Make a cylinder with a 200 unit radius and tie it to a trigger_multiple. Give it the name of the NPC in the Parent property. Tell it to work only for clients.
Make it trigger whatever you need.
I'm not sure if the opposite would work: giving the trigger_multiple a parent name of !player so it moves along with you...
Forum posts
I took a look at it yesterday after seeing it in Snarkpit.
The changes are all for the better, specially the new rock texture. It enhances the moist feeiling of the place.
The only thing that puzzles me is that the map still feels a bit dark, considering you (like myself) prefer sunny maps to frag in!
The changes are all for the better, specially the new rock texture. It enhances the moist feeiling of the place.
The only thing that puzzles me is that the map still feels a bit dark, considering you (like myself) prefer sunny maps to frag in!
Weir.. they did that in several modsOr maybe they took the effort to redo those areas, like Muzzleflash's Uplink Extended
I always find that having the texture set even before starting the map helps you visualize the theme better.
And depending on what they look like, the textures themselves can give you tips on where they will belong inside the map.
But any workflow is good if it helps the mapper!
And depending on what they look like, the textures themselves can give you tips on where they will belong inside the map.
But any workflow is good if it helps the mapper!
-Kasperg doesn't have any ears.QFT. Don't complain about the lack of ambience in my maps ever again!
-At the time this site finally shuts down, the World will be ruled by damn dirty apes.
-Surfmap makers download their own maps a few times.
-Habboi will get in trouble for mapping his school and inducing armed combat ideas among fellow students.
-For the oldtimers:Peace&Love and Anonymous were the same person.
-When HL2:episode2 is released, the TWHL shoutbox will be full of spoilers. (in consequence, Japanese HL2 players from downtown Tokyo will be very angry and buy a regiment of North-Korean-laser-shooting-cats that will hunt us down)
-Surfmap makers download their own maps a few times.
-Habboi will get in trouble for mapping his school and inducing armed combat ideas among fellow students.
-For the oldtimers:Peace&Love and Anonymous were the same person.
-When HL2:episode2 is released, the TWHL shoutbox will be full of spoilers. (in consequence, Japanese HL2 players from downtown Tokyo will be very angry and buy a regiment of North-Korean-laser-shooting-cats that will hunt us down)
Spammers can easily break any barrier of that sort.
Map vault moderators can delete those bullshit 1-star rates if requested, and the mappers can ignore them until it's done. Looks easy to me.
A site doesn't mature with time. Individuals do. And individuals are not always the same in a site. If oldtimers remain and less people join, the site can mature. If oldtimers start leaving and n00bs flood the place, it will get worse.
A site doesn't mature with time. Individuals do. And individuals are not always the same in a site. If oldtimers remain and less people join, the site can mature. If oldtimers start leaving and n00bs flood the place, it will get worse.
No. After you build the cubemaps, try loading the map again or changing the console parameter "mat_bumpmap" from "0" to "1" a couple of times. It should work, because I had he same problem in some maps and it fixed it.
-Each time you login to TWHL, your life is reduced by 1 minute.
-The evil laser-shooting cat that occasionally appeared in the TWHL logo is actually the latest "secret" product of some obscure North Korean lab.
-Atom became a real lion, which is why he hasn't logged in for a long time.
-40% of the TWHL members think the rest are stupid and ignorant. The other 60% ignore it.
-Brattylord pilots a self-made spaceship that occasionally enters our solar system. Ministeve was lost in the launching tests.
-Worldcraftdude lives in a city made out of exclusively tall buildings.
-6-D will be more successful than Portal.
-TWHL's bright colors attract more n00bs than Snarkpit's black background. (assuming n00bs did exist, which was untrue)
-.backwards writes sometimes Kasperg
-The evil laser-shooting cat that occasionally appeared in the TWHL logo is actually the latest "secret" product of some obscure North Korean lab.
-Atom became a real lion, which is why he hasn't logged in for a long time.
-40% of the TWHL members think the rest are stupid and ignorant. The other 60% ignore it.
