How Long Does It Take You To Make A Map?

Uh-Oh · May 2004

<div class="IPBDescription">Speed mapping, or crawling along?</div> Well, since I've put alot of time in my first ever map, and seeing as how I'm not even close to finishing, I was thinking... am I too slow for this?

I've put... I dunno... let's say 10 mapping sessions of 2 hours each.. no, more then that... ... at least.. well I'm guessing between 20 to 45 hours (eheh rough guess).
Maybe my technique is wrong...

I started by making a square room (for the ready room). Then I added basic lighting. Then I added detail, and more sophisticated lighting and brush work. I tweaked my texturing and I was done.

Next up, marine spawn. Start off with an idea, make the basice brush work. Put basic textures and lighting. Add detail. Add detail. Compile. Look at r_speed. Fix lighting, create missing textures. Compile. Add, compile. Add compile. Look up r_speed. Play as marine, skulk and onos. Put entities for weldables and breakables. Put entities for lighting. Work for 4 hours to understand how multi_manager and triggers work. Compile. ****! didn't work. Rework entities, compile. **** ****!. Rework, recompile, loop those actions 20 times.

15-20 hours later, The marine spawn is done! (for beta 1 at least).

Wow. That is alot of time for 1 room, or is it?

What do you guys think? Too slow, too quick, doesn't matter, wrong method?

I'm a patient person, so that doesn't bother me. So far, I have about 3 rooms done. I'm guessing I'm gonna have about 8 in all (+ 4 vents) (it's a co_map. I thought it'd be easier to start).

I also have the habbit of compiling ALOT. I work for 5-30 minutes, and I'm gonna compile at least once! When fixing small detail like texture alignment and lighting, I compile maybe once every 5 minutes. So far, compiling only takes about 3-7 minutes. I'm worried that it'll get much longer as I progress.

Also, is there a magic way of aligning textures on octogonal brushes (pipes). I noticed that sometimes, I need to put a -1 in the X or Y axis. But I still align them by hand, and it takes alot of time <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' />
Also, is there a good way to work with angled brushes (not in a 90 degree angle). I'm having trouble figuring out what angle I need to use to align my textures in these angled corridors. Aligning brushes is also hell if my corridors are not right angles. Enough of me rantng in ignorance.

I thank ye all for letting me bask in your glory.

Once_Only · May 2004

What ive been doing for my first map is making a room, detailing it minimally (details that can be used by the players like pipes and ladders)and then move onto the next area. If i didnt detail the rooms a little, it'd feel too boxy, ive been working on my map for nearly a week now (about 18 hours) and my 3 rooms are looking alot like the plan I made.

If your taking a long time, your either too much of a perfectionist, or too lazy to continue (I got stuck decorating a room because I didnt want to have to move on). Or you're doing a really good job. And you can usually tell when thats the case.

Ron2K · May 2004

Well, it's taken me around a month to do the general layout of the map (floor, walls, ceiling) - but I only have around 2 hours per day. I've now moved on to putting in detail and textures, it's taken me around 1 week just on the marine start and it isn't even finished yet (and that's not counting the lighting, which will be the last thing I do).

I've got a nice long holiday coming up, so maybe I'll progress slightly faster...

Barathrum · May 2004

I started working on my latest map in October last year and I've made like half of it now. I'm making all mainsections in different mapfiles and won't be happy 'til each one is perfect. I think I've put like 75-100 hours in my map this far since I've taken some breaks. Trying to finish it before the release of Half-Life 2, but it doesn't seem to work <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif' />

Lord_Maldazzar · May 2004

i made my map <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=71667' target='_blank'>ns_pons</a> (thread), in about 3 or 4 months... and its finished.. just a few things like lights and texture alignment should be done.
on some days i did nothing on the map.. on some other days i sat in front of my pc for about 6 or 7 hours... on one day i constructed ca 1/3 of the map <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' />

quazilin · May 2004

NS_Metal took ~6 months and I am still updating and fixing it... lots of long mapping sessions and sometimes long breaks of 2 weeks etc.

Tequila · May 2004

It's different for every mapper I guess. There's no rush, just take as long as you like until you're happy with it (or get sick and want to move on <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /> ).

