What got you into mapping?

Eris

L2: Junior Member
Jun 9, 2016
84
10
The title is self-explanatory. For me, it started as a desire to make maps for my server, which I imagine isn't something that's uncommon.
 

CriminalBunny

Lasers are just deadly rainbows
aa
Oct 11, 2013
273
413
It all started when I was around 12 or 13, and I wanted to make a CS 1.6 map of my school. Some kid installed it in every pc of the computer lab and everybody went to play it on breaks. I mean it, everybody. I was doing well but had trouble compiling (as CS was a mod and I needed extra programs to compile). 3 years later I got tf2 and also decided to make custom maps.

In the end, I just like to make stuff, whether it's music, drawings or custom maps; and it's very rewarding to know at least some people like the stuff you make.
 

cookiesurvival

L2: Junior Member
Jul 5, 2015
53
35
I appeared out of nowhere because it looked easier and more guarantied way to make content about TF2, other then Modeling items. Then I got bored and decide to quiet.

Then after almost a full year later, I returned back here to help the Mayan project and huge update based projects afterwards.
 

MegapiemanPHD

Doctorate in Deliciousness
aa
Mar 31, 2012
1,937
1,280
I got into mapping a few years ago originally for a game called Dino D-Day. The devs had released an SDK for it and no one was really making maps and I enjoyed the game. Dino D-Day never got that popular and the small moding seen never really took off so I went looking into other Source games to make maps for and landed at TF2. I've yet to find any other game that has such a strong moding community as what is here on TF2maps. I spent some time working on Counter Strike maps but had a difficult time doing anything with them since I couldn't find anywhere to get any feed back or people to play them at all.
 

MrHatlf

engineer main, majoring in exploiting
Feb 6, 2013
79
40
It's a combination of things really, but first some background. It probably all started with me playing ROBLOX back in 2009 to about 2011 or 2012. Then I got into Minecraft for awhile. I started playing TF2 when it had went F2P.

When I found out about the _STAR KotH mapping contest, that's when I got into mapping. It's been on and off lately with me doing anything productive lately, as I'm just a lazy smut.
 

Lain

lobotomy success story
aa
Jan 8, 2015
724
757
I was always into mapping. But FMPone got me back into it after a slump.
 

Crash

func_nerd
aa
Mar 1, 2010
3,315
5,499
I was playing on the Penny Arcade community TF2 servers (still play with them weekly!) and my buddy Hey You was testing his maps there. It looked like fun so I started poking around with Hammer a bit. At the time he was working on Moonshine. Once I got some skill and a few projects under my belt (including the Valve artpass contest), he asked if we wanted to team up with him and Xzzy on another artpass contest type project, where he'd design the layout and we'd all detail it.

That project eventually became Stoneyridge, where I learned a TON about the whole dev process and bringing a map all the way to RC. It was a great foundation of knowledge in mapping to lay down for the rest of my projects to come!
 

Vel0city

func_fish
aa
Dec 6, 2014
1,947
1,589
2014 mini detailing contest. So far, that and pd_snowville (a collab effort between me, Fubar, Exactol and Frozen) are the only maps I got live, mostly because I'm a master at procrastinating. Been playing TF2 since 2011. I was one of the many F2Ps that got in after the Uber update.
 
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FrostyHoneyJuicy

L3: Member
Jun 12, 2014
146
109
The main Slender Fortress map-maker named Glubbale made me wonder about Hammer.
Back when Slender Fortress was still in Beta, I remember I was playing it a lot & I realized that Glubbable's servers were a thing. So I joined them, I liked the community and so well I stayed there.

When I understood who Glubbale really was, I started questioning her about map-making, and so she said that Hammer is what she uses.

So I quickly searched for some Hammer tutorials in Youtube, and later I somehow ended up here.

Since I was a big fan of Slender Fortress & and a game called "Cry of Fear", I promised Glubbale that I'll make a new, fresh "Cry of Fear" map. While I was developing it, I learnt A LOT OF things about Hammer. Sadly the project became frozen & this is the only one screenshot that I have ever taken from that project:

7919285934AF2AB598CA89E07F9EF0AE05F0CD6C
 

RataDeOrdenador

L5: Dapper Member
Oct 12, 2015
230
105
Well,I think it all started with,umm... probably Trackmania. THE FIRST ONE,WHERE IT ALL BEGINS!