-Brattylord pilots a self-made spaceship that occasionally enters our solar system. Ministeve was lost in the launching tests.
-Worldcraftdude lives in a city made out of exclusively tall buildings.
-6-D will be more successful than Portal.
-TWHL's bright colors attract more n00bs than Snarkpit's black background. (assuming n00bs did exist, which was untrue)
-.backwards writes sometimes Kasperg
-TWHL was the only HL site to appear before HL itself was known. International laws prevented it from going public until 2002.
-Jimmi is actually the real version of SkyNet. It cannot be traced or destroyed.
-When there are doubts, competition results are decided with dice.
-The shoutbox has a direct link to a gigantic LED screen somewhere in downtown Tokyo. People who see our random chatter either laugh or cry.
-The HL orange colors like in the HEV-suit are based on the TWHL theme.
-There are no real n00bs in TWHL. The 3515 accounts can be attributed to about 30 regulars. IP checking is a myth.
-Elon Yariv actually looks like Doom's Cacodemon in real life. Or at least that's what some people think.
-The map vault database has a limit of 2000 maps and will implode when reaching that number (we have over 1800 right now).
more to come
-Jimmi is actually the real version of SkyNet. It cannot be traced or destroyed.
-When there are doubts, competition results are decided with dice.
-The shoutbox has a direct link to a gigantic LED screen somewhere in downtown Tokyo. People who see our random chatter either laugh or cry.
-The HL orange colors like in the HEV-suit are based on the TWHL theme.
-There are no real n00bs in TWHL. The 3515 accounts can be attributed to about 30 regulars. IP checking is a myth.
-Elon Yariv actually looks like Doom's Cacodemon in real life. Or at least that's what some people think.
-The map vault database has a limit of 2000 maps and will implode when reaching that number (we have over 1800 right now).
more to come
Here's an example of the work needed for this type of project. Based on pictures of the base of the Campanile building, I drew the outline for a texture with AutoCAD.
Afterwards, it was just a matter of Photoshop and imagination. If there weren't so many materials going into this map, I would even go as far as making a normal map for each. Since it's not the case, little adjustments in the texture itself will have to do in order to give them a little depth.
And a screenie of how it looks in the game:
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/250/campalo0.jpg
Afterwards, it was just a matter of Photoshop and imagination. If there weren't so many materials going into this map, I would even go as far as making a normal map for each. Since it's not the case, little adjustments in the texture itself will have to do in order to give them a little depth.
http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/250/campalo0.jpg
You know what I'd do?
Invent a character similar in function to the Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. It would speak rethorically and would give you hints and phylosophical conversation. It would make more sense than a girlfriend who knows more than Tenmiu's own son. Think about it.
Invent a character similar in function to the Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. It would speak rethorically and would give you hints and phylosophical conversation. It would make more sense than a girlfriend who knows more than Tenmiu's own son. Think about it.
It's funny, because I tried to do the same thing long ago.
In the end, the only thing I managed to do was a slanted corridor, which you can see in floating line. In that map I also made a hall that shrinks in size and makes you believe it's longer, like the architect Borromini did in his Spada Gallery
I haven't tried making the corridor with displacements yet.
In the end, the only thing I managed to do was a slanted corridor, which you can see in floating line. In that map I also made a hall that shrinks in size and makes you believe it's longer, like the architect Borromini did in his Spada Gallery
I haven't tried making the corridor with displacements yet.
Today I've done some work with the Palazzo Ducale, combining brushwork, masked textures and decals. I made some of the materials using photographs, and others entirely from scratch.
My version looks too colorful. I might have to give the materials an older look.
90% of the race is all female, few men are left, and only a handful are architects which means they are godlike with the psyonic powers to build lots of structures rather quicklyThat's paradise for me! lol
Nice background story too.
I think there's a problem with the WMV file. The video says it's more than 4 minutes long, but it stops much sooner.
@Rowleybob: It is true I saw the movie recently, but the thought occurred to me while I was looking at my photos from our high school trip to Venice, Florence and Rome >>
Ever since I saw "Attack of Clones" I've been wanting to map something similar to Lake Como. I saw a tutorial on how to make realistic terrain for Source, so who knows...
