How to get started?

J1mmyZ · October 2002

<div class="IPBDescription">Mappers input desired</div>Hey, first of all, I'm in awe of the creations you guys have put out. VERY NICE. That aside, I'd like to ask how you guys got started into mapping. I've tried minimally using Worldcraft and various other mapping/modeling progs, and I really havent had much sucess. Did you guys have someone train you in the use, or was it just alot of figuring out and research. If you have any tips for someone whod like to get started slap them in this post. thanx

Janos · October 2002

Part of it is just trial and error till u find teh best way to do it.
If u want to make a ns map what u need is a little inspiration.
Watch a few good sci-fi movies alien, aliens, matrix (hey the hover craft in that is sweet)
Then there is taking a look at what other people have done.
ns_nothing , ns_Hera , ns_bast <- some sweet maps. Take a look at some of the posts people have put in here with the screen shots of thier maps.
Now im not saying copy em just get yurr ideas from em and change it mix it around do some experimentation.
oh and btw be creative <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=';)'>.
and i think i speak for everyone when i say we didnt have n e 1 train us unless some1 here did actually have training which is cool.
Be imaginative , creative and most of all have fun. Nothing worse than being bored while mapping. Can ruin a whole map.

<img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/asrifle.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='::asrifle::'> <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tiny.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='::onos::'>

J1mmyZ · October 2002

Good stuff, but I was leaning more towards the learning Worldcraft end of mapping. I'm a quick learn with comps, I just need good instruction. Any ideas?

JediYoshi · October 2002

T-u-t-o-r-i-a-l-s

But being quick with computers ain't gonna help mapping. Alot of dedication needs to be done.

"You can't build a toy duck, until you can make a fire breathing dragon"

Comprox · October 2002

/me waves a hand at tutorials <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

I find mapping like Photoshop, fiddle and you shall learn!

Sgt_X · October 2002

A little of both, use tutorials and web based resources to tell you what the hell something is supposed to do, then fiddle until you get it to do something unexpected but useful.

/me remembers trying to make a rock wall but saying, "Bah!" to triangles cause it would've taknen 15 min longer. I'm assuming the "compile error" i got is the reason why everyone says you're suppose to use triangles for that.

RhoadsToNowhere · October 2002

I think tutorials are great for learning the "tricks of the trade", such as what different entities do, or nuances of the engine that can help optimize your map. However, things like creativity just can't be taught IMO, and this is where tweaking and fiddling comes into play.

What I think is a good thing to do is to befriend a mapper who's about on your skill level, a little higher if possible. My roommate last year got me inspired to start mapping and answered whatever questions I had, although by that point I had pretty much advanced past utter n00bie stage. But having someone to bounce things off of, either aesthetic suggestions or more concrete suggestions like entity sequences, is absolutely invaluable in my opinion.

Doodle_Bob · October 2002

valve-erc.com is probably the best place to look for tutorials.

Janos · October 2002

Go to www.planethalflife.com and go to editing.
You will find different websites to different mapping sites with tutorials, webbys with prefabs, textures.
Also there is www.valve-erc.com. <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> great place to teach u bout the different entities and tutorials about doing arcitect.

Angel_Kill · October 2002

I started out with Starsiege: Tribes, then Tribes 2, then Half-Life, now NS......basically, i slammed my head against my monitor for about 5 years......now i'm Almost good....hehe......

Campaignjunkie · October 2002

Best way to learn anything is to play around with it... I recommend starting with tutorials first however. Snarkpit is a good resource for these things. <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

<a href="http://snarkpit.com" target="_blank">Snarkpit! Woo.</a>

Mouse · October 2002

Personally, I just went to as many tutorial sites as I could and then read and printed out almost every tutorial that I could find and just read them whenever I had nothing to do.
But, as many NS mappers will tell you, Natural-Selection is not the best MOD to make your very first map for, because of a few things.

1)The development cycle for a Natural-Selection map is very long. For my first map, NS_Frigid it took 3-4 months to make and that was just to get the map done with minor details. And for NS_Eclipse which has just reached it's final build and is of a much higher quality, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that it has taken 6-8 months to get it this far. Which for a newb to mapping is a very long time to work on a map that will most likely end up being below the very high standards that are expected of NS maps.

2)The high quality of work that is expected in an NS map. Just from looking at some screenshots of the official maps and most of the community maps too, it is quite easy to tell that a lot of hard work, talent and expirience has been put in to these maps. In the majority of cases a newb to mapping does not have the talent, or more importantly, the expirience required to make a visually stunning and enjoyable NS map.

There are possibly more reasons but that's all I can think of right now. But basically it would be best if you started mapping for something easier like HLDM.

well, I'm done for now <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'>

devilblocks · October 2002

Mapping - especially when coming directly from your imagination - is an art form. Tutorials and websites will certainly help out with the technical details, but unless you are a born natural, you need to realize you will make alot of bad maps on your road to being good.

CrouchingHamster · October 2002

Like everyone says, just play around with it. Trial and error time. Read all the tutorials you can, bung em on your H/D for future reference..

Handy Vandals is a good place for tutorials ( links in the mapping FAQ ) as is counter-map and VERC

Your first maps will almost certainly suck,( mine certainly do..:D ) but do not be concerned by this..it's a learning curve. Even once you get pretty far into a map, you'll probably end up scrapping it because by then you'll know so much more about how you should have constructed it in the first place..

If you use Hammer get Zoners Half Life Tools, they replace the standard HL tools and offer more useful error messages etc..

Above all, try and see it as a learning process. Play with it..if you think something might be cool, give it a bash..you have nothing to lose after all..

I like to think of it as a big digital Lego set..

Legionnaired · October 2002

ONe thing that helped me too, is to go around your town with a sketch pad and a pen..

Go to bars (if you're old enough), restaraunts, friends houses, walk down a street, make note of the architecture..

For example, the floor on one room in my map has inset metal beams that stick out 4 units abouve the floor.

A friend's house has inset wood beams that stick out from the walls about 2 inches...

See where I'm going with this? It's much easyer to take an already existing architextural concept and adapt it then to create your own. It also makes it a ton more believeable.

CrouchingHamster · October 2002

I find it helps to draw layouts , room ideas etc on paper first, but then thats just me...

Y'know one nasty side-effect of learning to map is I keep getting killed in online games because I was looking at a light fixture or something and trying to work out how they got that effect.. <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

Legionnaired · October 2002

You think that's bad?

After a 3 hour mapping session, I went upstairs for some Tang, and instantly my mind started breaking down the room into brushes, and I saw the think as a freaking wireframe...

But what was scary was that I diddn't even try to do it! it just happened!

Everywhere I go now, i'm noticing little architectural things I never noticed before.

Mapping has changed my life <img src="http://www.natural-selection.org/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

How to get started?

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