Year: 2005-2010, Day:1839 Map Project lasting a while.

[iskunder]

Now I know what some of you are thinking right now, and I assure you most of it is correct. I have been working on a map since 2005. I don't know if any one else has worked on a map for as long as I have but dang its been taking a while. Its a combination of things, first 1 year I didn't bother reading tutorials because well I guess I'm retarded. 2nd year I made a decent map but then lost it due to data corruption. 3rd year I completed my map and was ready to release it to the public but then found out my map was complete garbage and wasn't even worth the title "beta" Thanks to some. Any way my 4 year I had a lot of brakes between working on my map due to work and school, lost some saved files, then once again I was feeling like I was ready to release my map but sadly kept hitting game engine limits, I soon learned it had something to do with my poor optimizations of the map. well that sucks. So I rebuilt the map slowly and god for bid fixed like 70% of all the errors. I had errors fixing errors that's how bad it was. I'm sure your all wondering what kind of map I was working on, it was a huge rats map. Any way I'm feeling like I might not ever finish this map. I feel like if I don't finish it then well I guess ill never complete anything worth while. It started out as me just modeling in hammer for fun. and slowly I noticed that people kept telling me I had potential in modeling and in map making so i guess its been a life long project.

If I don't complete this I'll never be complete.

Alright I hope that's enough background information, this is like my 2nd post of all time so bare with me.

Alright so right now I'm making underground rat tunnels and bunkers in the walls. and this is going to be a half-life 2 dm map for starters, I see potential for other source ports.

I have hit so many limits in the game its making me mad. I have days where I make something and I'm so inspired, so excited it feels amazing then when I go to compile I'm reminded that I've exceeded texinfo, that I need to watch my brush work or else the detail kills this engine. I need models in map I've made so much detailed brush work its not even funny.

Any way guys I need help, I really do. This map must be complete or I wont feel complete. this damn hammer editor barely compiles my map in fast mode. I haven't been able to compile in normal mode for like half a year its just taking to long I get about 45% complete in the compile log and that's after like 3 days.

I've love to fix all my problems but I think its going to take way to long so If I can just get it to work and maybe learn how to export some of my brush work to models. I also need to know how to apply textures I have taken with a camera and put in the game as wall textures,books and so on. the rat map is of a laning room that our family uses daily so I have a good reference point. I have models computers, chairs, speakers, motherboards, mouses, tables just about everything. and now I'm at the point where I'm making things behind the walls like rat tunnels and so forth.

may you please recommend some useful tutorials regarding my goals with this map. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated.

[iskunder]

Right now my main problems are

Texinfo limit keeps getting hit.

MAX planes limit hit like at least 45 times I keep remaking my models so I can save space. but I'm reaching a point where there gonna look like garbage so I need to make them real models I don't know how.

For now I can keep the planes limit down, but this time texinfo is just not going down like it should. whats a good way to keep it low?

Thanks in advance you guys are amazing.

[joe_dirt976]

I can't tell you how many maps I've started, almost completed, fixed, scrapped, scraped, scaled-down, recycled, refurbished, and abandoned. What matters is that you learn something from the many maps you "make". If you feel it is a complete loss, or you lose interest in it, you gotta know when to fold. Abandoning a map doesn't make you a failed mapper. A failed mapper is defined as someone who gives up.

- As for your tex infos,
straight from the error finder,

MAX_MAP_TEXINFO

Maximum:
12288

Description:
The scaling, orientation, alignment and lightmap size of a given texture. Miltiple faces can use the same texinfo, as long as their info is the same.

Solution:
Reduce this by having more instances with the same value (multiple brush faces with the same texture offsets, ori?ntations and scale), reduce textures and reducing env_cubemaps if you have a lot of reflective textures.

Last contribution: Anonymous - Click here to edit

Make sure you align alot of your textures conservatively.

[tron00]

MAX_MAP_TEXINFO

Maximum:
12288

Description:
The scaling, orientation, alignment and lightmap size of a given texture. Miltiple faces can use the same texinfo, as long as their info is the same.

