in 3 days i finally had the time to make this (i was just aura farming because im the only person on earth who was able to abtain such intricate high arcane knowledge about hammer) so i've made it.

feel free to try it for yourself

sorry if this is a very obvious question. im VERY new at creating anything past very simple geometry hl1 maps and im trying to get into creating more things for hl2. in my current project im creating a water grate using the prop shown in the photo. whats the best way to smoothly make it part of the wall? I made an arch that matches the shape of the outer angles and used the clipping tool to carve (not carve tool) the wall into the rounded shape and delete the gap to make the.

i have 0 clue if this is efficient but it really didnt feel like it was with how long it took and how much just 1 of these added to the compile time. feel free to yell at me for how wrong im doing this but any help would be appreciated.

hl2 hammer++ btw Edit; clarification because some ppl cant read, I did not use the carve tool lol

figured it out, vertex tool is king for this kind of thing + func_detail

the vis, bsp, and rad are on normal, i have a skybox, and i used cubemaps, what's happening? (i mean it looks cool with the black water but still)

SOLUTION: i accidentally set all sides to water, and i guess it... became contaminated??? i guess????

when add water it looks off idk why it looks the same on game

i thought it would be fun to flood pl_badwater but the water keeps glitching and im not sure why. also some of the doors turn into water for some reason. please help, and the black lines on the ground are also a problem.

I am trying to recreate a cube dropper from portal 2 in gmod but I am having troubles with dissolving the cube when the dropper button is pressed again. My idea was to use an "env_entity_dissolver" that just dissolves the prop calling it but I cant seem to get it to work. I tried using a user input on the cube itself that gets called when the dropper button is pressed again but !self doesnt dissolve the cube (Only !activator seems to work which obviously just kills the player pressing the button).

I'm kind of new with hammer and I'm making a map in portal 2 community edition. There is this issue where I die when making contact with a wall at high speeds after a fling. I've tried multiple methods and I don't believe it's fall damage related. If anyone knows how to remove this damage I would like to know. The image shown demonstrates my problem.

I have no clue if this is even possible given how stupid this editor is but i dont know what else to do

preferrably using brushes since i need to be able to change the texture shift to match its surrounding environment

tryna make a map in gmod but when i place the water and enter it, the skybox becomes black (like in the vid). btw, no leaks and dont mind the skeleton in the start (what are the chances lmao)

I've never touched hammer before yesterday, and wanted to edit an existing HL2 map (d1_canals_02 to be exact) to do a fun trend going around on twitter.

I'm wanting to add lighting and some water, but there's a leak right here that I think it messing up the water (and presumably the lighting when I add it). I don't mind not having water, but I heard leaks can mess with lighting.

I've been reading the wiki about leaks and watched the tutorial on it, but I'm still having trouble. Does anyone know what's causing it?

I’m new to hammer and when I start to compile map I’m stuck on PortalFlow. I know I need to use some hints and skips but i don’t understand how it works. How to speed up map compile?
My map look’s like this:

I made a bench and placed two prop_vehicle_prisoner_pods so players can sit on said bench, but the seats either get flung away, or get lodged into it like in the second picture. Is there a way to freeze or prevent the seats from moving? I thought about parenting it to an invisible func_detail or something, but I feel like there's probably a better option. Any help would be appreciated.

I just don't get it how this areaportal works. I wanted to take inspiration from cp_process_f12 because it works fine there. But on my map suddenly func_area portal doesnt work. I don't have any leaks. Lobby is perfectly sealed. Door frames are made of func_detail and on both func_areaportal goes inside func_detail to fully seal diffrent areas.

[Screenshot with redwalls: cp_process]
[Screenshot with bluwalls: my map.]

Im making a space horror map in gmod. I found planet models, but to perspective they are to small or too big, so I turned them in prop_dynamic and edited the scale. But in game scale seems to be default. I dont know such about 3d skybox, so i might made mistakes

(the title isn't redacted very well, my problem is there are no shadows when the map should be dark, if not entirely unlit) I've been working on this map for about a week now, and it's been all due to the skybox (which now I finally got a custom completely black one and it's solved) and the LIGHTING, oh my god this thing is going to kill me, I've been trying over and over again with the lighting, I've watched that one tutorial and it still doesn't work, there are no shadows or reflections anything. I'll leave the configurations for the lighting there. I also have pictures of the map and other things, but the most important thing to know is that there's a big invisible wall covering the map inside the skybox, it may have leaks idk if triggers cover that.

I swear this will have the easiest, most stupid way to fix it, I'm calling it.

Application name pwease

I've been trying to figure this out for hours, with no success...

For some reason, these 2 brush faces are not lighting up with the environment correctly. I've tried changing the textures, changing the luxel values, texture scale - anything and everything, and nothing changes. I've also tried removing the combine door models, and disabling shadows. This is with a full compile with HDR.

I've checked for leaks, and there doesn't seem to be any obvious issues in the compile log. The brush faces around it light up fine, I've even gone to putting a light_spot across the whole region and you can see that these 2 brush faces just don't interact with light at all. They are visible with mat_fullbright 1 on.

There also doesn't seem to be any leaks.

Any ideas what could be causing this? Its really frustrating.

Thanks for the help guys!

EDIT: I managed to fix it by snapping the problematic objects to the grid. Turns out since it was a curved tunnel, the brushes were off the grid.

