What got you into mapping?
- Thread starter Eris
- Start date
I wanted to make weapons for tf2 but at the time I couldn't figure out how to transfer my model from Maya to source. So I eventually stumbled into the mapping scene and loved it. It's because I like the feeling of other people playing something I put effort into and potentially enjoying it to the point where they look forward to updates.
- Dec 21, 2008
- 288
- 638
I wanted to make maps for games since the release of Tomb Raider like... 20 years ago OMG, that's far... This game really blew my mind (I was 9 at this time) I said to my mother I wanted to create game after that, she was like, "errr 'kay"
I started on Half Life thanks to the editor (Worldcraft 2.1) that was on the disk (Unfortunatly I didn't have a good computer for the tomb raider level editor). With no internet and a small readme full english, it was hard. But my first real map for a game was a scenario for Heroes of Might and Magic III.
I started on Half Life thanks to the editor (Worldcraft 2.1) that was on the disk (Unfortunatly I didn't have a good computer for the tomb raider level editor). With no internet and a small readme full english, it was hard. But my first real map for a game was a scenario for Heroes of Might and Magic III.
I got in to mapping to pick up chicks and make friends. That was two years or so ago and I'm still working on it but the results will definitely be worthwhile.
Actually I used to play a lot of Deathrun at Steveh's Server (StSv RIP), and I wanted to fix some of the maps that had exploits. I had so much fun in Hammer that I kept on improving them well beyond the original scope and now I'm a full-fledged map critic.
I've had an interest in level design since I made custom terrain for Worms on the Amiga computer, using Deluxe Paint 3 (when Electronic Arts made painting software, hence the name). I remember thinking it would be great if the game supported animated terrain, with hazards, like in Lemmings and Troddlers. I've dabbled with Doom editor and UnrealEd.
Actually I used to play a lot of Deathrun at Steveh's Server (StSv RIP), and I wanted to fix some of the maps that had exploits. I had so much fun in Hammer that I kept on improving them well beyond the original scope and now I'm a full-fledged map critic.
I've had an interest in level design since I made custom terrain for Worms on the Amiga computer, using Deluxe Paint 3 (when Electronic Arts made painting software, hence the name). I remember thinking it would be great if the game supported animated terrain, with hazards, like in Lemmings and Troddlers. I've dabbled with Doom editor and UnrealEd.
- Jan 6, 2008
- 2,289
- 1,372
I come from the Control Point Podcast forums, which I found my way to after seeing a spray advertising it in TF2. I started listening right after the game came out in 2007 and they began to talk about custom maps pretty soon. This excited me because I'd always wanted to make games since I was a kid and fantasized about making various new Nintendo games.
So that's where I heard about TF2Maps, and I joined TF2Maps in early 2008, when I was 15. I still spent most of my time on the CPP forums and servers until after payload came out, though, which was when I released my first map.
So that's where I heard about TF2Maps, and I joined TF2Maps in early 2008, when I was 15. I still spent most of my time on the CPP forums and servers until after payload came out, though, which was when I released my first map.
I've been making shit ever since I was smol. I spent my childhood building with legos and my adolescence in Minecraft. It was around this time last year when I was getting fed up with Minecraft's limitations and community when I found a link to Crash's channel in the workshop page for Stoneyridge, and now I'm here
Someday, I hope to make my own game
Someday, I hope to make my own game
- Mar 6, 2013
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I think my interest in level creation started with a friend's copy of a Tony Hawk Underground game (2?). Loved the level editor in that one. Eventually, when I got old enough to start PC gaming, I was first drawn to a site called ChallengeYou, which allowed users to create and share maze-type adventure levels with a fairly advanced editor that allowed for more customization than many other games. Shortly thereafter, I discovered Roblox, which led me to Minecraft, then the Pyromania update drew me to TF2, and a few months later I discovered the mapping scene and have been bouncing around here ever since.
Shout out to Tony Hawk games. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was the first one with a level editor and it really piqued my interest. I started placing Call of Duty on PC in middle school and attempted to create some maps once I found out there was a level editor.
Been a member of this website for 5+ years and have yet to complete a map. This is the year though!
- Oct 11, 2013
- 273
- 413
I remember having THUG2 for the PS2 and spending more time in the park creator than actually skateboarding in the game. It happened the same when I was 6 with Excite Bike for the NES, where I could make my own tracks.
If a game had a level editor, I would play the shit out of it and forget to play the real game
Time for another Idolon Long Post™
I've always been drawn to editors of any variety. Some of my first favorite games were Roller Coaster Tycoon and The Incredible Machine, which both provided a lot of avenues for building my own things. I have a few distinct memories of designing my own Sonic the Hedgehog levels with pencil and paper - I blame this on the fact that my 5-years-superior brother indoctrinated me into the Church of Sega.
The same brother introduced me into a neat tool called GameMaker, which as the name suggests, let me make games. This lead me into discovering indie games. I gravitated towards games with communities based around their level editors, including (but not limited to) Jumper Two (where I actually ended up meeting @Trotim), Knytt Stories, ChallengeYou (where, to my knowledge, I did not meet @Captain Clam), and Escape.
(An aside: the guy who made Jumper Two also made Towerfall, and also is registered on this site. The more you know!)
Portal came out, and I wanted it really bad. My mom ended up buying the Orange Box for Christmas. However, because of reasons I won't get into, I wasn't allowed to play Portal immediately. After seeing my brother play through Ravenholm, I decided Half-Life 2 was too scary for me. Being the only game left in the Box, I tried out TF2, and it stuck.
