The brushes must mate or touch each other creating an area inside the box that is "airtight" to the outside Void. The biggest single problem for new mappers occurs when they build a box. Everything inside the box is the map, or what the engine is going to try to render, everything outside the box (including the outer faces of the box) is the Void. To get an understanding of what a map is all about, think of it as a shoe box. The best way to get good at mapping is to think big and start small. The most common problem for new mappers is that their imagination is bigger than what the engine can handle. The center is designated by a crossed set of dark green lines. So when you get around to creating your first brush, try to start on the center. The Lines represent the largest possible map size that the engine can handle (actually you need to stay within about 128 units of the edge). The 2D Views on your screen have white Grid Lines on them. If you want to skip this and go straight to the "Brushes" section, be my guest, but this might just save you from asking a lot of questions.
#Valve hammer editor 3.5 configuration how to#
The lines intersect at the center, also shown in the other windows by the darker green lines.īefore I start on how to create your first brush, I thought I would take some time explaining the screen you see in front of you. I have drawn back in camera mode to show you the center of the map. Yes? Well no actually, the top left window should not have the blue green and red lines in it.
I like to have the scroll bars option checked in 2D Views.īlank HammerOk so you should have something that looks like the screen shot above. If you left the defaults in for the options General, 2D Views and 3D Views during setup then you should be presented with 4 windows: Camera, Top - (x/y), Front - (y/z) and Side - (x/z). Follow the Tutorial: Setup Guide: Hammer and the information in the Hammer Help file and once you have Hammer set up, go to the File menu and click New. The ZHLT tools are much better than the default provided compiling tools, while Wally is one of the most well rounded texture editors around. It's probably a good idea to get them now and spend a little time getting used to them. Grab these programs: Vluzacn's ZHLT v34 and Wally.
If your new to this sort of program then this may be a little daunting, especially when they talk about integrating programs you've never heard of. There is an important part of the Help Section in Hammer, and that is the Setup Guide.
These In The Beginning tutorials are a recreation of that information, and take into account most of the changes introduced by Valve Hammer 3.5 beta. There was a wonderful set of beginners tutorials included with WorldCraft 2.1, but for some reason they were not updated when Hammer was released. If you haven't setup the Game Configuration and Build programs yet, have a look at Tutorial: Setup Guide: Hammer. The tutorial section of Hammer assumes that you have been doing this map making thing for your entire life, or at least that's the way it seems. Ok so you have a copy of Valve Hammer Editor (3.5 beta at this writing) and you're wondering just how to get started? Good question.
Tutorial: In the Beginning Part 3 - Basic Texture Application.Tutorial: In the Beginning Part 2 - Walls and Halls.Tutorial: In the Beginning Part 1 - Introduction.