I Want Your Maps - Developers

As always, it is hard to find decent mappers who can make atmospheric, playable maps. I need maps for [URL="http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=114017878"]my gamemode.[/URL] I have made 2 maps myself just because I figured i could use the practice, i think the maps turned out pretty good so i'll share the VMFs with y'all to give you an idea of what kind of maps i need. Please don't re-compile these or use them without my permission thx. [url]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Ag3nvMM9WFS01xX2NybTBoYW8/edit?usp=sharing[/url] [url]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Ag3nvMM9WFem5reFI5OEY3ZlU/edit?usp=sharing[/url] I also started work on another map but lost interest fairly quickly. It is free for anyone to use now. [url]https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6Ag3nvMM9WFYmhJVWhVRThtS1k/edit?usp=sharing[/url] More importantly, if you are a mapper and you have made dark, atmospheric indoors-type maps, i would like you to consider making a version of your map for my gamemode. It has been growing in popularity since some youtube personalities have started making videos of it in action. There are also a number of servers that are populated fairly constantly. I have posted about this before here and i think one person ended up making a map, so if i can get at least one more then i will be happy. Here is the complete list of requirements: - Indoors (or mostly indoors - lots of exposed skybox will ruin the atmosphere because the Stalker can jump fairly high so you don't want him colliding with the sky) - Ventilation ducts and other places that can't be reached by normal players that the Stalker can leap to. You can get pretty creative with this. - Areas with low (or no) lighting. Atmospheric and creepy is a plus. - Physics props (the Stalker can possess props with telekinesis so your map needs to have some props. A mixture of breakable and non-breakable is good) - 2 different spawn areas with enough spawn points for about 20 players (i suggest just using the CS:S spawn points). - A ts_ prefix (optional but it's nice to have maps made specifically for the gamemode). If you have made an indoors map that has a somewhat creepy atmosphere then it will take very little effort to convert it to work with this gamemode. You can message me or post on the link to my gamemode page if you need clarification or some pointers.

How big do they need to be?

That can vary. The gamemode can be played by anywhere from 4 to ~20 players. I personally think 10-12 players is a good number. Check out the VMFs i linked, they are pretty good references for size.

So it's like The Hidden but with psychic abilities?

More or less, there are less arbitrary rules imposed (ie. there is no time limit per round). Everything is focused around gameplay. The Stalker begins to have its health drain if it doesn't kill someone for a period of time so it keeps him active. The psychic abilities are also really fucking cool and allow for a wide range of playstyles and the soldiers get a pile of interesting and useful equipment. Basically it's like a cool, more futuristic version of the hidden

I have a underground lab map, done for the singleplayer map competition. [video=youtube;P6SWeN6hF2o]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6SWeN6hF2o[/video] I could use some incentive to covert this map to your gamemode and make the right adjustments.

That looks like it would work really well for this gamemode. If it is too cramped you could always offset that by making some rooms darker or adding ceiling vents for the Stalker to move through. Camping can be an issue if you have too many rooms with only one entrance, as a rule of thumb i try to make sure that rooms with only one way in also have a ceiling vent or some other way for the Stalker to enter. Your map has a lot of windows that players could fit through so you could even just make them breakable_surf entities.

[QUOTE=twoski;43923561]That looks like it would work really well for this gamemode. If it is too cramped you could always offset that by making some rooms darker or adding ceiling vents for the Stalker to move through. Camping can be an issue if you have too many rooms with only one entrance, as a rule of thumb i try to make sure that rooms with only one way in also have a ceiling vent or some other way for the Stalker to enter. Your map has a lot of windows that players could fit through so you could even just make them breakable_surf entities.[/QUOTE] It's for EP2 and it uses lots of custom content from Black Mesa. It can be a time consuming to make this light to download (using less custom content) and start to use CS:S ones. I'll have a look into your maps and see what I can do.

Is the CSS version of hammer MP broken again? I've been doing a lot of CSGO mapping recently and have not used it in a while. I would be interested in doing a map or two for the sake of variety though.

[url]http://css.gamebanana.com/maps/177951[/url]

[QUOTE=nicolasx21;43926397]It's for EP2 and it uses lots of custom content from Black Mesa. It can be a time consuming to make this light to download (using less custom content) and start to use CS:S ones. I'll have a look into your maps and see what I can do.[/QUOTE] I can't imagine it would be too much work to use the texture replace tool... The hardest part would be removing and redoing props i think since it seems like you're using a lot of custom props. [QUOTE=Framperton;43926834]Is the CSS version of hammer MP broken again? I've been doing a lot of CSGO mapping recently and have not used it in a while. I would be interested in doing a map or two for the sake of variety though.[/QUOTE] It works but crashes for me randomly for unknown reasons so make sure you save often or have autosave enabled.

I might make an original map for this, one of the old tube station complexes could work quite well.

ill have a go at this

Still having an issue with the CSS MP engine version of hammer, it couldn't load the viewports and just crashes as soon as I start a new map. Any help? I changed the directory to reflect the steampipe changes but still no joy/.

