Mappers: What do you dislike about mapping? - Page 4

o_burnt_gravy · 08-30-2006, 02:46 AM

I happen to be 3D skybox retarded it seems, because I followed half a dozen tutorials (on a non-complete map just trying it out) and it always either didn't generate in the right spot even though it was where it should be and I followed all the instructions. Also textures, the ones that are in there just don't seem to mesh with what I imagine in my head.

o_yossee · 09-01-2006, 03:57 AM

I hate coming up with a great idea for a flagroom, spending absolutely ages on it, and then realizing that the scale isn't correct, and that the damn flagroom is too small. I created a flagroom, where you came down a ramp and the flagroom was similar to openfire, but had raised platforms on either side with a hidden entrance underneath for the defenders to come out. The idea would have worked fine, except the scale issues. Also, after a compile, finding out that certain ramps weren't working, and the player just walked straight thru them and got stuck.

The biggest thing I hate about mapping, is never having a clear idea of scale. The first thing I do when I create a map, is first lets just create a room with a player in it so I can work out the scale.

And lastly, I hate and cannot stand being confined to creating a map in whatever crap the makers of the game thought they'd release. It used to be you could use plenty of different mapping programs. Or losing the camera, have you ever lost a 3d camera and not being able to find it, and you've got the 3d window pointing in some bizarre unrecognizable position. Or don't you hate it when you're moving around in the 3d mode and the program crashes taking away hours of work.

Circuitous · 09-01-2006, 04:03 AM

I had a similar problem, but backwards. I built an entire base that turned out to be twice as big as it should've been. It was still sorta fun to run around in, though.

o_shadow34721 · 09-01-2006, 04:11 AM

polishing off aspects of a map before annoucing it is killing me.

(ps YossEE select a brush and ctrl+shift+e)

o_swampthing360 · 09-01-2006, 12:15 PM

im only a no0bie mapper but i must admit scaleing is an extreamly bad pain in the ass lol

and as for thinking of map idea well my imagination has gone out the window at the moment lol

o_dammage · 09-01-2006, 05:24 PM

yes, scaling is one of the hardest things, especially when you map without really knowing the aspects of the game

looks like after the ff release there will be lots of blind dates, some of them had been already announced here in the mapping forum.

Circuitous · 09-01-2006, 05:38 PM

Once you realize Hammer units are in inches it becomes a lot easier.

o_dammage · 09-01-2006, 05:56 PM

Oh? Didn't know that.
Changes nothing, I'm metric

Personally I have no problems with proportions, I just compare the sizes to the playerstart model and once a room is basically done, tripple-check it inside the game.

Nine times out of ten it's an electric razor, but every once in a while... it's a dildo. Of course it's company policy never to, imply ownership in the event of a dildo... always use the indefinite article a dildo, never your dildo.

Oh, wrong text, but it just shows that shit happens to me in one time out of ten

But once it happens ...

o_shadow34721 · 09-01-2006, 06:15 PM

helps alot to start with a dev textured outline and play test it until everything feels right.

o_commander · 09-01-2006, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circuitous

Once you realize Hammer units are in inches it becomes a lot easier.

I know they're supposed to be in inches; however, when I've tried to map some real-life stuff to scale, it seems a little small in-game.

o_nezumi · 09-02-2006, 12:26 AM

I usually have dozens of info_player_starts scattered around. I put one down wherever I'm working to help keep a sense of scale.

o_swampthing360 · 09-02-2006, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nezumi

I usually have dozens of info_player_starts scattered around. I put one down wherever I'm working to help keep a sense of scale.

now thats a handy dandy tip lol i just spend like 15 mins correcting a tunnel coz i made it a touch to small so u had to crouch thro it lol , some how tho i get doors perfect in hight and width

another pain in the ass is makein a secound base i can never get it right

**mervaka** · 09-02-2006, 02:48 AM

i just use textures as a guide normally.

o_dammage · 09-03-2006, 10:05 AM

as they already render the whole shit in hammer, I'm wondering why valve doesn't expand hammer to have a nifty function as it is in serious sam - push the red button and your 3d window turns into the game. In the SS-editor it was the full game as the map didn't require recompilation, in hammer it would be enough just to see the v_weapon and be able to run around with only vertex lighting.

o_yossee · 09-03-2006, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Circuitous

I had a similar problem, but backwards. I built an entire base that turned out to be twice as big as it should've been. It was still sorta fun to run around in, though.

