Any chance someone can piece together a master checklist and either sticky it or make it a tutorial? I'm thinking it would be something like below, but with some other pertinent information. I know about forum searching, but I'd like for us to piece together a one-stop-shop page for everyone to check against their project. This may help to reduce the number of copied topics and repetitive questions.

Here is my perception of it, but please link in existing, DEFINITIVE pages that accurately and adequately cover the topic.

I. Brainstorming Phase
_A. Sketching (work out your design on paper to facilitate design)
_B. Teams
__1. Who is "allies"? SAS or Marines?
__2. Who is "axis"? Russians or Opfor?
__3. What uniforms will they wear?
_C. Locale
__1. What is the location (doesn't have to be geographic)?
__2. What time of day or weather?
__3. What ambient sound and lighting?
_D. Game modes
__1. HQ?
__2. DM/TDM?
__3. SAB?
__4. SND (S&D)?
__5. DOM?
__6. Special mods?

II. Design
_A. Getting to know Radiant
_B. Making the skybox
_C. Making rooms and buildings
_D. Making terrain
_E. Adding prefabs and models
_F. Adding spawn points, objectives, and effects

III. Supplemental files
_A. .gsc file
__1. What is needed at a minimum to make a map run?
__2. How to configure the ambient features
__3. Where do scripts go?
__4. Where do we code in HQ locations?
__5. Where does code for effects go?
__6. Extra info for .gsc files
_B. .arena file
__1. What does it do?
__2. What goes in it?
__3. Where does it go when you're done?
_C. .csv file
__1. What does it do?
__2. What goes in it?
__3. Where does it go when you're done?
_D. Other files
__1. Load screen
__2. Compass/map
__3. Custom sounds, prefabs, models, textures, and effects

IV. Packaging
_A. File structure
__1. Folders and their names
__2. Files and their locations
_B. Zipping the package

How to make...
1. A .gsc file
2. A .arena file
3. A .zip file

Values for...
1. lighting
2. worldspawn
3. mounted weapons (a.k.a. turrets)

Improve your map by...
1. portalling
2. reducing surfaces
3. group walkthroughs


Feel free to add to this list, but it would be MOST beneficial to the community if we could all work as a group to piece this together here in the forum, and then finally post a complete tutorial on this.

Cheers, and thanks for reading.

This is a good idea imo, especially if there was a simple tutorial for each step. I know it would take time but it would pay off for everyone in the long run.

Correct, but this would serve as a linked table of contents. If you're a new mapper, you go to the list's page and click on each of the topics. Each link should point either to a single page with a complete detailed How To on the topic or to another list of subtopics.

I'm going to start some small subdiscussions here.

What are the uniform variables for the teams (i.e., game["allies_soldiertype"] and game["axis_soldiertype"])?

I only know of "woodland" and "desert". Are there more?

Is it true you can only have Marines-vs-Opfor and SAS-vs-Spetzaz?

What is considered a large MP map in terms of major grid size (i.e., 10x10x4 major grids for skybox, 5x5x3 major grids for playable area)? What's considered a small MP map?

I'm sure a tight map like Shipment is only a 2x2x2 (length x width x height) playable, 4x4x3 skybox. I measured mp_backlot, and that appears to be a 10x10x4 skybox (this includes prefab "doodads" and terrain out to the horizon), and the playable area appears to be 5x5x3.

For those that wonder what portalling is, here is a quick explanation (tutorials exist, especially AmishTurtle's in the COD2 tuts).

If you were to make a map without portals some machines, especially those on the lower end of the tech spectrum would have a hard time rendering real time. This is due to the rendering of everything that is in your cell of the map. If you don't use portals, the entire map is considered one big cell, and everything in it must get rendered. That will bog down machines very quickly and cause lots of lag--one of the fastest ways to get people to leave the match! This is why we use portals. They cut up the map into subcells using a combination of the existing structural brushes and PortalDraw/PortalNoDraw textures. By cutting up the map into subcells, players only render the cells that their views can see. This makes for much more fluid rendering, smoother gameplay, and very rich environments that add to the feel of the map.

If you respond to any of these topics/subtopics here, please simply quote the question/topic title and add a response in your post. This will hopefully reduce the length of each page and not turn off readers' attention spans (as it would mine).

edited on Jan. 29, 2008 04:33 pm by Saureco

I usually make the skybox last, so I', not limited to how big it will be. It's easier to just make it at the end so I don't have to worry about resizing it if I decide to make it a bit bigger. Except when testing of course, then I make a quick one and compile it.

edited on Jan. 30, 2008 04:33 pm by tonysathre

... and somewhere in this one stop shop (which is a good idea) there should be a section devoted to making your life easier. There's "getting it done" and there's "getting it done without having a migraine". Things included in here might be:

- adjusting your Texture background to be able to see your text
- adjusting your Textures scale to see more at one glance
-Adjusting your major and minor grid lines or grid background to more eaily see your project lines
-using the Filters feature to remove some of the clutter during design
-keyboard shortcuts 101

and as I've said in a previous thread a section of warnings. here you might find the following

- Save your profiles before beginning to mod!
- Your screen may be resized for gameplay after modding but don't panic.... here's what you do.
-Console screen popping up after a modding session? no problem . Here's what you do.

