I'll be honest, I am a complete noob

[UttaNutta]

Ok. Make no mistake.
I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO MAP!
No idea at all.
Well, maybe a basic idea, but I'm never going to make a map.
So what I'm asking is for some mappers to come forward and tell me what I need, how to do it and some good tips.
First things first, what do I use to make a map?
And how do I create a map, say a box?
Please tell me!
Thanks.

 

[Radaka]

lrn2interwebz.... jk

here ya go:

clicky

 

[Sebhael]

Really, I would start off with a game that doesn't require as much work as TF2 does.

CS:S is an appropriate game to just place some spawns and weapons and go head-to-head with.

Yeah, it's not obviously what you want - but it will teach you some things before you take on a more complicated system such as a Fortress or purely team-based game (such as DoD:S).

You'll learn basic optimization, general geometry, and all sorts of other things. When you move over to what this site will teach you, you'll be well educated enough to take their/our considerations to heart and understand how to fix the errors that are pointed out.

Use FPSBanana to post WiPs from the start if you are essentially brand-new. The site promotes nothing but shit at the moment so beginners maps are more than welcome there, here you'll be heavily criticized - and told what you are doing wrong.

It's a completely conscience decision that you need to make for yourself.

 

[Ida]

Hello and welcome.

Really, I would start off with a game that doesn't require as much work as TF2 does.

CS:S is an appropriate game to just place some spawns and weapons and go head-to-head with.

Yeah, it's not obviously what you want - but it will teach you some things before you take on a more complicated system such as a Fortress or purely team-based game (such as DoD:S).

You'll learn basic optimization, general geometry, and all sorts of other things. When you move over to what this site will teach you, you'll be well educated enough to take their/our considerations to heart and understand how to fix the errors that are pointed out.

Use FPSBanana to post WiPs from the start if you are essentially brand-new. The site promotes nothing but shit at the moment so beginners maps are more than welcome there, here you'll be heavily criticized - and told what you are doing wrong.

It's a completely conscience decision that you need to make for yourself.

Honestly, I wouldn't point you in that direction. I mean, go ahead and map for CSS if you really want. But mapping for TF2 isn't much harder. Especially with all the great tutorials, playtesting and premade parts you can download from the site. And make sure to join the chat in Steam, we'll be happy to help you out.

So, yeah, good luck with your first map.

 

[Sebhael]

Hello and welcome.



Honestly, I wouldn't point you in that direction. I mean, go ahead and map for CSS if you really want. But mapping for TF2 isn't much harder. Especially with all the great tutorials, playtesting and premade parts you can download from the site. And make sure to join the chat in Steam, we'll be happy to help you out.

So, yeah, good luck with your first map.

I agree, concisely personally, but general geometry layout and understainding of Hammer will help in the long run.

TF2 is the hardest game I've ever attempted to map for, all of CS:S's requirements are easily by-passed by even the simplest of creatures - while more sophisticated nooblets will pick up on DoD:S/TF2.

My suggestion is more so a "survival of the fit-ess" if you can't pass CS:S - then you don't deserve to be mapping for a more complicated system such as this - that is why I will always point newbies towards those games before TF2.

 

[Psy]

I'd say TF2 is easiest simply due to the amount of maps you can take inspiration from and how easy it is to emulate the TF2 style.

 

[Sebhael]

I'd say TF2 is easiest simply due to the amount of maps you can take inspiration from and how easy it is to emulate the TF2 style.

It's all up in the air and dependent on the user it seems.

I could easily bust out a "realistic" CS:S map with little to know thought, but it's the unique relic TF2 style that throws me off while building my scene.

I'm not one to sit here and argue about things I think are right - if you think you can map for TF2 off the bat - then so be it, we are here to correct your mistakes. With another game though, you get to really strive off realism - which helps a lot with yourself - but getting community feedback is much harder since the only place left for non-specific maps is FPSBanana which at it's current rate is a fucking shit-magnet.

Despite your choice - you have backing regardless - choose what you want, and do what you want - it's what makes you a unique person.

 

[TracerDX]

Plenty of "orange" maps make it, tho they're hardly welcome here as far as I can tell.

If you want my advice, just play around with it for 6 months. Never delude yourself into believing you will make "the next community map in the Valve update", but just do the best you can to make an interesting gaming experience. You'll be surprised, there are alot of niche gamers out there.

 

[Sgt Frag]

Yeah, learning hammer doesn't matter which game you are working on.

Hammer is hammer and all maps need the same things. Brushes, textures, objects, optimization. You can learn hammer by making a map for tf2, hl1, hl2, css. Pick the game you want.

Follow the starter tut here, look at the tuts in the tutorial section. You'll get it.
But as stated, don't expect your first map to be the best ever, just use it to learn hammer.
Keep it simple, learn the basics.

Once you know how to use hammer then you are ready to make more complex maps or to learn how to detail the 'tf2' way, or the halflife way...

 

[UttaNutta]

Thank you for all the info. It was what I needed to know.
And by the way, I don't have CS:S, but I have played it, and I don't want to make maps for it.

 

[Acegikmo]

I recommend that you make Half life 2 deathmatch maps at first to learn the tools available in hammer.