Opening a Portal 2 map in Hammer to edit it

[AshtrayGirl]

Hey! I have created a map with Portal 2 puzzle maker, easy thing. Now, I want to put a cake in it, but it's not included in the item list. So, I have the files for the cake, and some idea about how to put the cake in the map, but I can't open my map in Hammer to edit it! The program only open certain file extensions, and I don't know how to export the map into Hammer... help!

[hobo hector]

found any answers?

[Rooke]

From personal experience, I would strongly advise that you do not open a PeTI map in Hammer. PeTI maps are based on 128 unit cubes, and have very complicated I/O so all the testing items will work with all of the other items. If you move anything or change any of the testing items while in Hammer, you'll wind up with a ton of leaks on the map, and the I/O for the items can be easily broken.

Given all that, if all you want to do is put the Cake somewhere, then here's what you have to do.

Open Hammer, then go to the File menu, and select Open...

Navigate to your Steam folder, then:
SteamApps -> common -> Portal 2 -> sdk_content -> maps

In maps, you'll find "preview.vmf" - that will be the last PeTI map you compiled.
Select it for the Open...

After it opens - which will take about a minute, do a Save As, and save it as some other name - do not separate any of the words of the filename with anything - no underscores, spaces, periods or dashes, or you will not be able to publish it.

Close Hammer, Fire up Hammer again then open the file you just saved.

The rest is all on you as to what you do from there. Try not to move any existing objects.

Good Luck! You're going to need it.

Btw, I spent almost 9 months reworking everything on my PeTI map in Hammer before it ran reasonably well. But I learned a ton of stuff about just about everything involved in working with Hammer, the PeTI items and instances, leaks, optimizing and I/O. If you're curious about what took so long - check out my workshop's 1st map - Deadly Exits: Part 1 -
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2338036611