Hammer++/Slammin Hammer for Megabuild Tutorial

[Wolfcl0ck]

Greetings, everyone! Today I'm excited to post a simple setup and tutorial on how to use modern versions of Hammer (Such as the Slammin Source Tools version or Hammer++) for Megabuild!

Why can modern hammer not be used for the leak?

The reason why Modern hammer is incompatible is actually quite simple: Model versions. Since the leak uses v28-37 mdl files, modern hammer versions, which only support higher mdl versions like 48, will crash when attempting to load them. Everything else (textures, sounds, sound scripts, choreographed scenes, etc.) work just fine, as they're version agnostic (or in the case of vmf files, supported across all branches.)

What is the solution to this problem?

Nicknine's mdl converter, a command line program, can easily be used to batch convert every model from megabuild up onto a modern supported engine branch! Since this is the only set of files that need to be converted, all other asset directories can be referenced directly using Symbolic Links using Link Shell Extension or any other program that allows for symbolic links.

What I have done

Last night, I ran through the entirety of a clean copy of Megabuild with Nicknine's converter, as well as a few extra models that I've uploaded over the past few years. I then set up a "mod" that can be placed in your Sourcemods directory for said models.
Here are the 7zip parts of that mod in question:
(1) (2)
Here is the new permanent link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lUXnRwbRuCF8INM7WT_icKsywaCiN0_5/view?usp=sharing

Instructions

1. Download both of the 2 7z parts listed above. Download the 7z file.
2. Select both files and extract the "leakmodels" folder into your Steamapps/sourcemods folder using your extractor of choice. I recommend 7Zip but WinRar should also work. (Please don't comment asking how to do this, every time I split a 7zip into parts, people get confused. Just highlight both of them before right clicking!)
3. Using Link Shell Extension (or any other program that allows for the creation of symbolic links,) place symbolic links for the following directories from "megabuild/hl2" into "leakmodels":
materials
scenes
sound
(Alternative: If you really want to, you can copy these folders directly instead of using symbolic links. This is heavily discouraged but it is an available option.)
4. Open your Hammer of choice and create a new game setup for "leakmodels." Be sure to use the fgd files found in "leakmodels/fgds."

Additional Notes

1. If you want to patch over new materials or sounds but don't want to modify your copy of megabuild directly, I have included a "custom" folder which should work like any other custom folder from 2013 base.
2. The default "Run Map" options in Source 2013 are not compatible with leak compilers. If you want the "Run Maps" window to work, you will need to create a new configuration in the "Advanced" mode that removes the "-game" line. I do not know how leak vbsp, vvis, and vrad know which game version they're using, especially considering that the leak doesn't even use gameinfo.txt, but this seems to work for me.
3. This setup loads 2013 base shaders, meaning that missing or modified leak shaders will not appear. The proper solution to this would be to compile custom shaders for 2013 base, put them into the leakmodels mod, create a game_shaders_dx9 library for said mod, and then load the mod into hammer through a batch file (this last step would be unnecessary for H++ as far as I understand.) Anyway this is far beyond the scope of this project and would make things much more difficult for the end-user, so the better solution would be to find all of the vmt files in the leak that use incompatible or missing shaders from 2013 base, replace the shader lines with existing ones (like vertexlitgeneric or unlitgeneric, etc.) and add those modified vmt files to a mod in the custom folder. I have not done this myself yet because there aren't many existing materials that use removed shaders, but it's an option in the future.

Enjoy!

[mr. lilepicfacetp]

I can’t open files leakmodels.7z.001 and leakmodels.7z.002 like WinRar and 7z, what should I do?

[Wolfcl0ck]

I can’t open files leakmodels.7z.001 and leakmodels.7z.002 like WinRar and 7z, what should I do?

You make me weep.

[NTN9]

Isn't Akis's leak content loader basically the same? He used Nicknine's tool too

Also, why are there 2 divided archives uploaded to Discord, instead of one on Google Drive, Mega etc?

[Wolfcl0ck]

Isn't Akis's leak content loader basically the same? He used Nicknine's tool too

Also, why are there 2 divided archives uploaded to Discord, instead of one on Google Drive, Mega etc?

Posting it here was an afterthought. I actually just sent it to a member of my Discord originally, but I decided it could be helpful to post it here as well. I can't speak on account of Aki's version.

[mr. lilepicfacetp]

I can’t open files leakmodels.7z.001 and leakmodels.7z.002 like WinRar and 7z, what should I do?

You make me weep.

stop what
https://ibb.co/CzqWxXf

[Frying1Pans]

Thanks, it literally just works

[MrW1Ls0n]

probably worth pointing out that there is a few fan remade models which you can download that are compatible with hammer, I have used some of these behind glass before, but it is really just easier to use the originals, some can be pretty barebones, you can get many beta asset remakes on Garry's mod for example, you just might need a bit of messing about to get them over. (modification, when I say originals I mean on the leak engine, as said they do not work on retail) there is also any number of mods for replacing citizens, metrocops et cetera with the beta versions if you just want a quick fix, to my knowledge this is the simplest option if for whatever reason you want to put the models in retail, this will also benefit from the retail AI, I have used the beta hacks texture just stuck over the retail model a few times, ut  obviously mods are you best bet for gassmask citizens, do note that these models will be upscaled to work with hammer, if you are a real beta purist

[syf2010]

The links are down.

[Crocodillian_From_XEN]

The 7Zip parts can't be downloaded?

[Wolfcl0ck]

The 7Zip parts can't be downloaded?

The links are down.

Hello again! Sorry about that, and sorry for the wait! I had uploaded these for someone on one of my Discord servers but Discord clearly no longer allows itself to be used as a file sharing program, so the links had gone stale.
Here's the "mod" as a single file 7zip in a permanent download location this time: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lUXnRwbRuCF8INM7WT_icKsywaCiN0_5/view?usp=sharing