Comments

Thank you! I get a lot of encouragement from your comments

Thanks! Yeah, I made a map a couple years ago where it was just a room crammed with examples of every entity, but they weren't examples like what you might find in a game, they were just the absolute basics (e.g. you walk into the corner of the room and a trigger_once targets an env_explosion). And so going back to it, it is hard to use it as a reference because it's just an illogical mess of entities.

But with this map, I created typical examples of as many entities as I could so that I would have real, typical examples to refer to. For example, the func_tracktrain is like the train in "On a Rail", and the env_global is used to have the generator turn on the tracktrain, and the monstermaker + env_beam + env_sprite + ambient_generic + multimanager + trigger_once is used to spawn in aliens when you walk up to the gun, which itself is a typical example of the func_tank, and so on.

This way, if I want to make more an actual cohesive set of maps or even a mod, I can refer back to this sample map to remind myself how I did things without having to remember "so, what part of this crowded chaotic room did I put the func_tank example?"

Another benefit of these maps is that because I specifically set out to make maps that just serve as examples, it allows me to take the pressure off. I can just feel free to practice without worrying that it's not perfect. I can just keep practicing, and once I feel my skills are up to the standards I want, I can start to create products where I don't feel frustrated that it's not at the level of quality I had hoped for.

I was also having the issue where the camera would look at the func_train but was not itself moving along the path_corners. The solution for me ended up being checking the "start at player" and "freeze player" flags on the trigger_camera.

This is kinda the opposite. You can move and fire through this one. The cool thing is that from one other side you can see through it, but when you start shooting them people on the other side won't know where you are. Yeah, it's pretty basic mapping but I think it's a cool idea. Besides, that's why it's in examples. You haven't seen any basic mapping skills in there before?

The trask can is breakable and there is a vent behind it which gives you a key so it is a little bigger than a closet. However, I'm not sure that it was that complete when pickle made his first comment. I did agree with pickle for most of the comments I read, I just think he is a victom to his... lack in skill...about wording things carefully. He'd be a great advisor, but a terrible politician ;).