<div class="IPBDescription">Need some help</div>Hey guys,
I am just starting a new map, and have a bunch of questions on how to use the editor. If anyone has some free time and can chat on Vent or something let me know.
xtcmenJoin Date: 2004-04-20Member: 28040Members, Squad Five Blue
<!--quoteo(post=1852903:date=Jun 15 2011, 02:11 AM:name=BarerRudeROC)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BarerRudeROC @ Jun 15 2011, 02:11 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1852903"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Why not just post a few questions here? You'll get way more answers and you can keep coming back to look at them regardless.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well I'll give it a shot, but I thought it would be more helpful to have someone to talk to while they map and ask questions while I map.
The main problem I am having is with creating rooms that are more 3 dimensional. I was wondering do you guys create a room by making a giant rectangular prism, and then use the pencil tool to break up the walls and sections to make it more 3 dimensional? Or do you create each sides of wall, floors, and ceilings individually and put it together?
So basically What is your approach to creating hallways and rooms? Do you make the walls separately, put the textures on them and put it together, or do you make giant blocks and use the pencil tool to make it what you want?
The problem you are mentioning is something most people have when they first start with level design, regardless of the engine. It's nothing natural to be able to translate your geometric idea into a way of building it. It helps a lot to have played with Lego, but that's not helpful here I guess. Start by building simple rooms, over and over again until you get a feeling of how to translate geometry in your head to geometry in your map. You have to get used to the system of the editor, that takes a while. Then you can start building rooms that are more complicated, it might be helpful to think of every room as a cube (or a set of cubes) and then to start changing that cube(s) until it looks like what you imagined. Also: Watch some time lapse videos of the spark editor. I recommend the ones of mendasp, also posted here in the forums.
I personally have issues with the pencil tool not doing what I want to. You have to learn it's quirks and try to find ways around them. The most difficult thing I to learn (in my opinion) is using props as walls, rather than all geometry.
There are a few people on #nsmapping on the Gamesurge IRC network who may be able to help and give you the live aid you need. I'm of the belief we're all Euro's and not always around, although we do stay up pretty late. So if there's anyone in there, and we are free we might well be able to help out.
The best guys to aim to talk to would by myself, perso, varathar, uffo and nerdish. Quazilin is also good to get hold of, the only problem is getting hold of him :)
To give you an idea of how I can feedback, I can livestream, remote desktop and skype if any of that is required. Although just IRC will probably be fine ;)
I'm a noob to mapping in general and definately getting ahead of myself but I've got a question.
Is it possible to create events that happen if certain criteria are met. An example...
If a powernode is destroyed then this would trigger a door to open/close.
I don't need to know the technical apsects of getting such a trigger to work (yet), rather whether it is actually possible or not. Knowing the answer would help with my initial map concept.
<!--quoteo(post=1852978:date=Jun 15 2011, 07:29 AM:name=BamBam!)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BamBam! @ Jun 15 2011, 07:29 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1852978"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Hi to all NS2 mapping folk,
I don't need to know the technical apsects of getting such a trigger to work (yet), rather whether it is actually possible or not. Knowing the answer would help with my initial map concept.
Thanks in advance!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nothing implemented for this (yet). I have several custom sounds and cinematic events ready to go but no triggers for them as of yet....well....sounds have their own radius triggers but not a user interaction trigger.
Hang in there, I'm sure they are working to get stuff like that in and if not it can be added via mod later down the road. Player triggered cinematic event will add a lot of atmosphere to a game.
It has tutorials and a sample map, while also explain a lot of things about the entities. Mendasp also has a few nice timelapse video's where you can see the workflow on SparkE. Here;'s a thread for his own map with timelapse vids:
<!--quoteo(post=1852978:date=Jun 15 2011, 02:29 PM:name=BamBam!)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (BamBam! @ Jun 15 2011, 02:29 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1852978"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Hi to all NS2 mapping folk,
I'm a noob to mapping in general and definately getting ahead of myself but I've got a question.
