What you think? I would realy appreciate this!

Twixit

<div class="IPBDescription">May this be a advantage? Comment...</div>What do you think guys?!

<img src="http://www.raumge.de/steve/mapping/extension.png" border="0" class="linked-image" />

<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->And just to say before: NO I DONT HAVE SUCH AN EXTENSION LIKE THIS! ^^<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

schkorpio

so it would be like having a commander minimap while you map?

it would be good for general navigation sure - but most often don't you just stick to one room at a time while mapping? (but it would be good when you are doing a laundry list of little fixes throughout a nearly finished map)

Howser

I'd recommend getting a second monitor! you can put up whatever you want, i got two 27" ones. sounds like overkill but once you get use to the space its hard to go back. Backgrounds for view ports might be a more useful tool. Then you'd be mapping directly over it.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->most often don't you just stick to one room at a time while mapping?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I've noticed almost everyone on the forums does that with NS2/spark. Any particular reason why? I've always TRIED to do stuff in passes. Gameplay, textures, props, lighting and so on. Usually when i get fixated on an area it ends up playing crap and needs redoing. which is horrid once you've got it looking nice. i guess, in theory its better to test your layout with as little work committed to it as possible.

g1real

<!--quoteo(post=2023037:date=Nov 14 2012, 01:43 PM:name=Howser)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Howser @ Nov 14 2012, 01:43 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2023037"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'd recommend getting a second monitor! you can put up whatever you want, i got two 27" ones. sounds like overkill but once you get use to the space its hard to go back. Backgrounds for view ports might be a more useful tool. Then you'd be mapping directly over it.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

You are so besides the point, yes a second monitor is handy, but is definitely not the purpose of this thread or his suggestion. The suggestion could be very useful if it was a fleshed out minimap generator you could directly access from the editor, so you can make it while you're working on the map too.

Howser

From the image and post all i gathered was he wanted somewhere to place a reference image of his map so we could stick to a plan/drawing. Maybe I was wrong, but I didn't read mini map generator. How hard is it to generate a mini map anyway?

Regn

It would be great if we didn't have to split up the rooms in the process of making them. Right now I have three rooms, and I haven't even linked them together yet, because the risk that triangulation will mess up is too great.

McGlaspie

A potentially better feature would be that mini-map with annotations integrated with it. So, people could actually use the annotation system. Could make it much easier to get stuck spot styled feedback, etc.

Swiftspear

<!--quoteo(post=2023037:date=Nov 14 2012, 07:43 AM:name=Howser)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Howser @ Nov 14 2012, 07:43 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=2023037"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'd recommend getting a second monitor! you can put up whatever you want, i got two 27" ones. sounds like overkill but once you get use to the space its hard to go back. Backgrounds for view ports might be a more useful tool. Then you'd be mapping directly over it.

I've noticed almost everyone on the forums does that with NS2/spark. Any particular reason why? I've always TRIED to do stuff in passes. Gameplay, textures, props, lighting and so on. Usually when i get fixated on an area it ends up playing crap and needs redoing. which is horrid once you've got it looking nice. i guess, in theory its better to test your layout with as little work committed to it as possible.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Some things will work in passes, but you'll never get a map really looking great unless you put specific attention to detail.

If you look at how some of the really impressive maps are being done. The whole map is a box texture at first, with simple lighting, this way it can be play-tested. After that's done you go over the rooms one by one making them look really impressive.

So, you really have 2 passes. The gameplay structures pass, and the prettifying pass. Obviously when you're strictly on the gameplay side it doesn't really matter if you choose to do all your architecture, and then all your basic lighting, and then all your entities... it's more so when you're making things look nice that you want to do it in small but complete chunks.