@Strider:For optimization, I am using some of the methods described above, like making a lot of the detail with masked textures. Some of the main textures will also be 256x256 @ 0.5X and 0.5Y. I know it won't look as good as normal texturing scaled at 0.25, but if include the water plane (the map takes place in a period of acqua alta), I really need the performance. Any extra fps I can get means I can add more pigeons, which is one of the trademarks of this place! (I put a couple of striders in the map. It was fun seeing how they tried to shoot me down but ended up killing every pigeon :D)
@Strider:For optimization, I am using some of the methods described above, like making a lot of the detail with masked textures. Some of the main textures will also be 256x256 @ 0.5X and 0.5Y. I know it won't look as good as normal texturing scaled at 0.25, but if include the water plane (the map takes place in a period of acqua alta), I really need the performance. Any extra fps I can get means I can add more pigeons, which is one of the trademarks of this place! (I put a couple of striders in the map. It was fun seeing how they tried to shoot me down but ended up killing every pigeon :D)
I was also in Nevada and Florida, and they didn't speak too differently to be honest 
It might be true, but that's one of the main differences that foreigners see between both. I lived two years in California, and the English sounded very different to UK english.
Just take any film, and in minutes you can tell if the actors are mostly American or British.
Just take any film, and in minutes you can tell if the actors are mostly American or British.
Would it be possible for anyone here to describe the American accent?To put a quick example. Words that end with the letter "r" are pronounced differently in American and UK English. For example 'Winter' is pronounced 'wintr in the U.S, but in the UK it is 'wint? with a final undetermined vowel (or however you call that. I used to know how to write phonetics...)
I doubt there is any map that could not benefit from either some visual or gameplay change. For example, there could be a gameplay addition (some sort of bounce pads, for example) that would make the map more amusing for certain individuals. Some people will say the map is perfect without them, but those who want them will say it would be perfect with the bounce pads.
Perfection is a view just as personal and subjective as imperfection...
In visual terms, there is always room for improvement. Maps that try to simulate the real world are NEVER like the real world, so something will always be missing. Architecture is a complicated subject and every map has some incoherent structure.
A map with issues can never be considered perfect, but a map with no issues or flaws isn't always perfect either. A perfect map must provoque some sort of 'I had never seen that before!' comment.
In the end, maps should be judged exactly for what they are.
You can't say a snow-themed map needs more color variation.
You can't say a map is bad because the walls are red instead of orange.
You can't say a map is bad because it doesn't have the OMG biggest shaft for vertical gameplay ever made.
etc.
For example. You can't download my maps "hexagerate" or "floating volume" and expect some "kaufmann house"
I tend to rate maps in their context, comparing them to maps that have similar themes or ideas. I do this with films and games too. You can't watch "Toy Story" and say how emotionally empty it felt compared to "The Shawshank Redemption". You can't play "F.E.A.R" and expect the game length of "Final Fantasy VIII"
sorry for the long post!
Perfection is a view just as personal and subjective as imperfection...
In visual terms, there is always room for improvement. Maps that try to simulate the real world are NEVER like the real world, so something will always be missing. Architecture is a complicated subject and every map has some incoherent structure.
A map with issues can never be considered perfect, but a map with no issues or flaws isn't always perfect either. A perfect map must provoque some sort of 'I had never seen that before!' comment.
In the end, maps should be judged exactly for what they are.
You can't say a snow-themed map needs more color variation.
You can't say a map is bad because the walls are red instead of orange.
You can't say a map is bad because it doesn't have the OMG biggest shaft for vertical gameplay ever made.
etc.
For example. You can't download my maps "hexagerate" or "floating volume" and expect some "kaufmann house"
I tend to rate maps in their context, comparing them to maps that have similar themes or ideas. I do this with films and games too. You can't watch "Toy Story" and say how emotionally empty it felt compared to "The Shawshank Redemption". You can't play "F.E.A.R" and expect the game length of "Final Fantasy VIII"
sorry for the long post!
