Ye Olde Outdated Mapping Forum FAQ

Moleculor · January 2002

<div class="IPBDescription">Ignore this!</div> In case you didn't catch it, the description of this forum lists a single rule.

This forum is -not- for questions about how to map. This forum is for questions about how to use the NS specific entities, NS specific design specifications, and NS concepts within a map.

If you wish to have your screenshots, layouts, textures, sounds, and other mapping related works linked to at <a href='http://hive.readyroom.org' target='_blank'>The Hive</a>, a site for fan-created NS related things, simply send a link to the work (NOT the file itself, just a link) to <a href='mailto:hivemap@readyroom.org'>hivemap@readyroom.org</a>.

If you're searching for a specific map, try <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=4&t=29160' target='_blank'>this</a> thread.

To help you map, here's a link to the <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/Mapping_Guidelines.html' target='_blank'>Mapping Guidelines</a>

ChromeAngel has also very generously (and skillfully) compiled a companion piece to the Mapping Guidelines.
Go check out his <a href='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/mappingguide/MappingGuide.php' target='_blank'>Quick Start Guide to Mapping for Natural Selection</a>

Also, Greedo386 has provided a <a href='http://pstutorial.tripod.com/' target='_blank'>Natural Selection Particle System Guide</a> for those of you who don't quite get the particle system. Also, if you are having problems bringing up the particle editing menu, you will have to bind a key to 'toggleeditps'.

If you want help with Hint Brushes (not an NS question, but its very confusing stuff), try checking out <a href='http://www.deltatraining.com/relic25/faq.html' target='_blank'>Relic's Mapping Guide</a>, seventh link (fourth Mapping link) down, labeled Hint Brush Use.

If you want to make your own infested textures, using the infestation in NS, <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/ns_infested_textures.zip' target='_blank'>click here</a> to download the Photoshop .PSDs of the official infested texture set (1.32 megs). ?Of course, like everything else available for download from this site, they are for NS purposes only.

The latest ns.wad can be found <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/downloads/NS-wad.zip' target='_blank'>here</a> (15 megs). ?It was last updated on October 19th (new door texture from Squeal, "{hera_door.bmp").

New: The new ns2.wad can be found <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/downloads/NS2-wad.zip' target='_blank'>here</a> (9 megs, last updated 10/02/03).

NS Specific Entities are:
team_command
team_hive
info_player_start
info_team_join
info_gameplay
info_team_start
func_seethrough
info_mapinfo
info_spectate
info_team_autoassign
info_location
env_custom_particles
env_gamma
trigger_random
target_mp3audio

And now, a few FAQs.

Q: How can I run around in my maps?
Q: What's the NSTR?
Q: How do I see these Particle effects?
A: Until NS itself is released, Flayra has been kind enough to release the Natural Selection Technology Release, or NSTR for short. What it is is a stripped down version of NS that lets you view the cool particle effects in your map, test commander mode compatability, and run around as a early version of Skulk (with wallclimbing).

Q: Can I have two floors, one over the other (vertically)?
A: No. Unless of course the amount of floor beneath another floor is -extremely- small. Small amounts should be fine, but really, try to stick to the Guidelines as closely as you can. A little leeway is granted however.

Q: Dude! I wanna make a map! Can I?
A: Sure! Go right ahead. You might want to head on over to the <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/downloads.html' target='_blank'>Downloads</a> page and pick up the NSTR, the FGD or QRK files, and the WAD. Then, read the <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/MappingGuidelines.htm' target='_blank'>Mapping Guidelines</a>
and you should have everything you need (unless you've never mapped before... then you should go to the ?<a href='http://www.valve-erc.com' target='_blank'>Valve-ERC</a> to find out how. Another handy resource for any mapper in any mod would be <a href='http://www.karljones.com/halflife/almanac.asp' target='_blank'>The Handy Vandal's Almanac</a>. Go ahead and check it out.

Q: Can you help me figure out what I'm doing wrong with WorldCraft?
Q: Can you help me figure out what this compile error means?
Q: I can't get WorldCraft to work!
A: Sorry, but if it's not related to NS's specific entities or NS mapping exactly, we can't help. WorldCraft isn't owned or run by the people here at Natural Selection, and we can't help you debug it. That's what the <a href='http://www.valve-erc.com' target='_blank'>Valve-ERC</a> is for.

