I use Photoshop for editing id textures, and when doing so I make sure I use the pencil tool and disable any kind of brush dynamics or smoothing so that you know that the colours you sample are being replicated exactly when you paint. I do this, and then find that I don't need to disable fullbrites.

I guess if you paint with the Quake palette it's fine too, but I don't really know any good 8-bit workflow in Photoshop. 

again than, I used the remove fullbrights thing, even did the copy paste trick and it didn't work. It removed the bottom row but not the second bottom for some reason.

darkhog, my advice is if you're making your own textures then work at least 2x the size you need and make a swatch using the palette. I wouldn't worry about the brush type too much as it will probably get lost when you downsize anyway. And watch out for fullbrights! :P 

short question, how can the quoth-vermis be moved around?
or how can i spawn it. 

Found this tool. Might be helpful to put ideas down before you fire up the Quake editor. Built more for adventure game layout put looks powerful.

http://autorealm.sourceforge.net/ 

http://www.quaddicted.com/webarchive/kell.quaddicted.com/quoth/quoth_tutorial.html#vermis 

will never replace my pencils and grid paper!!1 

 

You can attach vermis to a rotating train... Google this site for posts by me on this topics. 

Necros, all i want to do is to lift a vermis out of an area the player visited earlier.
Sorry but i�m really desperate about it, attaching it to moving entities don�t work.
Any help would be very appreciated, maybe an example map or sth.

Thank you! 

you make a func_rotate_train and set it up as usual, but instead of making a rotate_object and doing a target->targetname to it, you do the target->targetname to the vermis.
the func_rotate_train will move the vermis around. 

Quark is a bitch you dont want to **** with.
thanks. 

Consistent problem of mine with mapping (for any game really) is being able to create some nice looking rooms/areas, and having no idea what to do with them next; any attempt at layout becomes quickly stale, flat and linear - simply uninteresting. I've spent a long time examining existing maps, offical and custom, what makes them tick and why they have nice layouts with interesting flow; but I still have trouble doing the same myself despite having ideas for gameplay and themes etc.

Any pointers? 

Some layout ideas:

Layers: Take your room and slice it into layers and then create height differences based on the layers. Once you are happy with the height difference connect with stairs/lifts.

Purpose: Design each space with a theme and a purpose. Plan out the layout based on what function or purpose the room is going to have. This will often dictate height and shape considerations.

Texture: Use textures to define shapes, like lego panels. Cut and slice the brushwork based on texture lines, works best for industrial stuff.

Intersection: Take two spaces at different heights and mash them together to form a combined version. The intersecting area will be perfect for letting players see the next space and where they are going. Also good for forcing transitions between architectural styles.

Monster: Create a space specific for a monster which gives the monster a crazy good advantage over anything else in the room. Always allow the player a chance to see the room beforehand so that the only surprise is the monster not room + monster.

Humans: Define the space by door and window dimensions. Will give a location a realistic sense of volume and create a natural foot movement through a room. 

draw on graph paper what kind of layout or idea you have. Better to run out of ideas on paper than to 2 weeks in the editor, you can quickly flesh out your layout before you get hit with the dreaded mappers block.

Don't just draw the overhead layout! Draw a front view, this helps especially if you are making a castle or base that you have to get into.

Make a brush palette! Spend some making various brushes, columns, walls and general themes you want to incorporate. Not only will this save time but also help to maintain a cohesive theme!
I usually make various different brushes with different texture combinations too to see what fits nice.

Inter-connectivity, no-one wants to fight on a map that has no z-axis, make good use of different floor heights, stairways, walkways, overhead and underfoot platforms and bridges. Think of a snake eating itself or the infinity symbol, making your level go back into rooms that you have already visited (perhaps at different heights) will allow you to increase gameplay without increasing workload.

Lighting, make sure your lighting is interesting. No flat-lighting, make use of beams and architecture to cast interesting shadows. Plus a good way to help players not get too lost in your map is to give visual lighting cues, Portal 1 and 2 use this technique a lot!

Take a break from your map! Sometimes I will take a few days abstinence from mapping, sometimes I will have a nap for a bit (some of my best ideas come from that moment just as you're going to sleep)... it'll give fresh perspective! 

Does anyone actually do that stuff? I mean, I know that's the advice that gets given every single time ... draw it out on paper, plan every route, etc. I have never done that in my entire game dev career. Ever. 

I suppose I could scan my graph paper book for you if you need evidence. ;) 

Personally I gave up using graph paper for level layouts years ago. I believe 2D visual devices = 2D maps. If you want 3D level sketch the route in a 3D editor with blocks and ramps. You can always carve up the shapes later for textures.

One thing I find useful is imagine the flow of your level first. Think of the map as a roller coaster with high and low points. Nobody wants to play constant combat maps, allow for negative space. If you don't have empty spaces you cannot create crescendo gameplay moments because the combat intensity is a flat line. 

I pre-plan layout with a flow chart (bubbles connected by lines.) Each bubble is a space with a unique identity, defined either by the gameplay i want in there or the setpiece/visual idea i have.

For the contents of the bubble I draw isometric sketches of the room or area. Sometimes a top-down floorplan is cool too, but that lends itself to 2D rooms so it's better to draw isometric or draw both plan view + elevation view. I usually have too many bubbles and cut some of them during development.

My oldest maps were grown organically with no plan, but both Antediluvian and Rub2m2 were both built using the flowchart method. My professional levels have also been built this way -- with the exception of DM maps since they're so tightly integrated. For those I draw the entire map as one bubble so the isometric sketches include the entire map.

For pro maps I take the next step of blocking out the entire level with rough shapes first before detailing anything. For home-built levels I still do the entire room up to final quality before moving on. 

Yeah, we do the block out thing which is a clear win since moving a few BSP blocks around is a hell of a lot faster than a bunch of meshes and volumes. But the whole sketching it out first thing ... no, never done it.

I was just curious because it seems like such a time sink. I can't imagine it being faster than just getting in the editor and throwing blocking brushes around. 

For me, without hand-drawn sketches, I don't know what I'm building. I guess it depends on the individual, it sounds like you use the brush editor to do your "sketch." 

love to see an example or two of your sketches from Rubicon 2 or Ant. 

Yeah, I just think better in 3D. I'm very visual so I can feel an area better if I can see it in front of me ... By the time I sketch out a version, I could have blocked out 3 versions in that same amount of time. :) 

I am terrible. I'm getting better, but I tend to just build the layout in the editor, almost completely linearly. I also do most detailing as I go. I can totally see the benefit of drawing pics and sketching layouts beforehand though.