This will be useful for my secret HL2 project! I plan on introducing a lot of combat sequences, including the most amazing set of scripted events ever seen in a HL game (with the exception of the headcrab Lamarr jumping on those boxes :D)
I'm going to read the map description now.
I'm going to read the map description now.
The longest compile time is now about 28 minutes, which is reduced if I disable the expensive water.
Another problem with this map will be the file size. I have a lot of custom materials already even though the map is still very emtpy...
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/19/sanmarcos4tq8.jpg
Another problem with this map will be the file size. I have a lot of custom materials already even though the map is still very emtpy...
http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/19/sanmarcos4tq8.jpg
I took a look at the last alpha map, and my main issue with the map is the big size, which makes it look empty. It's understandable since it started as a more abstract thing, but it just doesn't make you feel like you're on a spaceship or starbase. They are usually more cramped to save on materials etc, whereas this map has very high ceilings.
Filling it up with more detail would increase r_speeds, which is not always desirable...
In terms of layout I don't remeber any big problems, but it would be best to playtest it with bots.
Filling it up with more detail would increase r_speeds, which is not always desirable...
In terms of layout I don't remeber any big problems, but it would be best to playtest it with bots.
It won't be long until Christmas holidays begin, so I've decided to make a big Source map, just the way I made Kaufmann House almost a year ago.
This time, the project will be of a much, much bigger scale, and the amount of custom materials I will have to create will be significantly larger.
The place in question will be Saint Mark's Square in Venice.
I will build the map for normal HL2, and I might include an option to fight some combine troops or Striders. The place is very open so I'll have to think of something.
I started with everything yesterday night, and so far I've done most of one building and set the basic shapes on top of a floor plan I found and scaled.
The hardest part of the whole thing is that most of the buildings have non-perpendicular angles while having details like arches in their facades...
I will also make St. Mark's Cathedral, but just the outside. Mine won't have as many polygons as the one seen in Painkiller. The Source engine pales in comparison with the geometric power of the Painkiller engine...
Some images:
Aerial view with the Campanile
Arches in the Procuratie Vecchie The arches are made with custom materials with alpha channels, saving a lot of rendering power and dramatically reducing compile times.
The 3d skybox will include some of the real islands in Venice and the famous buildings I've had to study @ uni.
And unlike Fallingwater, this time I've actually been to the place in question!
This time, the project will be of a much, much bigger scale, and the amount of custom materials I will have to create will be significantly larger.
The place in question will be Saint Mark's Square in Venice.
I will build the map for normal HL2, and I might include an option to fight some combine troops or Striders. The place is very open so I'll have to think of something.
I started with everything yesterday night, and so far I've done most of one building and set the basic shapes on top of a floor plan I found and scaled.
The hardest part of the whole thing is that most of the buildings have non-perpendicular angles while having details like arches in their facades...
I will also make St. Mark's Cathedral, but just the outside. Mine won't have as many polygons as the one seen in Painkiller. The Source engine pales in comparison with the geometric power of the Painkiller engine...
Some images:
Aerial view with the Campanile
Arches in the Procuratie Vecchie The arches are made with custom materials with alpha channels, saving a lot of rendering power and dramatically reducing compile times.
The 3d skybox will include some of the real islands in Venice and the famous buildings I've had to study @ uni.
And unlike Fallingwater, this time I've actually been to the place in question!
"Suddenly, the world came back into focus. He once again heard the same voice whispering his name,the same echo that had been going on for who knows how many hours, days or years...
The sounds of the tram swiftly gliding through space had given way to a screeching sound, the sound of a train reaching its destination. But which one was that? As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that his surroundings were now full of colour, and the smell around him spoke of old furniture and carelessness.
It was then that he looked out the train window. Perhaps it was too much information, too many details at once for a mind that had been recently so inactive.
As he acknowledged the architecture around him, he asked himself wether this was the future or the past. This rusty place was not familiar to him at all, but the passengers in his compartiment didn't show any signs of confidence either. They seemed surprised to see him, as if they had seen a ghost. In a way, deep inside him, he did feel like one...