Evil_bOb1 · May 2004

ns_aurora...its been nearly two years that ive kept this name for my map. It has gone through 4 completly different rebuilds because i was just unsatisfied with my work. Ive been working on the lastest version since last september/october (i can't remember exactly) and im about 2/3 finished. I can't wait till i finish it and only then will i show my work:P But making a map can take so long, i take great breaks from time to time and just stop mapping for weeks then get back on it with fresh ideas, i jsut hate mapping when i don't know what to do and it really puts me off.

Mouse · May 2004

One never truely finishes a map, one just gets bored with it.

HanzGrub3r · May 2004

<b> Mouse </b> - I think the quote you are looking for is "Movies are never completed they are abandoned"...George Lucas said that about the original star wars..

<b>Uh-oh</b> - It's strange seeing some of the responses here.. My general philosophy with mapping is that if you stick to one area of the map for longer than 2 hours (in one sitting) you are wasting time. I can generally pump out a playable level in a week .... each person is different.. some people start making a map based on a layout on paper or in their head...others work it out as they go.. some people go as far as to be able to see the way the map should look in their head before they even begin.. I tend to be the third which lets me map quite quickly...
Each to their own, I guess...

Mouse · May 2004

Regardless, it still rings true. I've been working on hydrosity on and off for over a year and a half now.

uffo · May 2004

with experience you'll get faster. you see the picture in your head and you know how to do it. I create a nice (in my point of view) room in somewhat 2 hours, but I hate start creating new room from scratch again. So I usually find myself adjusting already existing rooms and fixing small flaws rather than focusing on there where's still helluva lots of work to do.
In short: I'm a kinda fast builder, but finishing a map takes lots of time <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' />

moultano · May 2004

I don't even want to think about the number of hours I've put into ns_shiva. Most of those hours though are spent just flying around it and figuring out how it could be tweaked to be better.

Mendasp · May 2004

I was very slow before, but I got better and fasted while I was doing and finishing ns_phobia <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /> The switch to NS made me learn a lot!

I'm still kind of slow when finishing maps, but that's because I can make room in 1-2 hours and then do nothing but looking around with the 3d camera, and then close hammer until the next week <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

btw, I make all the detail/lighting the first, and then keep compiling and tweaking until it's perfect (or the way I think it's the best looking one, there are exceptions with this, but... well, heh). I just can't think of the room without detail :S

It really depends on the mapper, as you can see <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' />

Spacer · May 2004

reading what mendasp wrote, i pretty much do the same
i'll finish a whole room (architecturally) first, then move onto the next one. I'll try and do about one room a week, depending on its size :S

Soylent_green · May 2004

Having made alot of failed maps and practice only maps I now generally do everything at once(lighting, detail etc.) and have nothing resembling a plan other than what's in my head. I really like modular design because it speeds things up immensly.

I don't mean a map that is entirely self-similar, but you are going to keep a general theme in your map, might as well flesh out a few basic geometrys that you will need on many occasions and do minor modifications to fit them in place. Corridors, crossings, res node alcoves and stuff like that could well be instanced several times and rotated/mirrored/chopped/vertex edited into a snugg fit. It's gameplay you want, not just a good looking map.

NzNexus · May 2004

Sometimes it can take 4 - 5 days for me to make a room or just 1 hour.

Everythin depends on how much you want to work on the map.
Sometimes is it very boring so i listen to music when mapping.
Well..it can be fun with mapping.
Im slow with Level Design and need to think much.

Uh-Oh · May 2004

Don't you just hate it when you get to the bottom of a Raisin Bran box? I mean, you get 2/3 raisins, and only 1/3 bran. So your basically just chewing raisins in milk. Stupid raisins, and stupid gravity...

On another subject.
Thanks for the input guys.

Well, since I'm making a combat map, I'm guessing it only takes 1/2 the time it would require for a ns_classic map.

I'm thinking, if everything goes smoothly, and I get a bit of slack from work, I could have a finished beta version of my map by september 30th... <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' />

Lord_Maldazzar · May 2004

another good way is: build only the floors first... then the walls and after that the ceilings. then build the detailed things :>

Kester · May 2004

personally i like to work on a room (to death usually about 20-30 hours) then move on to the next room, after ive completed the second room, i usually go back to the first to make sure they run together well and add more detail (for about another 15 hours) before moving on to a third room.

