First Map For Ns Guide

amckern · March 2003

<div class="IPBDescription">a web guide for making your first map</div> I have been thinkin of making a guide for making your first map for NS, as i have done for counter strike at <a href='http://amckern.actionrealm.com/resource/tuts/' target='_blank'>http://amckern.actionrealm.com/resource/tuts/</a> (getin over 170 hist a day)

i want to know first if there is anything i should know - or any resources i could read over - so i can make this

i have not made any ns maps (or even looked at the FGD) yet, but am planing on doing them betwen my TC, chicken rising code, and making maps for my other loved mod, sven coop

so can you please post links to stuff that i could read, to understand the bascics of ns maps, then i will get craking into making the ns "book" to supplment my counter strike one

amckern

Ollj · March 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>I will start with a index, becuase this page is over 75 pages to print. </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
make it so.
Everything esle is WOW perfect!

Yamazaki · March 2003

Shouldn't you create a few NS maps before you write a guide about how to create them? Otherwise most would find it rather lacking in credentials.

Heist · March 2003

First line should read: Check the sticky posts at the top of the forum.

Here is the link that everybody who wants to know anything about starting an NS mapping should go to.

<a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=SF&f=4' target='_blank'>http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/in....php?act=SF&f=4</a>

amckern · March 2003

well i am geting ready to start mapping, so the guide will be some time, though the offical sites for making ns maps, have the very basics on generc mapping, though the entity guide here is good for a start

amckern

Heist · March 2003

Chromangel's guide gives a good outline of the style and general features each map should have.
<a href='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/mappingguide/MappingGuide.php' target='_blank'>http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/mappinggui...appingGuide.php</a>

Start there, then search the forums if u have any specific questions that are not answered in any of the linked tutorials/guidelines.
Other than that, play a lot of ns.. get a good feel for the flow of the game.. then make your own map. You learn so much by having to do it yourself.

PS - As someone who made thier first ever map for ns, tell other people not to do the same. I know so much more now than I did when I started and I am having to go and re-make a lot of it because of the shear volume of entities/planes/faces etc.

Maveric · March 2003

The ready room can be in any part of the map, and can be any size. do realize that it does need a nobuild on it, so then the commander cannot then build in it (which is bad)

Have shadows, and use the "Embeded Fix" on any textured item that has a transparent (pure blue) surface on it to make a very nice looking shadow.

Use func_illusionaries that are completly invisible and un-detectable to emit light, instead of the wall textures. if you use this you have much greater control over lighting in halls:

you have "wall with lighting" textures in the ns.wad; dont use these in the lights.rad to emit light, use their nearly-identical counter-parts to emit light (the ones with the black background) and place the counter-part texture on a func_illusionary. once you do this you can control how much light, and thus time on RAD, shows up and where they are positioned. there are various example shots, but i dont know where they have gone <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'>

Oh, and make sure you place corner trim on floors and ceilings and place invisible func_walls to help skulks around difficult corners or protruding light sources. skulks cant stick to CLIP or SKY textured items and have a hard time on outside 90 degree angles, so make sure you keep that in mind when you map (rounded corners are nice, but not necessary)

best teacher is other maps; play and examine. and for the love of god, dont ask me about the particle system. i cant help you with it (its really hard to work with).

buggerbb · March 2003

A guide would be nice, the one i used to build my first map is <a href='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/mappingguide/MappingGuide.php#Info_Mapinfo' target='_blank'>http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/mappinggui...hp#Info_Mapinfo</a>

It is a great guide on the basics of NS mapping, but a guide could use further instruction on little stuff... Like how to get text to work in this game.. i still can't get that to work, and i don't know if anyone knows how to get it to work.

If you want some help making the guide i would be happy to do so, i am still fairly new at NS mapping, only having a few maps built, but i think i know what im doing. I would say go for it, with more guides out there, more nOOb mappers will come out of the wood work and make this mod a CS success.

-Danish Monkey

<img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif'> ANNOYING PEOPLE

Revenant · March 2003

IMHO good luck to the fella. But wait till your maps released mate - that way we can also see how you stuck to your own guidelines.

amckern · March 2003

thanks d00ds, i think i can do it, though the time to get it up, will take some time (as i said be4)

in the mean time the link for it will be at <a href='http://amckern.actionrealm.com/resource/tuts/' target='_blank'>http://amckern.actionrealm.com/resource/tuts/</a> (click ns book link)

or stright at <a href='http://amckern.actionrealm.com/resource/tuts/ns.html' target='_blank'>http://amckern.actionrealm.com/resource/tuts/ns.html</a>

amckern

Mendasp · March 2003

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Maveric @ Mar 7 2003, 03:12 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> The ready room can be in any part of the map, and can be any size. do realize that it does need a nobuild on it, so then the commander cannot then build in it (which is bad) </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
nobuild in the RR? you have to put your RR above the commander view, so HL doesn't render it (in the commander's view) AND the commander can't build in it

You don't need nobuild on the RR

Revenant · March 2003

Mendasp its that bad?

Well Amckern I suggest you view the tutorials at NSWorld, by Tommy and the official ns mapping guide before you write the tutorials. oh and dont forget the particle system tutorial (think its greedo's)

ChromeAngel · March 2003

I just got around to re-writing the <a href='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/mappingguide/appendix1b.php' target='_blank'>particle system article on NS World</a> to be a bit more up to date. It has a couple of sample particle systems that come with it and retains a link to the old article.

I'm working on a new article for the more advanced mappers, but it might be a while before that's ready.

amckern · March 2003

Chrome ! OMG!

you have got the best tuts - b4 i did not know any thing, but now i do know way much more, i think i might drop the tut, and link yours instead (then again, some small changes could be made, such as teaching pplz how to build a small killbox - as i am working on)

amckern

tommy14 · March 2003

hi amckern.

here are the NS links i have found worth adding to <a href='http://www.slackiller.com/tommy14/cs_maplinks.htm' target='_blank'>my mapping links page</a>, which you know:
<ul>
<li> <a href='http://www.planethalflife.com/nsworld/MappingGuide/MappingGuide.ASP' target='_blank'>Chrome Angel's NS mapping guide</a>, the new version, not <a href='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/mappingguide/MappingGuide.php' target='_blank'> the old version</a>.
<li><a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/MappingGuidelines.htm' target='_blank'>the official mapping guide</a>.
<li> <a href='http://ns.valve-erc.com/' target='_blank'>Selective Design</a>
<li> <a href='http://www.natural-selection.org/ns_home.html' target='_blank'>This official site</a> and <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?act=SF&f=4' target='_blank'>this mapping forum</a> with its FAQs.
<li> <a href='http://pstutorial.tripod.com/' target='_blank'>the particle system guide</a>
<li> <a href='http://www.readyroom.org/links.html' target='_blank'>the Ready room links</a>
<li> <a href='http://www.trottel-elite.de/ns/' target='_blank'>NS skins</a> has some special NS skins.
<li> <a href='http://www.nscentral.com/skins.php' target='_blank'>NS Central</a> also has some skins.
<li>
<li> that is all i found so far. i haven't found any NS texture sites i can recall.
</ul>

First Map For Ns Guide

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