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- WorldCraft 3.3 lacks the very useful beginner-oriented help files that were found in the original version (From the HL CD). The original help files are a great resource for newbie mappers.
- If your map is fullbright with no shadows at all, you either have a leak in your map or you arent running qrad/hlrad.
- Decals such as bullet holes will appear on any brush-based entity or world brush.
- Texture lights cannot be turned on or off. Light entities can. To create the illusion of a textured light turning on and off you need to create a non-moving brush that changes between textures when triggered and also has a light that switched on and off directly infront of the brush. Many lights in the HL.wad will have an on and off texture.
- Rendermode on ladders should be solid, NOT texture.
- Keep landmark names short, long names will stop them from working.
- To get doors to rotate around a hinge, you will need to tick both the X and Y flags. Or leave both boxes unticked, they are like this by default.
- Use path_corner entities to set monster patrol points. This will leave the Ai intact unlike scripted_sequence entities. The monster/enemy will patrol the route until seeing you or hearing a weapon.
- If a texture is reversed when applied to a surface then simply change the X and/or Y scale to a negative value.
- A ladder is really 2 parts, The func_ladder and a brush/wall entity.
- Triggers and trigger names are case sensitive. For example: Door1 is a different name than door1. Check that your tiggers are targetting the correct targetname.
- Sounds are played using ambient_generic NOT env_sound.
- In OP4 maps remember that Shock Troopers will attack Alien grunts and Pitdrones will attack Bullsquids. However, HL monsters may not recognise Op4 monsters as enemies even when attacked.
- Learn what monsters will attack what to arrange easy fights.
- More monsters doesn't mean harder maps, positioning is everything. Learn to give the enemy a tactical advantage like an elevated height over the player or stage ambushes. Wise use of info_nodes will allow for more advanced enemy bahavior.
- Rotating doors with glass windows in them will need to be made of two synchronized doors triggered by another entity.
- Remember to place nodes around single player maps to allow monsters to behave more intelligently.
- To get a monster to remain still even when it sees you, tick the 'prisioner' flag.
- Type 'pointfile 1' in the console to find leaks.
- Type 'developer 1' in the console to allow the r_speeds values to always be on screen, while 'developer 2 will report on all triggers and targetnames that are activated during play. Use these settings to help find map problems and optimise gameplay.
- Type 'gl_wireframe 2' to see everything that the HL engine renders - even around corners. This will allows you to see where VIS-blockers are needed and pinpoint the cause of high r-speeds.
- All maps have a maximum number of 145 separate textures. Learn to budget you textures to get the most from your maps. However this doesn't apply to Zoner's Half-life Tools where you can increase the maximum texture memory used in the compile.
- Avoid using the vertex tool unless you can recognize invalid surfaces yourself.
- NEVER allow the player to see more than 3000 units in any direction.
- Making loads of brushes into func_wall entities will not lower your r_speeds greatly. Infact is might increase the r_speeds because entities don't block what the game engine thinks the player can see.
- Any world brushes that are in contact with each other will break each other up when compiled making more world brushes than you expected. Clever use of func_wall brushes will help you to control this.
- Where possible try to make a wall out of more than one texture, have two brushes making a single wall and use complementing textures. It's also wise to have a border between the join of the wall and the roof, and the wall and the floor. Having one texture stopping and a very different texture starting can make maps look very cheap. Remember that textures can make or break a well designed map.
- Use texture lighting as much as possible for a more realistic map.
- Use light entities to subtly light darker areas.
- To create new texture lights you will need to edit the LIGHTS.RAD file with a text editor. This is done by fist giving the name of the texture, followed by the RGB vlaues and finally the light level. Example:
+0~GENERIC65 255 255 255 750
- The size of textures will influence r-speeds, large textures will break up surfaces less than smaller ones.
- In Deathmatch/Multiplayers maps, use clipping brushes to avoid 'snagging'.
- Compile a map every 20 minutes during its construction to spot and fix problems ASAP.
- Use a fast compile for testing a map for errors. Turn off VIS to check that triggers are working and RAD to check any new geometry.
- All textures that start with a hyphen (-) will be part of a set and will be randomly tiled starting with -0.
- All textures that start with a plus (+) will animate from the +0 texture.
