Easiest mode for newbies

NoirSuede

L2: Junior Member
Dec 22, 2012
63
9
Hey, just asking, what's the easiest game mode for a map for a newbie to make a map on ? ( trade and idle maps don't count, and TC is obviously isn't easy) ?
 

Fish 2.0

L6: Sharp Member
Nov 22, 2012
324
262
Koth is generally considered the best place to start. They are small, (mirror)symetric and simple to set up.

This. The biggest issue new people face with KoTH is general mapping design and scale. If it feels bad in any way then it likely is but if you are unsure then testing will help a lot.
 

Arne

L3: Member
Nov 22, 2012
114
55
I think Koth and Ctf is the easiest.
With more planning, you can get transfrom these to more advanced gamemodes.

Well. Arena is now mosly played by VSH and other arena-gamemode mods.
 

Idolon

they/them
aa
Feb 7, 2008
2,105
6,106
Arena and KotH are probably the best to start with, because the doing so will teach you how to give good distances from objectives, as well as how to create an area that is fun to fight in.
 

NoirSuede

L2: Junior Member
Dec 22, 2012
63
9
This. The biggest issue new people face with KoTH is general mapping design and scale. If it feels bad in any way then it likely is but if you are unsure then testing will help a lot.

Before i start making koth_blackrock, some questions :
1.How do i adjust the lighting‘s brightness and where is it going to face ?
2.Can i copy items from other maps like caps to my own map ? (Cause everyone was happy when mvm_bigrock was released because they got a new waterfall)
3.What skybox can i use to make nighttime ? Because there‘s no doublecross‘s skybox in textures or ABS‘s pack
 

Micnax

Back from the dead (again)
aa
Apr 25, 2009
2,109
1,585
Before i start making koth_blackrock, some questions :
1.How do i adjust the lighting‘s brightness and where is it going to face ?
2.Can i copy items from other maps like caps to my own map ? (Cause everyone was happy when mvm_bigrock was released because they got a new waterfall)
3.What skybox can i use to make nighttime ? Because there‘s no doublecross‘s skybox in textures or ABS‘s pack

1. For environmental lighting, you can modify the orientation of the light in the env_light setting. For individual lights, usually you can simply rotate them, especially if it's a point_spot.
2. Sure! The waterfall has been used in many other maps so it's okay to use it. Just try and keep your map original and don't copy too much (props are cool, entire control point designs aren't)
3. You can see the different skyboxes TF2 in this article. ABS's pack also comes with a prefab of environmental settings with all the shadow controls, colour correction and light settings that you can copy straight into your map too, which is much easier if you want the same environment as a official map.

EDIT: Ninja'd by GPuzzle! I need to be quicker.
 

Arne

L3: Member
Nov 22, 2012
114
55
Page about lighting

light
light_spot

3.What skybox can i use to make nighttime ? Because there‘s no doublecross‘s skybox in textures or ABS‘s pack

Type "skybox" in the FILTER.

The doublecross's skybox is sky_nightfall_01
And for the skybox which can be seen in one of the PLR maps, koth_kong and koth_viaduct_event, is sky_night_01

Tip: DO NEVER USE bk, lf ,up, dn, rt OR lf ! Because they are prefixes for which place the part of the skybox should be.

List of TF2 Skybox textures. +Settings for the shadow_control and light_envoriment entities.

Edit: Ah f- damnit. Got ninja'd by the two above me. .-.
 
Last edited:

NoirSuede

L2: Junior Member
Dec 22, 2012
63
9
1. For environmental lighting, you can modify the orientation of the light in the env_light setting. For individual lights, usually you can simply rotate them, especially if it's a point_spot.
2. Sure! The waterfall has been used in many other maps so it's okay to use it. Just try and keep your map original and don't copy too much (props are cool, entire control point designs aren't)
3. You can see the different skyboxes TF2 in this article. ABS's pack also comes with a prefab of environmental settings with all the shadow controls, colour correction and light settings that you can copy straight into your map too, which is much easier if you want the same environment as a official map.

EDIT: Ninja'd by GPuzzle! I need to be quicker.
How do i copy entities ? the usual ctrl + c doesn‘t work

and 1 more thing, how can i freely adjust the size of a brush per HU ? In my hammer it seems that i can only adjust the size per block
 

Micnax

Back from the dead (again)
aa
Apr 25, 2009
2,109
1,585
How do i copy entities ? the usual ctrl + c doesn‘t work

and 1 more thing, how can i freely adjust the size of a brush per HU ? In my hammer it seems that i can only adjust the size per block

You can hold CTRL and click to select multiple entities, and then copy them into your map (make sure you're copying within the same Hammer window, rather than running 2 Hammer programs at once). You may need to have :ig: enabled so you don't copy the entire gallery (since it comes as one big grouped thing)

Not sure what you mean by the second part, what do you mean by you can only adjust per block? You could try using the vertex tool ( :vertextool: ) if you want to edit multiple points on a brush to shape it they way you want, if that's what you mean. You can also scale the grid up and down using the [ and ] keys.
 

Pocket

Half a Lambert is better than one.
aa
Nov 14, 2009
4,694
2,579
and 1 more thing, how can i freely adjust the size of a brush per HU ? In my hammer it seems that i can only adjust the size per block
As Micnax said, you can change the scale of those "blocks" (the grid) at will with [ and ]. But you should try to keep major walls and floor levels aligned to a 16-unit grid and keep your wall positions close to an even larger grid if you can. Only use the 1-unit grid for fine detailing.
 

NoirSuede

L2: Junior Member
Dec 22, 2012
63
9
Why do people always say that everyone's first map is going to suck ? isn't that discouraging ?
 

RaVaGe

aa
Jun 23, 2010
733
1,210
It's just a fact, you can't aim a high level of mapping only after one map, it's just impossible. It's a loooong way to be a good mapper, but with all the tutorials right there, you can learn really fast and start to be creative with what you are doing.
 

GPuzzle

L9: Fashionable Member
Feb 27, 2012
638
414
No, that's the truth. You can't pull off an RC out of an A1 layout. Basically, the whole mapping process is tweaking what you got. Your first maps will have sightline flaws, overscale problems and exploitable perches. That's how you learn anything. Failing.