So as far as height is concerned I only need to make doorways tall enough for SMs and then everyone can get through?

Approximately how tall is the tallest unit when stood/crouched?

Agreed, there are many restrictions and it does make it difficult to create balanced maps. What works for one team doesn't necessarily work for others. I believe there are ways both parties can work around this though (mappers and coders).

For ex_mire, the map I'm working on, the team differences are emphasized. Tyranids are forced down one path while SM are forced down another, though both are interwoven with one another and there's no way you'll miss your enemy being right in front of you. Create ways around the problem. If the church entrance is too small, smash a hole in the wall. Just an example of course. Maybe the players themselves can even destroy parts of the scenery to allow larger Tyranids through.

As for coders, will the larger Tyranids be able to crouch? I'm finding that wide entrances is fine but low ceilings is more of a problem. I can't begin to describe how scary it would be to see a Carnifex at your door, thinking you're safe because it can't fit in, only to see it drop to all fours and crawl through to get at you. A similar effect to Striders from HL2 crouching?

There's really only 1 bottleneck and that's the central objective point.
Otherwise the marines use bridges to get over the river which I guess you could consider minor bottlenecks but there are a lot of them around. I'll get a map uploaded ASAP.

Well, they aren't really shortcuts, they're just different routes. If anything the Space Marines have longer routes because they can't cross the rivers at any point, they have to use the bridges.

I'll play around with filters, but it's not something I've used a great deal so far. If anyone has any tips I'd appreciate it!

Cheers.

I'm wondering if anyone can help at all...

I'm working on a map for Exterminatus based in a swamp setting. There will be a power station type of building and some canals and rivers.

What I want is for the water in these areas to be toxic to Space Marines (it will damage and ultimately kill anyone who falls in and doesn't get out in time) but not harm Tyranids (they are resistant to the harmful chemicals, something like that). Basically the Space Marines have to use bridges and the paths alongside the rivers, whilst large Tyranids are forced to moving through the canals because they can't fit through the gaps or over the smaller bridges.

It keeps the two teams in pretty much the same area but forces them to use slightly different routes through the map. This will be furthered by having the teams able to open and close flood gates and locks to stop Tyranids advancing.

Does anyone know how I can set this up? If it's not possible through Hammer, can we maybe get something added for the mod to facilitate this? I think it would add a nice touch to gameplay/tactics.

Hi, I'm new!

My name's Matt, I'm 23 and I spend a lot of free time mapping for HL2. I'm currently working on a mod/map-pack for HL2 called Last Resort which can be found on ModDB here:
http://mods.moddb.com/8345/last-resort/

I also have an online portfolio here (but it seems to be down at the moment):
http://www.figmentsandpigments.cjb.net/

I used to collect Tyranids when I was about 12 but since then I haven't really had a lot to do with Citadel Miniatures except recently playing Dawn of War. I love the style and setting though and I'm looking forward to mapping some of these awesome set-pieces.

I'm currently working on a swamp base map and I'll have some screenshots ready quite soon hopefully.

Nice looking church there!

Thanks, that worked a treat!

One thing I've just noticed, the collision details for the model "prop_hulk_doorframe.mdl" prevent you from actually walking through the doorway. I've worked around it by making it 'not solid' and creating clip brushes representing the frame, but just thought I'd point this out in case no one had noticed. If you're aware then just ignore this!

I should have some images of my WIP map soon.

It's as soon as the compile is finished, when the game tries to start up.

I'm just about to start work on a map for Exterminatus, but I have to admit I'm pretty clueless as far as setting up Hammer for mods is concerned. Pretty much all my work so far has been for vanilla HL2. Can someone give me some really clear step-by-step instructions for setting up the game config?

So far I've installed the ex_mdk.exe file and copied the ex.fgd into SourceSDK/bin.

Next I went into Hammer's configuration options and added a new config called Exterminatus. These are the settings I have:

Game data files: $SteamUserDir\sourcesdk\bin\ex.fgd
Texture Format: Materials (Half-Life 2)
Map Type: Half-Life 2
Game Executable Directory: $SteamUserDir\half-life 2 deathmatch
Game Directory: $SteamUserDir\half-life 2 deathmatch\hl2mp
Hammer VMF Directory: $SteamUserDir\sourcesdk_content\hl2mp\mapsrc

Next under Build Programs I set up this new config...

Game executable: $SteamUserDir\half-life 2 deathmatch\hl2.exe
BSP executable: $SteamUserDir\sourcesdk\bin\vbsp.exe
VIS executable: $SteamUserDir\sourcesdk\bin\vvis.exe
RAD executable: $SteamUserDir\sourcesdk\bin\vrad.exe
Placed compiled maps in: $SteamDir\SteamApps\SourceMods\ex\maps


When I run Hammer I don't get the list of Exterminatus entities available. Also compiling my map gives me this error message:

Launcher Error
Failed to load the launcher DLL:
The specified module could not be found.



Finally a quick question, probably pretty obvious but I just wanted to check... This mod is going to include new textures right?