Talk:Left 4 dead level creation

L4D Navigation Troubleshooting

Anyone have success in generating a navigable map? I've found that some nav areas are marked as ESCAPE_ROUTE, but it doesn't appear to be persisted to the nav file (or after nav_analyze).

I've marked PLAYER_START and CHECKPOINT areas, but I'm prompted on map load with:

GetGoalArea: Cannot find SPAWN_RESCUE_CLOSET area in FINALE, thus cannot guarantee reachability of goal area 
  Using centroid of finale region...
GetGoalArea: Cannot find end area - no checkpoint or finale located.
ComputeFlowDistances: ERROR - Cannot compute flow.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! --Molaughlen 17:46, 3 Dec 2008 (PST)

I've been adding some notes to the "Your First Left 4 Dead Map" article that cover some of these questions. It's still a work in progress at the moment, hence why it isn't linked to the main level creation page. There's also some good info over on l4dmaps.net site. --brandished 20:43, 3 Dec 2008 (PST)

Thanks for the link, but there's nothing in the article regarding my specific issue. The only thing I saw that could have been a problem is the info_changelevel entity wasn't touching the CHECKPOINT nav area. I adjusted the entity's position, but still produces nav errors. Also after decompiling l4d_vs_farm01_hilltop the info_changelevel is at position (0, 0, 0) and not in the CHECKPOINT area.

Also, the article doesn't go into exactly what needs to happen in the nav system, but does provide the basic steps in building a nav mesh. I think Valve needs to fix nav_analyze to get my map to work. It's strange to see ESCAPE_ROUTE areas disappear. --Molaughlen 07:57, 4 Dec 2008 (PST)

Creating a NAV file for Left 4 Dead

You need to have a safe room up and working, then create 2 *.cfg files in the "Left 4 Dead/left4dead/cfg" folder, call them "navigation" and "director" and put the following inside each:

navigation.cfg

sv_cheats 1
nav_edit 1
nav_mark_walkable
nav_generate
nav_analyze
nav_edit 0
sv_cheats 0

director.cfg

sv_cheats 1
director_stop
director_start
sv_cheats 0

Then ingame in the console, type exec navigation to create a nav file, let it load and when its done type exec director. This will make the director work correctly.

Reload your map and zombies should spawn correctly. If you have a saferoom.

current game menu

How do I put this game in the current game thing?!?! I NEED TO KNOW!--Lazy genius 19:06, 25 Dec 2008 (PST)

WAIT FOR THE REAL SDK! --Craziestdan 19:27, 25 Dec 2008 (PST)

+1 this, my guess is it might have something to do with this, but I'm not sure. I haven't found any explanation on doing this yet myself. IN FACT, I don't think anyone (other then Valve) has done this, it might not even be possible right now. You know what that means? YOU COULD FIGURE IT OUT, TELL EVERYONE ELSE, AND BE THE HERO! OR... you could wait for the SDK like the rest of us lazies. :P The good old console command "map mapname" will get the job done in the mean time. --brandished 03:11, 26 Dec 2008 (PST)

"you could wait for the SDK like the rest of us lazies. :P" wait... theres going to be a new SDK with l4d? Ill just wait then. --Lazy genius 21:03, 27 Dec 2008 (PST)

Lol, yes, there is going to be a SDK. The current one is just done by a nobody wanting to get famous. --Craziestdan 21:09, 27 Dec 2008 (PST)

ummm what... Im confused im talking about the current game menu in the sdk. theres a fake sdk? what? --Lazy genius 13:11, 28 Dec 2008 (PST)

Yes, you can set it up manually, but chances are none of it will work when the actual SDK comes out. It difficult to do, you have to import all models, etc. Not worth it. Just make all your Geometry in TF2 or CSS then copy past when the SDK is ready. --CorporalAris 14:09, 28 Dec 2008 (PST)

There's no "SDK" so much as just an "unofficial" FGD for Hammer made by an impatient mapper who wanted to give everyone a heads start. I have to hand it to whoever made it, it's a fairly complete FGD considering it was made most likely from trial-and-error and copying over parts of other FGDs.

I would not worry about having to restart your map from scratch once the official SDK is released though. I'm not sure where this notion is coming from, but VMF's are just txt files with a VMF extension, they don't reference any specific material or model file names, just there relative path names. The structure has barely changed since Valve released the first Source SDK over 4 years ago, I'm not sure what makes everyone think Valve has completely rearranged it for L4D. --brandished 01:44, 29 Dec 2008 (PST)

Yeah I suppose. Thanks for the input. --CorporalAris 18:38, 29 Dec 2008 (PST)