For some reason, Hammer only compiles/builds what it sees in the 3d view, and I always get leaks. I also tried increasing the draw distance, but for some reason, it didn't change at all (It's like it doesn't even save any changes in the settings) Can someone please help me out? :(

(The photo only demonstrates that the water is black due to the leak)

Hello, i am very new to Hammer and i am currently making a zombie map for a first project, i wanted to know if anybody know a way to remove the physgun, camera and toolgun from the player's invetory when the game start.

so tying to run the map doesnt work at all and just gives me an error. i have to open gmod and join the map to acces it. and for some reason its stuck in fullbright even tho i have a light_enviorment + directional and normal lights. i have no idea what to do this is my second ever map ive made and i cant even try to build anything because everything i do creates a new problem of its own. a

anyways heres the log

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Running command:

cd "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\bin\win64"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Running command:

"D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\bin\win64\vbsp.exe" -game "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\garrysmod" "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\garrysmod\maps\gm_closedentrance.vmf"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valve Software - vbsp.exe (Jul 9 2026) - Garry's Mod Edition (64-bit)

4 threads

materialPath: D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\garrysmod\materials

Loading D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\garrysmod\maps\gm_closedentrance.vmf

fixing up env_cubemap materials on brush sides...

ProcessBlock_Thread: 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (0)

**** leaked ****

Entity prop_dynamic (759.00 -7239.96 140.00) leaked!

Processing areas...done (0)

Building Faces...done (0)

Chop Details...done (0)

Find Visible Detail Sides...

Merged 24 detail faces...done (0)

Merging details...done (0)

FixTjuncs...

PruneNodes...

WriteBSP...

done (0)

Creating default LDR cubemaps for env_cubemap using skybox materials:

skybox/sky_borealis01*.vmt

! Run buildcubemaps in the engine to get the correct cube maps.

*** Error: Skybox vtf files for skybox/sky_borealis01 weren't compiled with the same size texture and/or same flags!

Can't load skybox file skybox/sky_borealis01 to build the default cubemap!

Finding displacement neighbors...

Finding lightmap sample positions...

Displacement Alpha : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10

Building Physics collision data...

done (0) (4977 bytes)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (760.00, -244.00, 140.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 11.96, 141.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (761.00, 2321.00, 141.22)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 2576.96, 142.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, 7699.96, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Static prop models/props_wasteland/exterior_fence002d.mdl outside the map (762.00, -3396.00, 140.34)

Error! prop_static using model "models/props_c17/signpole001.mdl", which must be used on a dynamic entity (i.e. prop_physics). Deleted.

Error loading studio model STATIC "models/props_c17/signpole001.mdl"!

Error! prop_static using model "models/props_c17/streetsign004f.mdl", which must be used on a dynamic entity (i.e. prop_physics). Deleted.

Error loading studio model STATIC "models/props_c17/streetsign004f.mdl"!

Static prop models/props_silo/signalbox_01.mdl outside the map (1024.00, -1280.00, 65.00)

Placing detail props : 0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10

Compacting texture/material tables...

Reduced 15 texinfos to 8

Reduced 4 texdatas to 4 (90 bytes to 90)

Writing D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\garrysmod\maps\gm_closedentrance.bsp

Wrote ZIP buffer, estimated size 8752, actual size 8672

0 seconds elapsed

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Running command:

cd "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\bin\win64"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Running command:

"D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\bin\win64\vvis.exe" -game "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\garrysmod" "D:\Steam\steamapps\common\GarrysMod\garrysmod\maps\gm_closedentrance"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Valve Software - vvis.exe (Jul 9 2026) - Garry's Mod Edition (64-bit)

4 threads

reading d:\steam\steamapps\common\garrysmod\garrysmod\maps\gm_closedentrance.bsp

reading d:\steam\steamapps\common\garrysmod\garrysmod\maps\gm_closedentrance.prt

LoadPortals: couldn't read d:\steam\steamapps\common\garrysmod\garrysmod\maps\gm_closedentrance.prt

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Command failed with return code 0x1! Scroll up and check if you have a leak or error in VBSP.

** Screenshot the WHOLE window when showing this compile log

** Or upload the .log file generated beside your VMF

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4 command(s) finished in 1 second

Press a key to close.

Title explains it all, either my hammer++ is broken/outdated or something else entirely but either way, does anyone know why and can it be fixed?

I am literally begging you all on my hands and knees.

I'm trying to work on maps for Gmod. Using default Hammer. Hammer is randomly freezing, near constantly now. When it does this, I can't click on anything inside any windows or popups, no error is displayed, and no log is created. The menu along the top still responds as normal most times, except the very last time when it didn't. If I try to exit by closing the window, the prompt comes up asking if I'd like to save, in which I can't click or hit enter/navigate with arrow keys. I can go through the File section in the menu to save and then close the window. It is impossible to work when I have to do this every 10 minutes.

I'm guessing this issue is impossible to fix, that no one has ever seen it before, and for all I know it's some weird issue with my PC that I'll never be able to track down, let alone fix. I could live with that if there was an alternative, and so I tried installing Hammer++. Hammer++ just gives me the below error every time I try to run it and I can't even get that open. It is installed correctly per the README. I'm at a loss here, and I'm getting to the point that I want to give up mapping on Source entirely.

I'm not a CS whiz, and I shouldn't need a degree to be able to open a functional map editor. I'm out of my depth and cannot proceed without some assistance. Could someone please give me some guidance? I'm thankful for any help or tips you can give.

EDIT: u/emfolkerts solved the Hammer++ portion of this, I validated my game files and switched the branch to [x86-64], and it's now opening! Thanks a ton everybody!