Solution:
Reduce this by having more instances with the same value (multiple brush faces with the same texture offsets, ori?ntations and scale), reduce textures and reducing env_cubemaps if you have a lot of reflective textures.

Last contribution: Anonymous - Click here to edit

Make sure you align alot of your textures conservatively.[/quote]

I've read this 5 times and I don't get it. My texinfos are 89%. I thought it meant number of textures. I reduced them from 600 (newb) down to currently 330. The texture memory has barely budged. I don't get it.

Iskunder, what are your models? Are they models that have already been done on Gmod, or some other site that are already decent? I know how you feel, dude, somewhat. I'm going on 8 months for level 1 of my 5 part campaign. I think the next levels will go quicker, as I'm going through this map over and over correcting newb mistakes. It's just got to. : )

[Stubby]

5 years? Give up.

[joe_dirt976]

Thats about as blunt as it gets. Take your lessons and move on with a new project.

[Steaky]

We'll I don't want to tell you to just drop the map if it's still exciting for you, but I have to agree with the others that it may be time to move on.

That's actually how I learned to map. I remember for what was probably years playing around with QuArK for HL making stupid little full-bright rooms full of entities. When HL2 came out, I spent almost just as much time working on a single player mod which I eventually ditched (equally because I got bored with it, and because I'd never be able to integrate all the new stuff I'd learned along the way back into it).

The point is, take what you've learned, and start fresh. You may be surprised with what you can make without your old work holding you back

Also, post hammer pictures if it won't compile, I'm curious

[iskunder]

Yeah, I learned a lot for this map and no doubt that if I remake it it will take probably like 3 months depending on how much time I spend on it. but I put way to much work into it to give up now. there not really models models. there basically brush work i created in hammer that need to be exported as models. that's something I don't know how to do.

And I've read the texinfo description many times and I don't really understand what its talking about. If some one could simplify it?

I want to release the map in the next month here, I know I'm ready and I'm sure most people will like it rather then hate it.

[iskunder]

Basically I'm not sure if any of you know who OneSneakyMouse is but he inspired me to make my map. I know some of you are telling me to give up. but I've remade enough of the work and I still this its a possibility. I'm going to post some pics in sec here.

[Zipfinator]

If you already have the "models" textured in Hammer and you don't want to learn to use a modeling program then use this.

[iskunder]

Here images of the map I have been working. I want to export most of the models any way I'm working on that right now.

I want to take pictures of the room I'm in right now and apply those textures to this map. the room I'm siting in is the room of the rats map.

Some things might look a little polygonyish but I'm working on it all. My goal was to create one of the biggest rats maps. I also wanted to incorporate a kill box feel.

Some images may look weird on the top, due to me pasting the image over another image in paint, I didn't notice sorry.

[iskunder]

I need to know the easiest way to convert pictures I took with my camera and put them into my map.

[srredfire]

Don't bother. If all you've got is brush models, SEVERELY stretched textures in every part of the map, and parts of the map that make no sense, in FIVE years, you need to give up. Seriously. Stop.

Either release this now or don't, but just stop. I'd say, okay, this is fine for a few weeks MAYBE, at a normal level, but FIVE YEARS? You could have made a whole independent game with your time. Or even two. You could have learned to model, to texture, or do ANYTHING, but this is all you have to show.

This map will not get noticed. Unless you create a really awesome rats map these days, it's another "lol this is my room supersized xD" map that never makes it on rotation.

If you think I'm being harsh, I'm not. This is what you have for half a decades worth, even if it was just off and on. And you need to move on.

MOVE ON

[Phott]

I haven't even mapped for 5 years and I've never managed to get "stuck" on a map like this. O.o

Come on, a rats map in 5 years, I expected some cool Singleplayer thing but when I read the words "rats map" I quickly got disappointed.

[iskunder]

Ah, I should of made it a little more clear. its just the time I first started. It didn't literaly take 2 hours a day for 5 years. yeah there was a lot of on and off. I mean shit in all reality I could remake the map in couple of months. the longest part was just creating the models. And yeah some of the places may look like they don't make sense well thats because its still a work in progress and other areas lack detail, shit compares to most rat maps this one has the most detail.

Just wondering are you guys are still planing on helping or not?