Hammer++ and NEOTOKYO°

A tutorial on how to use Hammer++ with NEOTOKYO, using Symbolic Links and Text Editing.

Introduction and Prerequisites

So you wanna use Hammer++ to make NEOTOKYO maps huh?

Well, with this guide you'll be up and running in no time, with a tiny bit of Windows magic and text editing.

Requirements:

But before we begin, you'll need the following items:

• NEOTOKYO° and its FGD (Should be included inside the "bin/" folder, if not download here)
  
• NT Hammer Bootstrap[github.com] (used to create a usable GameInfo for later, not necessary if you've already followed this guide)
  
• Source SDK Base 2013 Multiplayer[http//steam]
  
• Hammer++ (Source SDK 2013 Multiplayer version)[github.com]
  
• Link Shell Extension (needed for easy creation of Symbolic Links)[schinagl.priv.at]
  
• A Text Editor of your choice (You can just use base Notepad)
  
• Free Time

With that all installed and out of the way, let's begin!

Creating a Symbolic Link to NEOTOKYO° Content inside of SDK 2013 Multiplayer's "SourceTest"

Now go into your folder for Source SDK Base 2013 Multiplayer and enter the folder named "sourcetest"


Inside the "sourcetest" folder, create a new one named "custom"


Now, inside your newly created custom folder, create another folder called "NeotokyoSource" and then go inside it.


Create a new Explorer window and find your actual NEOTOKYO game folder (.../steamapps/common/NEOTOKYO/NeotokyoSource)


Select the "materials", "models" and "sounds" folders using Ctrl+Left Click and then RIGHT CLICK drag these folders into your "sourcetest/NeotokyoSource" folder, this will open a window where you'll then have to hover over "Drop Here..." and then click "Symbolic Link"


With that, you should see this, meaning that you have successfully created a Symbolic Link between NEOTOKYO and your "sourcetest/NeotokyoSource" folder.
Don't worry, Symbolic Links don't affect your storage space.

Using the NT Hammer Bootstrap to create a usable GameInfo.txt for later

If you haven't already, run the NT Hammer Bootstrap installer, follow its instructions carefully, and after all is said and done, you'll notice a new "mapping" folder inside NEOTOKYO's root directory.



Inside this new folder, is a GameInfo.txt file that you would usually use in Source 2006 Hammer so that it can actually read NEOTOKYO content without issue, but for this guide, it will become useful later, but for now, open up the new "GameInfo.txt" file as you'll need to make a few modifications, scroll down to the "SearchPaths" and replace the two you currently see with absolute paths to both NEOTOKYO's game folder and its Half-Life 2 content folder.


(It's unknown if this is actually necessary, but hey, better be safe than sorry!)

Modifying Hammer++'s GameConfig.txt to actually create NEOTOKYO° maps

If you haven't already, launch Hammer++, select whatever game config, and then close Hammer++, this will create a "hammerplusplus_gameconfig.txt" file inside of your "Source SDK Base 2013 Multiplayer/bin/hammerplusplus" folder.


Open it up and scroll until you see the configuration for "SourceTest", now just copy what you can see below:
(You may notice that we're using Source 2006's compile tools, this is because of the various differences between 2006's and 2013's compile tools which will cause NEOTOKYO to crash when loading anything that isn't just a basic box with a single light while using the 2013 compile tools.)

After you're done save and close your text editor, now BEFORE you open Hammer++, right-click the "hammerplusplus_gameconfig.txt" file and go into its properties.


Inside its properties, check the "Read-only" attribute and then click apply, this is done to prevent Hammer++ from overwriting whatever we've inputted into the SourceTest configuration. (Just remember to uncheck it if you ever wanna add any new configs to Hammer++)

Creating a new Export Compile config to point to NEOTOKYO° content

With that done, open up Hammer++ and select the SourceTest configuration.



You're not done yet, there is still an extra step to ensure that compiling a map goes as smoothly as possible, when getting ready to compile a map, instead of compiling normally, go to the "Expert..." Menu.



Inside the Expert menu, you'll see an "Edit" button next to the "Default" configuration, click on it, and you'll see a window called "Run Map Configurations":


Create a new configuration, I've called mine "NeoTokyo" and when you select it, you'll be presented with a blank config, inside your newly created config, copy the commands from the default configuration, but in the $bsp_exe, $vis_exe and $light_exe, change the "$gamedir" parameter to the absolute directory to your GameInfo mentioned in the "Using the NT Hammer Bootstrap to create a usable GameInfo.txt for later" section.

(Be sure to either don't include or uncheck the "$game_exe" command so that the game doesn't run after compiling, it will cause a crash if you compile without doing that)

Congration, you done it.!!1!

You'll now be able to make NEOTOKYO maps with the added features and quality-of-life improvements of Hammer++!


If you wish to know more about mapping for the Source Engine, here's the Level Design page on the Valve Developer Community Wiki

For some pointers regarding mapping specifically for NEOTOKYO including certain entities, testing, and proper naming and release etiquette, here's a guide on NEOTOKYO mapping made by the NT Competitive team, All Hammer No Sickle.[bonahnsa.com]

Thing(s) to keep in mind

While this method works great for making and compiling maps for NEOTOKYO, there is so far one thing to keep in mind:

• As mentioned in the "Creating a new Export Compile config to point to NEOTOKYO° content" Section, DO NOT ALLOW HAMMER++ TO RUN THE GAME AFTER COMPILING, doing so will cause NEOTOKYO to crash when attempting to load your compiled map, as Hammer++ will actually try to load NEOTOKYO with the "-game" parameter set to Source SDK Base 2013 Multiplayer, causing a crash.

With that out of the way, I wish you the best of luck in your NEOTOKYO mapping journey, and be sure to check out both the pages on mapping linked above!

Thank you and have fun.

Additional Notes/Support Hotline!

If you have any further problems regarding using Hammer++ with NEOTOKYO°, you can direct them to me over at the NEOTOKYO° Community Discord[discord.gg], within the "Hammer++ Support Hotline" Thread which you can find in the "#architects" text channel.