Guess all this could be under a Troubleshooting section as well but the player profile problem should be addressed quickly and modders warned.

later.

It would be good if we had something that we could all edit at will, it could get quite confusing in the forums

We could include that other topic in it, the one with common errors and solutions.

I think this is a great idea. Your sections 3 and 4 although they come chronologically later are probably the most crucial to have. This seems to be where a lot of people are having problems.

How do you want to set it up? Should people just start doing small tutorials on specific subjects and then get it linked up to your table of contents? There are some good tutorials already out there, it can just be a pain to find them.

And this should be stickied!!

Afterthought: OMG, I just realized how much this could clean up these forums. How many times has there been different threads about cod4 resizing after using the tools, LOL.

edited on Feb. 15, 2008 01:57 pm by Scorpion979

Scorpion979 writes...

Never mind that, shader_bin and switching to backlot

This is what I have put together so far. If anyone else is interested in adding to this project, PM me.

--------------------------

*************************************
Call of Duty 4 Radiant Map Tools wiki
*************************************
Courtesy of the ModsOnline Community

How to make a custom multiplayer map for COD4.

A. Setup basic files
You will need these files at a minimum to eventually reach a testing stage. Use the links below to establish basic files, which can be updated and modified later. SOme files, like Fast Files and BSP files will be automatically generated in later processes, so you won't have to manually make them.
1. Game Script file (mp_.gsc)
This is a text file that is saved as a .gsc suffix, not a .txt file.
2. Basic Zone file (mp_.csv)
This is a comma delimited format file saved in either a text editor or worksheet/database editor, like Excel. The file suffix is .csv, not .txt or xls.
3. Map (mp_.map)
This is made through Radiant. The link above will get you started in the process. Reference the ModsOnline forums for specific help and tutorials.

B. Make your map
1. Structures and prefabs
Your world needs obstacles of some kind (objects, structures, buildings, terrain, etc).
2. Worldspawn settings
3. Objects, models, prefabs, doodads, and decorations
Add some creativity and sense of realism by using models and prefabs.
4. Terrain
Terrain comes in the form of pavement, ground, water, snow, and overlay textures. You can also manipulate the terrain to make hills, valleys, and even structurs using terrain patches.
a. Making terrain
b. Alpha blending terrain
5. Portals
6. Spawns and Objectives
7. Light grids[url]
8. Special entities
a. Compass minimap ([url=http://www.modsonline.com/Tutorials-read-460.html]how to make it, how to run it)
You may want to have a minimap to show in the upper left of your HUD. You'll also need this to make your UAV and air strikes of any good use.
b. Helicopter paths
Getting a lot of consecutive kills lets you summon a helicopter... provided you made the script paths to let one come.
c. Loadscreen (how to take the screen shot, how to make the loadscreen)
As your map loads for players, this is where you can give them a small taste of the environment.
9. Effects (FX)
a. Creation of FX files
b. Placement of FX

C. Compiling
1. Compile BSP
Every time you make a change to your map, you have to recompile it. Depending on the type of change, you can simplify the compile process to specifically compile that change and speed up the compile process.
2. Compile Reflections
YOu need at least one reflection probe in your map to prevent the dreaded red tinted world effect. Place a reflection probe near each area of shiny objects. It is normal to have anywhere from 10 to 100 reflection probes in a map. Every time you add objects or a reflection probe, you need to run this process.
3. Update Fast File
Fast files bring together the various files (.map, .gsc, csv., .d3dbsp) and assigns code and textures to the map.
4. Update Zone File
Each entity summons data from the various COD4 folders. Your Zone File tracks what is in the map, as well as what is missing.
5. Run Selected map (testing)
No sense hammering out a map and not seeing what your work is like. By default, the test environment will be in a windowed format. It's not bad for testing, but you can run it in full screen if you need to. (See the Testing section below.)

D. Errors database
Read these pages to explain the kinds of errors you're getting
1. Compile errors
2. Reflection errors
3. Fast File errors
4. Zone File errors
5. Execution errors
6. In-map errors (textures, lights, FX, models, etc)

E. Testing
1. Console commands, tweaks, and tricks
a. A list of console commands
b. Run your test map in fullscreen, summon weapons and bonuses, and many other tricks.
2. Optimization
You can optimize the performance of your map in many ways. The use of portals, light grids, and detail brushes will reduce system strain when running the map in real time, which is critical for online play. An unoptimized map can mean lag or crashes for players, which is a quick way to get people to avoid your map.

F. Packaging for distribution
1. Preparing the package
Make sure you have the necessary files for a clean package that won't produce errors for other players.
a. The .arena file
2. Pack it up
3. Test the package
Install the package to a server to see if it works. If there are problems, troubelshoot them.
4. Distribute

edited on Mar. 15, 2008 08:54 pm by Saureco

Great idea, I'm in.

You can add urban to the desert and woodland.

A neat trick to portaling (because sizing is a pain in the as*) is to extend the portal 1 grid unit into neighboring brushes.

I'd love a wiki that actually helped lol!