For many years now, Mac gamers on Steam wanted Source SDK for Mac. Whether it be for Hammer or itemtest, it never came to be. This was a problem for TF2 modelers, such as myself, to properly compile MDLs. And with the introduction of the beta importer tool, it seemed like Macs would be two steps behind. That is no longer the case.

Upon closer examination of how the importer worked, I realized how you can compile Valve-friendly ZIPs from your Mac; now easier than you might think! Below are the instructions on how to do this.

This tutorial is geared mainly to preparing to make and submitting items, rather than design tips.

Developing for TF2 can be a completely priceless endeavor on your end, if you get the right tools (legitimately).

1) The main program you’ll need is a 3D modeling program. I recommend Blender (blender.org). If you already own an Autodesk program (i.e. Maya), that’s fine, too. I do not recommend using Wings3D. It is not a powerful enough program to handle the professional modeling you’re going to want to do. Also, you’ll need an SMD Import/Export tool for whichever program you decide to use. See the Valve Developer Wiki (developer.valvesoftware.com) for more on this.

2) Once you have your modeling software, you’ll need an image editor to texture your item. I personally use Photoshop CS5, but you could always get GIMP for free at gimp.org/downloads/.

3) You’re going to need to port some Windows software to Mac-compatible *.app files over the course of this tutorial, so you’ll need Wineskin Winery (wineskin.urgesoftware.com) and a legal copy of Steam for Windows (psteamproxy.yuanyoumao.com/about/). The file you’ll be downloading is SteamInstall.msi (Important: Place this somewhere you can remember).

4) Finally, you’ll need decompiled models for geometric reference. Because of how mdldecompiler (Cannon Fodder’s miracle tool) is coded, I couldn’t find a way to port this. But Bash, does this mean I should just give up? No, it doesn’t. Thankfully, FissionMetroid101 at TF2banana decompiled the 9 class models and put them into .blend files. Not using Blender? Then I suggest you get Blender temporarily and export the classes as Maya-friendly FBX files.



You can get the decompiled models here: http://tf2.gamebanana.com/tools/5463

So before you get started, make sure you have your:
•3D modeling program with an SMD import/export tool (Blender, Maya, etc.)
•Image editor (Photoshop, GIMP, etc.)
•Wineskin Winery & SteamInstall.msi
•Decompiled geometry files

First, you’re going to have to delete the current Steam.app you have installed on your Mac (by law, you can only have 1 copy of Steam downloaded on your computer). Next, you’re going to open Wineskin Winery.

Select WS9Wine1.5.27 and click Create New Blank Wrapper (Note: if you don’t have this engine, click the + and add it). Even though this engine isn’t the most recent, it works well. Once you have selected it, enter “Steam” into the text box and click OK.

Once it loads, it will alert you saying that the wrapper is complete. It will be located in Macintosh HD/Users/*username*/Applications/Wineskin. Drag it to a new directory where you want to keep it (i.e. the Applications folder).

Click Install Software, Choose Setup Executable, then locate where you left SteamInstall.msi. It will take you to the Steam Installation Wizard. Fill it out, and it will update.

There will be no words due to a bug. We’re going to close Steam for now, so that Wineskin will know to open Steam.exe again when we relaunch the program (with the bug fixed). Quit the Steam wrapper, and you’ll see a window pop up asking which file to run on next startup.

This screen is Wineskin asking you which EXE to run when you launch the program again. Go through the dropdown menu until you find /Program Files/Steam/Steam.exe and select it. Click OK. The Steam wrapper has been closed, but not Wineskin. To fix the text problem, go under Advanced > Tools > Config Utility (winecfg) and select it. Now do the following:

•While under the Applications tab, select Add application… and locate Program Files/Steam/Steam.exe. Select Open, and it should appear on the list under Default Settings.
•Go to the Libraries tab and type *dwrite into the New override for library: text box. Click Add.
•Click Edit, and then select Disable. Click OK.
•Click Apply then OK to finish. Let the tool run then quit Wineskin.

