How you make a layout

Hawk

L7: Fancy Member
Dec 3, 2007
419
213
I've been thinking about this lately since I've been heavily focused on designing a layout for my next project. I've found that usually I start my layout as a top-down sketch on paper, but I can never really take it very far on paper because scale, distances, and elevation changes make it hard for things to work in-game like I thought they would on paper.

Because of this, the bulk of my layout design has been happening in Hammer with large blocks and temporary corridors until I get what feels to be a good layout. I don't mind doing it this way, except that I realize how much more time it takes thanks to compiling, trial, and error. On paper an eraser would do the trick much faster.

Does anybody else do it like this? Or are some of you able to take the design process pretty far on paper?
 

lucky

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
May 25, 2009
583
145
Well by the sounds of it, you don't like to change your level and cuts bit out to make things work.

I do a lot of work on paper, but I feel it's hard to make a dynamic use of height with the top down view, so I usually have something in my head for that which only comes in during the hammering.
 

J4CK8

L11: Posh Member
Mar 4, 2009
820
243
I just get a basic idea of a map, start to sketch it out on paper, and when i think of something, I'll add it the sketch while making it in hammer.
 

Terr

Cranky Coder
aa
Jul 31, 2009
1,590
410
I like to use tools like powerpoint, since I can stretch/resize/copy/rotate without worrying about 3D placements or the kind of pixel-specifics you'd find in an image editor.
 

Ravidge

Grand Vizier
aa
May 14, 2008
1,544
2,818
I sketch it in hammer.

For some reason I can never be consistent with scale or heights when working on paper, so I quickly gave up on that (years ago).
When I do these hammer sketches it's actually very playable (if you want to call 100%:brushtool: maps "playable") so I can quickly make :cordonedit::compile: to check for any obvious issues.

Then I just build as I go, fitting one piece to the next, then next piece to both previous ones, and so forth...
I have a general idea of how the map should be 'shaped' though, like a overall flow pattern, just so I don't build crazy complicated layouts by mistake.

Hard to explain, but yeah. Hammer is the way to go :)
 

Jimmy

L420: High Member
Jul 6, 2009
421
228
I usually sketch but kinda gave up due to the limitedness of showing hieght ect from top down, usually just block out a few things in hammer and run with it :p
 

YM

LVL100 YM
aa
Dec 5, 2007
7,135
6,056
Sketch in hammer, send to a friend who doesn't map at all, just plays LOTS of tf2 at regular intervals, he gives good feedback, i change it and add some more, send it back to him, he comments, repeat lots until the whole map is layed out then add proper entities, slipping, etc and ship.
 

Eternal

L69: Deviant Member
Jul 8, 2009
69
10
I'm new, but my process is to first sketch out on paper (top down view for basic layout, side view of some important structures) then I also sketch it out in hammer by just making cubes in the general size/location of how my idea was planed out.
 
Feb 14, 2008
1,051
931
I just do what feels right, in Hammer, it's the best sketchpad.
 

Hawk

L7: Fancy Member
Dec 3, 2007
419
213
Hmmm... good to hear I'm not the only one. In fact it sounds like most people get their best results from doing layouts in Hammer. Thanks for the feedback, everybody.