Your Top 10 tips Created 19 years ago2005-02-07 19:20:39 UTC by rowleybob

The following are some important and useful mapping tips and techniques i've learned during my time at TWHL, and through my own experimenting. Please feel free to share some of your own.

10. Start small and compile often. When I first started mapping, I made this huge thing complete without compiling once. Needless to say, it wouldn't even compile, and was so messed, i deleted it and started againe. Complete a couple things, compile, try the map, and repeat. Building a map in smaller, more managable chunks has saved me much time and misery.

9. Number nine sort of goes together with 10. Build all your basic architecture first--avoid all entities, doors, lights, etc at the beginning stages. Get the r_speeds, views and layout in order, and then, start adding entities. This will save you compile time and head trauma.

8. Research. A short time spent on research saves hours of time building, and then rebuilding something. Even If you think you're sure about the details of what your planning to do, take 2 minutes first and google for some reference pics. I definitely learned this lesson the hard way...

7. Use Vertex Manuipulation, not Carving. I mapped for almost 6 months before I even tried to use the VM tool. I just used cubes and wedges for everything. Don't fear the VM, but one suggestion. After you VM a complicated shape, hit 'ALT-P' to toggle the 'check for problems dialog'. This will save time, and help teach you what you can and can't do with VM.

6. For big complicated, or 'busy' maps, use Visigroups and the Cordon tool. One of the first things I do when starting a new map is hit the little red 'hide selected objects tab, to hide the outside walls of my map. this makes it easier to focus on what i'm working on at the moment, instead of things peripheral. Cordon tool saves much compile time on huge maps. Don't leave home without it!

5. Take your time and brush things as precisely as possible. Do not allow brushes to intersect. When it's impossible to make a clean connection between two brushes--like some weird angle stuff--leave the edge a unit away. To facilitate this, zoom to the smallest grid size and carefully line them up. Evil practices like Carving routinely created brushes that are off grid. Stay on the Grid! Trust me on this.

4. Use CTRL-M to rotate brushes, and check with 'Alt-P' after rotating complex shapes or groups of them. Don't use the clicky thing to rotate. Also, after rotatin, hit the VM tab and line up those corners on the grid. Keep it clean.

3. Hold CTRL and click to select multiple brushes or de-select one. Use CTRL+g, u, w, t to group, ungroup, change entity back to world, and tie entity to brush respectively. Click on a brush and hit ALT+ENTER to view it's entity properties. Click a brush while holding shift key, drag the brush somplace else and unclick to quickly copy a brush. I use these constantly.

2.Take time to read tutorials and posts to expand your mapping know-how, and try not to fear the unknown. You will save time and minimize misery, if you take a little time to learn about new things, rather than agonize over doing them willy-nilly later. You can almost always find the answer to a problem by googling/experimenting. Asking lame questions that you can easily right yourself is just unecessary. If you've spent some time trying to right something, but just can't, then post a question.

1. Try to help others when you can. If someone posts a question that seems obvious, try to remember that it isn't obvious to everyone, and nobody knows everything. Try to remember the time when you started mapping, and how arcane some aspects of the editor and the engine were, when you were a nebby. If a post makes you angry, then simply don't reply to it. Posts made in anger are always regretted.

Happy Mapping!

Good suggestion. This forum needs stickys.

clipping and VM work great in place of carving and give u more control. when im making a complex 3D object, ill use 4-sided pyramids for VM. because all the faces are triangular, there is no chance of making an invalid brush.

Indeed. When you have a nasty, conorted space to make, using primitives-namely spikes and wedges--with flip and rotate, you can make virtually any shape.

In the same, when you reach a point that requires that level of sophistication, sometimes it's easier to reevaluate the design that brings you there.

Most times you can be liberal with, and simplify your design without sacrificing the overall appearance. One simple example I can think of is using a square brush with a round texture to give the appearance of a wheel, without making it out of triangles--like the rail wheels in de_train.

