Portal 2 Puzzle Maker #2

Here’s another Portal 2 map I have worked on using the in-game Puzzle Maker. This time around I planned to create a more difficult level, something which I found much more difficult – testing my own knowledge of the game mechanics, making me think more about how other puzzles are usually structured.

CS:GO map – general update

I first gave a general update of how far my map has been developed a few months ago now. So here’s another update with a lot of changes and additions.

CS:GO map – visibility

Being able to see areas of the map clearly is obviously important. I’ll cover 2 things here – lighting and colour schemes/choices. Lighting is a huge aspect of level design. Trying to make a multiplayer level which is designed for (hopefully) constant replayability should be easy to navigate and probably more importantly for a First Person Shooter, have good visibility of enemies.

Portal 2 Puzzle Maker – First chamber

Portal 2 levels can be created using Hammer within Source SDK, but the Puzzle Maker built into Portal 2 offers a much quicker and simpler process (though this has limitations and lacks the power of Hammer). Chambers created in Puzzle Maker can also be converted to Hammer to work on and expand on.

I only recently started using the Puzzle Maker, so here is my first chamber (no use of Hammer)…

CS:GO map – aesthetic of the map

Level design for multiplayer maps is much more than just the layout, especially due to the fact that recent game engines can allow for a generally nicer, more pleasing to look at map.

You can see a good example of this in one of Valve’s blog posts, about the update of popular classic map Mirage here.

CS:GO map – deciding on routes

It’s always good to have a layout in mind when creating levels. This is something I have done very simply (just some drawings on a piece of paper with the basic routes).

When bringing your ideas to life in Hammer, you need to figure out all the possible angles for both teams, where to place cover, getting the right balance for each side of an area etc. these things are changed a lot and probably aren’t something you’re going to get right the first time.

CS:GO map – expanding the map

It’s important to make maps look believable (in the game’s context). No-one wants to see the obvious edges of the map or just be surrounded by large walls, especially if the map is outdoors.

So, it’s important to build geometry and place props outside the map, even if the player can’t actually get there…

CS:GO mapping progress

This is a map I’ve been working on at home for a while now, adding bits to it every so often. Due to the creation of this blog, I’m going to try and upload the progress as it and when it develops. It’s a bomb-defuse map for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, developed using the Hammer Editor within Source SDK.

Below you can see it in it’s current state:

Hammer Editor – Simple room example

I have used Source SDK a lot in the past, particularly the Hammer level editor, and I still am.

This post is to just show a couple of examples of work within the editor, built for the game Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. I built a test room to show off some of the tools used to a create a level/map within the software.