He saw that they wore the same blue clothes he did, and he did not have an explanation for that. As the train finally stopped, the doors opened and the passengers left. Unsure of what has coming up, he slowly set a foot outside. He tried to look around, but a sudden flash of light momentarily blinded him. As he regained his sight, he saw the little one-eyed flying robot responsible for such a harsh greeting. And then he heard the voice, loud and clear: 'Welcome to City 17' "
The sounds of the tram swiftly gliding through space had given way to a screeching sound, the sound of a train reaching its destination. But which one was that? As his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that his surroundings were now full of colour, and the smell around him spoke of old furniture and carelessness.
It was then that he looked out the train window. Perhaps it was too much information, too many details at once for a mind that had been recently so inactive.
As he acknowledged the architecture around him, he asked himself wether this was the future or the past. This rusty place was not familiar to him at all, but the passengers in his compartiment didn't show any signs of confidence either. They seemed surprised to see him, as if they had seen a ghost. In a way, deep inside him, he did feel like one...
He saw that they wore the same blue clothes he did, and he did not have an explanation for that. As the train finally stopped, the doors opened and the passengers left. Unsure of what has coming up, he slowly set a foot outside. He tried to look around, but a sudden flash of light momentarily blinded him. As he regained his sight, he saw the little one-eyed flying robot responsible for such a harsh greeting. And then he heard the voice, loud and clear: 'Welcome to City 17' "
maps that are, in my opinion, perfect and can't be improved in any way.Never seen one.
Other people use logarithm scales (in which 5-stars is 95 or above), others will rate the map judging only visuals or only gameplay. Another group of people will judge the map in relation to the other maps the same mapper has made, and other people will give their rating comparing the map to the rest of the TWHL map vault.
If we ever reach a minimal consensus, I think the map vault comments will become more useful and we would get rid of many flamewars (a more detailed rating system might have been discussed in the twhl3 thread, I'm not sure)
There is no "discussion" and I'm not talking shit.
You just said something completely ridiculous. Here we talk about other people's maps without asking the author for his permission. It's incredible how something like that could "strike a nerve" in an experienced mapper.
But what would I know.
You just said something completely ridiculous. Here we talk about other people's maps without asking the author for his permission. It's incredible how something like that could "strike a nerve" in an experienced mapper.
But what would I know.
i had Apex_v2 on the server a while ago, but i removed it. Every time that map comes up, people leave.How did you want MuzzleFlash to construct his sentence?
Something like:i had Apex_v2 on the server a while ago, but i removed it, sorry about that, Orpheus. Every time that map comes up, people leave. I know it is not your fault, TWHL just lacks the type of player needed for such maps
:
Lol, it's just the other way around. You think the result is more important. That's why you would defend maps that have been a year in progress and which a lot of people have helped to criticize, give tips and improve) vs. my "incomplete" and "lacking" work. I think the way to get there is the fun and pleasureable part about it, that's why I constantly keep releasing maps
//monopolizing Muzzles thread too
//monopolizing Muzzles thread too
I accidentally put the pak2.pak file in the valve folder a while ago and didn't bother to fix it !
!but I have looked over your works and they aren't all that and a bag of chips.They are what I want them to be, which is something you haven't been able to understand yet. I repeat once again, I map for pleasure. I don't get paid and I would never keep working on a map if I became tired of the theme.
I see some people in Snarkpit working on a single map over a year or more. I admire their dedication, and I admit I lack that ability.
If you think I'm "still lacking", you're just telling me that I'm not as good as you want me to be. Which is different than how good I want to be at the moment. You honestly think that If I worked on a single map for 6 months, a year or two years it would be "lacking"? I honestly don't think so. If it makes you feel comfortable, keep thinking that way.