There are many 'tricks' to doing things in hammer without actually doing them. And texturing is an amazing art form in and of itself.

0. Read every tutorial.

-1. Brush up from time to time. If you don't use certain features of VHE all the time, you may forget the details of something, like some weird entity property you always forget to set. When you first started mapping, you prolly read lots of thing you didn't understand completely. I've found picking though old tutorials very useful.

-2. For heaven's sake, use 'face properties' to apply, align, scale, and rotate your textures. This little window is your good friend. Also, when browsing for a texture in a really big wadfile--like Half-Life's--set the 'size' value on the lower left to '32?32'. Much faster IMHO, 'cause you can see more textures at once.

-3. Thou shalt learn a few basic DOS things so that you can batch-compile the best way possible.

1-10. Don't make stupid annoying box maps with carving and lousy architecture, texturing and layout.

10 A. always FULLY compile as often as possible. there could be some errors waiting for you in a full compile that a quick CSG and BSP compile wont pick up.

-4. know the engine. working with an engine as old as half lifes can sometimes create difficulties in large maps. remember to use HINT brushes as often as possible (read the tutorials!) and avoid large, open spaces. another point would be to remember that alot of things you want to create in the engine were'nt used in the original half life, and valve might have not made half life to support these features.

-7(6.v1.2 Addendum pertaining to 'The Importance of VisiGroups'). The 'Mark' button is your very-good friend. Click on any visigroup you've created--you did this by CTRL-selecting a group of objects and/or entities and clicking the red, dotted box tab, on the top middle of your Hammer screen--Inside the 'visigroup' box on the right-middle of your Hammer screen. Now clicky the 'Mark' button. Presto! Now, wherever in the huge mess of worldbrushes, brush, and point-based entities, your group will show up in bright red. If the group is set as visible, you've hit 'apply' and still, nothing shows, that group has been deleted, and is now longer valid. Click 'purge' to clear it, or 'edit' to manually delete.

I know I've rambled 'bout this a bit, but I just can't get over how useful these are, and if your not utilizing them, you should reevaluate your CPU.

[rambling because too much caffiene]-8(6.v1.3 Addendum Visigroups). Are--Visigroups, naturally--Paticularly useful for those itty-bitty, teeny point-based entities that can easily become 'lost' in the fray. Also, it's prudent to group objects and brushes that work together like a tracktrain and path_corners, or env_beam and info_targets. This makes it easy to locate, move around, and of course make disappear any and all of these groups.[/rambling because too much caffiene]

-7. Read every mapping tip list you can find.

-8. Think outside the Box. Go mad.

Play Zelda

Compile fast to avoid long compiles but only to look at new architecture and not lighting effects

Play City 13 mod when it is complete!

and read the ones above

Make sure you have tried using google or editing websites like this for any problems you have, before you post a "HELP WANTED" thread. Lazy people don't get any help, or respect more importantly

Before you go crazy with trying to make complex architecture and terrain/walls/banks, practice it on little, un important things like:

Try to make models of your favorite medieval weapons. I have perfect renditions of 32.

Make static objects like stained glass windows, suits of armor( really hard ) good looking tables, lights anthing but main parts of the level.

Once you have the hang of VM techniques then go and build your snazzy walls, floors ceilings and support structures.

Me agrees. I love building prefabs--argh<slaps self>--, i mean props, which I actually enjoy more than building enviroments. However, I also realize the best prop in the world doesn't mean much without a decent level to put it in.

And your right, once you become confident with VM, It opens up a whole new universe of design capabilities.

yea - props rock!

I'm gonna map some more...

Prefabs = Props ?

make things realistic, enviromental effects, while difficult, can really help to bring the map alive.

For instance, one of my maps will feature rain, lightning & thunder controled by the random strike time of the env_laser entity.

also, try not to steal things from other mods, It will make me sad.

About the ideas thig form other mods: Emulate & improve, don't copy

and props = prefabs