Some of the best Hammer Tut videos out there..

[Lord Ned]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPTqbrRQsbI"]YouTube - Source SDK Tutorial - Setting up[/ame]
1: If you have ANY source game you have the SDK or a version of it. (L4D). This does not apply to Source Liscenees. In this video he states "Maybe not this one" In reference to EP1. WRONG.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-IblzeE-4M"]YouTube - Source SDK Tutorial - First Map tutorial using Hammer[/ame]
Don't need to teach them the camera tool... Wasd/arrow keys or wasd/z
He doesn't teach how to use filters/search terms for material browser he just says "I typed"
THEY ARE BRACKETS NOT "BUTTONS NEXT TO P ON YOUR KEYBOARD"
He doesn't teach about changing the entity BEFORE placing it.
HE USES A GIANT HOLLOWED BLOCK FOR THE SKYBOX.
Let's set VIS to fast cause it makes it faster with no explanation about what it does.
Let's not explain how lighting works, how light_environment works, how the brightness keyvalues work, etc.
Let's not explain the right way of determining the model type.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hqKr-HEwBc"]YouTube - Source SDK How to make your map look good[/ame]
"Let's make a map better by doing osmething we should have done from day one"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=jzNH2nOK6Tk
Let's not explain dev texture for finding sizing
Doesn't explain what the origin is... just "white dot"

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNZ2jyLZEd4"]YouTube - Source SDK - Speed up compiling[/ame]
EVERY SINGLE THING IN THIS TUTORIAL IS DONE HORRIBLY. THIS IS BAD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=NpBYdmlTsPk

Let's teach people how to decompile cause it wasn't simple enough and I want popularity!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=CxVxeGYh618

Doesn't explain bitrate/etc which is the BIGGEST problem people have getting it in-game.

 

[Lord Ned]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPTqbrRQsbI"]YouTube - Source SDK Tutorial - Setting up[/ame]
1: If you have ANY source game you have the SDK or a version of it. (L4D). This does not apply to Source Liscenees. In this video he states "Maybe not this one" In reference to EP1. WRONG.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-IblzeE-4M"]YouTube - Source SDK Tutorial - First Map tutorial using Hammer[/ame]
Don't need to teach them the camera tool... Wasd/arrow keys or wasd/z
He doesn't teach how to use filters/search terms for material browser he just says "I typed"
THEY ARE BRACKETS NOT "BUTTONS NEXT TO P ON YOUR KEYBOARD"
He doesn't teach about changing the entity BEFORE placing it.
HE USES A GIANT HOLLOWED BLOCK FOR THE SKYBOX.
Let's set VIS to fast cause it makes it faster with no explanation about what it does.
Let's not explain how lighting works, how light_environment works, how the brightness keyvalues work, etc.
Let's not explain the right way of determining the model type.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hqKr-HEwBc"]YouTube - Source SDK How to make your map look good[/ame]
"Let's make a map better by doing osmething we should have done from day one"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=jzNH2nOK6Tk
Let's not explain dev texture for finding sizing
Doesn't explain what the origin is... just "white dot"

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNZ2jyLZEd4"]YouTube - Source SDK - Speed up compiling[/ame]
EVERY SINGLE THING IN THIS TUTORIAL IS DONE HORRIBLY. THIS IS BAD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=NpBYdmlTsPk

Let's teach people how to decompile cause it wasn't simple enough and I want popularity!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=CxVxeGYh618

Doesn't explain bitrate/etc which is the BIGGEST problem people have getting it in-game.

 

[Freyja]

It just seems like your finding everything wrong with everyone of his videos. Most of them arn't "bad habits" like you say, he's just not going into full detail. I seem to manage fine and those videos taught me a lot. I don't hollow out skyboxes or use carve, but for a beginner those might actually be a good way to start of. Open your mind.

 

[Fearlezz]

The only good thing about these videos are that he is fast to explain. Not like others that take 5 min to introduce themselves and explain what they are gonna do.

 

[Brandished]

D-Double Post!

Anyways, I still think you're missing my point, I'm not trying to say he didn't make some glaringly bad mistakes, I know he did. My point is that in spite of these mistakes, a new mapper would still come out ahead by watching his videos because the skill gained from the amount of useful stuff they learned would far outweigh any skill lost from bad info. I'm not saying this isn't always the case, their were several of his videos I purposely left off the VDC, but for most of his videos, I think the above holds true.

