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Here are some mapping/editing tips that i've learned
or have been taught by people in the MoH community and
the Half-Life community.
#1 - Always, and I mean
always back up your maps manually. Although MoHRadiant
has an auto backup feature, its safer and a good habit
to get into. Try to save before making any major changes
to your map. This means that even if you screw up, your
work is always safe.
#2 - When building structures,
always build them using the caulk texture and then texture
each individual surface that can be seen by players
of your map. For those of you who don't know where to
find the caulk texture its located in the common texture
set, and consists of green and pink squares - make sure
you select the right one.
#3 - Try not to use CSG
subtract. Build brushes individually. This may sound
obvious, but there are people out there who construct
their maps by hollowing out brushes, and carving hallways
in between 'rooms'. Don't. It may be quick, but in the
long run, your levels will be much easier to maintain
and will help you express your ideas easier if each
brush is placed individually.
#4 - It is vital to get
your texturing perfect. Get ideas about textures and
how to use them by running around the MoH official levels
and taking screenshots (use F12 or bind a key to screenshot)
of those that you think will be appropriate to your
map. You can then look at the screenshots using PSP
7 or some other image program. Use these shots as a
reference as to how to use the textures.
#5 - On the subject of
textures, do not use all the textures that you can find.
On the other hand don't just use 2 or 3 textures. Vary
your textures so that the map looks real and use them
appropriately.
#6 - Use textures to your
advantage. Many textures in all games are designed to
be used across 2 or more brushes. Also the textures
are available to make your map look great.
#7 - Allow yourself to
be influenced. This doesn't mean that you should copy
your favourite map,, but if you're really stuck for
ideas, look around the official levels or other user
made levels you admire or enjoy playing, and try to
appreciate how they might be built. Eventually you'll
have a collection of ideas that you can alter into your
own vision, and then you can create your own great map.
#8 - Use forums/discussion
boards. Make sure you read the FAQ's and if you have
a question try to check that it hasn't already been
answered in a post before hand. If you still have a
problem, just ask. If your experienced and you see someone
post a question that you can answer, answer it, or at
least point them in the right direction. Too many times
I see arrogant people forgetting what it was like to
be a newbie mapper. If you want a selfish reason to
do it - posting help gets you recognition within the
community.
#9 - When scripting, try
to break it down into parts. Get a piece of paper and
make a flow chart or a diagram of how things are supposed
to interact. This will help you visualize the order
of events, help you seek out errors and is good mapping
practise too.
#10 - When mapping take
your time. You may think the map you've just created
in 3 hours is great but chances are unless you're a
mapping genius it won't be. Remember there are no prizes
for creating the most levels. Treat every level as something
special, something to take pride in. Don't release a
crappy level that could be made better with effort and
time.
#11 - A great tip I saw
when I was mapping for Half-Life is: Fix on the go.
If you're testing your map and you find a single error,
fix it there and then, no matter how trivial it may
appear to be. This is so you don't get a build up of
errors, causing you to forget the older ones. Keeping
errors and defects to their absolute minimum is essential
for a map that looks professional.
#12 - Keep an eye on you
FPS (frames per second). Go to the console and type
in cg_drawfps 1. A little indicator will appear in the
bottom left of your screen whilst your playing. Go play
some of the official levels, both sp and mp, and get
an idea of what kinda speeds you get. Remember HIGH
is good, LOW is bad. Also remember that if you have
a high performance machine, other people playing your
map with a less powerful computer will get less fps
than you do. To switch the display off again type cg_drawfps
0.
#13 - Compile your maps
properly. There's nothing worse than downloading and
playing a map just to find it runs at a max speed of
3fps on your system because it hasn't been properly
compiled. So, remember, always compile properly, and
do a full vis.
#14 - Don't rely on prefabs
for your whole level, or use too many models. Yes it
may be quick and easy but it turns your map into a mockery.
Don't Do It !!!
#15 - Not everyone is
a MoH god, that is, not everyone may have as much skill
at playing MoH as you do. So, make sure your map is
a challenge for the stronger players on harder skills,
but still possible for the beginner who has only completed
MoH once.
#16 - Playtest your map
to the death. Get your friends, family and anyone else
you know to playtest your map too. Not only is it helpful
to spot errors you might have missed, they can also
give you suggestions on how to improve your map.
#17 - Please, please,
please use clip brushes for those bits that stick out,
the bits which players catch themselves on. Again its
good mapping practise.
#18 - Spotlights are great
inventions, especially if you're building a map where
eye-candy is a requirement. Take a look at the single
player levels in MoH where spotlights are used...then
go learn how to use them. A word of caution though.
Spotlights seem to be quite a drain on system resources
so use them sparingly.
#19 - Every game engine
(well the most important ones) since Wolfenstien 3D
have used a square system of 4, 8, 16 etc for walls,
etc. So reign in that impulse to build a wall 51 units
long. Optimise your maps. Apparently, thicker walls
helps BSP and CSG compile faster though I have yet to
see concrete proof of this.
#20 - Try at every turn
to avoid repetition. It makes a good level look bad.
Not only try to vary your textures and objects, try
to vary your sounds / effects as well. Oh and don't
forget to try to vary your maps lighting.
#21 - Plan your map out
before you start. This is how many of the Pro's do it.
They make detailed drawings before they start up the
map editor. Some of them don't do this, they have the
ability to just start up the editor and get on with
it. Neither method has been proved to be the best, it
just depends on which method your suited to. When starting
out you may find it easier to plan maps out, and as
you progress you'll be able to just start building a
map straight away.
From Dave Johnson's 51 level editing tips ::
#22 - If you want to be
hired as a level designer for some big company like
Valve or id, then be prepared for a lot of work. First
and foremost, it requires a lot of experience in level
design for previous games as this is what the companies
look for when hiring you (make sure the levels are excellent,
though ;). Not only that, but if you can demonstrate
that you can work well as a team with other people,
that helps too. Also, basing this upon Ikka Keranen's
pre-Ion Storm days, the ability to draw and use your
own textures for your own levels, as well as programming
small utilites to help you (and sometimes, programming
an add-on to an existing game) is another big plus.
Finally, you'll need a lot of determination, luck, and
once again, experience. Good luck.
#23 - If you're really
stuck for ideas, try doing what I do and start a new
'temporary' map. For example, if you're working on an
SP map, close it, and then start a new DM map from scratch.
Ensure you use a different motif to what you were doing
last, just so you can be that little more creative (well,
you may differ, but that's what works best for me).
Then, just try placing a few brushes down, and play
around... Once you tire of all that, you should be able
to go back to your previous map, just with a couple
more ideas... Well, maybe not, but try it.
#24 - Something I like
to do while mapping is listening to the radio... almost
always Radio 1 (bearing in mind I am in the UK) as this
is the centre for pop music... It's better than listening
to CDs as you never quite know what is next to come
in terms of record. Also, a problem with listening to
a CD repeatedly is that you get bored of the songs,
which is not a good thing if you want to be creative.
Another problem that can occur is that your associate
parts of your map with different tracks, making you
think that all your ideas have been exhausted.
Well, that's what I think, anyway... I'm no psycologist.
Your mileage may vary.
Well I hope these have been useful to you. They are
by no means the Be all and End all of mapping. By all
means ignore everything i've written here, but these
guidelines are followed by a lot of good mappers.
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