my first beta test map

[guitar_monkey]

hey guys, in my thread i mentioned a link to my map, a first try out. now i have added something new and i would like you to try and find it.
while working on my map i tried different stuff and came up with this map, just a try out, i might work it out into a full map but right now i would like to hear what you guys think of it.

please read the text file.

thank you in advance
hhope you enjoy it,
and don't be too hard on me, it's my very first map ever

changed the link to dropbox
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0b0a53yflcl1 ... lcanic.lnk

note to moderators;
i know this is a double thread, but it's not completely the same, i tried editing my own post but it didn't work.
please dont lock this one (A)

[obsidian]

You might want to use a less annoying file host, one that doesn't require signing up in order to download.

Give Dropbox a try, a number of users here use it to share files and images.

[guitar_monkey]

just googled file sharing, thta one was the first to come up :P

here's the dropbox link

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0b0a53yflcl1 ... lcanic.lnk

[CZghost]

@guitar_monkey: add the original file, not just a link to your file at your PC or it just won't work... If you suggest to share pk3 file with readme, give a try to 7-zip

[guitar_monkey]

i did that, i made the pk3. and winzip file like bubba said in his tutorial, then i shared it. as i said before i just google how it works. soo please tell me how to add a file?

edit: top right corner click the download button -.-*

[obsidian]

On the Dropbox website, you should see a button that says, "Share link", then another button that says "Share link to this page". That will copy the link to clipboard, paste that link here.

Then click on the link to make sure it actually works.

[guitar_monkey]

urgh, it works for me if i click the download thing in the top right corner.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0b0a53yflcl1 ... lcanic.zip
checked the links, this should work. it works at my pc so i dont know why it doesnt work with y'all

[obsidian]

Download works fine, but your map doesn't

Your "maps" directory is misspelled as "map". I'm not sure if your map is supposed to be named, "vulcano" or "volcano" or "vulcanic". Seems like a consistency issue and/or spelling mistake.

You have missing texture, "pjrock12b_2" is part of mapmedia.pk3 which is not part of a standard Q3 installation. It's a good idea to delete mapmedia.pk3 from your install entirely, I've deprecated it from future versions of GtkRadiant anyway.

It's alright for a first map once you fixed the typos and the missing texture, it'll functional at least. There isn't much to say about playability, to be honest - but you can focus on that in future maps.

There are other technical things you need to do going forward like using caulk on unseen faces and using detail brushes, but you can learn those as you go along.

[guitar_monkey]

with the maps i just did what bubba explains in his tutorial. i dont know what them apmedia thing does but i will look it up and delete it.
i dont understand much anymore, is it always this hard to start?

yeah i know it isnt much for a real map, i still want to make obstacles and such. how have you seen the map if the map didnt work? oh well, doesnt matter. was a try out, i liked the idea, but wehn i look back it sucks indeed

[obsidian]

Yes, with anything in life, it's always hard to start. It's called a learning curve, level design always has a steep one, which is why not every single kid out there who plays a game and thinks, "I want to make my own levels too" is able to actually do it. If you're dedicated enough you'll eventually clear the hardest bits of the curve and things will be much more clear. It's a process of small steps and lots of practice. Every single person who posts here has made plenty of awful and broken maps in the beginning. Thankfully, we have a good community here.

[guitar_monkey]

i am dedicated, and i am very gratefull for the community here. though i dont understand much, yet, i think i can make smaller practice maps like these and gather experience in different aspects, like in this map i made a button a door angled walls and the tube i mentioned somewhere else. for me thats an amazing leap forward

i say it all the time and i keep on saying it, i really appreciate all the stuff you do for me, helping me with problems and struggles and what ever.

now i have deleted the mapmedia.pl3 file, what is the next step?

;earning curve, here i come. i just have to avoid slamming in to walls...

[Eraser]

Important thing to do as a beginner: look at other maps, even some of the stock id Software maps that come with Quake 3. Look at some of the architecture they built and try to figure out why that works the way it works.

