Valve Developer Community:Community portal
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Welcome to the Valve Developer Community! From here on in you can forget Valve - every page you see with an edit tab, including this one, is likely written or at least altered by someone in the community (though Valve staff are sometimes among them). If you want to do the same, go right ahead! Otherwise, take a look at the Categories or run a seach to find what you want.
Recommended sites
This is a list of alternate resource sites for Source games in alphabetical order. It is by no means complete but please, if you add to it keep to decent sites and do not link to simple map download databases. (Can editors please stop placing their websites at the top of the listing, place websites in the alphabetical order that they should be in.)
Cross-Purpose and General Development
- Gamedesign.net - Some helpful modding and mapping tutorials.
- Handy Vandal's Almanac - One of the original top editing resource sites for Half Life, contains some HL2 info. Linked to in Worldcraft's help menu.
- HL2 Mod Central - General tutorials
- HL2World.com - Half Life 2 Knowledge Base
- hl.tozcentral.net - Half Life and Half-Life 2 resource, Post your own bots, maps, media, mods and tutorials
- Interlopers.net - News and general resources
- Leak-Free - A Source Engine Development Community.
- Error Listing - A comprehensive listing of Hammer 3/4 errors and solutions.
- Mapcore - A great place to get mapping, modelling and texture help from industry pros.
- Mod Database - Free listings of mods for almost every moddable game. A great database full of tons of information on mods that are out there.
- Modhelp.net - A developing modding community.
- Nem's Tools - Several useful Source tools including GCFScape
- The Snarkpit - Mapping and modelling community site
- Sourceblog - General tutorials (Many on Texturing/Skinning)
- SourceWiki - Unofficial and older Source Wiki
- TWHL - Mapping community and tutorial site, mostly HL1.
- VERC - Valve Editing Resource Collective. This site's predecessor, which offers primarily HL1 resources (Official)
- Wavelength - One of the original sources of HL1 editing material, now steadily servicing HL2
- Wunderboy.org - Several useful Source tools including VTFTool
Mapping
- aKilling.org - Source Mapping tutorials, Files, child-safe forums. (English, German & Portuguese)
- Edit Life - Mapping articles and forums
- Half-wit 2 - Another collection of Mapping tutorials
- zombies Optimizing-page information on optimizing your map
- zombie's *Edited* Optimization Page An in-depth guide to optimizing your maps.
- Hl2Mapping.com - A Friendly helpful, mapping community.
Map Archives
- The Ascendancy - What you're trying to live up to. Database of the very best HL2DM maps.
- LanManiaX - The largest map database for HL\HL2.
Modelling
- Cannonfodder's Tools - 3DSMax Importers and Exporters, Dispgen - Displacement Terrains from heightmaps, StudioCompiler - Model/Texture Compiler/Decompiler, winBSPzip - BSP Packer
- CG Talk The largest and most useful model discussion/news site on the internet.
- RnL Forums' Lightwave Plugins - Lightwave mesh export plugins. Not currently available, but may be in the future.
Content Design Tools
Image Creation and Editing
- Adobe Photoshop - The standard image editing tool in the industy, used by professionals all over the world. Very expensive.
- Adobe Photoshop Elements - Low-cost, consumer version of Photoshop with high-end features such as colour management removed.
- The GIMP - Completely free, open source image editing software available for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and other UNIX operating systems. Complex to use, but powerful, scriptable and endlessly modifiable.
- Paint Shop Pro - A cheap alternative to Adobe Photoshop. For those who don't want to break the bank.
- Wally - Simple and dumb freeware texture/decals/skining editing program.
3D Modelling, Animation and Rendering
- 3D Studio Max - Powerful tool for modeling and animation, one of the industry's best. Expensive.
- Blender - Free, open source modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback library/engine/IDE.
- Maya 3D - Excellent modeling and animation package. Considered to be one of the best among modders. Also expensive.
- Wings3D - Free, open source Nendo-alike natural modeling IDE.
Programming
- Hl2 Coding - Has some good hl2 related coding tutorials and has great forums for coders to chat.
Resources
Content for your project.
- Animax.it - Free textures.
- Image * After - 10,000+ free images and textures.
- Mayang.com Textures - Free textures for your maps and mods.
- Moddb texture site directory - Directory of free, ready to use game textures.
- MorgueFile - Free, high-resolution stock photography.
Other
Other pages that may be of interest.
Game Design
- Game Design Theory - Interesting for art directors, team leaders
- GuildHall - Teaching the arts and sciences of digital game development.
- Ken Birdwell's Gamasutra article - The Cabal: Valve’s Design Process For Creating Half-Life (registration required)
Steam
