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[edit] Step 1: How to make a map

(WIP) Learn the basic tools:

Launcher.exe

Radiant

EffectsEd

Asset Manager

Asset Viewer

[edit] Step 2: Plan out your level

You should always plan out your level, whether on paper, in radiant or both a plan will help you iron out any early bugs.

Research: Use Google to find the region that you want to map for (if it's a map set on earth!), find buildings that suit that area. Draw the buildings out on paper and get some rough measurements (use inches).

Now use these measurements (1 inch = 1 unit) in Radiant, draw out a big block for each building (use Caulk).

// Prefabs tools>textures>caulk

Once you have positioned all of your buildings you might want to select 1 building, click "file"/"save selected" and save it in "codwaw/map_source/_prefabs/YOURMAPNAME/building_01.map.

So now you would have each of your buildings saved in a special folder called "yourmapname" in the _prefabs directory.

Now right click the 2d grid> misc> prefab

Select one of your buildings from the browser. You can then (with it selected) go to "edit>enter prefab" (or right click and go through the menu). Once inside your house you can edit it to your liking, when your done, hit 'crt+s' and exit the prefab.

Building each house in it's own prefab means you can move them around the map easier, rotate them and makes it easier to edit them.

Now that you've build up some houses and have them positioned you can start with your terrain.

[edit] Step 3: Terrain

There are many different ways of making terraing and it is all down to personal taste and what suits the level. Try to limit the vertex count though, too many can cause crashes, too few will not look very nice if your making hills. Best thing to do is work out exactly how many you need.

Personally I would make the more complicated places of the terrain, the roads, bends, gutters etc. Then build up from there. If you had a road between two house, a pavement on both sides, gutters and a curve in the road the verts would be:

Road Surface Simple low vertice count road: (wide)

11 Vertices wide.

(long) I used 4.

However many you need, if you have a house on a corner and you wanted a smooth rounded road you would add vertices (patch>add/insert - row/coloumn) until it suits.

This path: Picture

Is around 4 vertices wide - because I needed the path to curve and twist slightly, I'll probably add more to it too to get the right look.

The hills then need to join up to each vertex. So you count how many vertices you need. If you have a patch that was 8X5 and you want to join to the columns (the 5) then you would have to make another patch next to it that's *x5 the * can be what ever you want.

Once you've made your roads (trial and error works best remember) you can then build terrain up until you meet the edges of your playable area. Once you get there you are then building Background scenery.

If you can see the Background really well, then it should be detailed accordingly. If there's something obscuring the view then you can get away with less complex patches... slowly stop using alpha blends and models as you start getting further away and start using 2d foliage and distance fog.

Others probably use better methods than I do and I'm sure of it but it's all about what how YOU want to do.

Draw out a brush, make it a patch, pick any old number of verts and see what you can make with it. Keep adding patches until you've made something, anything (the first thing I ever made was a Trench back in COD1 and the worst house you have ever seen!).

Play around with the terrain before you get serious with it.

[edit] Step 4: Lighting

You will want to research [Skyboxes]. Light your map with natural light as much as possible then use normal light entities and [Dynamic Lighting] to boost certain areas and add extra effect.

[edit] Step 5: Models

Use Xmodels to clutter your environment.

[edit] Step 6: Light Grid Volume

[edit] Step 7: Reflection Probes

[edit] Step 8: SP Map Setup

[edit] Step 8: MP Map Setup

[edit] Step 9: First Compile

[edit] Step 10: Scripting

[edit] Step 11: Extra Features

[edit] Step 12: Nodes

[edit] Step 13: Effects

[SP Effects] [MP Effects]

[edit] Step 14: Sounds

[SP Sounds ] [MP Sounds]