Source Level Design

This page contains articles relating specifically to level design for source

Before you Start Hammer Editor Every Valve game has the Hammer Tools located in its bin directory. Examples of the game directory for the core Source games on Windows: Half-Life 2 C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\Common\Half-Life 2\bin\hammer.exe Counter-Strike: Source D:\SteamLibrary\SteamApps\Common\counter-strike source\bin\hammer.exe Half-Life 2: Deathmatch C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\Common\half-life 2 deathmatch\bin\hammer.exe Note:External Drives start at SteamLibrary Hammer++ Hammer++ Is a community created replacement for Hammer. Officialy Supported Hammer++ officially supports Template:Game name, Template:Game name, Template:Game name, Template:Game name, and Template:Game name. Working Note:You will have to reconfigure hammer++ for these to work. Template:Game name and Template:Game name have tutorials on the Hammer++ download page to set these 2 games up. Template:Game name, Template:Game name, Template:Game name, Template:Game name, and Template:Game name will work under the Template:Game name branch and Template:Game name, Template:Game name, Template:Game name, and Template:Game name will work under the Template:Game name branch. Getting Started Level Design Overview Your First Map Inputs and Outputs Design Theory Single-Player Mapping Tips Bounce (level design) Loops (level design) Push Gameplay Map Compiling Theory How To Develop A Map That Works Adding More Detail to a map Color Theory in Level Design Decompiling Maps Finishing Up Optimization Expert compile mode Bspzip (Embedding Custom Content) Pre-publication evaluation Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Level Design Level Design FAQ Using the Showbudget Panel Compile Errors Source SDK FAQ External Links Level Design Video Tutorials - A list of video tutorials related to Source mapping. Mapping Sites - sites about mapping, including tutorials, articles General Sites - Sites covering a wide variety of topics including mapping Map Archive Sites - sites where you can download maps for Valve's games File Hosting Sites - A list of reliable websites for hosting user-created maps Image Hosting Sites - A list of reliable websites to share screenshots of user-created maps News Site List - A list of websites for hype/advertisement and discussion

General Dimensions Optimization The Face Edit Tool Displacement Surfaces (Terrain) Prop Types Overview 2D Skyboxes Grouping and VisGrouping Entity Hierarchy (parenting) Filter Applications List of entities Creating and Using Prefabs Instances Adding Water Connecting Areas Doors Working Ladders Elevators Teleporters Curved Hallways Angled Geometry Level Transitions Trigger Events Between Levels Lighting Basic Lighting can bring out mood guide players when used correctly. Fixing lighting on a static prop Lighting HDR Lighting Basics Intermediate Lighting Detailing Environmental Lighting, Sun, Weather, & Outdoors Displacement Grass Glass & Windows Cables and Ropes Sound and Music Complex Brush Creation 3D Skyboxes Cubemaps Special Effects Physics Physics Entity Overview Trains Beams and Lasers Explosions Dust, Fog, & Smoke Color correction Sprites Lists of Special Effects Advanced Lighting Advanced Advanced Lighting NPCs and AI Introduction to AI Nodegraph construction