A mappers mindset

Personaly i dont sketch anything.I get an idea of what kind of map i want to make and how map would look like and just wait for inspiration to make jumps.I usualy call fuzzy to get his opinion on what i should change in design.As for jumps,i call friends,sometimes some top players.i usualy dont listen to players,every each one player has own preference of jumps,i only listen about difficulties,whats too hard/easy,and if some jump repeats too much,i tend to change it,since i make only hard maps.As for making map in general,i just wait for inspiration,sometimes i watch a movie and out of nowhere i see picture in my head what i should make,stop movie,make stuff.But yea,inspiration for me,comes naturaly,i can go days without it,and i can have tons of it in same day,so much,that i dont know where to start.Thats about it.Gl with your future projects.

I usually get a vision of the kind of map I'd like to make, open up VHE and make something and by the time it's done I've modified everything so much that it's completely different to what I started with. Usually things work out really well once I figure out a theme and a texture scheme and it's just flow from that point on. I never sketch anything out. I test all of it myself and get a few other people to test and find shortcuts I have missed. For me the toughest thing is to find new textures that work together.

Tools: VHE 3.5.3, latest VHLT and batch compiler. Manga Studio EX for modifying/making textures and Wally for managing wads. VTFEdit and PAK Explorer for extracting and converting source textures. Bulk Rename Utility for renaming hundreds of images at once for easier browsing in VHE. MPQedit and some image conversion tool for ripping textures out of WoW.

Jumps and design are both important but jumps are more important. Aesthetics is just a nice bonus, nobody likes to look at mismatched and misaligned textures or bad brushwork all day.

Originally posted by KarLi

Originally posted by Niukkis

For me the toughest thing is to find new textures that work together.

haha i understand what u mean there..
who makes his whole room NULL texture first and then starts texturing the map manually all by hand?

[blockquote]Lately I've been thinking a lot of trying to make a kz map. I've made 27 maps so far, almost all of them for deathrun. You can find them on gamebanana[/blockquote]First of all your maps are insane. You have the right touch to combine textures, Skies and all this shit. Some of them could be easy a custommap or more tbh.
[blockquote]What I would like to know is how a kz mapper approaches his project?[/blockquote]Some people are doing layouts, testrooms etc...
[blockquote]Where do you find inspiration?[/blockquote]There are a lot of different ways. Some mappers getting inspired by pictures, videos, themes, ideas from friends etc...
[blockquote]Do you build the map so that you yourself enjoy it or do you get players to test it and modify it according to their opinion?[/blockquote]YES, I mapped only easy speedmaps and bhopmaps because I liked them the most. Sometimes I did something different. Stick with things that you like the most. You cannot make a map that fits to every player. Do something that you like and you will be good at it. DO NOT to try things that you don't like. That will not turn out good. I let my maps test by a lot of people.
[blockquote]Do you sketch out the complete map before you start working or do you improvise as you go along?[/blockquote]Some people are just starting and other people are creating concepts. Sometimes you feel it and sometimes YOU HAVE TO vamp a little bit.
[blockquote]What mapping software and compile tools are you using?[/blockquote]Hammer and the latest zhlt tools.
[blockquote]Sorry if a thread like this already exists somewhere. Also not sure if I placed this in the correct forum section :D[/blockquote]No one give's a fuck. A serious thread is welcome buddy.

PS: To be honest with you. You don't need to ask these questions bud. You past these points. Some of maps were lit. Everything is fitting togheter. Just go for your first kz_map and let some friends and people test it.
YOLO!

Thanks for all the replies so far, really interesting to read about your methods. What amazes me in many new kz maps is the level of creativity in the jumps. Many techniques I would never even think of when mapping. Also the brushwork is simply beautiful.

@niukkis Beautiful brushwork and atmosphere in the maps I've seen from you. The last one you released on the forums was sexy as hell, the color theme was straight out of a modern interior design magazine.

@KarLi I still build everything with null first, this is how it was taught to me long ago. Not sure if such optimization is that necessary anymore in 2018 but applying the textures later on is pretty easy with the texture tool. And at least it all helps with compile times :D

@FuZzy1 Hahah I remember you telling me not to start mapping long ago, you just said "everybody will steal your work and you get no credit". deathrun_dojo is still my favourite dr map after all these years :)

@hm^ Thanks for the kind words, I've always considered you a great mapper in the kz scene so it's really nice to hear this from you. I know I probably have the skills required to make an official map, what I'm mostly wondering is if I will be able to make jumps that the players would enjoy.

@dEMolite Thanks for explaining the process in such detail, very interesting read.

So you mostly build the layout and environment first, and add the jumps as the last part? Or does it mostly depend on the project?

https://youtu.be/naVRNNC3Fkc?t=1s

Here is a small idea how I usually make a map.
Start with 521x512 floor and info_player_start. After that i just go with it as it comes.

nice to hear opinions and methods from all these awesome mappers...mujik, dydka tell us your strategy? :P

also gj for your tutorials commander...i just had some problems with compiler and its fixed now...something for pub (my second map)
https://i.snag.gy/cUbXEo.jpg

For me, the biggest problem's always been too big of a vision. I would have an amazing idea for a map (bigger/longer map), I'd start building it, see that it looks worse than I originally anticipated, lose motivation and abandon it before I could finish it. So for me, the usually successful way to go about this is to envision a nice small map part/feature, build up around that and see where it takes me. Another trick I use to keep the motivation is to lay down some eye candy pretty early to have a glimpse at my end product and that keeps my motivation up at a times. But I wouldn't consider this the best practise at all. Those are things I do just because of the way I am, I don't get satisfied with mediocre looking maps. Yes, I do visuals first, then gameplay. Another mistake, but oh well. There are plenty of mappers who just lay down jumps and forget the visual part (see cosy).

The topic is subjective, but the most proffesional approach I can think of would be:
1) Have a vision
2) Lay down some concept art / sketches
3) Build a jumping prototype
4) Put stage 1 visuals
5) Iteratively improve jumps and visuals

The important thing is to try to allocate a final amount of time to each of these steps and go over them in sequence and avoid backtracking. Once you have your vision, move on to sketching and don't try to change your vision anymore. Same thing for sketching to mapping etc. If you hold on to these steps and unattach yourself from this "urge to see the end product, before its even finished" like I tend to do it, you should be able to spit out beautiful maps no problem. I should actually try this method sometimes haha.

However, you might not have such motivation problems yourself and I imo think you are too much of a competent mapper to need guidance from any of us anyway so I would just say - Do what you feel, let the magic work and surprise us with some amazing maps :)