Who's the more experienced, the boxer, or the coachI just understood what the problem here is. For me, experience is less valuable if you don't put it to practical use. So If I had to choose someone to fight for me, I would surely choose the boxer and not the coach since his experience is good for talking and less useful for punching
I'll try to stop defending TWHL but you should stop attacking and continuing with the claims that TWHL players are not good enough or experienced enough for your maps (which I for example would keep playing)
@ Muzz: can we set a precise time this weekend to playtest "suspended"?
And I haven't looked at your post count anywhere. I have just heard you too many times speaking about your contributions in the mapping world these past years. Great.
I'm sure that If I join a forum about film critique and spend some years participating in the threads, I will turn out to be more experienced than a film director with lots of films. So logical.
(And yes, I would judge film directors by their released films, if you were wondering)
I can personally vouch that there are n00b's out there who know things about mapping that you have yet to stumble uponLoL. It is true. But after looking at my personal map vault, those might not be absolutely essential things. I can make maps that give us a fun fragging time, as we sometimes see in the server. No need to master every entity for that!
And I haven't looked at your post count anywhere. I have just heard you too many times speaking about your contributions in the mapping world these past years. Great.
I'm sure that If I join a forum about film critique and spend some years participating in the threads, I will turn out to be more experienced than a film director with lots of films. So logical.
(And yes, I would judge film directors by their released films, if you were wondering)
I said that the gameplay and layout of the map is probably not the reason why players leave. It might be a visual thing, because like you said, players today might sometimes value visuals over gameplay. I that way, it seems we agree. I didn't want to upset you. Nobody here said the map was yukky afaik.
Please don't claim to know how high I think my mapping knowledge is (you can't even quote anything I said that would prove your point besides this sentence).
My maps are the ones that speak about my mapping knowledge and experience. Not the number of posts I make in mapping sites or the year I started mapping. By this measurement scale, you can see why I don't agree with your knowledge and experience claims
Please don't claim to know how high I think my mapping knowledge is (you can't even quote anything I said that would prove your point besides this sentence).
My maps are the ones that speak about my mapping knowledge and experience. Not the number of posts I make in mapping sites or the year I started mapping. By this measurement scale, you can see why I don't agree with your knowledge and experience claims
cs_fallingwater will now be called cs_fallingliquid, and the paintings inside the house will be replaced by some of my own work.
That way, there will be nothing in the map belonging to the caretakers of the real house in Pennsylvania. Valve made the trees and textures, I made my own textures and my own brushwork.
That way, there will be nothing in the map belonging to the caretakers of the real house in Pennsylvania. Valve made the trees and textures, I made my own textures and my own brushwork.
My maps require a certain style of frag. Your server doesn't have that type player.Just the way that
Tis no insult to anyone, just a fact.
i had Apex_v2 on the server a while ago, but i removed it. Every time that map comes up, people leave.is also a fact...
I don't think there was anything defective about Apex besides some texturing choices. But I definately didn't see it required a certain style of frag. TWHL players can cope with intertwined and elaborate layouts with no problems. And the default maps (older than Apex) have been played fine.
You can say a map requires a certain number of people to be played, but saying it requires a certain type of people to be played sounds weird...
Edit: now that I think of it, iceworld does require a certain type of people to be played.
The map begs for custom textures, but I think those used in the screenshot aren't that bad.
The only thing that looks strange is the width of the railings around the central hole. Is there a chance you could make them a lot thinner?
The only thing that looks strange is the width of the railings around the central hole. Is there a chance you could make them a lot thinner?
It's slightly off-topic, but yesterday I made my first Rimrook-style skybox for HL!! (I modeled it with Bryce)
http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/6953/skyer7.jpg
(I modeled it with Bryce)http://img382.imageshack.us/img382/6953/skyer7.jpg
I don't know much about trains and tracktrains, but isn't there a property called "bank angle on turns" or something similar? Maybe you could experiment with that a bit and see what happens.
...and wonder why the explosion has almost no effect in the surrounding bricks and floor, as is usually the case
We will never see a coherent video-game world, no matter how good the physics are.
For example. Remember the poles that generated Combine force-fields in HL2? I bet they would actually break if a grenade exploded near them. But if that happened, parts of the game would make no sense. You can't make a realistic destructible FPS world without first downgrading the player's fire power IMO.