I dont plan beforehand, only make an idea in my head then work on it, but generally get most of the detail in straight away and add the lights, Compiling about 2 to 3 times an hour. unless im working on entities, when its every few mins.

Cagey · May 2004

I can crank out a simple DM map in around 80 hours if I'm paying attention to detail work (5 hours if you want it sloppy/without trim/with simplistic architecture), but if you want a well-crafted NS classic map, it could take 5 to 10 times that long. When Ritual was still doing CS:CZ, Levelord said it was taking them around 600 hours per map--I think that's a realistic benchmark.

Recoup · May 2004

The hardest, and I mean the HARDEST part of using Valve Hammer Editor that is the most TIME COMSUMING and most RIDICUOUSLY PAINFUL process is getting textures to match or be used correctly... if something looks bad, you gotta change it, you gotta stretch it, you gotta move it over some, you gotta rotate it... ITS JUST A HASSLE! Other then that I can just fork out rooms and such with relative ease...

Ron2K · May 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Lord Maldazzar @ May 26 2004, 09:55 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>another good way is: build only the floors first... then the walls and after that the ceilings. then build the detailed things :></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>
Heh, that's the approach that I've chosen.

Lord_Maldazzar · May 2004

i had a little plan of my map, but you cant compare the plan with the map now <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />
i changed things around (eg ventholes etc). but i always used the floor-method described above. trust me, its best <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

my problem was, just as recoup posted: textures, textures, textures... they never let you sleep ^^
other than that, i changed the map around many times so its well balanced now <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' />

Chods · May 2004

ive never gotten around to finishing a map.

the furthest ive ever gotten was a dbl res room and a couple of corridors. the r_speeds were to high and i made it too detailed.

Kester · May 2004

ive probably put about 300 hours into this so far

<img src='http://www.socalledpride.com/mapping/pics/hammer.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

and im nearing completion, just got the hive to make, and a few more access points to it

/edit - sorry to anyone that uses 800*600 res or less, for messing up there forum view

kolokol · May 2004

Im one slow mapper. Generally i dont plan well enough. I know where i want corridors but i dont do a floorplan. This means that i spend alot of time creating beautiful rooms and then ill spend a long time linking them toghether. At the moment im trying to set the middle of the map in stone and after that everything should be quite quick. Tbh i need to draw more. Ive got some really sweet ideas but some of them would have to be modified alot to fit in hl, even though they would run on my comp. I even waste time thinking about really cool things i could do if i had hl2 lighting.

Olmy · May 2004

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Recoup @ May 27 2004, 01:55 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> The hardest, and I mean the HARDEST part of using Valve Hammer Editor that is the most TIME COMSUMING and most RIDICUOUSLY PAINFUL process is getting textures to match or be used correctly... if something looks bad, you gotta change it, you gotta stretch it, you gotta move it over some, you gotta rotate it... ITS JUST A HASSLE! Other then that I can just fork out rooms and such with relative ease...  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Good lord yes, texturing is the worst part easily. Maybe it's just because i suck at it. I look at a wad of textures and think 'how the hell am i meant to use these??'.

Kouji_San · May 2004

hmm texturing the worst? I mean it's quite up there, but what about ligthing and its evil compile time to see the result <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' />

thats by far the most time consuming...

<span style='color:gray'>sidenote:
achio at the moment near 9 months constuction time, darn school projects keep comming in between the progress <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /> </span>

Tequila · May 2004

The whole lighting issue will change with HL2's instant lighting preview facility. However, texturing will not. I agree, it is the most difficult technical aspect of mapping, although to me it's not the process of aligning them but more applying them orignally and creatively so that your map doesn't look run-of-the-mill.

KungFuDiscoMonkey · May 2004

I don't usually think textureing is that bad but lighting is a lot more difficult to get right.

OffTopic: What is this HL2 instant lighting preview facility thing? Not sure that I've heard of that. I know Doom III is supposed to let you view the lighting in editor but I didn't think there was something like that for HL2.

How Long Does It Take You To Make A Map?

Comments