- All textures with a bracket ({) will have transparent properties. They will either have a blue mask or be a decal.
- Never load WorldCraft with more than 7 WAD's or you will get a "token too large on line ..." error preventing a compile. This doesn't occur so much with Zoner's Half-Life Tools so if you need a wide selection of available WADs then use these compilers.
- You can set the SKY used in your map through; MAP/MAP PROPERTIES. Unlike old Quake engine games you don't need to add the "cl_" before the name.
- WorldCraft's map problem checker is far from perfect; don't always believe what it indicates.
- Sky brushes need the 'SKY' texture on ALL sides.
- Clip brushes need the 'CLIP' texture on ALL the sides!!
- Making a map takes time. If you think you will create the greatest map in the world in a few hours, then guess again.
- Before you bombard editing forums or chat rooms with dozens of questions, be sure you've at least read some of the most basic tutorials for Half-Life editing.
- The vertex tool is complicated. Don't mess with it when you're new and be careful with it even if you are a veteran.
- r_speeds getting high? Got pipes and similar things in your level? Consider making those pipes an entity. The benefit from doing this is that your cylinders won't break up the walls they are attached to like world brushes do. The drawback however, is that entities don't block light unless you use Zoners Half-Life tools and give the entity a 'light flag'.
- Listen to the radio, or pop in some of your favorite CDs while you work. Silence can make the job seem boring. If you listen to music or the radio, you can often get into it.
- Have fun! If you're miserable making maps, then stop it! Right now! This instant!!!
- Remember, the WorldCraft problem finder is useful, but it will NOT find leaks for you. It can also miss things like invalid brushes.
- Take a break now and then. Especially if you're frustrated.
- Be careful with monsters. You don't have to stick every single monster Half-Life has to offer in one tiny little map. Also, you don't have to stick four Gargantuas in one room.
- Will you have monsters teleport in? Fine, but mind how many you throw at people. Also, don't load a room with spawning monsters or else you may kill r_speeds.
- Watch weapon placement. You don't have to start the map off with a MP5 and 8,000 rounds when all you're going to fight are headcrabs. Let the player work harder. Make them fight those headcrabs with a crowbar for a while. When you start upping the monsters, then you can start adding in badder weapons.
- Are you going to make traps? Fine, but make sure that there is a good way to avoid it and make sure the player can easily learn from it.
- Don't lead the players astray. Meaning, don't make red herrings that lead the player off-course because you think it'll make the map more interesting: it won't. It makes it hard for people to tell what's a real important clue and what's just BS.
- Detail is key to a good single player map. Though you'll have to watch your r_speeds mind you, detail is what makes a great map great. If a minor little thing looks off, fix it.
- Place monsters strategically. If you place two or three headcrabs in every room, then the player will expect conflict. Lead them on. Maybe make it so the player expects to find a bunch of monsters, only to find an empty room, and maybe they walk into another empty room, when a headcrab pops out of the shadows. Use your imagination.
- Does your room look bland? Add some eye candy. Maybe add a desk to a wall. Desk look boring? Let's do something with it. Throw a book on top of it. Stick a lamp on there, put some rumpled paper on it, make it look cluttered. You've now just added some detail to your map, and because all of those things are entities, you have just done it without taking a toll on your r_speeds. If you really want to go the distance, maybe we can turn that lamp on and off.....
- Uniformity sucks. Don't be a square, err, cube, all the time.
- Ambient lighting is touchy. When every room in your map has neon, strobe lights, it's just annoying. If you have a room with nice blendings of light and dark areas, you've just made a very nice, atmospheric room.
- Don't repeat the same things in your map.
- Add some ambient sounds in an uneventful room. Maybe a firefight outside in the distance or somewhere outside.
- Please don't put all of the weapons in the map in a "weapons storage" closet or any other similar place. One, the weapons depot will get crowded and two, it's just frustrating.
- Be creative! Don't use other people's maps for inspiration too much.
- Light entities will not be able to use their dynamic features like flashing or pulsating if they have the ability to be turned off and on. Otherwise you will get either the effect still occurring on nearby walls when the light is off or the effect itself will not function.
- Break the monotony of long corridors with signs, or pipes etc.
- Back up your maps often!