For example. Remember the poles that generated Combine force-fields in HL2? I bet they would actually break if a grenade exploded near them. But if that happened, parts of the game would make no sense. You can't make a realistic destructible FPS world without first downgrading the player's fire power IMO.
Well, the idea of this thread was to make an ever-growing list of tips derived from personal experience. Not all of them are rules that should be applied in every single case.
I think we should leave it as just a sticky thread for now.
And a little tip. Thanks to gravity, we usually move on a horizontal plane. But do game levels need to be always like that?
Think of the cliff levels in HL1 or the way to the monastery in Loast Coast. The main gameplay surface of reference became a vertical one...
I haven't seen many examples of playing in the ceiling (maybe crawling through ventshafts in HL), but it's something worth considering!
I think we should leave it as just a sticky thread for now.
And a little tip. Thanks to gravity, we usually move on a horizontal plane. But do game levels need to be always like that?
Think of the cliff levels in HL1 or the way to the monastery in Loast Coast. The main gameplay surface of reference became a vertical one...
I haven't seen many examples of playing in the ceiling (maybe crawling through ventshafts in HL), but it's something worth considering!
We could also playtest suspended and see what happens. Among my maps, I think it has the best layout and gameflow. Players like arena-type maps with surrounding sub-rooms. It offers both short and long-range combat. That's one of the main reasons why Crossfire is so popular IMO.
I decided to remake some of the original Sandscroll textures, which means this map will look a bit better. I've added some more trims in floors and walls, as well as more puddles of gold. I am in the process of placing weapons and ammo, with the help of bots.
As everything in mapping, making a layout can be done in multiple ways and techniques.
Drawing a layout on a flat paper is one of those, but (as it also happens when making an architecture project) a flat floorplan will inevitably make your map have a weaker vertical gameplay, added as an afterthought.
A good layout is self-flowing (no dead-ends), three-dimensional (the game is played horizontally as much as vertically) and intertwined (meaning and the rest of the map is still present even if you change from one area to another. For example, some stairs lead you to a bridge looking over the room where you just came from)
These basic principles can also be applied in architecture, but the difference is that architects have money limits instead of r_speeds limits.
A good layout also needs different exits and escapes from each room. Players need more than one option to choose from.
Spawn and weapon placement defines gameflow and in the end will be responsible for the success of the layout.
As an example, here's a cross-section of my upcoming map, "moltengold". As you can see, the map's basic layout was thought vertically instead of on a plat plane, because there were certain objectives and desired combat situations (see the red line)
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/1776/seccionlh0.jpg
Drawing a layout on a flat paper is one of those, but (as it also happens when making an architecture project) a flat floorplan will inevitably make your map have a weaker vertical gameplay, added as an afterthought.
A good layout is self-flowing (no dead-ends), three-dimensional (the game is played horizontally as much as vertically) and intertwined (meaning and the rest of the map is still present even if you change from one area to another. For example, some stairs lead you to a bridge looking over the room where you just came from)
These basic principles can also be applied in architecture, but the difference is that architects have money limits instead of r_speeds limits.
A good layout also needs different exits and escapes from each room. Players need more than one option to choose from.
Spawn and weapon placement defines gameflow and in the end will be responsible for the success of the layout.
As an example, here's a cross-section of my upcoming map, "moltengold". As you can see, the map's basic layout was thought vertically instead of on a plat plane, because there were certain objectives and desired combat situations (see the red line)
http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/1776/seccionlh0.jpg
And you don't need 2GB RAM, 1GB is fine.I made 11 source maps with 512 MB or RAM and a geforce4 Ti 4200 and never had any problems. People tend to overestimate the system requirements for Hammer 4 and source. What you need is to keep your computer clean and healthy, and Hammer should work fine
Better than the ProsSometimes the only thing that separates us from the Pros is that they get paid and we don't
When you do something as a hobby, because no one forces you to do it, you tend to put more love into your work, so to speak.