[SOLVED] func_instances inaccessable?
I haven't been using func_instances in quite a while. Now that I want to Hammer somehow can't process them correctly anymore?!? When I add a vmf filename to the keyvalue of a func_instance firstly the appearance of the func_instance entity in the Hammer windows doesn't change. And when I try and compile the map there's an error message saying: "Could not open instance file instances/gameplay/crusher_ceiling_01.vmf".
I haven't changed the path of the instances folder. I even reinstalled Hammer ... to no avail. The Hammer VMF Directory is "$SteamUserDirPortal 2sdk_contentmaps". Does anybody know what might cause this behaviour and how I can take care of it?
Sometimes, because of lack of memory in some computers, rendering new stuff and showing in the hammer windows is buggy; have you tried to save (even though you can't see the instance), quit hammer and restart it? sometimes, it's just that.
Anyway, are you writing manually the path for the instance? try browsing it with the browser in the "VMF File Name" property instead.
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[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Did all that... no change! 
Are your instances physically available into your computer? Maybe is it a problem of accessing that folder by your game (authoring tools)? this could be possible in restrictive settings in Windows7 for example in which you need administrator permissions and such... or maybe because of your antivirus?
Anyway, try validating your local files.
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[/spoiler]I didn't just validate local files, I even reinstalled Hammer. And yes, instance vmf files on my pc can be accessed without any problem because I can open them in Hammer. It looks to me that Hammer somehow tries to open the instance files from a different location than the one they're in even though I didn't change anything (or at least I don't recollect doing any change!).
Instances are relative to the path of the actual map. Did you save your map in a different location than before?
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That's why I asked you about if you were using the browser to introduce the instance instead of doing manually. I think that if you lead hammer to the corrrect location your instence is in you shouldn't have any problem...
Revise your hammer options and check if you changed the "Hammer VMF Directory":
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[/spoiler]Ah... that's a piece of information that I didn't have. In fact I'm saving my maps on a different hard drive than the one with the Portal and Hammer files. I'm not at home now but I will try later if that's the reason for the error...
Anyway, I did use the browser for the instance file name.
That's not good. You should always save your vmf's in sdk content folder. Otherwise instances won't load.
That's false. All you need to do is copy the instance folder to the new save location.
However, the best save location is in my opinion the dlc2/maps folder, because if you use this one as default .vmf location, all .bsps will also be created there, what makes it a lot easier to create cubemaps.
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