[How-to] Making Your First Nexuiz Map

[-z-]

[size=x-large]Intro[/size]

This tutorial is for Windows and Linux users. I don't know how to make maps on Mac OSX. Perhaps someone can add notes to this How-to.

In this how-to, I will show you how to make your first map for Nexuiz using [url=http://www.qeradiant.com]GtkRadiant[/url] 1.5 which you can [url=http://zerowing.idsoftware.com/files/radiant/GtkRadiant-1.5.0.msi]Download here[/url] if you haven't already.

Run through the install, selecting the '[b]typical[/b]' method when prompted.

Note that this is an older tutorial, a lot of points are still quite valid but you may want to combine this information with the knowledge found in [urlhttp://www.nexuizninjaz.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=35]Mapjutsu[/url]. Specifically [url=http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=420 ]
[How-to] Begin mapping like a ninja[/url] and [url=http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=441][Useful] Mapping Resources/Places to Visit[/url].

[size=x-large]Getting Setup[/size]

Open GtkRadiant, select '[b]Nexuiz[/b]' and click '[b]okay[/b]'.

[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-select_nexuiz.png[/img]

You will be prompted to find your Nexuiz directory. Do so and click '[b]okay[/b]'.

You will be greeted with a screen similiar to this:
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-default.png[/img]

We're going to make it a little easier to understand by making the log box smaller an the grid bigger.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-default-resized.png[/img]
Do this by click the dividers and dragging them to where you want.

Once you have your area setup...

[size=x-large]Make Your Box[/size]

Drag your grid so that the camera is in the bottom left corner. Do this by holding right click. Then left click and draw a box on the grid.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step1.png[/img]

To get a better look at what you're working with, right click the preview box. You mouse will now control the camera angel, your arrows will move you through the environment. To deselect, right click again.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step2.png[/img]

Make sure your box is selected, the box on the grid should be red. If it's not, shift click the box. Then hit '[b]Hollow[/b]' on the toolbar.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step3.png[/img]

Press [b]ctrl+tab[/b] to change to the grid view and select the bottom plane by holding shift and clicking it. If you select the wrong one, you can deselect it by hitting '[b]esc[/b]'
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step4.png[/img]

Press '[b]alt+down[/b]' to move the plane down one unit.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step5.png[/img]

Repeat this method for the top plane.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step6.png[/img]

Hit '[b]ctrl+tab[/b]' until your screen looks something like this
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step7.png[/img]

Using the method you just learned, move the planes so the look like this.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step8.png[/img]
[b]Remember[/b]: '[b]Shift+click[/b]' to select, '[b]esc[/b]' to deselect and take advantage of the camera view to rotate your map when you can't click something easily.


Okay, so why the hell did I just make you do all that? You should not overlap brushes EVER. It will slow down your map amongst other things. It's best to learn the proper method first.

[size=large]Caulk It[/size]

This step is probably done best before you even draw your first box but we can caulk right now as well. I'll teach you a little trick too.

Make sure everything is deselected ('[b]esc[/b]') and hit '[b]i[/b]' (inverse). Select '[b]common[/b]' in your textures list and find the '[b]caulk[/b]' shader.

[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step9.png[/img]

[size=x-large]Lets Go Inside[/size]

Using the camera view, go into your room and find a spot you'd like to place your player start point. Right click that spot on your grid and select '[b]info->info_player_start[/b]'.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step10.png[/img]

Now that we have a spawn point, lets give the player something to look at. Select the walls brush faces by '[b]ctrl+shift+clicking[/b]' the walls. We're only selecting these faces because we'll never see the other ones and that would be a waste.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step11.png[/img]

Select one of the evil packs from the texture list and find something to texture your walls, do the same for the ceiling and floor.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step12.png[/img]


[size=x-large]Get it ready for play[/size]

Give yourself something to play with when you go to test it and save your map.
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step13.png[/img]

Once you're happy with your setup, compile the map
[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/gtkr-step14.png[/img]

Create a map config file in your '[b]Nexuiz/data/maps[/b]' directory (possibly '[b]~/.nexuiz/data[/b]' on Linux/Mac).
If your map was called '[b]ztopia[/b]' you would call the mapcfg file "[b]ztopia.mapcfg[/b]".