I played trackmania a lot,but where it truly began was with Rayman Gold ( 10/10 - IGN )

they were (still are) a really important part of my life. What I really,TRULY loved from those games (among many others) was the level editor they had. 99% of the time I was making some random levels for Rayman Gold (Then I stopped playing a couple of months,and THEN come back and play those "new,exciting levels" I made and forgot I had there...)

Yeah,those were some good days. ;)

Then I found Trackmania. I played all the demos a billion times,loving that game for the ramps,the speed,and THE LOOPS! Oh man the loops.

Trackmania,Trackmania Sunrise,Sunrise Extreme,and then Nations. Trackmania Nations wasn't really a demo,but more of a "free full game" of those.

Then Trackmania United appeared,but I waited until United Forever appear,and I decided to buy it. That's were I truly wasted a shit ton of time playing offline,online and making maps. I even joined a community. Even a CLAN,and raced against other clans.

Sadly,after we moved from home,I lost the game,so I couldn't play it anymore. Now there's some "Trackmania 2" with other expansions,and the new "Trackmania Turbo",which I'll buy as soon as I get the money.

Well,after I lost the game,I looked for NEW games. That's where I found TF2 and Portal 2. I was more into Portal 2 for no reason. I got that for whoknowswhatammountof TF2 keys (wasting a LOT of time while having fun,of course. xd ) Played some custom maps from thinkingwithportals until the PeTI appeared. I made 3-4 maps until I got interested in Hammer.

I managed to finish my first map for Portal 2,although at the end I failed with the 3D skybox and it was badly optimized (or it was good enough... I was using the toaster I STILL have today). Then I watched some hammer tutorials,and got into TF2 tutorials,and THEN into Crash tutorials.

That's where I tried to make my first PL map,failed miserably,gave up for a long time,and then came back with Resort,and a couple of other projects.

So yeah,I basically love creating stuff,even when I'm a lazy piece of wood. And I love it when people try and see my creativity too.

I should also say I tried to make a game,but I got depressed because I couldn't pixel art/find anyone to PA for me,so yeah,that's another story.
(PD: I actually didn't even try to find someone to PA for me... told you I'm a lazy piece of wood. ;D )
 

Yrr

An Actual Deer
aa
Sep 20, 2015
1,308
2,743
i like level design and made maps for TTT in gmod

then my TTT server died so i switched to csgo mapping but it wasnt going anywhere and i was just mapping alone

i also like tf2 a lot

in september last year i suddenly went "wait i should be making tf2 maps instead"

then i was directed to this community and mapping became like 10x more fun


as for what got me into ttt mapping it was pretty much just on a whim
 

Wheyloffle

L1: Registered
Jun 10, 2016
1
0
I always LOVED finding and playing on custom maps on the source games, especially on old zombie survival servers on Gmod, because it was a new experience for me each time instead of some boring, old repetitive set of maps to stick to. Eventually I began spending time practically only on TF2, and a while after that, I began looking at the official maps critically and thinking up ways on how they could be better.

But what sparked it for me was watching videos of people making really gorgeous maps, from rocket jumping to plain old payload, from scratch and me thinking "Oh, that looks nice."
 

dryerlint

L5: Dapper Member
Mar 28, 2016
204
190
As a kid, I always liked mapping things (and I mean literally mapping, as in drawing imaginary maps on paper)... so I thought level design would be pretty fun, especially with TF2's environments.

Also, I had an idea for a map and I wanted to find out how to make it, although I later found out that my initial idea was pretty awful.
 
Dec 28, 2014
330
307
I don't actually make maps (I honestly don't think I would be very good at it, I'm not the most creative person in the world and it would probably be hard for me to come up with unique map designs) so I'll just post about why I support this community by playtesting and providing prizes for the contests.

I've been playing TF2 pretty much since the beginning. Back then I played a lot of Xbox 360 games as well and I hated how developers/publishers would make people pay for map packs and split the community. Valve did the complete opposite, giving out free updates with weapons and maps that other devs/publishers would charge for so I started playing TF2 more and more. I really started loving TF2 and loving the way Valve supported the game. I also really loved how the community was able to make maps and Valve would make some of them official. I lurked here for a long time and played community made maps on servers. I decided to start donating prizes and becoming more active here and on the TF2maps.net server around 2014 when Valve seemed to be ignoring community maps/map making and that kinda pissed me off so I wanted to start doing whatever I could to support it.
 

Nighttime71

L2: Junior Member
Jan 11, 2016
86
40
Anybody heard of MrJohnzee? Learned the very basics from him 3 years ago. Then I made my first fullbright KOTH map :)