A practical example: people tend to start out a new map by building a hollow cube, a room if you will, and then start adding geometry to that room to fill it in. Usually, such maps fail to become interesting. Gameplay isn't exciting and visually it's bland. The problem is that it's easy to relate to real life locations, where it's very common for rooms to simply be box-shaped. Four walls at 90 degree angles, a floor and a ceiling, but in Q3, that's just about the worst thing you can do. So to learn about those things, look at other maps and see how the volumes of different areas work and how many maps don't even have areas that are identifiable as rooms. Take a look at Q3DM6 and you'll see that this map isn't just a bunch of box-rooms connected together with hallways, it's far more intricate than that. But it's not easy. It's something even my most recent DM map suffers from. Not that I'm such a great mapper (far from) but I do have quite a bit of experience.

[dONKEY]

Lots of good advice so far.
I had a look at the map file.
A few things to consider. Brushes should be clipped to meet edge to edge exactly. Where possible try to meet corner to corner, rather than have a corner meet halfway along an edge. Unless you have a really good reason (like a stand alone piece of geometry that is damn complex), don't overlap brushes.
The common exception here is liquid (like water or lava), one big brush over the floor would do, no need to use multiple brushes.
Your sky doesn't need to be a box around the level. Skybox doesn't mean an actual box in most cases. Just make the 'ceiling' from your sky texture.
As I mentioned before cushion isn't used the way you have used it. To block player movement use playerclip.
Keep going, you have taken the first few steps!!

[guitar_monkey]

cushion was something i read in bubba tutoriall, clipping i havent mastered yet, since i havent read the tutorial yet
was justy a try for dfferent functions thanks for the tips dONKEY

[CZghost]

First of all, your map should be in PK3 file and with readme file with steps what to do to play the map and some informations for map such as what gametype it's exactly or what's the name of the level. Then, there isn't an AAS file, so it's impossible to load any bots to the map. Give a try for BSPC and study the manual for that program (it's command line prompt running through a batch file). If you're using Linux, that may be problem, because bspc is for windows, then you must search any similar which may compile AAS file.
There isn't any arena script that tells what gametypes the map should be. If you suggest using custom special effects like a fire, water or any crackles, you should make shader files. These filesare just text documents that should have a syntax telling the game how to interpret used textures.
If you suggest to use any sounds in your map, add them in the sound directory. Don't forget to keep the structure used in your target_speaker entities
Are you using only standard Quake 3 textures avaible in standard installation? If you're using some custom ones, add them in textures directory (keep the structure as they're used)...
And last the one: There isn't a levelshot for the map that shows how the map looks like.

Now I won't try the level until everything is in the right place and your map and assets are packed in PK3 file and shared with a readme in a ZIP file...

[dONKEY]

CZg,
give the guy a chance...this is a first try

[obsidian]

... Besides, there's enough misinformation in CZghost's post to say that he's not exactly a shining example of what to do correctly. Guitar_Monkey pretty clearly said that this isn't a finished or polished map, it's just a test. I don't see why he would need to generate an AAS file, or include shaders, arena files, etc. when it's just something he tossed together to learn a few of the basics.



One other piece of advice for guitar_monkey, don't get too ambitious when starting off. You're likely to do a lot of mistakes at first anyway, so don't try to build a huge sprawling map which takes months to build only to learn that you've been doing everything backwards. It's okay to spend just a few days at a time building lots of small terrible maps as practice and then slowly build your way up. Good luck, post when you need help.

[guitar_monkey]

i didnt like the post i read from CZg. I stated it was a test for me, how to release how to make a pk3 file and to try different things. i wouldn't have know about clipping if it wasnt mentioned in this thread. so i learned from this. i mentioned in other post that i had a problem with my door, and i couldn't get it fixed (even now it act as a door with sound and blocking, but there's no door there...) but here it succeeded, even with a button.

as for the size of this map, since i made it on based on a real eaxisting game content thingy i kept the 5X5 grid, and then positioned them so when you spawn on top you have a chance of falling adn a chance of succes if you try to jump the gap. that's how it got so big i think i can fit like 10 info_player_start boxes in there....

i thank you for the help, the tips, the tricks on how to release, what to do, what not to do and how to file share. it's very different to get feedback on an ''actual'' map instead of posting a screen or something. i tried different things now, and i'll start working on an actual map.

as for the subject of this map, i think this topic can be locked. thank you all for watching and good night!