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OCD Mappers

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All my brushes are aligned and sized to the power of 2, and the distances (maximum range for turret and ambient_generic range) are always to the power of 2. I am obsessed about those numbers. 256, 1024, 64 . . . they make me feel good for some reason.

And any multiples of the number 13 bothers me. For example, one of my maps has been rated 13 times. I am just on edge until someone rates it again one more time so it's not 13 or 26.

I started out not paying much attention to how the brushes were aligned, and based on feedback here I started caring. Now I am trying to finish a map which I began before I knew the importance of sticking to the grid, and it's been a real hair-pulling experience getting things lined up. Not about to rebuild the whole thing! And it's a decayed theme map, so I'm also working on details like foliage. I have spent way more time on the visuals than on the puzzles and I'm still not 100% happy with it.
:notwant:

My next map will be perfectly fit to the grid and aligned from the start.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Being Immune to Neurotoxin

Thanks for over 1,000 downloads: The Cold Shoulder

I also realize that people whine about tiles not being aligned properly, and I don't mean so out of line that it is obvious, I mean the person actually took a photo show the wall tiles being half cut near the floor, it was also aligned with everything else in the room. I fixed the entire map so the tiles were whole tiles and aligned but still, I've seen tiles cut in stranger places.

I think we have a few OCD Players as well.

Crazy is as crazy does.
My Work
[spoiler]Maps:
Revenge of the Angry Turrets
Capture the Cube [Co-op]
Capture the Cube 2 [Co-op]
TPWEGTH Sample Map
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center 2
Aperture Time Testing Center
ML's Halloween Trick - 1000 downloads!
ML's Halloween Treat
ML's Combination - 1000 downloads!
ML's Jailbreak Labyrinth
ML's Tricky Teamwork [Co-op]
WIP:
"Capture the Cube 3"
Workshop Maps Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198008890579/myworkshopfiles/[/spoiler]

** Raises hand slowly after chickenmobile **

Yes, I do that too, compulsively. Everything has to be aligned to a 16-interval grid or I get this... itch! I put all brush entity origins at the center too if they're not used as pivot points.
(It does actually look less cluttered in Hammer's 2d views.)

On the other hand, grouping things like relays together according to function is an actual good idea if you are making anything slightly complicated.

I'm not as obsessed about textures being 1 pixel off, unless it's easily fixable. (Some of my maps have angled walls where it's nearly impossible to get a whole number of tiles on the wall, due to rounding errors.)

Sendificate series: Sendificate | A Beam Too Far | Airtime | 302
Other Portal 2 maps: Medusa Glare
Portal 1 maps: Try Anything Twice | Manic Mechanic

If the textures are not lined up, the size of the brush is probably the culprit.

You have to create brushes in dimensions that fit the power of 2's, and of course, completely sticking to the grid. Never decrease the grid to less than 8 unless in a few situations (fizzler, laser field, etc), and use a grid of 16 or more the majority of the times.

satchmo wrote:
You have to create brushes in dimensions that fit the power of 2's, and of course, completely sticking to the grid. Never decrease the grid to less than 8 unless in a few situations (fizzler, laser field, etc), and use a grid of 16 or more the majority of the times.

8 is a good grid size to stick to, however I use the minimum grid size for accurately positioning models or in some cases, vertices on oblong shapes (which coincidently fit into models). I would never use ALT+Move in order to get something to the right position. It seems... wrong.
:shrug:

?????????????????????????????TWP Releases | My Workshop

Minor complications cause me to use ALT+Move, but rarely.

Crazy is as crazy does.
My Work
[spoiler]Maps:
Revenge of the Angry Turrets
Capture the Cube [Co-op]
Capture the Cube 2 [Co-op]
TPWEGTH Sample Map
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center
Aperture Aquatic Testing Center 2
Aperture Time Testing Center
ML's Halloween Trick - 1000 downloads!
ML's Halloween Treat
ML's Combination - 1000 downloads!
ML's Jailbreak Labyrinth
ML's Tricky Teamwork [Co-op]
WIP:
"Capture the Cube 3"
Workshop Maps Link: http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198008890579/myworkshopfiles/[/spoiler]

Recently I have been organising/aligning my point entities a lot...

My Maps:
[spoiler][SP] Alternate[/spoiler]

Just wait when the drug reps for SSRI's get a wind of this thread . . .

I used to fall into the trap of wanting everything to be perfect back when I mapped for hl1 and 2. One day I realized I was wasting my time aligning point entities and making sure everything was organized and perfectly named. I made a conscious effort to break out of the pattern of attemped perfection and my productivity shot way up. I was suddenly able to actually finish things rather than obscess over tiny details, and I haven't regretted it.

Instances help a lot with this because they allow you to quickly make an isolated feature and not care how messy it is in the context of your maps.

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