TOP READ ARTICLES

Level Design Workflow Tutorial
UDK Basics Getting Started in 11 Steps
How To Plan Your Next Map
100 Level Design Ideas and Locations
Call of Juarez 2 Level Design Series
11 Day Mapping Challenge: Start to End
How to Get a Job with Epic Games
GDC 2010 Level Design Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Left 4 Dead 2 Mapping Tutorials Series
Left 4 Dead Mapping Tutorials Series
Modeling Interior Environments in Maya Part 2/3
Level Designer Chris Kay Interivew
How to Become a Level Designer Part 1 & 2
L4D2 Level Design Tips Part 1 & 2
Level Design Challenges Series
11 Day Level Design Process Overview

3D Environment Design.com

Free Downloads of Ready-to-Use Game Environments and Models
Jump Over to 3DED

L4D: Creating Geometry

May 21, 2009
Category: Left 4 Dead Mapping

Let's create a basic room in Hammer. This tutorial covers creating brushes in Left 4 Dead editor.

Additional notes are below.

L4D Mapping: Geometry Part 1 - Interface Overview Video Tutorial

L4D Mapping: Geometry Part 2 - Basic Room Creation Video Tutorial

L4D Mapping: Geometry Part 3 - Two Rooms and a Hallway Video Tutorial

Notes:

1. File-->New and Save As

2. In the Texture Browser, filter and select developer textures. It will make it simpler for you to focus on blocking in your maps and keeping everything to scale.

3. Pay attention to grid size and snapping. Work with 16 unit grid to begin with when you are blocking in your levels.

Use [ ] keys to size up/down between the grid spacing.

4. Become familiar with the Block Tool. It is the main tool you will use to create geometry for your level.

Don't forget, you are not bounded by the basic block. You are able to create various geometric shapes.

5. Viewport Navigation:

6. 3D viewport allows to have many shading options:

7. Insert Scale Model by going to Entity tool and selecting info_survivor_position:

8. When building your world, do not have intersection brushes.

9. Do not have any gaps into the void of the blackness. Your world, room has to be completely blocked off from the void.

You will have leaks if you don't. Leaks are basically errors.

10. Selecting the brushes and then Shift+Drag will duplicate it.

11. Selecting a brush, then clicking on it again, will allow you to rotate it.

Comments are Closed. Please Join & Discuss this post in the World of Level Design Forums Comments Ian 29 Oct 2009, 17:28 Hey, me again. When I press "enter" to make it a solid it just stays yellow lines how do I do this? AlexG 03 Oct 2009, 15:52 Martyn, use info_player_start instead of info_survivor_position. or follow this tutorial if you need to use info_surivivor_position: http://www.worldofleveldesign.com/categories/left4dead_mapping/l4d-force-su rvivor-position-spawn.php Martyn 03 Oct 2009, 05:25 When i place survivor postions into my map, and then test them in game. The survivors and thep layer are under the maps geometry. So your under the map, it seems that the survivors have fallen to the bottom of the skybox. How can i stop this? Left4Dead by talent 10 Sep 2009, 23:41 I don't know 3D nor action/shooter level design and I haven't seen the movies, but I don't think levels are big rooms. Openings to outside must be different from the gaps to void in some way, my guess is... Donkey 15 Aug 2009, 03:38 so if im making a map, the whole map is actually a HUGE room?? since u said that the black area outside will create errors. and im kind of curious about what kind of jobs you have...sorry if this question is off topic, i just want to set a goal for myself or something like that. :P great tutorials by the way!! FANTASTIC!! xD AlexG 29 Jun 2009, 07:46 Hey Frags, It offers more clean geometry, more control over your brushes and ultimately cleaner map and better optimized. frags 29 Jun 2009, 06:36 I was wondering. What is the advantage of manually building rooms like this as opposed to using the hollow tool to hollow a block? Angeirax 28 Jun 2009, 12:36 Nevermind, i fixed the problem Angeirax 28 Jun 2009, 12:25 I have a problem, i open hammer, and when i try to make a block, it doesn't, there's just an invisible square there Please help Powered by Scriptsmill Comments Script