- Maps should never be completely quiet unless you are building tension. Having some noise from things like air conditioning or the hum of a light bulb makes maps less boring. No map should feel like a mourge unless it's....errr....a mourge.
- The compilers that come with Worldcraft shouldn't be used. They are designed for the original Quake games and are prone to errors. Using Zoners Half-Life Tools will allow for much faster compiles, less errors and some features that are just not available in the default tools.
- The 'pitch' function of an ambient_generic is something worth looking at. It can turn your everyday, average sound into something completly new.
- Need ideas? Watch a movie, read a book or play another game. The ideas will come to you easier when you're distracted.
- r_speeds can be semi-high in some areas, but make sure its not an important zone. Having your main sections slowdown everyone is a bad thing, but a small side room hardly seen is acceptable sometimes.
- Try to get an outside opinion on your maps. What may seem fun to you might be boring or frustrating to others, so keep that in mind.
- While a good number of people have powerful computers, not everyone does. Make sure your map is playable on a low end system or else you are cutting out a large user base.
- Some weapons don't fit well in maps. If your map is mostly close quarters, there is no need for a crossbow. Same thing applies for large spaces and the shotgun.
- White light is boring, try to apply a very light shade of yellow or blue for added atmosphere. Be careful when using blue, as its very easy to overdo it.
- It's boring having everything handed to you, give players a risk/reward situation from time to time. Want some ammo? Cross the chemical spill and take 35 damage if you want it that bad.
- Try to strike a balance between scripted events. Too many makes it seem like a show, too little makes it dull.
- "Random" intercom announcements make single player lab levels seem populated. Have a dozen messages targeted by a multi_manager with delays around 6-7 minutes each to get the "random" feel.
- Another atmosphere tip: Jet/Alien flybys triggered by walking into a trigger_once in a hallway. All it takes is one or two ambient_generics and a trigger.
- The Egon and Gauss guns are very powerful. Keep that in mind if you give the player access to it and still want the game to be challenging.
- Shadows in some areas are a good thing, they create paranoia, which creates excitement. To many shadows makes the flashlight needed for navigation.
- If you have grunts in your map, put most of them on patrol with a few path_corner entities. This gives the impression that they are holding the area but don't know what direction you're coming from.
- Try to suprise the player every now and then. A bullsquid or slave that teleports in behind you is a nice wakeup call.
- Make the player not always look straight ahead, sometimes a threat from above might liven things up a little.
- Try to vary your textures and world geometry as much as you can. Getting lost in a hallway because it looks like all the other ones is not as fun as you would think.
- This is not Serious Sam. You cannot have 30-50 monsters on the screen at once without taking a massive performance hit.
- Always try to make your rooms plausible. There should always be a reason for having a room built, so you have to take this into account when mapping. Also, remember that just because you can't get into them, doesn't mean that other rooms don't exist. Using locked doors shows that the building the character is in hasn't only been built so the player can walk through it killing everyone.
- Don't be lazy when creating windows. Would you really expect to find bullet proof glass in a mundane office?
- The vents in the Black Mesa Research Facility must run for miles and miles. Please, please, please, please do not opt for vents at every possible oppurtunity. Use them logically and sparingly.
- Having a player re visit previously cleared areas will not only save you mapping new areas, but you can also lull the player into a false sense of security before you surprise them with all those grunts and slaves hiding behind that wall which breaks open >:)
- Auto Saves are needed in every single player map. Keep them in safe places and use them just before and just after a difficult event. As funny as you may think it is, constantly finding yourself falling off the same cliff after loading loses its humour very rapidly indeed.
- There should be no way of missing or avoiding a level change.
- You can paint a turd gold, but it will always still be a turd.
- Arguing on the internet is like running in the special olympics; even if you win, you're still retarded.
- If you're not already using Valve's Hammer, I suggest you head over to the files section and get it, It's the newest version of The WorldCraft editor, with a new name and some bug fixes.
- Don't go crazy with your ideas. You may be one of those fortunate people who can come up with excellent ideas every second, and that's fantastic! But you can't always cram all of those ideas into one map. Sometimes, you won't be able to cram them all into a MOD. Try to decide when an idea is too much for one project. Save those ideas for another project. They may inspire your next MOD.
