Source SDK Hammer Dimensions Problem Created 9 years ago2015-07-30 00:40:13 UTC by CamScottBryce

Hi there. This is my first post on this website. I'm a novice when it comes to working with the Source SDK but I'm trying to learn some stuff and start making (more) maps.

I tried to search for this issue, but didn't find too much, so I apologize if this has been tackled a while ago. One thing I noticed about the source engine is that working with dimensions is difficult. On the Valve Developer Community site, information was released about 1 Hammer map grid being the equivalent of .75 of an inch. I attempted to recreate some real-life areas in game, but that ratio doesn't really work. Possibly due to FOV, in-game objects look very thin and tall, and objects (such as doorways) have awkwardly small collisions (as in, it's difficult to pass through doorways without going directly in the middle of the space). Valve also claims that the normal door surface area is 108 x 48 map grid units, which seems strangely wide and tall while looking at it in game.

Apologies for the anecdote here, but I'm wondering if there is some commonly used real-life to in-game measurement ratio, or if mappers typically ignore the VDC measurements in favor of newer or better looking ones. I've noticed a lot of maps tend to have large doorways, perhaps to compensate for this sort of thing.

TL;DR: is there an easy way to figure out the scale of in-game environments in relation to the player's view, FOV, and height? And also are there any useful ratios for real world to in-game measurements?

Edited to correct for missing words.

Well, for starters, toss the 1 unit = .75 inches thing. Nobody really works off of that, because of the issues you've already noticed. One standard way of working off of real world measurements is 1 foot = 16 units, but that's for rough estimations only. In fact, don't try to match stuff to real-world measurements at all, or the player will always end up seeming short and fat. Using multiples of 8 units is a good practice for player-scale measurements, though - you shouldn't have to go under an 8-unit grid for anything larger than small details like trims. Bear in mind that everything that follows is assuming you're mapping for HL2 or a similar game - TF2, L4D and the like all have different scales because their player models are sized differently.

The standard door size (frame included) is, IIRC 56x112 units, as in the dev door texture - most of the door textures in HL2 are fitted to this, so you can use the default .25 texture scale and just clip out the black parts. The standard height for most "1 storey" walls is 128 units, though, of course, you can always give or take as needed for your map. Most of the dev textures have these sorts of measurements which will show what's a good height or width for common things like buttons, handles, ceilings, etc. Ignoring the first section (which I've skipped in the link) you can use the VDC's dimensions guide to get a feel for the minimum sizes for things to fit the player, jump distance, etc.

It's definetly something that newcomers will have to get a feel for themselves, but always keep the dev textures with size labels in mind until it's second nature to things to scale.

@JeffMOD wow, thanks for the info, that helps a lot.

And yes, I've read through a lot of those measurements, I guess it was mainly for width and height in relation to the player's view that I was particularly troubled. And just to be clear, by "trims" what exactly are you referring to? Like, details in architecture for example?

Anyway, thanks for the help, I appreciate it. I'll try to keep working with tutorials and such so that I don't keep posting for help, but I've been looking for an active mapping community for some time.

Yeah, I mean architecture details. Anything small like a different texture at the seam between the wall and the floor, or anything thin like windows, etc. I think the player's eye height is around 70 units or so off the ground.

Happy mapping!

Imo, if you're already not doing this, always have an info_player_start around objects for a better sense of scaling and work around that.
If you're making a multiplayer map, i'd recommend more emphasis on a healthy balance between playability and scaling issues, especially in something as sealed as cs:go.
P.S: I think the large doorways in many maps are made like that for playability concerns; but then again, i'm not much into competitive play so i might be wrong.

http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/csgo-tutorials/csgo-sdk-beginner-03-scale-dimension-proportion.php

YES! ANOTHER SOURCE MAPPER
Welcome to TWHL!

To get a good sense of scale, try this:
Create a floor brush 512u wide x 512u long x 16u tall.
Make 4 walls that are 120u high x 16u deep.
Clone the floor to the ceiling (shift+drag) and then texture everything as you see fit.
Place 3 prop_physics entities on the floor and set one as a chair, one as a table, one as a floor lamp.
As far as doors go, place a prop_door_rotating somewhere in the level - then you can build a frame around the door (you'll need to drop your grid setting down to 1)