The Left4Dead mapping and mappack discussion zone

[NIPPER]

Use this thread to talk about mapping for Left 4 Dead and to plan our possible j2 mappacks.

I made a project on FPSB to post screens but I can’t edit it now for some reason but you might be able to add WIPs to it.
http://www.fpsbanana.com/studios/projects/view/22199

Things we know we need in a l4d map:
start safe room
end safe room
weapon spawns
health kit / pill spawns
one-way areas for zombie hordes to spawn in. Like a hole in the ceiling or a fenced off area.
rescue closets - for respawning dead survivors.
alert the horde - something that the players must trigger that will alert a horde of zombies. A small defense part.

Right now with the unofficial SDK I can't figure out how to make an ending safe room so it's hard to get much tested because the director needs to see the start and end of the map to spawn zombies in properly.

So we need the official SDK to finish the maps but we should be able to get started with the method in the FPSB tut.

We also need to figure out how to edit the navs. A lot is done with navs in this game. nav_gui seems very broken right now.

[Dr.Boo]

I got a question...

Also, how much time do we have? To be honest, I think I'll need quite some time since I make the textures myself + the bumpmaps. But I'll try to hurry up.

I'm texturing my ass of these days to accelerate the process but I'm afraid I'll still need more time than the other participants hope that's okay to you.
Also:

Just a question: how big is a map supposed to be? Is a size rougly the same as as_moria (1.6) big enough?

Sorry I'm annoying you with questions, but you're our leader

[NIPPER]

there's no deadline, we haven't even started yet or decided what we're going to do. Alpha doesn't even have the game so that pretty much leaves me and you as the "for sure will participate" list.

I'm probably going to work on my own generic urban maps campaign until we figure something out.

Map size can vary, just look at the official maps. But yeah as_moria is a good size although that map is a bad example because it's too open. You wanna have a lot of hallways and extra rooms off of the main path to try and split the survivors up and for zombie spawns.

[MrBlip]

I must not be doing something right:

[Dr.Boo]

Need cubemaps and some of your textures aren't correctly set up.

[NIPPER]

the home-made sdk tut I posted leaves a lot of hl2 stuff in it, it's using hl2mp as the base.
You can filter the model browser to only show l4d stuff but with textures it's a guessing game. Unless you have spent so much time looking at the hl2 textures that the l4d ones stand out. 8)

[Dr.Boo]

Also, is it possible to do some very basic brushwork in Valve Hammer for CSS but then "port" what you already have to L4D? I'm asking because I don't have the game yet neither (though I ordered it and should be in the store within the next days).
I don't plan to put any entities except maybe lights though... just some basic brushwork to see how the textures look ingame.
And you can use the standard HL2 props, right?

[ayeyah]

And you can use the standard HL2 props, right?

I don't think you can. It's a completely independent game, and doesn't mount any of the other GCFs (yet?)

[KoD]

Alpha doesn't even have the game so that pretty much leaves me and you as the "for sure will participate" list.

I've already started on a few things - so I'm a "for sure will try to participate" - I can't map unless I'm listening to some good music or I'll get bored and stop, so I'll have to find a new good band or something.

[Dr.Boo]

And you can use the standard HL2 props, right?

I don't think you can. It's a completely independent game, and doesn't mount any of the other GCFs (yet?)

Uh Oh. I'll either have to port these models or I'll have to find L4D models that look the same... right now I'm only using a small powerbox... I'm sure there will be a similar one in L4D.

[KoD]

There's a ton of hl2 props that are in L4D. I don't think you can use the hl2 models but there is a ton of them already in the game.

[AMMO]

I will for sure be contributing 1 house map.

[Dr.Boo]

I added my WiP. It's very early but now you guys and other people know what theme to expect.
http://www.fpsbanana.com/studios/wips/view/25937

[Dr.Boo]

PS: Nipper, I like your WiP. It reminds me a movie I saw long ago but I forgot the name.

[NIPPER]

Lord of the Rings?