- Aug 1, 2009
- 73
- 23
Hi there. This is the second time I've attempted getting my feet wet with map development and I was wondering about a couple of things before I threw myself back into it. Any answers to these questions would be super helpful!
1. Hammer Alternatives - The Hammer editor has been around for over a decade now and it was showing it's age in terms of usability the last time I grappled with it. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one, but thought I'd ask anyway.
2. Grid Frustration - I work very hard to build my levels as accurately to the grid as possible. I understand why this is important for both ease of level development, texturing, modularity, etc. So why is it that so many of the level model objects are just ever so slightly OFF the grid, or require such special handling to make them fit? I'm assuming I was doing something wrong, or at least I really hope I am.
3. The Tyranny of Scale - How do you plot out your maps? I often find my attempts to make the world to a correct scale creates locations that are too tight and corridors that are too thin. However when I try and correct this I end up with locations that are simply too big. How is this avoided from the get go? Are there easy player model props to work with that allows for size checks before you go any further on construction?
4. Sniper Wars - How much of a concern is this? I'm an old school TF player and I've always lamented the pointless duels snipers would lock themselves into. Is this only my concern? Should I work hard to prevent sniper decks from seeing one another or should I simply let the map evolve without trying to force the issue?
Anyway thanks for any tips you might have for me.
Back to doodling map layouts.
1. Hammer Alternatives - The Hammer editor has been around for over a decade now and it was showing it's age in terms of usability the last time I grappled with it. I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one, but thought I'd ask anyway.
2. Grid Frustration - I work very hard to build my levels as accurately to the grid as possible. I understand why this is important for both ease of level development, texturing, modularity, etc. So why is it that so many of the level model objects are just ever so slightly OFF the grid, or require such special handling to make them fit? I'm assuming I was doing something wrong, or at least I really hope I am.
3. The Tyranny of Scale - How do you plot out your maps? I often find my attempts to make the world to a correct scale creates locations that are too tight and corridors that are too thin. However when I try and correct this I end up with locations that are simply too big. How is this avoided from the get go? Are there easy player model props to work with that allows for size checks before you go any further on construction?
4. Sniper Wars - How much of a concern is this? I'm an old school TF player and I've always lamented the pointless duels snipers would lock themselves into. Is this only my concern? Should I work hard to prevent sniper decks from seeing one another or should I simply let the map evolve without trying to force the issue?
Anyway thanks for any tips you might have for me.
Back to doodling map layouts.