Or another terrible thing, was making a ramp that if you ran down it, you would make drop sounds all the way down it. Got the steepness a bit wrong you know. So, even if you didn't jump down the ramp, which was similar to 2fort but a lot wider.

Also, I was very obsessed with making maps so that most the entrances could only be accessed by concing, and I got to thinking that such a map would probably never get into rotation, because it would force every noob to spam it's way into the 1 entrance.

What I found good, was to have a base where the defence could get into position fast using lifts that had push effects in them. So a distance that offence would probably bhop the crap out of, would be traversed quickly by the defence. One of the maps I was making was similar to 2fort, with the battlements, and both respawns on the left and right of battlements, but fast lifts for defence, because the flagroom and laser switch room were ages away.

o_exr8ed · 09-03-2006, 06:10 PM

i think the whole process for me is repetitive and boring.. only thing i like about it is the finished product.

o_sh4x · 09-04-2006, 08:35 AM

I just spent the entire day working on my map and when I look back at what I did today, it's not much lol.

It kinda makes me wonder if I'll ever finish that damn thing how I want it! I think I'm gonna have to cut some corners or I'll still be working on the same map for christmas...

o_mj · 09-11-2006, 06:35 AM

mapping is very time consuming.. agreed.

o_imbrifer · 09-14-2006, 12:04 AM

Yeah, I made the WHOLE MAP 2morforever about 3/4 the size it needed to be. I used the scale option (ctrl M, right?) to scale it up then I re-aligned textures and everything again. What a major pain in the ass. But it was well worth it - I'm very satisfied with it, and the creator of 2morforever1_1 (the map that 2morforever is based off of) loves it. Cha-ching!

What did I learn? Use info_player_starts excessively to make sure scale is right, and remember that hallways in FF need to be MUCH wider than hallways in HL2, and ceilings need to be much taller.

o_nezumi · 09-14-2006, 06:31 AM

Whenever I'm tweaking anything, like a big string of entity I/Os, I have hammer and HL2 open at the same time, right? Well unless I minimise hammer to the taskbar before I un-minimise HL2, hammer will crash as soon as I re-minimise HL2.

I'm constantly forgetting, or clicking the HL2 icon instead of the winamp one, or whatever and hammer chashes every time. Also, if HL2 is open then hammer crashes constantly on it's own for unknown reasons anyway.

I don't think hammer used to be this unstable.

09-01-2006, 03:57 AM	#62
o_yossee Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	hmmm I hate coming up with a great idea for a flagroom, spending absolutely ages on it, and then realizing that the scale isn't correct, and that the damn flagroom is too small. I created a flagroom, where you came down a ramp and the flagroom was similar to openfire, but had raised platforms on either side with a hidden entrance underneath for the defenders to come out. The idea would have worked fine, except the scale issues. Also, after a compile, finding out that certain ramps weren't working, and the player just walked straight thru them and got stuck. The biggest thing I hate about mapping, is never having a clear idea of scale. The first thing I do when I create a map, is first lets just create a room with a player in it so I can work out the scale. And lastly, I hate and cannot stand being confined to creating a map in whatever crap the makers of the game thought they'd release. It used to be you could use plenty of different mapping programs. Or losing the camera, have you ever lost a 3d camera and not being able to find it, and you've got the 3d window pointing in some bizarre unrecognizable position. Or don't you hate it when you're moving around in the 3d mode and the program crashes taking away hours of work.

09-01-2006, 04:03 AM	#63
Circuitous Useless Retired FF Staff Join Date: Jun 2005 Class/Position: D Soldier, O Scout Gametype: AvD Posts Rated Helpful 9 Times	I had a similar problem, but backwards. I built an entire base that turned out to be twice as big as it should've been. It was still sorta fun to run around in, though. __________________ Look at all those dead links.

09-01-2006, 05:38 PM	#67
Circuitous Useless Retired FF Staff Join Date: Jun 2005 Class/Position: D Soldier, O Scout Gametype: AvD Posts Rated Helpful 9 Times	Once you realize Hammer units are in inches it becomes a lot easier. __________________ Look at all those dead links.

