Author: [FnL]Raven0us <[email protected]>     Reply to Message
Date: 7/29/2002 10:50:26 PM
Subject: Caulk Hulls and other tips for new mappers..

I'm going to write a tutorial on this, but I thought I would get the word out before to many people start a map, and then show it to me 6 months later, and are surprised when I suggest they delete it and start over :)

This method of mapping is rather new to me as well, and in fact only my latest map uses this "caulk hull" technique.

They say pictures are worth a thousand words, so I'm doing one better....here is a .map I made to better illustrate my point.

http://www.wfamaps.com/tuts/caulk_hull/caulk_hull.zip


I suggest that anyone interested in mapping take a look at this sample map. I used nothing but standard q3 textures, so everyone should be able to see what I've done. This took me about 30 mins to make.

First off, I suggest that new mappers note the size of the brushes that I use that touch the void. They are 64 units thick, and line up nicely on the grid. This is a crucial point when you have 4000 + brushes in your map. Always map to the grid!! Also note that NONE of the brushes overlap. Thats cuz I made the hull one brush at a time, and avoided using the CSG hollow feature (whichs causes overlapping brushes) AVOID ALL USAGE OF CSG IF YOU WANT YOUR MAP TO NOT SUCK. Can't stress this enough. Some of the strangest map errors have been caused by use of CSG subtract. Don't use it.

Secondly, you should note the use of caulk. Its EVERY WHERE, and in fact every new brush I created, STARTED as caulk. Then only the faces that can be seen are given a texture.

Thirdly, proper use of detail brushes will dramatically decrease the time it takes your map to compile. The question most people ask is, "what is a detail brush?", and "how do I know weather to make a brush detail or not?".

Basically, if the brush can't block vis, it should be detail. So all the trims and small brushes that make up your map, should be detail. This way the compiler spends NO time on them when trying to figure out if it does block vis or not.

If you open up the .map I have provided, you will note that 90% of the brushes are detail, because in no way, could they block vis from one room to the other. You can turn detail on and off by:

Detail commands
Ctrl-D = turns detail on and off
ctrl-m = makes the selected brush(s) detail
ctrl-shift-s = makes the selected brush(s) structural

There are actually A LOT of other things you can gleam from this map.

Curves: Look behind the curves in each of those rooms, notice its caulk. This eliminates that nasty tearing look when you are far away from a patch/curve.

Mitering: Select some of the brushes on the outer edge of the floor. Note how they are cut, and fit nicely together, eliminating wasted faces drawn, or textures behind brushes.

Hints: The use of the hint brush in the hallway and how the surrounding brushes meet up with it is also a good indication on how to use a hint brush. The player standing on one side of the hint, will only see what's on his side, and what's INSIDE the hint. Thus preventing the engine from drawing things on the other side of the hint.

If you don't understand some of these terms, or can't figure out how or why I did something, hit me up, and I'll do my best to explain. I posted this mostly to get people thinking about what they are doing, instead of wasting time on something I will tell them to delete.

Good luck!

Raven0us
http://www.wfamaps.com
The only thing wrong with this mod, are the people who play it.

[FnL]Raven0us

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