Q: Why are my screenshots coming out darker than they look in game?
A: There's this really cool effect in NS where brigher things become brighter, and darker things stay the same. It lends a more vivid and realistic view to the whole map. If you have Photoshop, and you want the screenshot to look right, use this method to fix the gamma settings.
Go to Image->Adjust->Levels in Photoshop. There are three values next to "input level". ?Change the last value according to this formula:
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? value = 255 - (WorldcraftGammaSetting - 1.0)*128

Q: How can I take a cool overhead view of my map to showoff my layout?
A: All you need to do is, once you've loaded up your map and are in game, type the command 'dev_overview 1' into the console. ?Use your movement keys to scroll around, and your primary and secondary fires to zoom in and out if you need to, and take your screenshot! (Thanks to n@rby, Yamazaki, and Black Wolf)

Q: For some reason, distant entities are disappearing in my NS map. Why is this happening?
This is due to the way NS culls entities. It never draws entities that are 2.1*TopDownCullDistance away from a player. See this forum thread for details: <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=4&t=19744' target='_blank'>http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/in...=ST&f=4&t=19744</a>

If you need to know how to start mapping, compile a map, or other non-NS mapping related concerns, please visit the<a href='http://www.valve-erc.com' target='_blank'>Valve-ERC</a>.

//---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hurrah, more members to take into our selective cult. This is a quick list of helpful links for you and mapping.

Firstly, I don't think you need the NSTR now that NS is actually released. Not actually having NS yet (bad connection), I can't verify this 100%, but I really don't see why not.

Secondly, here's a basic checklist of the stuff you'll need:

* <a href='http://www.valve-erc.com/files/?file=/files/hammer_v34.exe' target='_blank'>Valve Hammer Editor</a> - This is the main editing tool you'll be using. This is the core editor where you put your map together. It saves files in .rmf format, which is a format only recognised by Hammer Editor. When it compiles the level, it first converts the .rmf file into a .map file. (This is the universal 'base' file type for maps. RMF files contain extra information which are used by the editor.) The compile tools then convert the .map file into a .bsp file, and this can take anything from 5 seconds to 5 hours. (Depending on how complex your map is, and the speed of your computer.)
It is HIGHLY reccomended that you read through the help files for this program before getting started, to give you an idea of where to start.

* <a href='http://collective.valve-erc.com/index.php?go=mhlt' target='_blank'>Zoners Compile Tools 1.6.1</a> - These are the compile tools. They take the .map file expelled by Hammer and do all kinds of algorithms on it to generate a .bsp map, which is the final state of the level. This then goes in /half-life/ns/maps/.

* <a href='http://www.valve-erc.com/cgi-bin/files.pl?folder=/resources/&filename=hlmviewer12.zip' target='_blank'>Half-life Model Viewer 1.2</a> - Use this to view models. While not actually used much when editing, it's a useful tool anyway, especially since you can browse .pak files in it and play sound files from within them. (Great for if you want to use a HL sound for somewhere.)

And for the more advanced:

* <a href='http://www.valve-erc.com/cgi-bin/files.pl?folder=/resources/&filename=pakscape-011.zip' target='_blank'>PakScape</a> - Used to look inside .pak files, ie /valve/pak0.pak. Pak0.pak contains all the sprites and sounds used in HL, and they can be used in NS too. (For example if you want to use the sound file ambience/mortar1.wav from the pak0.pak, you need only put ambience/mortar1.wav into the sound entities properties.)

* <a href='http://www.telefragged.com/wally/' target='_blank'>Wally</a> - This is a texture editing program, for if you want to put your own textures into the map. NEVER edit ns.wad or any of the other wads which come with NS. Always use your own .wad, and compile it into the level. (Details on how to do this are in the Zoners Tools documents.)

* <a href='http://www.wrenchsoftware.com/files/spritexplo20.zip' target='_blank'>Sprite Explorer 2.0</a> - This is a handy tool which lets you look at sprites from within .pak files and also on the harddrive. Use this if you need to find a certain sprite for an effect, light glow, etc.