09-02-2006, 02:48 AM	#73
mervaka A Very Sound Guy! Fortress Forever Staff Join Date: May 2005 Location: UK Posts Rated Helpful 15 Times	i just use textures as a guide normally. __________________ Support FF:

08-30-2006, 02:46 AM	#61
o_burnt_gravy Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	I happen to be 3D skybox retarded it seems, because I followed half a dozen tutorials (on a non-complete map just trying it out) and it always either didn't generate in the right spot even though it was where it should be and I followed all the instructions. Also textures, the ones that are in there just don't seem to mesh with what I imagine in my head.

09-01-2006, 04:11 AM	#64
o_shadow34721 Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	polishing off aspects of a map before annoucing it is killing me. (ps YossEE select a brush and ctrl+shift+e)

09-01-2006, 12:15 PM	#65
o_swampthing360 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Surrey, SE England Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	im only a no0bie mapper but i must admit scaleing is an extreamly bad pain in the ass lol and as for thinking of map idea well my imagination has gone out the window at the moment lol

09-01-2006, 05:24 PM	#66
o_dammage Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	yes, scaling is one of the hardest things, especially when you map without really knowing the aspects of the game looks like after the ff release there will be lots of blind dates, some of them had been already announced here in the mapping forum.

09-01-2006, 05:56 PM	#68
o_dammage Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Oh? Didn't know that. Changes nothing, I'm metric Personally I have no problems with proportions, I just compare the sizes to the playerstart model and once a room is basically done, tripple-check it inside the game. Nine times out of ten it's an electric razor, but every once in a while... it's a dildo. Of course it's company policy never to, imply ownership in the event of a dildo... always use the indefinite article a dildo, never your dildo. Oh, wrong text, but it just shows that shit happens to me in one time out of ten But once it happens ...

09-01-2006, 06:15 PM	#69
o_shadow34721 Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	helps alot to start with a dev textured outline and play test it until everything feels right.

09-02-2006, 12:26 AM	#71
o_nezumi Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The Peoples Republic of Harmfull Free Radicals Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	I usually have dozens of info_player_starts scattered around. I put one down wherever I'm working to help keep a sense of scale.

09-03-2006, 10:05 AM	#74
o_dammage Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	as they already render the whole shit in hammer, I'm wondering why valve doesn't expand hammer to have a nifty function as it is in serious sam - push the red button and your 3d window turns into the game. In the SS-editor it was the full game as the map didn't require recompilation, in hammer it would be enough just to see the v_weapon and be able to run around with only vertex lighting.

09-03-2006, 06:10 PM	#76
o_exr8ed Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	i think the whole process for me is repetitive and boring.. only thing i like about it is the finished product.

09-04-2006, 08:35 AM	#77
o_sh4x Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Montreal Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	I just spent the entire day working on my map and when I look back at what I did today, it's not much lol. It kinda makes me wonder if I'll ever finish that damn thing how I want it! I think I'm gonna have to cut some corners or I'll still be working on the same map for christmas...

09-11-2006, 06:35 AM	#78
o_mj Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: California Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	mapping is very time consuming.. agreed.

09-14-2006, 12:04 AM	#79
o_imbrifer Join Date: May 2005 Location: Changes every few months Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Yeah, I made the WHOLE MAP 2morforever about 3/4 the size it needed to be. I used the scale option (ctrl M, right?) to scale it up then I re-aligned textures and everything again. What a major pain in the ass. But it was well worth it - I'm very satisfied with it, and the creator of 2morforever1_1 (the map that 2morforever is based off of) loves it. Cha-ching! What did I learn? Use info_player_starts excessively to make sure scale is right, and remember that hallways in FF need to be MUCH wider than hallways in HL2, and ceilings need to be much taller.

09-14-2006, 06:31 AM	#80
o_nezumi Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: The Peoples Republic of Harmfull Free Radicals Posts Rated Helpful 0 Times	Whenever I'm tweaking anything, like a big string of entity I/Os, I have hammer and HL2 open at the same time, right? Well unless I minimise hammer to the taskbar before I un-minimise HL2, hammer will crash as soon as I re-minimise HL2. I'm constantly forgetting, or clicking the HL2 icon instead of the winamp one, or whatever and hammer chashes every time. Also, if HL2 is open then hammer crashes constantly on it's own for unknown reasons anyway. I don't think hammer used to be this unstable.

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