Eventually, I was able to play Portal, and I completed the game wanting more. I knew how to use Google, and it's been established that I had a penchant for level editors, so one thing lead to another and I ended up finding Hammer and Thinking With Portals. I was 12 at the time, so Hammer's IO systems were beyond my grasp. The only Portal map I ever published didn't have any buttons or doors, only flings.
(Another aside: I also made a map for Narbacular Drop, although I doubt I ever published it. I remember using magenta/black lambdas as nodraw, which makes me think this was my one and only stint with Worldcraft.)
That desire ended up translating back to TF2. I registered on this site in early 2008 and uploading a couple of hardly functioning maps. I don't remember much about this one. However, I do remember this one, which featured an asymmetrical layout with one route between the bases that required you to complete jumping puzzles to pass through. I've not been able to find the .bsps of either of these, which is probably a good thing.
I took a few years break because I got hooked on Minecraft (which is basically a gamified level editor, really). I eventually burnt out on it and came back to TF2 and Portal (2) mapping, which has pretty much been my main spare time sink for the last four years. Those last four years also coincided with the time in my life where I had to start making decisions about what I wanted to do with it (my life), and now I'm studying undergrad architecture with hopes to work professionally as an architect or level designer.
I've always been drawn to editors of any variety. Some of my first favorite games were Roller Coaster Tycoon and The Incredible Machine, which both provided a lot of avenues for building my own things. I have a few distinct memories of designing my own Sonic the Hedgehog levels with pencil and paper - I blame this on the fact that my 5-years-superior brother indoctrinated me into the Church of Sega.
The same brother introduced me into a neat tool called GameMaker, which as the name suggests, let me make games. This lead me into discovering indie games. I gravitated towards games with communities based around their level editors, including (but not limited to) Jumper Two (where I actually ended up meeting @Trotim), Knytt Stories, ChallengeYou (where, to my knowledge, I did not meet @Captain Clam), and Escape.
(An aside: the guy who made Jumper Two also made Towerfall, and also is registered on this site. The more you know!)
Portal came out, and I wanted it really bad. My mom ended up buying the Orange Box for Christmas. However, because of reasons I won't get into, I wasn't allowed to play Portal immediately. After seeing my brother play through Ravenholm, I decided Half-Life 2 was too scary for me. Being the only game left in the Box, I tried out TF2, and it stuck.
Eventually, I was able to play Portal, and I completed the game wanting more. I knew how to use Google, and it's been established that I had a penchant for level editors, so one thing lead to another and I ended up finding Hammer and Thinking With Portals. I was 12 at the time, so Hammer's IO systems were beyond my grasp. The only Portal map I ever published didn't have any buttons or doors, only flings.
(Another aside: I also made a map for Narbacular Drop, although I doubt I ever published it. I remember using magenta/black lambdas as nodraw, which makes me think this was my one and only stint with Worldcraft.)
That desire ended up translating back to TF2. I registered on this site in early 2008 and uploading a couple of hardly functioning maps. I don't remember much about this one. However, I do remember this one, which featured an asymmetrical layout with one route between the bases that required you to complete jumping puzzles to pass through. I've not been able to find the .bsps of either of these, which is probably a good thing.
I took a few years break because I got hooked on Minecraft (which is basically a gamified level editor, really). I eventually burnt out on it and came back to TF2 and Portal (2) mapping, which has pretty much been my main spare time sink for the last four years. Those last four years also coincided with the time in my life where I had to start making decisions about what I wanted to do with it (my life), and now I'm studying undergrad architecture with hopes to work professionally as an architect or level designer.
RataDeOrdenador
L5: Dapper Member
- Oct 12, 2015
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- 105
Oh yeah,I remember making Sonic levels on paper too... I actually have THREE notebooks full of Sonic levels ohgodwhy.
I actually played a lot of Sonic fangames when YoYo still supported those games... I think.
- Feb 18, 2012
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I actually used to "design" Crash Bandicoot levels on paper, when I was a wee lad and spent a lot of time in Rollercoaster Tycoon and various LEGO games, especially Stunt Rally.
Later, I discovered you could make maps for source games. I remember looking at my brother playing hoejhus in CSS, thinking "This map is fucking shit" and wanting to improve it.
It was first several years later I discovered how to make maps tho since I didn't have my own PC nor a single source game. Some years later I finally acquired a laptop and discovered TF2 trough a good friend of mine who were playing it at school.
Since then I have been mapping for TF2. I'm still upset I didn't make a backup of my first map.
Later, I discovered you could make maps for source games. I remember looking at my brother playing hoejhus in CSS, thinking "This map is fucking shit" and wanting to improve it.
It was first several years later I discovered how to make maps tho since I didn't have my own PC nor a single source game. Some years later I finally acquired a laptop and discovered TF2 trough a good friend of mine who were playing it at school.
The first experience I had with TF2 was on Goldrush, first stage last point where I got a single assist kill, by spamming the loft above the choke with pipes as a demoman.
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Lego Stunt Rally was THE SHIT. I spent so many hours making my own tracks in that game.
- Mar 6, 2013
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Unless you recall a member by the name of m_frind1_m (I was such a creative child when it came to names, wasn't I?), you're right. I remember my magnum opus was a series of levels called "Glass Heights" taking place in a solid glass hotel.
