MAPPING WITH ICS PART 1 - The map
You should have already Downloaded the intro vmf and part 1 (this map) of the map here (Use other browser than IE to do this). If
you havent done so, download it now and save it, then open the rar package. The recommended path is where your Steam is installed. For example, for me the files are on
C:\STEAM\steamapps\MY_USER_ID\sourcesdk_content\cstrike\mapsrc\. You need to do the camera trick again, open the file dev_slummi_01.vmf into hammer first. After you have it open, you will see 3 grids and
black screen. The camera is black, this is a bug in Hammer. From the upper Hammer menu, select Map and then Entity Report...
After that, you get a list of entities, total of 5. Select any of them (press once with mouse) and then press that Go to button. After that, you can close that entity report box.
Now that we are back in business again, its time to take a look at the map amd work i did on that at the first day. There are some buildings and some basic brushwork scetched over there. I
was not sure exactly at this point where everything was going to be so i just started scetching. I set ip a terrorist spawn though, its the grey concretefloor area, not the one where terrorist is standing
- but the other. The one where Terrorist is standing, thats the other bombsite. Those 2 i was quite sure of. So how did this Bombsite that looks like this in hammer now becomes
this at later point?
As you can see, the shape is changed a bit, every texture has been changed and visual look is quite different but the basic idea stays the same. There was a plan for 4 routes to the bombsite and
even today, there are 4 routes. I saw some of this at my mind, the routes, the plain stuff but not the details. As you watch this bombsite develop, you will notice that it stayed a long time
like it is in the 01 development shot. If you havent got a clear idea, let it be as it is untill you come up with some nice ideas for it. That is what i did.
While looking around and clicking with the arrow tool, you will see that some of the brushes (walls) are quite round there and if you click one of them, multiple brushes are selected at the
same time. I made these also with block tool. If you click the block tool and then look right side of hammer, yo will see Objects there which states block. If you select arch there, draw a square on the grid
and then hit enter, you get an arch properties menu in front of you. You can adjust several things in and then hit preview to see the changes. I only created 90 defree arc and added 8 sides
into it and then pressed OK. Then i rotated the object to right spot and there it is, nice "round" arch. Be sure to change that setting back from arch to block!
Due to this round thing being round, its hard for Source engine to draw out. We can make its job easier by making this round arch thing into func_detail, which is more friendly for the Source
engine to render out. Obviously i didnt do this at this point, because i was just experimenting but in order to do this, click the arch with arrow tool and once it is selected,
press and hold ctrl and then press t. Now Objects Properties appear and it says Class: func_detail. Just press ok and we are done. Now if you click it again, it's become an entity that has properties
so it is no longer a brush! If you accidently make some brush into func_detail, you can turn it back to world brush brush again by clicking it with arrow tool and then look upper right corner
of the hammer. There is Move Selected To World and To entity. You need to press To world. To entity is the same thing as pressing ctrl+t. I will turn these round things into func_detail later on - if
they even exist in the next 02 version of the map :)
So there you have it, some basic scething, some stairs already there missing textures and some buildings done. I had not decited the map theme yet but i figure it should be something like a ghetto
area. Later on i saw some nice textures that would fit the map theme in tides, havana, chateau and inferno. I used those maps textures to replace most of the current ones completely. All you need
to start mapping is a fresh idea, theme and area where the map will be on your head. Once you start doing something, you will get excited and built on your own ideas. If the basics are ok, the
options are limitless! I will see you on the next Part, 02. Coming later on.
Mapping with ICS, intro - Previous part / Next Part: To be written...