Hammer Source Player Scale and World Dimensions

December 21, 2010
Category: Left 4 Dead 2 Mapping, Left 4 Dead Mapping, SourceSDK/Authoring Tools

Winter 2011 Level Design Challenge-->

One of the most fundamental aspects of level design is proper scale and dimensions. A door way that is few units too large or too small will ruin the illusion of your environment.

A building set to improper scale will destroy the immersion of the player in your environment.

Hammer Source has few key aspects of keeping your world on scale and proper proportions.

The tutorial covers:
How to keep your map to proper scale and dimensions
Hammer Source character scale, wall height, door dimensions, stairs
Developer textures
Grid values

KEY PLAYER AND WORLD DIMENSION

Player Scale	Architecture Scale
Width/Depth: 32 units	1 foot = 16 units
Height: 72 units	Door Width: 48 units
Height Crouching: 36 units	Door Height: 108 units
Eye Level Crouching: 32	Hallway Height: 128 units
Eye Level Standing: 64	Hallway Width: 64 units
Slope to Climb: 45 degrees	Stairs Height: 8 units
	Stairs Depth: 16 units
	Max Step Height: 18 units

L4D: World Scale and Dimensions

PLAYER REFERENCE SCALE

First thing you want to do is insert a player reference scale. This is an entity that inserts a player model. Depending on the game you are creating your environment for the entity name varies.

Character Height: 72 units

example:
info_player_start (all Source based games)
info_player_terrorist or info_player_counterterrorist (Counter-Strike: Source)
info_survivor_position (L4D1/2)
info_player_teamspawn (TF2)

ARCHITECTURE REFERENCE SCALE

All the following values are avarage dimensions. Use them as a base reference, but often they may have to be tweaked depending on the environment.

Door Width: 48 units
Door Height: 108 units