Mapping Lessons
This page is for tutorials aimed at beginners with no mapping experience.
A first functional map
This is a sequence of tutorial pages what will guide you through the steps in making a simple map that you'll be able play in the game. The emphasis is on getting things done: concepts are explained briefly but can be skipped, and there are links to other parts of the wiki for further reading. Each tutorial will give the link to the next page.
- Subtract A Space
- Place a Light and build the lighting
- Place a Playerstart and Play Map!
- Apply Texture to a surface
- Place a Pickup - Adding weapons to your Map
- Creating a Terrain
- Adding Sunlight
- Building A SkyBox
After you've got the basics, you might want to check out the Topics On Mapping page.
From there, check out Learn the Tools which covers many common problems you may encounter.
Cleanup discussion
The general idea is:
- fairly short pages that cover a single procedure
- don't give too much of the "fundamentals": emphasis on doing stuff. But by all means link to pages that cover things in more depth; for example Subtract A Space links to red builder brush etc.
If you want to help you can:
- make changes to the list below as you see fit.
- start one of these tutorials with a rough outline of how to proceed
- write one of these tutorials (but read the Guidelines on tutorials please)
Mychaeel: Frankly... this page requires heavy reorganization to be actually useful for beginners.
Nobody starts or wants to start learning something new by first digging through a long row of "fundamentals" before getting anything done. The first thing I'd want to do if I was a newbie wanting to learn about mapping is being swiftly guided through to process of making a simple playable map. That should be the first thing on this page. musicalglass: Done!
The Beginners Guide to Mapping sounds like a great idea, but is a mess itself. It starts well, but very quickly gets deep into explanations of so-called "prerequisites" as well that, in fact, are completely unnecessary for subtracting a few cubes and placing some PlayerStarts. I think it could be salvaged if a whole lot of information was simply removed from that page – for instance the detailed listing of all the toolbar buttons in UnrealEd, most of which nobody needs to make a first map.
ZxAnPhOrIaN: Agreed also. That page is too long and confusing to read. Maybe we should totally find all the pages in Category Mapping and group the major ones into groups. We should totally get rid of all information in this page and Topics On Mapping page.
Tarquin: Let's plan a list.
Wormbo: I added some things to the list I'd want to know when making my first map. The next thing might be static meshes.
Tarquin: I've added an "in more depth" section at the foot of Subtract A Space. the idea is that it's skippable, but it's there for people who want to read it. thoughts?
Mychaeel: Doing it that way is a very good idea: Most important things (from a pragmatic point of view) are to-the-point and come first, more elaborate explanations further down a page.
EntropicLqd: My brother has been on at me for ages to teach him how to make maps using the Unreal Ed. I'm going to be staying with him for two weeks as of Monday so I could spend some time writing down the process of building a map (and taking screenshots along the way). Because he knows nothing I'll have to start from scratch. Maybe I should take the opportunity to re-create DM-Quadroid (lost in a HD crash) and finish what I started.
From other engines?
Maybe we could envisage "mapping for XXX mappers" like the "UScript for Java" pages?
If you are used to using WorldCraft, you are in for a bit of a shock. The Unreal Editor will seem obtuse, awkward, and just plain contrary. Once you get used to it however you'll realise that it's outstanding. Just don't expect it to be an easy ride.
MythOpus: Wasn't WorldCraft replaced by Hammer?
WheatPuppet: Did they change the name, or just the icon? The latest version I messed with was WorldCraft 3.3, but that was... early last year or late 2001. Or are you referring to the HL2 editor? I agree with the above statement. I wish WorldCraft and UnrealEd could be seamlessly merged, because I like bits from both. Oh well, one of those things to remember "when I become a game maker". 
dUc0N: I might start putting together a few tutes for this page, I'll get back to you when I do. 
GRAF1K: No need to wait for us. Feel free to put up any tutes you like.
dUc0N: Well, I just don't want to overlap someone else's 
More dUc0N: I like the way the tutes are organized here, with several mini-tutes in a series.
musicalglass: The page Functional Map has been merged with Create a Room and if I'm not mistaken is now obsolete
The only two pages linking to it now are index pages
GRAF1K: I don't know why people are calling /Functional Map obsolete or want to replace it with a whole series of lessons – why would anyone want to take forever reading long tutorials rather than just look at a single page and learn the same stuff? What advantage could there be? 
Explain?
Note to musicalglass: Wiki is not intended to be in all caps – look at the Unreal Wiki logo.
Tarquin: same length of tutorial, but cut up over several pages. Easier for US to work with
GRAF1K: There's a whole page for stuff that took only a paragraph in /Functional Map. Same size tutorial... but five seperate tutorials. Works out to be 5 times the size. That was the problem I was adressing. I don't know how it would be easier to work with either.
Tarquin: Well the last time the "how to clean all this up" debate took place, the tendency was to make HUGE tutorials, hence the split. I really do not like tutorials that do not explain what is going on. "Subtract your space - Just press CTRL+S on your keyboard" is the sort of thing I mean. You end up with people who don't really know what they're doing, make crappy maps, and give lousy advice on message boards and perpetuate daft myths (like all the dross we used to have about making glass in UT).
GRAF1K: Well... just tell n00bs to be smarter! I see your point. I still wish there was a middle ground... oh, well. You can't have everthing.
