first true map, and a few questions

[Fateye]

I'm 25yrs old, my name is lou, and i can't spell. Ctf_theCube (tentitive)


Ok, this is my fith(?) (#5)map. I had to chalk up the first 50hrs and 4 maps as a learning experience. I reallize there are an awful lot of wiki's for Hammer and HL2 and CSS but I painfully realized that you don't do things the same. Elevators and such, so the elevator in my map is a prefab from "elevators trifecta". I will build my own or ask him politly to use it anyways. My questions.

The clipping tool- i get how you cut a line, but how on earth do you cut windows in a solid. I have just been making several walls for door ways and windows. That would save me alot of time if I could use the clipping tool correctly. or may be you cut windows another way?

Teleporters- I can make a teleporter but how do you make it visible to the player w/ an overlay or grafic?

Here is some screens. I do have about 30hrs + in this map, I know it still needs alot of work. And why on earth would you go up top when the intel is at the bottom, well i'm still working on that, but yes, i have a plan.

View attachment ctf_sewageway_a6.bsp.bz2



as i read the forums i have a third question. Whats with all this no draw then just texture the faces? does that help with preformance or something? cuase i didn't do it at all that way, for instance i have a drowing death tank, I just chose a water texture and created a brush to fit the tank. I'm not having any problems compiling or runing the map. Of coarse i'm running e8400 (intel, 45nm 3.0ghz), 2 gigs of corsair ddr 3 1333, 8800 gts(g92), gigabyte dq6 x38.

 

[Laz]

good maps take time, I have about 150 hours on mine, and its only beta now...

for the clip tool to cut windows
clip twice to divide the brush in 3, then select the middle brush, and cut that in 2. then drag or cut again.

 

[00000000000000000000000]

Screenshots are a bit small.

I hope this is what you mean by making windows, a square hole in a brush? If that's right well you don't use the clipping tool to do it. You simply make 4 different brushes and leave a hole in the middle, make a brush thats 1 block wide and about 5 blocks vertical and copy it and drag it next to it so theres a gap between them and then make a block that fits in the gap, but only 1 block tall at the top of the gap. Then shift+drag it to the bottom of the gap so there are two and you will have a window.

For the teleporter just make a brush of what you want the teleporter to look like (maybe a beam of some sort), make it a func_illusionary and place it where the teleporter is. This way players will see where it is and they wont collide with the brush. I hope I've helped. Oh yeah the nodraws make it so the map doesn't have to render the face, and it will help the performance (you wont have a lot of brushes in places you wont even see them) and I suppose players wont think theres secret areas to the map when they noclip and it will look more professional.

Good luck with the map.

EDIT: Damn! It happened again. I went and had dinner while I was half way through writing this and when I posted it someone already posted before me. ARGH!

 

[AKAfreaky]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpyGajNuGEk"]Video Tutorial[/ame] for using the clip tool to make windows and doors

 

[Laz]

Video Tutorial for using the clip tool to make windows and doors

I love your accent (if that is you)

btw when you cut the first 2 time, there is no need to go select the second half beforemaking your second cut, you can just go ahead and cut a second time, when you start cutting the other direction, make sure you only select the middle one.

nice quick video though explaining the clip tool nicely.

 

[Armadillo of Doom]

As for your question on nodraw, the short anwer is 'yes', it helps immensely. Nodraw makes the surface invisible for rendering purposes. That means one less thing the editor doesn't have to calculate, equals faster compile and fps. If the player cannot see the backside of a building, there is no reason to have a texture on it. Every surface that cannot be seen by the player should have nodraw. Outside walls of the skybox, under the ground, behind buildings, etc. Hope this helps

 

[AKAfreaky]

I love your accent (if that is you)

btw when you cut the first 2 time, there is no need to go select the second half beforemaking your second cut, you can just go ahead and cut a second time, when you start cutting the other direction, make sure you only select the middle one.

nice quick video though explaining the clip tool nicely.

No the guy isn't me, just found the video through google.

 

[Spacemonkeynz]

Outside walls of the skybox, under the ground, behind buildings, etc. Hope this helps

Outside walls of the skybox (and anything facing out to the void) don't need nodraw, they are removed anyway during the compile process.

Anything inside the map that the player won't see should be nodraw.

 

[Fateye]

wow, that didn't take long, thanks guys. I'll have bigger screens when I'm not to embarrassed to show my full map.