Best/Most-Used "Game" for Maps Created 8 years ago2016-02-08 07:13:37 UTC by CamScottBryce

I haven't made a post on this site in a long time. Okay, so:

I'm trying to get back into making maps. For right now, I'm focusing more on creating maps based around aesthetics-only (where "level design" doesn't really need to be focused on). The last time I tried using Hammer, I kept getting a ton of error messages and found that this guide to setting up a "catch-all source-2013" Hammer start-up (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=187235526). Do you have any recommendations or perhaps better places to start? I'm not exactly sure that this setup is ideal, given that it seems a bit backwards.

I lost track of the point of this post while writing it, sorry everybody, but TL;DR: what is a good place to start for setting up Hammer as a map-making tool? Should I use a specific game/version of the sdk? etc.

Screw that guide.

If you're mapping for a specific game, use the tools that come with the game. CS:GO has its own SDK in Steam's Tools section, all other Source game should have their own tools in their [game]\bin folder. They should all have working configs right out of the box.

If it's for any Source 2013 mod, setting up the SDK 2013 Hammer is pretty straightforward. Just give your SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer\bin\gameconfig.txt[i] a new game entry for each configuration you want. You should be able to copy whatever stock game config is in there and change the values to whatever mod you're working with. Here's one of mine, for example.

You can use the 2013 Hammer for mods on different Source branches too with a workaround. Do the same thing you did above. Then in your [i]SDK Base 2013 Singleplayer folder, create a new folder named after your mod's folder. Put in a gameinfo.txt. Copy these contents into it. Make sure to put in your mods real directory in the quotes in line 15. Save it, then go back to your gameconfig.txt. On your config, change the GameDir line to be the folder with the hacky new gameinfo.txt.

You should be able to run Hammer 2013, select your config, and you should be able to work without issue. If the config select dialogue doesn't launch when you open Hammer, go to Tools>Options, select your config from the top dropdown menu, then relaunch Hammer.

So, to be clear: creating a map in Source SDK 2013 Singleplayer should be able to be loaded into different games right? (For instance GMod or HL2).

I'm going to check this out today, because I seem to recall the last time I tried installing Hammer I had a bunch of problems.

I'd stick with the game binary folder.
If you want to map for HL2, install it, run it, and then go to the common/bin folder. There will be a batch file that launches hammer - it should be setup already and ready to make maps / compile