Is it possible to create events that happen if certain criteria are met. An example...
If a powernode is destroyed then this would trigger a door to open/close.
I don't need to know the technical apsects of getting such a trigger to work (yet), rather whether it is actually possible or not. Knowing the answer would help with my initial map concept.
Thanks in advance!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
As far as I can tell there is nothing similar to a multi-management function that we can use to do this.
Comments
You'll get way more answers and you can keep coming back to look at them regardless.
You'll get way more answers and you can keep coming back to look at them regardless.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Well I'll give it a shot, but I thought it would be more helpful to have someone to talk to while they map and ask questions while I map.
The main problem I am having is with creating rooms that are more 3 dimensional. I was wondering do you guys create a room by making a giant rectangular prism, and then use the pencil tool to break up the walls and sections to make it more 3 dimensional? Or do you create each sides of wall, floors, and ceilings individually and put it together?
So basically What is your approach to creating hallways and rooms? Do you make the walls separately, put the textures on them and put it together, or do you make giant blocks and use the pencil tool to make it what you want?
It's nothing natural to be able to translate your geometric idea into a way of building it. It helps a lot to have played with Lego, but that's not helpful here I guess.
Start by building simple rooms, over and over again until you get a feeling of how to translate geometry in your head to geometry in your map. You have to get used to the system of the editor, that takes a while. Then you can start building rooms that are more complicated, it might be helpful to think of every room as a cube (or a set of cubes) and then to start changing that cube(s) until it looks like what you imagined.
Also: Watch some time lapse videos of the spark editor. I recommend the ones of mendasp, also posted here in the forums.
There are a few people on #nsmapping on the Gamesurge IRC network who may be able to help and give you the live aid you need. I'm of the belief we're all Euro's and not always around, although we do stay up pretty late. So if there's anyone in there, and we are free we might well be able to help out.
The best guys to aim to talk to would by myself, perso, varathar, uffo and nerdish. Quazilin is also good to get hold of, the only problem is getting hold of him :)
To give you an idea of how I can feedback, I can livestream, remote desktop and skype if any of that is required. Although just IRC will probably be fine ;)
I'm a noob to mapping in general and definately getting ahead of myself but I've got a question.
Is it possible to create events that happen if certain criteria are met. An example...
If a powernode is destroyed then this would trigger a door to open/close.
I don't need to know the technical apsects of getting such a trigger to work (yet), rather whether it is actually possible or not. Knowing the answer would help with my initial map concept.
Thanks in advance!
I don't need to know the technical apsects of getting such a trigger to work (yet), rather whether it is actually possible or not. Knowing the answer would help with my initial map concept.
Thanks in advance!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nothing implemented for this (yet). I have several custom sounds and cinematic events ready to go but no triggers for them as of yet....well....sounds have their own radius triggers but not a user interaction trigger.
Hang in there, I'm sure they are working to get stuff like that in and if not it can be added via mod later down the road. Player triggered cinematic event will add a lot of atmosphere to a game.
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/wiki/index.php/Natural_Selection_2_Mapping" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns2/wiki/inde...ction_2_Mapping</a>
It has tutorials and a sample map, while also explain a lot of things about the entities. Mendasp also has a few nice timelapse video's where you can see the workflow on SparkE. Here;'s a thread for his own map with timelapse vids:
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113458" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index....howtopic=113458</a>
I'm a noob to mapping in general and definately getting ahead of myself but I've got a question.
Is it possible to create events that happen if certain criteria are met. An example...
If a powernode is destroyed then this would trigger a door to open/close.
I don't need to know the technical apsects of getting such a trigger to work (yet), rather whether it is actually possible or not. Knowing the answer would help with my initial map concept.
Thanks in advance!<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
As far as I can tell there is nothing similar to a multi-management function that we can use to do this.
I'll pm you the info.