Inside this file, we point to our compiled BSP, also known as ztopia. Add this line, replacing ztopia with your map name to your newly created mapcfg file and save it.

Code:

changelevel ztopia

[size=x-large]Play it![/size]

Now that we're all set, open up Nexuiz and drop the console (Shift+esc) and type '[b]map <yourmapname>[/b]'. So I would type, '[b]map ztopia[/b]'.

[img]http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/pics/howtos/nexuiz000358.jpg[/img]

Now that's a small map!


[s]This should be enough to get your started... I'll add more to this later, including how to make your own map pack.[/s]


[size=x-large]Introduction to the pk3[/size]

The best way to understand how map files work in Nexuiz, or any [b]pk3[/b] (pack file) for that matter is to see it as a [b]'clean' way of adding files or subdirectories[/b] to the infamous [b]data directory[/b]. A [b]pk3[/b] is merely a [b]renamed zip file[/b].

For example, if you wanted to share a bunch of demos, you could make create a zip file with the following hierarchy:

An example of a pk3 that contains multiple demos Wrote:demos

2008-02-06_18-34_toxic.dem
2008-02-06_18-19_final_rage.dem
2008-02-06_21-42_lavaflag-20070428.dem

You can drop that file in your data directory and it will load the demos. can't believe it's that easy? [url=http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/demos/z/nn_z_demos_example.pk3]download the above example[/url] and try for yourself.

Custom pack files have priority over data20070531.pk3 (dataxxxxxxxx.pk3) and unpacked files have priority over both.

For example, if I were to have a pack containing [b]sound\misc\talk.wav[/b] with a custom sound [url=http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/downloads/z_chat_1.pk3]this pack here[/url], it'll replace the [b]sound\misc\talk.wav[/b] in [b]dataxxxxxxxx.pk3[/b]. To trump this, create the folders [b]sound\misc[/b] in the [b]data[/b] directory with a [b]talk.wav[/b] file.

[color=#555555][size=small]Note: Currently pk3's only auto run in data directory. Most likely for security reasons.[/size][/color]

[size=x-large]The information beblow is outdated, check out this thread:
[url=http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=420&pid=3282#pid3282][How-to] Begin mapping like a ninja: Packaging your map[/url][/size]

[size=x-large]Creating a Map Pack[/size]

Maps only really require one folder, [b]maps[/b]. However, you can add any others you may need, such as 'sound', 'textures', 'scripts', etc.

I will use [url=http://maps.nexuizninjaz.com/zion_beta_3.pk3]zion_beta_3.pk3[/url] as an example.

zion_beta_3 map pack contains Wrote:maps

zion_beta_3.map - [color=red]Since Nexuiz is open source, it's nice to include this for other mappers[/color]
zion_beta_3.jpg - [color=red]This is the picture in the maps menu[/color]
zion_beta_3.cfg - [color=red]I just use this for music, I don't know much more about it[/color]
zion_beta_3.bsp - [color=red]The compiled map file[/color]
ctf_zion_beta_3.txt - [color=red]Description File[/color]
ctf_zion_beta_3.mapcfg - [color=red]Sets gametype, fraglimits, timelimit, etc. as well as points to the bsp[/color]

textures - [color=red]Textures are pretty self explanitory[/color]

zion
t-flr_oddtile_drty_0003.jpg
poster_2.jpg
poster_1.jpg
cb_mtltekfloor_fx2_red_glow.jpg
cb_mtltekfloor_fx2_blue_glow.jpg

This is pretty much as basic as you can get. Unless you didn't use any custom textures.