* <a href='http://www.valve-erc.com/cgi-bin/files.pl?folder=/resources/&filename=sprwiz.zip' target='_blank'>Sprite Wizard</a> - Use this to make your own sprites. You probably will never need this.

And finally, frequent the <a href='http://www.valve-erc.com' target='_blank'>Valve Editing Resource Center</a> as this is THE PLACE to go for any Half-Life mapping related questions. Obviously you can use this forum here for Natural Selection mapping discussion.

Finally, mapping is not an easy thing. There are many obstacles to overcome and technicalities which must be learnt to make a decent playable map. You'll find all the information you need if you look. The worst thing you can do is try and learn to map by hand-holding - you must go out and try things yourself and experiement, or else you'll never really learn how to do it.

I wish you luck! I've been mapping for over 6 years, and I still pull my hair out on a regular basis. ^_^

Flayra · June 2002

Hey all you NS mappers!

The deadline for NS v1.1 maps has been set, for Friday, February 14th! This means that if you want your map to be officially part of NS v1.1, then you need to have your map playtestable by this date. This doesn't have to be the final version of your map, but all the hives and main passageways should be constructed. You should have all the basic lighting, texure work and entity work done at this point. This is when we'll put the map in front of playtesters for the first time.

If your map looks like it has enough potential, you will become a playtester, so you can see your map in action, and can get feedback from the players. It is unknown exactly how long we'll spend playtesting the maps, as the NS release date isn't known yet, but it'll probably be a few weeks.

Here are the map submission guidelines. If you have any others that you think should be added, let me know.

WADS and textures:
- All textures must be part of ns.wad, must be compiled into the .bsp, or can be in a specially named wad for your map. This .wad must be named the same as your .bsp. For instance, if ns_yellow had custom textures, they could be compiled into the .bsp, or they could exist in ns/ns_yellow.wad. Maps are not allowed to reference other .wads, unless we specify that other .wads will be shipped with NS (like Hanz's wad or others). The only exception to this is valve.wad. Please do not use or reference .wads from other mods that come with Half-life, including TFC and Ricochet. It's OK to reference other map .wads that are currently shipped with NS, but don't do this unless you need to.

Filenames
- All files that your .bsp references should be all lowercase, for Linux compatibility. This includes all sounds, sprites, your .bsp name, etc.

- Your .bsp should be called ns_yourmapname.bsp.

- If your map has any custom models, they should exist in their own subdirectory: ns/models/ns_yourmapname/

- If your map has any custom sprites, they should exist in their own subdirectory: ns/sprites/ns_yourmapname/

- If your map has any custom sounds, they should exist in their own subdirectory: ns/sound/ns_yourmapname/

- If you have a readme for your map, it should be called ns_youmapname.txt, and it should exist in the maps directory.

- Don't send an installer for your map, send a .zip file (or a URL to a .zip file). The .zip file MUST be able to be unzipped relative to the NS directory, with all subdirectories included. For instance, your .zip file should have files in it like (NOTE: Do not make them relative to the HL directory):

ns_yellow.wad (custom textures)
maps\ns_yellow.bsp (.bsp)
maps\ns_yellow.txt (readme)
sprites\ns_yellow\customsprite1.spr (custom sprite)
sound\ns_yellow\customsound1.wav (custom sound)

NOT:

c:\sierra\half-life\ns\maps\ns_yellow.bsp
(etc.)

- When sending your map to me, please do not attach it. Include a link to a URL so it can be downloaded separately. Attached files over a couple megs won't be delivered, and fetching files causes me problems.

- Don't override any of the default NS textures, models, sounds, etc. I realize that you guys don't know all the files that will be in NS, so this could happen accidentally. We'll let you know if you need to change a filename.

- Generate an HLTV overview. Use the attached document for instructions on how to do this.

Those are the main guidelines. Make sure you have the first version to me, by noon on Friday, February 14th, so your map can be evaluated and possibly put into playtest rotation.

It's in our best interest to have a lot of good maps, so if you map is really great, but it has some problems, we're not going to immediately throw it out, just because you built your .zip wrong. This is just to help us keep our sanity and keep everything organized and built for growth.

Thanks again, now get cranking!

Flayra · February 2003

HLTV document from the HL 2.3 SDK.

Ye Olde Outdated Mapping Forum FAQ

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