Wall Worm: Episode 1

With the absolute flop of the first level design contest, I had to rethink my strategy for getting people interested in using 3ds Max to make a level for Source. The majority of WW users who are interested in trying the process keep telling me that they just don't understand the workflow.

I'd already started a collection of videos, but after a lot of discussions with the WW crowd, I scrapped what I was working on and started anew with a whole new approach. I don't know if this approach will help, but I'll give it a go.

Here is episode 1 in the Start-to-Finish series on making an entire level for Source inside 3ds Max. Episode 1 is a single afternoon, entirely inside 3ds Max and no other apps. By the end, there is a level that is compiled to Source. In this episode I create all the brushes, displacements, and make a brand new set of textures inside Max for the world geometry and displacements.

Episode 2 will go into making the sky (2d + 3d) and some props.

I hope you enjoy.

Quote from blackdog

Would be very nice to have a voiceover comment

I thought about it. But really I just wanted to take the viewer on a bit of a ride for once instead of my normal spiel. I tried to use the callouts at key points to explain what is going on. And I've always wanted to showcase my brother's music... so I felt good about this change. But if there is something specific you'd like explained, feel free to ask.

Quote from will2k

Hey Shawn, have you considered contacting Jonny at Gamebanana for a joint-contest with money prizes?

...

Thanks for all your efforts and perseverance in pushing wallworm to new limits and reaching out to new designers, keep it up.

Will, that is something I've considered. JorisCeoen is active on GB and has recommended that too. I'll give GB a shout soon and see what can be mustered up.

And regarding the work on WW. Your comment is encouraging. My real hope is that those who always felt limited or held back in Hammer can get the same kind of creative enjoyment in Max that I feel. Of course there are a lot of editors out there, so people aren't limited to Hammer. But for the games I enjoy playing and designing for (mostly Source games), it's exciting to be able to use Max instead of Hammer. Sharing that excitement is what I'm really trying to do.

Added more captions throughout the video to give more hints, tips and explanations. Will record next episode this weekend. Hopefully I'll have a version of the map to throw up and let people run around in soon after that.

Quote from cashed

I'm definitely seeing more of a use for polishing, but as a Unit nazi I just find working in 3DSmax to be difficult in the broad stroke layout sense.

I know that this is a sentiment I hear a lot. In my own personal take, there isn't any difference between Hammer and Max when it comes to units and basic layout. Of course, I've been experimenting with Source in Max for a few years now; there was a time when I was more comfortable in Hammer... but my awkwardness in Max was mainly because I was trying to approach things as if I were still in Hammer. Fast forward a few years, and I'd shoot myself if I was forced to use Hammer for anything more than an Orange Box! But that's just me.

Finally had another mostly free Sunday this weekend and recorded Episode 2. Again, thanks to my brother Eric for all the original music. Both Episode 1 and Episode 2 cover 4-hours of recorded time each (fast-forwarded into one-hour episodes), so by the time Episode 2 is done, it's at a state of 8 hours after a blank slate. The exception is the skeleton model, which I created last year for another level I was testing. I probably spent a day working on the skeleton. I had intended to build and render the 2D sky for this episode, but I didn't get it in yet. So episode 3 will cover that. I hope you enjoy. And I hope these videos are helping people understand the kind of workflow I've been getting at for Source all along. The process I've been putting together is not the same way you'd normally do things in the Hammer workflow, so I think that in large part a lot of my babbling the last few years has been largely misunderstood in the Source world.