 

[Lord Ned]

It's okay to learn bad habits at the start if your new mapper

That's like saying:

It's okay to hit people when your learning to drive, but only if you're a beginner.

 

[PhotoshopPaul]

Can you guys explain what's wrong with a hollowed out skybox? It's a helluvalot easier than actually making one.

 

[Ravidge]

http://rvanhoorn.ruhosting.nl/optimization.php?chapter=notices (chapter 2)

Read ALL the other chapters aswell.

 

[PhotoshopPaul]

http://rvanhoorn.ruhosting.nl/optimization.php?chapter=notices (chapter 2)

Read ALL the other chapters aswell.

Ah.

Thanx.

 

[lana]

It's okay to learn bad habits at the start if your new mapper

That's like saying:

It's okay to hit people when your learning to drive, but only if you're a beginner.

Is that why I can't get insurance? I thought it was my breath.

Can you guys explain what's wrong with a hollowed out skybox? It's a helluvalot easier than actually making one.

It causes the entire level to render. Hammer detects what parts of the map are inside the now cubic skybox, and creates visual flow for everything, even areas under the map.

 

[Nosher]

I originally posted the link - no attempt trolling was meant.

I found the videos I needed to see were pretty good.

It is so easy to shoot from the the parapet - so I would ask any uber mapper to stick their head above that parapet and shoot a vid......

Nosh.

 

[Tinker]

I honestly would like to see a good video tutorial of Hammer, then. Everything I can find seems full of mistakes.

 

[Dr. ROCKZO]

People here are worried that these videos teach some bad habits, which they do, but for the most part they teach you how to use hammer quickly, hopefully people who have gotten past the stage of "clicking around in hammer, not liking it, and leaving" and started watching these videos will then move on to finding out how the Engine works and how to improve their maps. For the most part, these beginners videos are ok, and anyone who finds them through this thread now knows that this man isn't the alpha and omega of Mapping (It's obviously Matt, his TF2 Trading Cards say so ) so they'll learn about the right ways to do things, whilst understanding the concept of it from these Videos.

 

[DrHorrible]

Having spent some time watching nearly every contributor's (to the valve dev wiki) tutorials I'd have to say for someone brand new to Hammer 3kliksphilip's videos are some of the easiest to follow and understand.

While I really appreciate the efforts people have put in to contributing, some of the videos just made me want to punch my face through my screen in frustration.

Too many of the videos had voiceovers that were hideously garbled, too quiet, or sound like someone's trying a little too hard to "sound" cool like Christian Bale's Gollum-esque Batman performance.

I opened up one video only to promptly close it again because the contributor decided that I needed to listen to his rockin' techno/classical soundtrack in addition to his voice. This isn't bloody MySpace.

Anyone who is going to put some hard work into a map is going to learn about all the appropriate techniques. If creating a hollow cube skybox around the entire level is enough to allow me to compile and test my first map then more power to hollow cube skyboxes. I'm barely learning to manipulate brushes in a 3D space--I'm okay with saving some stuff for later.

 

[Ravidge]

See, what you should have learned about is not hollow skyboxes, it's the cordon tool.

 

[DrHorrible]

Thank you for the tip. Am checking it out.

Edit: Wow. That's an awesome tool for fine tuning elements in a map... I will definitely be using it!

 

[Tehrasha]

See, what you should have learned about is not hollow skyboxes, it's the cordon tool.

Funny you should say that, because I have never seen a tutorial that even mentions the cordon tool. (I take that back, I found one for HL1 that used it) Yet I keep seeing it mentioned in every 'OMGHOLLOWSKYBOXBAD!!!' thread. My guess is that its because 'beginners' are the primary users of tutorials, and 'beginners' usually dont have maps so complex as to need the cordon to speed up compiling.

Yes its sloppy, but when you are starting a map, without knowing how large an area it will end up in, its a cheap way to get environmental lighting. If the big worry was rendering the outside of the map, wouldnt covering the outside with NODRAW be sufficient?

Also... I am not sure who added the links to the valvesoftware wiki, but Ned's first two listed videos actually link to RenStrikes first two videos.