Source Map Building Etiquette...

[dsillman2000]

Sorry if this makes me look like an idiot or anything, but when I make maps, things turn out rather messy and difficult to control and view cleanly. Things often get congested as they become more complex. The way I form brushes will occasionally change and where I use textures vs where I use dev_measure's are always varying. I would like to ask the better equipped of the mappers on Mapcore: what measures do you take to keep your maps looking clean and easy to work with? I find managing these types of things especially difficult on maps that have massive structures like a brush-made castle or something.

I'm not necessarily looking for help, but rather advice on how you guys can keep your editor looking clean and usable.

Thanks for reading,
-D.S.

 

EDIT: what I mean by "congested" is when my views begin to get so filled that they look like this:

http://imgur.com/4sOvnii

Edited May 11, 2015 by dsillman2000

[Muffin]

I can't give a full explanation as I don't consider myself a seasoned or good mapper . Ask someone more skilled. Anyways, a tip I would give is that it can be as cluttered, congested, as you want as long as it's in an unplayable area. Like for instance that castle(is it?) of yours. As long as it Isn't used and just decoration, clutter it as much as you want. But if it's like a main route to bombsite a, try to make it easy, flowing, and playable.

Another thing is that if you select a brush with the selection tool and hit x, it allows you to drag brushes outside of the grid view and in the viewing screen

Edited May 11, 2015 by Muffin

[tr0nic]

Use visgroups, cordon tool, instances or my favourite: control + H to isolate selected objects (u to unhide all). By the way, that screenshot looks clean to me

[Tensei]

Use visgroups, cordon tool, instances or my favourite: control + H to isolate selected objects (u to unhide all). By the way, that screenshot looks clean to me

So it just means we are accustomed to it

 

But yeah visgroups are wise choice if you can't understand anything in 2D views 

[dsillman2000]

...cordon tool...

 

Sorry if this is a noob question, but what does the cordon tool do/mean?

 

 

that castle(is it?)

 

yes, that's part of my design for my upcoming de_fortified map. I'll post about it when I have enough done to actually make a post.

 

Thanks,

      -D.S.

[laminutederire]

When you draw the cordon, it will select brushes and entities just like the selection tool does, and everything will be as if only these are existent, allowing you to compile only parts of your map. In your case, if you click on toggle, it will hide or unhide brushes /entities which are not in the cordon, thus cleaning up your workspace.

Edited May 12, 2015 by laminutederire

[dsillman2000]

I see. Thanks for the tips guys, I will take these ideas into account when continuing my map. I'll keep you guys posted on the map as soon as I get a basic whitebox version out.

 

Thanks again,

      -D.S.