Saving and Compiling

The final stage of making a level is saving and compiling it. A map must be compiled to run it in the Source Engine. Saving and Compiling the Map

First, let's save the map.

Choose Save As... from the File Menu.

Set the name of the map in the Save As... dialog.

Type "dm_myroom" into the File Name field .

Then click the Save button to save the map to disk.

Hammer maps are saved in the .VMF file format.

Before playing the map in the game, a map must be compiled.

When a map is compiled, it is converted from the raw .VMF file into the .BSP format used by the game engine. The geometry is processed and the proper lighting and shadows are calculated.

Pick Run Map... from the File Menu.

The Run Map dialog sets some basic compile parameters.

1. Make sure that Normal is set for the settings for BSP, VIS, and RAD. 2. Under the Additional game parameters, type:

-dev -console +sv_lan 1

See the Source SDK FAQ if you wish to learn more about these settings.

3. Now click the OK button to start the map compile process.

The Compile Process Window will show the progress of the compile.

When the compilation is done, Half-Life 2: Deathmatch will automatically launch, and load your map in the engine.

Here's a shot of the compiled map in-game. Not much to look at yet, but it has the basic pieces you need to get started making your own maps.