[QUOTE=twoski;43931005]I can't imagine it would be too much work to use the texture replace tool... The hardest part would be removing and redoing props i think since it seems like you're using a lot of custom props. [/QUOTE] This map has few 'lab rooms' acessible, and the windows are breakble.. I think it'll be easy for the stalker.. I can add some events too, making lights of some sections go off.. What effects/events would you like to enjoy in this gamemode ?

Individual lights with a func_breakable parented to them which eventually fizzle out if they take enough damage would be pretty cool. You could also do more involved things such as a trigger that makes a sound play when a player walks through it and so-on. As long as your map is balanced for both humans and the stalker you could use any number of these things.

[QUOTE=twoski;43950184]Individual lights with a func_breakable parented to them which eventually fizzle out if they take enough damage would be pretty cool. You could also do more involved things such as a trigger that makes a sound play when a player walks through it and so-on. As long as your map is balanced for both humans and the stalker you could use any number of these things.[/QUOTE] Nice ! I'm looking into your map ts_checkpoint, what's with this squares of skips everywhere ? inside cubemaps and lights ? I see the majority of rooms, as you said, have only one way to enter, and a secondary duct or small passage. Events like lights go off, shakes with pipes going down, things to scare the player if the stalker is closing in.

I use the skip brushes to align stuff to the grid when i am shift click+dragging them, you can just ignore them for the most part ts_checkpoint is not the greatest example of a stalker map, i think i made it a little too cramped and added too many camping spots. I had to offset this by making a lot of rooms very dark and added lots of vents for the stalker to move through.

[QUOTE=twoski;43951256]I use the skip brushes to align stuff to the grid when i am shift click+dragging them, you can just ignore them for the most part ts_checkpoint is not the greatest example of a stalker map, i think i made it a little too cramped and added too many camping spots. I had to offset this by making a lot of rooms very dark and added lots of vents for the stalker to move through.[/QUOTE] Oh, okay. So how the map can be well balanced ?

[QUOTE=Framperton;43948451]Still having an issue with the CSS MP engine version of hammer, it couldn't load the viewports and just crashes as soon as I start a new map. Any help? I changed the directory to reflect the steampipe changes but still no joy/.[/QUOTE] And you are launching from the bin folder or using MultiTool correct? If you are trying to use Valves SDK launcher stop messing with that broken piece of junk and revert any changes you did.

I suppose maps like those from Hidden Sorce are good examples? By the way you should check out the map I posted.

It looks decent, the only thing that might be an issue is the high amount of exposed skybox. Often the large outdoors areas can be extremely imbalanced because the stalker can easily escape and navigate the map without being spotted. It helps having lots of indoor areas with lights that the stalker's texture can refract and give away his position. An ideally balanced map has a lot of indoors areas, with one or two "main" areas that are a little more wide open. Plenty of variation in the lighting, at least one physics prop in every room and a little ambient noise (or, soundscapes).

[QUOTE=wazanator;43953416]And you are launching from the bin folder or using MultiTool correct? If you are trying to use Valves SDK launcher stop messing with that broken piece of junk and revert any changes you did.[/QUOTE] No, I'm not using multitool. Also out of curiosity, why doesn't valve fix the tool launcher since they support the modding community so much? Using multitool now and life is fucking great.

started mapping again after over a year break, this is what I have done so far. [t]http://i.cubeupload.com/5srXpJ.jpg[/t] [B]EDIT:[/B] Released it! [url]http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=231491721[/url] [t]http://i.cubeupload.com/2rqLs5.jpg[/t][t]http://i.cubeupload.com/kHDPO9.jpg[/t]

That's awesome, exactly the kind of atmosphere you want to have. I just downloaded it and it's great, i have a few minor criticisms: - I should have mentioned that prop_door_rotating is a bad idea, mainly because the stalker accesses his ability menu by holding down E. That makes it really awkward for him to open doors. The doors can also be abused (campers can just keep spamming their E key to keep them closed). My suggestion is to either leave the doors wide open and just have them locked so players can't shut them, or remove them altogether. - There are a few places that might be a little too cramped and campable. The staircase area is very cramped and i can see people using the top of the stairs as a camping spot. There are lots of ways to counter this, i would suggest maybe adding a vent at the very top that the stalker could use, or maybe make the stairwell a bit larger. - I like what you did with the vents, some of them are a tad dark on the inside and hard to navigate but otherwise they are good. I would replace the prop_physics vent covers with a func_breakable that has 1 health so the stalker can easily break into the vents. Currently it takes 3 hits to break the vent covers which is a little awkward. - There is a cardboard box in the sewers that acts funny, i dunno what is up with it. I'd suggest just removing it but that's up to you. - The sewer water is a little bit deep, i would suggest making it a little more shallow so players cannot duck and hide completely underwater. - There is a vent shaft by the soldier spawn that soldiers can get inside of, don't know if that's intentional. - If you walk too close to the fire at the soldier spawn it will hurt you (a lot) even though you aren't touching it.

Thanks for the feedback I've updated the map on the workshop: [B]Fixed:[/B] You should no longer need to be 100% accurate when entering vents. (It's still not perfect.) [B]Fixed:[/B] Vents now break in one hit from The Stalker. [B]Removed:[/B] prop_door_rotating that were in the way. [B]Added:[/B] more lights to the vents. [B]Added:[/B] One new vent path that leads to the top of the stairs. [B]Added:[/B] A map icon.