time making map

Hey it's me Half-dude

Hey all, as you may or may not know, I'm working on my SP mod Xenophobia. And I was wondering, how long should one map take to create? becouse I only have a quorter of the map done and it took about 3 to 4 hours

how long should I take to make one map?

how long is a piece of string? :rolleyes:

What does that mean?

It means they usually swallow you whole and leave you with no spare time....

So it should take long?

? posted by www.snarkpit.com http:>half-dude</A>
how long should I take to make one map?

Well, that depends. It depends on how happy you are with the map you've made. It depends on how well your beta testers approve of it. It depends if it needs fixed even tho you think it's done.

Really, a map's completion is never ever done. There will be a time, in the future, when you'll look back on your map and say "wow I should have done this different." or "Wow, I can't believe I released such a bad map."

If you're making a single player map, then, well, it will take a lot longer, because there usually is more than one map in a single player episode. I made a single player pack...it had almost 50 maps in it...it took the better of 6 months to make...and now when I look back at it, I think "wow I should have done this different." or "Wow, I can't believe I released such a bad map."

Just build it, make sure it works and doesn't have a ton of flaws. Get feedback on it. See what people think of it before you release it for general consumption.

Most of all, good luck, half-dude.

A heckler once asked Abraham Lincoln how long Man's legs were suposed to be. Lincoln answered "long enough to reach the ground".

such should be your attitude.

Speaking of maps one things been bugging me.

how do you prevent the player from ziping through the map? I mean in half-life each individual map was actually pritty small but they seemed long, but they had things to look at which I guess might be the answer, have things to look at.

What do you think/do

Key cards!

Seriously, locked doors and things to fight are good ways to keep people around. Essentially, you somewhat have to craft puzzles that make it tough for a player to just run on through... Perhaps you need to switch a valve somewhere so you can shoot open a pipe and flood a room. Restoring power is always a winner. And of course the need to collect key cards. There are so many types of key cards! Red key cards, green key cards, blue key cards...

It takes me months per map. I tend to change a lot of stuff and general designs.

Half-Life's maps were quite small, but they were "long" because of the backtracking (ie running, flicking switches, power supplys, destroying those plant/alien things on blast pit).

im not quite sure what this means to anyone, especially me, but i havent released a map yet....*red face :redface: ...i have a hard time getting to the point of satisfaction....as a cad drafter, i have to be damn meticulous in my work...and maybe its made me a bit anal about mapping...."release no map before its time...."....ya get a look at things that KFS, Orph, Reno, maze, etc etc etc put out, and my balls shrink up, i toss another map out, and start over....tis the way it is with me....ive been coming here for what?....almost 2 years now i spose?....

you be the judge of what you like and dislike from your own gallery....if yer happy, thats what counts in my book....if it takes a year, it takes a year....so be it...it is a direct reflection of you and your world.... :heee:

Doc Brass... :dodgy:

That seems rather counter intuitive doc. I would think a background in CAD would make you better/more efficent than anyone else :/

I'm thinking about CAD courses in college. But Doc B, at least you ARE able to start something. For me, its the hardest step in map making.

well TB, lemme tell ya...there are a minimum of similarities between VHE and autocad, although the premise is basicly the same....my biggest problem with VHE is the fact that it is set on a 1 to 1 ratio, where as autocad goes to ....well, as many decimal places as needed....in other words, between macros and ad-lib, its 50 times more powerful, thus allowing for a greater order of specificity.

i didnt say i didnt like what i build with VHE, its just tough to work in the constraints i have....s**t....i got bored and miced a fender stratocastor once, just to see if i could.... ....and now a picture (printout/plot) of it hangs in the halls of school....and that was many years ago....

counterintuitive?....hmm....i dont think so....it simply made me well, picky as hell...and these guys didnt or cant shake me from that.... :heee:

im a good designer, if youd like to build a house, commercial building, machine parts, etc etc etc....mapping for HL is a different animal ....as i said, the basics are the same, but the design process is no where near the same....try to put a 1.25 degree bevel on something in VHE, with a double chamfer and fillets....VHE would have a literal s**tfit....

but, mark my words sir....when i DO release a map, itll be something im proud of..... :wink:

oh and btw, notice that i did not have any errors in my section before i sent it on... :wink:

yer turn....

Doc Brass... :dodgy:

When creating your map takes less time than compiling it, you're on the wrong track.

I guess I knew that auto cad had to be way more powerfull than VHE but I'd never really though that much about how big the difference is.

Have no fear doc. I do'nt creat many errors, and when I do, I fix them before a release of any sort, which includes passing it on to you guys. btw, I still haven't gotten that map yet :sad:

Forceflow said:
When creating your map takes less time than compiling it, you're on the wrong track.

LOL, some of my rockwork intensive maps are getting that way, and not for lack of time spent building them :biggrin:

Indeed, rockwork does take a long time to compile. But its so simple and fast to make, at least for me. But then good 'ol compiling has to go in and spend hours on leafThread..

I have problems finishing maps.. I havent finished (and released) a map to date :O ! :biggrin:

I'm sure you made a tutorial somewhere in which you released a single room with one light entity and a player start to help some noob mapper out.

DocRock said:
Really, a map's completion is never ever done. There will be a time, in the future, when you'll look back on your map and say "wow I should have done this different." or "Wow, I can't believe I released such a bad map."

nice words!

If you're making a killbox, follow this simple plan:

Get an idea - 10 seconds

Start Hammer - 10 seconds

Select the one texture you'll use - 10 seconds

Create and hollow a cube - 5 seconds

Add random blocks in midair - 60 seconds

Add random light entities everywhere - 30 seconds

Weapon placement - 120 seconds (there's so damn many to put down!)

Compile - 10 seconds QCSG, 30 seconds QBSP, then QRAD and QVIS don't run because of leaks.

Total time: 4 minutes, 45 seconds to a (semi)playable map!