Note: If your map contains textures from any of the '[b]evil[/b]' folders, you do not have to include them in your pack.

[mkzelda]

Wow. Thank you! This is *exactly* what I wanted/needed. I've been wanting to start doing this for so long but I did not want to jump into it blindly.

I'm installing on a 64-bit Gentoo machine here and I've run into a few specific problems. The gtk-radiant installer does some 32-bit specific code without checking the processor, and links against 32-bit binaries. The result on a 64-bit machine is that the needed libgtkglext and libgdkglext libraries are missing or incompatible. There are several solutions that I found from searching:

1) Use the subversion build. I read the installer is fixed and I'll be confirming this soon.
2) Fix the installer. The tremulous forum had a thread with a repaired installer.py but I didnt have that file in my package and I cant find the url now.
3) If you have a 32-bit chroot, or dont mind making one, you can copy the 32-bit versions of the libraries from your /usr/lib32/ to your /usr/lib64
4) You might try these libraries someone prepared, at you own risk: [url]http://www.geekbin.net/main/2007/09/23/psx-fixed-for-amd64-users/[/url]

The next problem was that the ebuild for gtkradiant did not include Nexuiz. I followed [url]http://www.alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2275[/url] for a subversion howto. I also snagged this helpful tip from the ubuntu forums but applies to kde users: You'll want to remap/disable the Walk Through Desktop List default shortcut key of ctrl+tab so you can use it properly in Radiant.

[Dokujisan]

Good starting tutorial. It was pretty clear and the resulting map worked for me.

Perhaps this could be merged with this other Nexuiz tutorial that tZork and C.Brutail started over a year ago.
[url]http://zdev.dvrdns.org/radiant_tutorial/tblocontents.html[/url]

It was originally discussed here
[url]http://alientrap.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=906[/url]

[grasshopper]

[URL=http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=imadethisbh6.jpg][IMG]http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/723/imadethisbh6.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
ok this was a first attemt to make a map and i feel proud to have made it .
it's not much but it works and is playable , uh , as much as you can play in a 20x20 room .
cant wait for more details to make a real map .geez look at the fps in this small room. click the thumb to enlarge

[grasshopper]

Do you guys know how to make new textures for the maps ? And also are you guys looking for training maps built specifically for rocket/laser jumps , hook , speed ,etc.? i really enjoy building these things and will submit some maps to nexuiz when i learn GTKradiant more.

[-z-]

grasshopper Wrote:Do you guys know how to make new textures for the maps ?

Create them with your image editing software of choice, then drop them in [b]data\textures\[your map name][/b].

The should be accessible per that name via the texture box in radiantGTK now.

grasshopper Wrote:And also are you guys looking for training maps built specifically for rocket/laser jumps , hook , speed ,etc.?

We like maps of all kinds :).

[grasshopper]

After a long drawn out evening , I think i have a map for training . this map focuses on jumps with the rocketlauncher and the laser . This is just a basic level for froggin' around . I tried to keep in mind not to make things too hard so that the user can get used to moving around . I made rounds in in here and found that it is a continous practice . So i need to let the teachers have it for inspection and some final touches .here's the screenies

[URL=http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/viewer.php?file=xtpgt7hxg25ip63bbhy6.jpg][IMG]http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/files/xtpgt7hxg25ip63bbhy6_thumb.jpg[/IMG][/URL][URL=http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/viewer.php?file=ix0k76icel5p6pjpm8i5.jpg][IMG]http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/files/ix0k76icel5p6pjpm8i5_thumb.jpg[/IMG][/URL][URL=http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/viewer.php?file=jz59nmdon2ikwoh6i8w2.jpg][IMG]http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/files/jz59nmdon2ikwoh6i8w2_thumb.jpg[/IMG][/URL][URL=http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/viewer.php?file=kh6pjp93y90gzud3bht0.jpg][IMG]http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/files/kh6pjp93y90gzud3bht0_thumb.jpg[/IMG][/URL][URL=http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/viewer.php?file=5vesvryxn9d3oqg02xul.jpg][IMG]http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com/files/5vesvryxn9d3oqg02xul_thumb.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
also need directions on uploading . Isaw how to in gtkradiant but those are for q3 and i dont want to mess up . And where to upload to . see you in training1 map.

