How to make high-quality maps
I am not very experienced with Hammer. The most complex thing I've ever done is a lift. My maps never turn out looking the best. Does anyone have any tips on how to make a high-quality map and/or make the map look good? (mainly lighting)
For the lighting, depends on which visual style you're working on. Any kind of special map always has a env_projected texture, a basic light, and a light_enviroment if there's a skybox and I think light_sun if there's a skybox, and a preset fog from the global_ents.vmf. It's quite easy. Also, make your map interesting by placing models here and there and broken walls and stuff. Also, the music or silence is also in a way important for the enviroment, so make sure you make a good choice. You should add env_soundscapes for the backround noise like in an industrial area, you have tube nosies, and in an overgrown chamber, you have crows and insects and dripping water. Also, don't forget to add env_cubemaps on shiny materials like water and glass, and don't forget to add a lod controller for the water (I forgot which entity).
You are not very experienced in Hammer? Before you start thinking of complex/quality maps, you should first start experiment with many things. Just make the things you like, little rooms and read sometimes in the VDC. Maybe you can watch tutorials, for some Portal Objekts (For example Panels, doors, etc.) (TopHattWaffle made some very good tutorials on YouTube, that can help you) and you will learn more and more. If you learn the mechanics (Moving brushes, doors, Entitys,) You automatically can make very complex things. Thats my opinion 
Oh and for the lightning, just read that yishbarr wrote, or watch the complete lightning tutorial made from the waffle: Klick
Also, don't forget to add appropriate observation room instances if you're making a testchamber.
I agree with you that lighting is by far, in my opinion, the hardest part of creating a map. If you're making a map with a Portal 2 theme, just decompile a map to see what colors they used. Most maps use about 2 different colors. For example, the most commonly used color in a Wheatley map is 183 204 218 [brightness number here]. Some maps use variations on this.
Also add lots of details. If you're not so good at this, I would suggest you start with a co-op themed (clean) map. There aren't too many details in this theme but there are enough so you can practice.
Hey,
I recommend playing the game (or at least the part of the game whose theme you will be using) again, but instead of playing to enjoy, play to annalyze. See what creates the shadows in the enviornment, what detailing and props do they use, what textures do they use? Anayzling already good maps can help you get ideas on how to improve your own!
If you want to have nice lighting in your map:
- Do a full (hdr-only) compile in the expert mode. This will make the lighting being calculated much better.
- Add a fog_controller. This really helps spread the light.
- Use a combination of various lightsources:
Light projects light from itself spread in a sphere shape. If you put this too close to the wall or too bright you will get an ugly effect, put this at least 64 units away from the wall and adjust the brightness accordingly.
Light_spot is a cone shaped light, you can adjust the angles for the lighting to adjust for your needs. Use this facing away from your light source model.
Env_projected texture. This baby can make fancy shadows. However you can only have one active at a time, so use it wisely.
If you end up with ugly dark spots you can use a light with a very low brightness 1-10 to get it looking properly again. Make sure it doesn't cause an actual visible light. You only want to make the darkness not too dark.
And then you also have the light emitting textures. Adjusting their texture scale adjust the brightness. The higher the texture scale the lower the lighting emitted is.
Don't be scared to mix lighting up a bit. Sometimes it can look really nice if you mix up the cold and neutral lighting, or neutral and warm.
Last but not least: Light looks different on dark and light textures. If you have a lot of dark textures you'll need more lights than if you have a lot of light textures!
- Add a fog_controller. This really helps spread the light.
- Use a combination of various lightsources:
Light projects light from itself spread in a sphere shape. If you put this too close to the wall or too bright you will get an ugly effect, put this at least 64 units away from the wall and adjust the brightness accordingly.
A "Full" compile is only for light_environment light rays. A fog controller doesn't spread any light, it just makes look the map more realistic since somehow you always have fog (even in reality).
Besides working on the brightness value of the light (it's 4. value) you also can change the Quadratic, Linear and Constant values. They define how the light falls off from it's source. Constant 1 means theoretical it shouldn't fall off.
All of those 3 values are calculated together by VRAD, see https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wik ... ic_Falloff .
So it is the same if you set
- Code: Select all
Constant 0.1
Linear 3
Quadratic 1
or if you set
- Code: Select all
Constant 1
Linear 30
Quadratic 10
The end will be always
- Code: Select all
Constant part: 02.439%
Linear part: 73.17%
Quadratic part: 24.39%
So added they always result in 100% at the end.