I'd like to apologize for what is likly to be a really newbish question, I have searched this forum and the web for a solution for around an hour or so, and I've been doing a lot of web searching over the past couple of days and I'm getting tired of it. though I'm sure thats no reason to bug people.
I only managed to find one tutorial that tells how to use xsi to make models for half life 2 and it is pretty good however it does lack some details on some important parts. I followed it and got my model into the game but the texture is missing and I have purple checkerboard problem. I used vtex command line program to make the texture into a vtf file but I'm not quite sure where it should go, that and I'm still baffeled on the { $cdmaterials "models\spam" } line in the qc file relates to other folders, but then again it is 2 in the morning maybe it will come to me in the morning.
that line is from this tutoreal btw http://www.gamedesign.net/node/1002