Once that is done, launch Steam again. Text should be appearing now. Click Login to an Existing Account and follow the on-screen instructions (Note: disabling *dwrite doesn’t fix the text bug in the Steam Community overlay). At some point in this section, a Steam.desktop file will appear on your Dekstop. Just leave it there. Your Steam client is now ready for the next section!

Important: If you close TF2 and your desktop is your Steam client surrounded by black bars (and possibly a mild change in resolution), press cmd+tab to exit out.

Now that your client is operational and with text, its time to install Team Fortress 2 and the Source SDK. Install TF2 first. This will take some time, but no more than an hour at most. Open TF2, let the main menu appear, and then quit. This will be the one-time launch you need to do to ensure the SDK will work.

Next, install the Source SDK. Under Library, go to Tools, and select Source SDK. Download time will be shorter, given it’s 1/3 the size of TF2. Once installed, launch it. Do not bother selecting anything, just close the SDK once it’s fully open.

Once you have installed, launched, and closed these two items, close Steam. You need to do this so that TF2 and the SDK will sync up. The import tool needs to know that you have the SDK installed, and restarting Steam is the only way to let it know you do.

This is the part of the tutorial where the magic happens. This is when you make your model and texture for in-game use. Mind you, the import tool is in beta, so no weapons can be compiled yet. Just hats and miscs for the time being.

You can follow Hell Jumper's Blender 2.5/2.6 tutorials on how to model, texture, skin, and make a backpack icon for your model. For demonstration’s sake, I made a very low-quality necktie for Scout (I also deleted all the bones I wasn’t going to skin the tie to).


(Note: it should be noted that the best way to properly model and export SMDs-to-be is by having the SMD mesh "up" on the Z axis then rotating the bones so that they can fill in where the mesh was for proper skinning).

Unwrap your UV and bake the ambient occlusion (Again, see Hell Jumper’s guides for this). I recommend using a square brush (if your image editor has one) and following Swizzle's guide to texturing[www.polycount.com].




I also removed the Scout mesh and assigned the tie’s faces to the bone bip_dogtag_0. For making additional LODs (Level of Detail), dissolve edges and vertices to reduce the tricount. Make sure that you rename the object before you export new LODs, because the first SMD will be overridden. Also, be sure you have assigned a material to your SMDs. Be sure you unwrapped the mesh before you exported SMDs.

Now that you have installed all the necessary programs, created your LODs and textured your item, it’s time to import it.

But before you launch Steam, put all SMDs, TGAs, and JPGs into a folder. The only directories the Steam wrapper can access are the ones in the drive_c folder, which stands in place for the C drive that Macs do not have. So what you’ll have to do now is:

•Right-click Steam.app and select Show Package Contents.
•Navigate to drive_c/Program Files and place your folder of item parts in there (I named mine scout_tie).



Next, open Steam and launch Team Fortress 2. Once the main menu appears, select Workshop, Publish New Item, and then Import. Select a name for the file (not the public one going to be used on the Workshop page), class, item type, equip region, and check the boxes for the appropriate information. When entering your LODs, the first LOD should have the highest tricount, and any additional LODs should have less than the one before it (lod 0 > lod 1 > ...lod n). Fill out all the information accordingly, verify, and then finish. Upon finishing the import, the tool will auto-generate a ZIP containing all the proper file setups that Valve can quickly use and test.

If you want to take screenshots in TF2, using the key command cmd+shift+3 (or 4) will not work. You’re best bet is to record your screen using QuickTime Player.app (native on your Mac) and then taking screenshots of the recording.

This tutorial could not have been possible without the open help of:

FissionMetroid101, for decompiling the class models:
(http://gamebanana.com/members/917387)

Hell Jumper, for explaining item creation and the beta import tool:
(http://www.steamcommunity.com/id/HellJumper777)

Swizzle, for creating Texturing for Team Fortress 2: A Short Guide to Painted Textures:
(http://www.polycount.com/forum/member.php?u=20210)