Where to get started?

[Verity]

Im a budding map maker but I cant get my foot in the door. Almost all the tutorials on the net deal with highly specific tasks and dont give an oversight onto how to begin.

I have been to valve wiki and gone through the basic make a box guide but thats all it does, show you how to make a box. It doesnt begin to show how to make a simple map.

Are there any somewhat lengthier tutorials around detailing how to make a small, very basic map with a few features?.

I mean how do you create corridors to join boxes, how do you cut holes in brushes to give access to them, how do you make a ramp or ledge inside a box etc etc. Extremely basic things that take a long time to puzzle out alone and almost certainly implement in an erroneous fashion.

 

[Intraman]

There really does need to be an introductionary tutorial that shows people new to the software how to use all the tools and such.
Unfortunately at the moment your best chance for learning is to mess around with hammer. Try placing a bunch of floor brushes down and then put walls around them. That's how I got a feel for the program.
You might also want to try here: http://www.halfwit-2.com/?page=tutorials&category=1
Though that site has mostly single player HL2 stuff, you can easily apply many of them to TF2.

 

[DJive]

I agree with Intraman. I actually had to read more then a few CS:S tutorials for hammer on how to make a room/stairs/ramps ETC. Luckly i came from GTKRadient so i had more then a basic grasp but i still was wicked over welmed. Maybe that will be a good project =) I'll do an ultimate beginers tutorial. *when im home

 

[Verity]

Thanks for the replies.

Can you answer one of my original questions to get me started.
When you have say Room A consisting of Box A and you want to connect it with a corridor to Room B/Box B how do you go about it.
I tried making a corridor shaped box C, hollowed it out and stuck it between the two. Is that a workable way to do it?. Also how do you cut the holes for the entrances at either end in A and B.

 

[Snipergen]

1. Brushes, just place them like it was lego. Its not unreal ED so dont think of removing stuff, think like adding stuff, legos!

2. i would make half of the c, and copy+mirror it. How would I make the C? Vertex editing from the brushes

 

[DJive]

Thanks for the replies.
Can you answer one of my original questions to get me started.
When you have say Room A consisting of Box A and you want to connect it with a corridor to Room B/Box B how do you go about it.

Same way as making a box.. just no walls on 2 sides? and stretch it out? If i understand correctly

I tried making a corridor shaped box C, hollowed it out and stuck it between the two. Is that a workable way to do it?. Also how do you cut the holes for the entrances at either end in A and B.

Yes thats right for how it was done. How to create a basic cut in a wall is.. Mind the MSPaint

then line up on the grid for your corridor C to match the holes in A/B

 

[Verity]

Thanks for the help Djive.

I think I understand what you have drawn but how did you arrive at the result? .

 

[DJive]

Thanks for the help Djive.

I think I understand what you have drawn but how did you arrive at the result? .

Make the standard 4 sided box like you know how now. Once complete pick one side of that box.

Select that brush and drag it from one corner *left to right* to we'll say 33%.

Now creat another brush *SHIFT+B* on the right side, drag it towards the center again we'll say 33%.

Third, *SHIFT+B* and place that brush in the middle of the other two side "walls" and drag the brush up a little so it creates a "hole" or a "doorway"

 

[Verity]

I see, thanks. Im onto my fourth joined room now.

 

[DJive]

No Problem. Also a great place to hang out and ask questions in the tf2maps.net Steam Group chat. Theres always more then a few people who are on and can give you answers and help out very quickly.

 

[Half-Life_Maniac]

I am currently in the process of making an "Ultimate Beginner's Guide"- which at the moment is far, far from complete. It will start from the most basic of stuff, explaining the tools, the windows, working in 3D and constructing solids. Then have you making your own box room, simple rooms and coridoors, all the way up to proper functioning multiplayer maps.

However, in the time being, perhaps you might find some use out of my older beginner's guide. It was originally for Half-Life and is now over 5 years old- but it's still the same editor, and the same basic stuff applies. At least on how to construct simple rooms.
Just ignore the initial setup and later stuff.

 

[Dox]

but it's still the same editor, and the same basic stuff applies. At least on how to construct simple rooms.

Or even complex rooms, as almost all of the vertex editing is the same, just things like entities and models and textures.

 

[Snipergen]

Bash on it that tf2 has its own style

People will love the ultimate tutorial

 

[Half-Life_Maniac]

I'm actually going to be making a very TF2-themed website for it. Plus the guide will have all the TF2 stuff.