- When creating a MOD that will have new weapons, keep in mind that we (the players) probably won't have a use for four different types of handguns. They all pretty much do the same thing. One of the good things about Half-Life was that pretty much every weapon was used at some point in the game. That means there's a weapon for every situation. You don't need 27 weapons that all do pretty much what the original weapons in Half-Life did. If you have something similar to one of the old weapons, consider replacing the old one. Adding more weapons than the player can handle is disorienting. Keep in mind that most people will play most of the game with the MP5 or the shotgun (or similar weapon) anyway, so extra weapons on top of the original weapons probably won't be used anyway.
- Download a model viewing program and browse through the models in the PAK files. Chances are, you'll be able to find some useful models that you can use instead of trying to create them and brush entities. Place a model of a book in your level rather than creating it as a brush. You can put them in using monster_generic or monster_furnature. There's a tutorial about that on this very site right here......
- Do you run WinAmp when you map? Do you have a lot of MP3s? Then load them all into one big playlist and hit the randomize button. Studies have shown that creative work starts to lose inspiration if you listen to the same few songs over and over while you work. Listening to a random song will keep your mind from getting bored and will also keep you interested. The radio is also not a bad idea....
- Give the player a challenge, but don't make the map too hard. Give the players fair obsticles. Try not to add really annoying jumping puzzles and make them sparse. Pressing the "quickload" key more than you press the "fire" key does not make your map fun.
- When creating a single player map, be kind and remember that you can put in autosave points. This will be a saving grace when you autosave the game right before the player marches into a gang assault. Attention spans are short these days, and the player will often just quit when they realizes that they have to start from the last time they quicksaved (which can be sometimes 10 minutes behind) or even worse, all the way back to the beginning. Nobody wants to play the same area over and over again 10 times. Autosaves. Use them. Love them. Appreciate them. You were a player too once.
- Geez man, get some sleep. Yer mapping quality is suffering and ya look like hell!
- HI THERE! Look at me! I'm one of those random tip things. There's lots of us up here and we're all here to help. So pay attention to us and check us out every now and then. Some of us are new and you may learn somethin'.
- Don't ever turn down a date because you'd rather stay at home and map. That's just plain sad.
- Finished your map, huh? Don't post it yet. Give it to your friend or invite him over and let him play it. Then send it to some of those guys that helped you learn how to make it that you met in the forums. Play through it youself. Play it several times. This is play-testing and this will help you to discover bugs or problems with your map. Let other people play it and test it as well beforehand, because they may see the problems that you may have missed. Make it as bug free as possible before you distribute it publically.
- Listening to Bon Jovi does not make you cool.
- Get your finger out of there!
- Did your map get some criticism or some bad feedback? Don't take it too hard, and don't let it discourage you. Take note of the criticism given and take it into account next time. One bad map doesn't mean you aren't capable of making a good one. Remember that Ion Storm made Daikatana before they made Deus Ex.
- New to mapping? Don't start working on your golden ideas just yet. Spend some time making some practice maps and following some of these fine tutorials. Trust me, you don't want to work on a map only to later realize that didn't do something properly because you weren't as experianced. Hands-on practice excercises are always helpful.
- When adding something major to your map, like a complex scripted_sequence or anything that you've never tried before, open up a new map file and test it out first. This not only gives you dedicated space to test in, but also allows you to do quick compiles for in-game testing and prevents you from making a mess out of the real map. If the test works, you can always cut and paste into the real map (in most situations).
- Save your map under 2 or 3 different files and alternate between them every once in awhile. This will not only make sure that you have some backup copies, but will also allow you to roll back to a previous state when you realize that you probably shouldn't have saved certian changes you made a few saves back. It also doesn't hurt to back your maps up on a CD, tape, floppy, secondary hard drive, punch cards, etc.
- You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You are the all singing, all dancing crap of the world.
- If a tree falls in the woods and kills a mime, you really shouldn't care.
- Don't rush into a project if you're new. Read up on all of the tutorials you can get your hands on and spend some time making practice maps. Trust me, it will save you from having to go back and completely redo maps later on.
- Half-Life is old, and is only capable of so much. If you find out that Half-Life won't do what you'd like it to do, then either find an alternative, or start learning how to MOD for Serious Sam or UT2003.
- Never Pet a burning Dog
- Mullet!
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