Mapping Tips & Tricks
Here you can find some mapping tips & tricks submitted by OldUnreal community members.
Mapping Tips & Tricks By...
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ThexDarksider
Some mapping tips & tricks to avoid bsp, to make a nice map, etc.:
1. NEVER use cubes as zone separators (I made a nonsolid cube w/ sides marked as portals and it worked out fine until it cut a bsp hole through half of my map... replaced with 4 sheets (from floor to ceiling) and it worked fine).
2. Intersect anything you want to substract, deintersect anything you want to add. NO NO NO! Using too much intersection/deintersection often makes brushes heavily loaded with useless polygons and stupid ne edges you don't need. (de)intersection should be used only when required. (but still, don't let the brush be 50% in the floor and 50% in the air because that fails)
3. Don't fuck with the rebuild dialog's sliders too much for it can cause a disaster and completely fuck up your map beyond all recognition.
4. Avoid using reflective surfaces (translucent + mirror) near fake backdrops (I did that because I can but only once, for lulz).
5. Slice your map to pieces using zones, but don't get crazy and zone off every unit.
6. Basic geometry goes first (use "Set ZoneInfo AmbientBrightness 255 | Flush" while playing through"), then basic lights, then detail geometry, then fine lighting and finally items and enemies (but make sure you leave enough room for everything).
7. Save before rebuild!
8. Keep multiple copies of your map so if you fuck something up, you can easily revert (like I keep at least 100 snapshots of my virtual PC where I code).
9. Do not rebuild paths until final rebuild.
10. Do *NOT* rebuild paths until final rebuild!
11. However, if you *DO* rebuild paths every time you rebuild your map (because you didn't know this before, hurf durf), select all Inventory, Pawn, Keypoint (?) and NavigationPoint (sub)classes, right click one of the selected actors and select Order -> To Last. That will sink reachspecs like Titanic sunk itself (lol fail).
12. Before you add or substract a brush, look at it for god's sake... If it's additive and sinking into floor and you don't want it to, deintersect it (and if it's substractive and is hanging in mid-air, intersect it). If it's pointing out somewhere it shouldn't, make a test room, do (de)intersection(s) there and add/substract it into your map afterwards.
13. (optional) Delete all test rooms and test brushes before releasing your map (if you want to keep your brushes for later lulz, keep a copy of your map with them for yourself).
14. (optional) Add music and ambient sounds into your map if it's not a very silent map (like underwater or something) to keep it interesting.
15. (optional, recommended) Add eye candy. Small semi-solids, Decorations, Emitters, etc. However, do not add too much or it'll generate bad bsp/big file (except if you have a leet upload speed of over 9000 Mbps and a magic wand - no homo).
16. USE 227'S FEATURES GOD DAMNIT! These guys are working hard on this stuff and it's not to be left out... If you make a map without 227's features using 227's editor, then YOU FAIL, PERIOD you should make one, lol. (In case you didn't know, 227's features are extremely sexy...Emitters, Distance Fog, Woodruff and everything else. :))
17. (recommended to required) Play through your map at least 100 times after you make the "final" version and get some beta testers, because you don't want to release a broken map. Or you want...whatever.
18. Add pillars into tall rooms for more realistic look except if the map is abstract or something so pillars really bother and you don't want them.
Hellkeeper
1. If it's a surface, if it's flat, it could probably use more decoration.
2. Trims and borders are essential for a polished look. Trim your walkways, platforms, stairs. You can add trims to a lot of things and it's always nicer with them.
3. You know what sucks? Empty useless rooms suck. If it's useless, it shouldn't be there. If it's empty, it's useless.