to create unfixable errors for edges that don't exist most of the time, for me at least, which is why I don't do bsp's anymore, because a simple box with textures applied gives me degenerate triangles and no-collision.

Yeah, er... that would be just you. Tool doesn't create errors, errors are made by the modeler.
And degenerate triangles prevent lightmaps from running, anyway... even with a hack you wouldn't get lightmaps.

Actually, it does work with lightmaps. ;D

Don't really know how creating a simple cube with no modifications except for converting to mesh is me causing a no collision error.

Thanks Adolif for the app... I curious how far it's error fixing abilities stretch. For those agaisn't it, I would point out if it's not ''ignoring the error'' and doing what you would have wasted valuable workflow doing by fixing it, then it is indeed a Plus-Value for the community. I know the other tool error bypasses caused exception, now is time to see if this is able to help.



@Adolif: Does it also set up material IDs to be ''1'' or ''Sky'' by default? I know if you create a map without a skybox it'll end up pretty dark so I'm just wondering what's making the sky render anyway?

Tell you the truth...for the map in the video, I put a box above the map (with the normals facing out instead of in) and applied the +sky material to that instead. That helps lightmaps. As for the sky model itself, it actually is rendered anyways as long as the scenario is referencing a sky tag and the clusters in the bsp are not set to sky index -1.

It doesn't fix -1 material references, but as you can see from the video, it doesn't really affect anything.

As for how to use the apps:

They are both to be run from command prompt. I personally just copy cmd.exe from my system32 folder to my Halo Custom Edition folder.

Tool.exe, you use like normal. You can find the commands elsewhere on the web, or use this:

tool structure <insert folder name here> <insert bsp name here>

for example:

tool structure levels\test\bsp bsp

As for bsp_fixer, you can use the command line as so:

bsp_fixer <path to your bsp file>

bsp_fixer requires that the bsp has lightmaps already (because of the way it finds the file offset to the edge data) and also requires a file extension. I personally just drag and drop the bsp files onto the app, and it works automatically without the command line.

EDIT:

Without Bsp_fixer, the maps crash...ALOT. If the player or any other object with collision/physics touches a hole in the level geometry, it instantly crashes Halo. The program addresses *why* it does that, so now you can pretty much walk off of the edge of a map and fall to your death. No errors.

And I just had to throw this in here....lol.


Edited by adolif2 on Aug 25, 2011 at 04:17 AM

I seem to be confused here. When you pass your JMS through your tool, is it supposed to create a scenario_structure_bsp file? As it is now, I simply get the same results I got from standard tool. In your video, it found errors, but it still compiled the file.

I just remembered that tool will not even compile a bsp structure file if it has open edges. It only compiles with warnings.

I report 8 errors in my map. Now I have no clue how well this will work in game, but I feel these remaining 8 errors (haven't had a chance to look at them yet, though) will be easy to fix. Since the remaining 165 errors that were supposedly 'genuine' but appeared to be pure bogus, incurred from a pass through stock tool, I surmise, and hope, that the 'errors' do not interfere with gameplay or just downright disappear.

Stop using tools that bypass errors. Overall it won't help in the end.

On another note: If you really want to make useful apps, why don't u make a phantom BSP remover? That would be useful.

The idea is NOT to release a map with errors, bogus or not. The idea is to get the map into Halo's engine so that I may begin to evaluate it for shading, mapping, and other appearances. I would not and will not release a map with errors contained within it. Do not mistake my desire to conduct evaluations as laziness.

@CAG Gonzo

The modified tool.exe bypasses errors related to edges. which make up 99% of bsp errors. It's possible that you encountered some other kind of errors.

does anyone know where I can get a copy of adolif2's hacked tool? I'm trying to compile some halo 2 and three maps I ripped which of course have lots of errors and I was wondering if anyone had a copy of this tool so that I could bypass them.

You should just go ahead and fix them instead of bypassing them. Compiling with errors in bsps usually leads to some nasty errors in game. Such as falling through bsps, The ghost getting stuck in the mesh etc etc.

I'm aware of that, but seeing as these BSP's were made by Bungie I believe its safe to assume this map would still work reasonably well.

I see huuuge amounts of utility in being able to force a map to ingame-status.

I could use something like this to see if something looks good or ugly in game:

Then decide from there if the errors I skipped were worth fixing in the first place. if you hadn't taken it down
Edited by OrangeJuice on Oct 7, 2014 at 05:41 PM

It was probably toolio

The problem with toolio was that if you went in-game and let your character -touch- an open edge or other error, the game would exception

so does anyone know where I could get my hands on a copy of toolio? and the servers it used to be on are down.
Edited by Jobalisk on Oct 7, 2014 at 11:54 PM

But then you are also wrong to assume that. The issues are most likely a side effect from ripping and conversion. Not because bungie got lazy.

It's like taking a Windows 8 app's source and attempting to find a compiler for 95 that will ignore any errors. After all, they're both Windows, so it should work 'reasonably well', right?

*sigh... yess, your right about that, however, I still want to try it anyway, Ive seen where the errors are in the map and the majority of them are in places where the player model wouldn't be able to touch them anyway.

this is not a thread to tell me of the reasons for why you would not to this, this is a thread about im going to do it anyway just to see what happens does anyone have a link. compiling the map to find that it crashes is not the end of the world, I just want to find out what happens. now please, does anyone have a copy of toolio?
Edited by Jobalisk on Oct 8, 2014 at 02:49 PM

Tool since halo 2 fixes errors and closes off the bsp, and a lot of triangles were removed by bungie if you were never supposed to see them, and they still remain in the collision bsp, the problem with ripping maps using adjutant is that you're only ripping the render bsp, not the collision bsp with the fixed errors.

this is a halo 2 map, I used entity, not adjutant to rip, it works quite differently.

Sparky has toolio in his giant halo modding starter kit thingy, unfortunately I am at loss to remember what his website is.

Galaxy something or other? Anyway i'm sure he will respond. And if he doesn't I will upload it for you on the weekend if I am not too busy.
Edited by SS Flanker on Oct 11, 2014 at 06:31 AM

THANK YOU!! FINALLY! SOMEONE ACTUALLY GAVE ME A USEFUL ANSWER!!!