[-z-]

I can't see bigger pics :(. Use [url]http://pics.nexuizninjaz.com[/url] for image hosting.

What do you mean you need directions on uploading? How to make a pk3?

[grasshopper]

You can click on the thumbs for bigger veiw now , sry didnt check that earlier .
by directions i mean , what do i need to do from here on out to get the map to you guys for inspection. i have never done this before .

[-z-]

[size=x-large]The information beblow is outdated, check out this thread:
[url=http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=420&pid=3282#pid3282][How-to] Begin mapping like a ninja: Packaging your map[/url][/size]


[size=x-large]Introduction to the pk3[/size]

The best way to understand how map files work in Nexuiz, or any [b]pk3[/b] (pack file) for that matter is to see it as a [b]'clean' way of adding files or subdirectories[/b] to the infamous [b]data directory[/b]. A [b]pk3[/b] is merely a [b]renamed zip file[/b].

For example, if you wanted to share a bunch of demos, you could make create a zip file with the following hierarchy:

An example of a pk3 that contains multiple demos Wrote:demos

2008-02-06_18-34_toxic.dem
2008-02-06_18-19_final_rage.dem
2008-02-06_21-42_lavaflag-20070428.dem

You can drop that file in your data directory and it will load the demos. can't believe it's that easy? [url=http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/demos/z/nn_z_demos_example.pk3]download the above example[/url] and try for yourself.

Custom pack files have priority over data20070531.pk3 (dataxxxxxxxx.pk3) and unpacked files have priority over both.

For example, if I were to have a pack containing [b]sound\misc\talk.wav[/b] with a custom sound [url=http://www.nexuizninjaz.com/downloads/z_chat_1.pk3]this pack here[/url], it'll replace the [b]sound\misc\talk.wav[/b] in [b]dataxxxxxxxx.pk3[/b]. To trump this, create the folders [b]sound\misc[/b] in the [b]data[/b] directory with a [b]talk.wav[/b] file.

[color=#555555][size=small]Note: Currently pk3's only auto run in data directory. Most likely for security reasons.[/size][/color]

[size=x-large]Creating a Map Pack[/size]

Maps only really require one folder, [b]maps[/b]. However, you can add any others you may need, such as 'sound', 'textures', 'scripts', etc.

I will use [url=http://maps.nexuizninjaz.com/zion_beta_3.pk3]zion_beta_3.pk3[/url] as an example.

zion_beta_3 map pack contains Wrote:maps

zion_beta_3.map - [color=red]Since Nexuiz is open source, it's nice to include this for other mappers[/color]
zion_beta_3.jpg - [color=red]This is the picture in the maps menu[/color]
zion_beta_3.cfg - [color=red]I just use this for music, I don't know much more about it[/color]
zion_beta_3.bsp - [color=red]The compiled map file[/color]
ctf_zion_beta_3.txt - [color=red]Description File[/color]
ctf_zion_beta_3.mapcfg - [color=red]Sets gametype, fraglimits, timelimit, etc. as well as points to the bsp[/color]

textures - [color=red]Textures are pretty self explanitory[/color]

zion
t-flr_oddtile_drty_0003.jpg
poster_2.jpg
poster_1.jpg
cb_mtltekfloor_fx2_red_glow.jpg
cb_mtltekfloor_fx2_blue_glow.jpg

This is pretty much as basic as you can get. Unless you didn't use any custom textures.

Note: If your map contains textures from any of the '[b]evil[/b]' folders, you do not have to include them in your pack.