I tried not to use hollow or subtrct at all, because it can create many bugs, especially subtract. One time, when i was but a new mapper, i made this sweet ass map, and it wouldnt compile
And it was all because of stupid subtract. So i found those brushes, and recreated them with clippers and it worked perfectly.
Clipper:
Clipper is pretty easy to use, you just holld ctrl and right click at 2 points and it will cut along that line. If you press enter, it will delete the red hi lighted part and keep keep the yellow. If you press shift+enter, it will just split the brushes. If you want to switch which side is yellow, press ctrl+enter i think it is. There is also the matter of 3 point clipping, but thats a little trickier, because you have to place the third point on a different axis, and it takes some good 3d thinkin to get used to it.
Other usefull shit:
space bar= clone brush (very usefull for repeating crap)
umm, im having trouble thinkin of more stuff :S
S=surface inspector (the fit option is very usefull for fitting textures)
cctrl+alt+shift=select multiple faces in 3d window
ctrl+arrows=resize texture
shift+arrows=align texture
shift+page up/down=rotate texture
Level Design Process:
You dont wanna just jump right into the mapping and "go with the flow" or it will end up cripplling your map in the end(unless your pro, like me
). You should sketch it out on graph paper and decide where all the bases are going to be and shit like that
Layout Elements:
Connectivity:
You dont want to get what many mappers get; room-hall syndrome, or your maps will not have good connectivity. Sometimes a room to a hall to a room is good, because it adds choke points where a team can defend, but you still wanna try and get fairly good connectivity throughout your map. BE WARNED: you also dont want to give too much connectivity, or it will end up like swiss cheese :S . Usually around 2-3 ways into a base is good.
Flow:
You DONT want dead ends in your level, because these ruin the flow. If you constantly have to turn 180s, you will start to get annoyed at the level. The only places that are good for dead ends, would be places for bases.
Architecture:
You do want to provide some nice visuals, but not go overboard, or your performance will take a big hit. You want to have some architecture for dretches and other players, to have cover, but not make too muchh, or wallwalking will be too annoying. Its all about finding a nice balance. For example; tremor, has nice visuals, great performance, places for dretches to hide, but not too hard to get around.
Continuing the Process:
After you have a nice layout sketched out, maybe just churn out a simple little alpha version with simple architecture, lighting, and textures. This is just to test if the layout of the map works. Get a few of your buddies together, for a private testing game. You could even talk to a clan and ask if they want to help you out. If the layout works, awesome
, go ahead and start detailing it with nice architecture and textures and lighting. If it needs a few changes, change it, and test it again, then if its good, detail it. Dont be afraid to suck it up and scrap it if it doesnt work, because the whole point of the alpha, is to see if it works.
DISCLAIMER:
Ive nevver actually mapped for tremulous at all
, but most of the principles are the same with any team game, or really FPS in general. Some of my ideas that i wrote down, have been a collection of stuff that i learnt from other tuts, especially one for promode (i forget who did it
)
Anyways, i just was going to answer a question, and i ended up writin a small tutorial :S What a waste of time
