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| − | <div style="float:right;clear:right;background-color:white">
| + | {{ OtherWikis |
| − | {| class="infobox" {{#if:{{{style|}}} | style="{{{style}}}" | cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2"}}
| + | | [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Valve_Hammer_Editor Valve Hammer Editor] article on the [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page Valve Developer Community] wiki; |
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| + | | [[wikipedia:Valve Hammer Editor|Valve Hammer Editor]] article on [[wikipedia:Main Page|Wikipedia]]. |
| − | | align="center" class="image" colspan="2" | {{#if:{{{image|}}} | [[Image:{{{image}}}|{{#if:{{{image-width|}}} | {{{image-width}}} |px}}]]<br> | [[Image:750px-Valve-hammer-editor.jpeg|150px]] }}
| + | | For information on mapping with Hammer in ''Team Fortress 2'', see: |
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| + | ** [[:Category:Mapping]]; |
| − | | class="bold" |Developer:
| + | ** and the VDC's documentation on [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Team_Fortress_2_Level_Creation Team Fortress 2 Level Creation]. |
| − | |[[Valve]] | + | }} |
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| − | | class="bold" |Operating system:
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| − | |Microsoft Windows
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| − | | class="bold" |Type:
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| − | |Level editor
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| − | | class="bold" |License:
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| − | |Proprietary
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| − | |}
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| − | </div>
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| − | '''Valve Hammer Editor''', formerly known as '''Worldcraft''' and now commonly called '''Hammer''', is [[Valve software]]'s map creation program for their game engine, [[Source]]. Old versions of Worldcraft also supported ''Quake'' and ''Quake II''. Versions prior to 4 supported exclusively Goldsrc, Source's predecessor. The current version supports both Source and GoldSrc, and can only be accessed via a free download of the [[Source SDK]].
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| − | == Level design with Hammer ==
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| − | Prior to the release of Source, Hammer used only brushes (blocks) called primitives. Sets of simpler primitives can be used in older GoldSrc games. However, some features of version 4 and above, such as displacement maps, are not compatible with GoldSrc. Many level designers who work with both Source and GoldSrc games usually keep an install of 3.5 to avoid using unsupported features in a GoldSrc game.
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| − | == Files and compiling ==
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| − | Valve Hammer Editor version 4.0 saves a level file in ''.vmf'' format by default. Before this, it saved a level file in the binary, proprietary ''.rmf'' or text-based, human-readable ''.map format.'' The .vmf format is a simple file that contains all the information about a level in a format vaguely similar to an XML file. It originated because of Half-Life's reliance on the Quake engine, and has remained as a result. Valve includes compiling tools with the ''Source SDK'' - ''vbsp'', ''vvis'', and ''vrad''. The following list is largely true for both formats, but is intended as a reference for Source levels.
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| − | *First, a level is passed through the ''bsp'' program. This program uses the brushes to create the architecture of the level. It also places all entities where they should go based on the level design file (.vmf file). This program writes the initial .bsp (Binary space partitioning) file.
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| − | *Second, the level passes through the ''vis'' (Visible Information Set) processor, which determines what polygons are rendered and what lights appear where. Since the Source engine uses portal based rendering to determine what is visible at any given time, this program creates the portals by dividing the map into convex regions with visibility data, like Quake-based engines do at a per-polygon level.
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| − | *Finally, the level passes through the ''rad'' program. This program computes the lighting of the map, including pseudo-radiosity for Source maps, resulting in more natural-looking lighting. If there is a leak in the level, only standard lighting will be computed - radiosity will not be simulated, resulting in faker/harsher lighting. If the mapper doesn't run the ''rad'' application, the level will appear as full-bright (without static shadows or lighting of any kind, with every texture being fully lit.) If the level designer decides to compile the map with HDR lighting enabled, the level must pass through an additional stage of rad compiling- one stage to calculate normal (LDR) lighting, and a second stage for calculating HDR lighting.
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| − | *With earlier versions of VHE (up to 3.5) and games for the GoldSource engine, there were four steps in the compilation. ''BSP'' is preceded by ''CSG'' (constructive solid geometry), which parses the brushes, places entities, indexes textures, and sets up the general framework of the level for the BSP pass which generally only performed space partitioning. In the Source engine and VHE 4.0, Hammer stores the files in a CSG format, rather than vertex based, and lets the ''BSP'' tool handle all the entity placement tasks, so the ''CSG'' process has effectively been merged into ''BSP'' | |
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| − | == See also ==
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| − | * [[Source SDK]] | |
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| − | == External links ==
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| − | * [http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Main_Page Valve Developer Community], Official wiki dedicated to editing the ''[[Source engine]]'' | |
| − | * [http://www.halflifestorm.com/?page=tutorials&cat=1 Half Life Storm] - A Website with various Source Engine Mapping Tutorials
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| − | * [http://www.ammahls.com/?p=3 AMMAHLS], alternatives to the compiling tools included with the ''[[Source SDK]]''
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| − | * [http://www.twhl.co.za TWHL] - A large, active mapping community with support for both GoldSource and Source engines.
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| − | __NOTOC__
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| − | [[Category:Valve]]
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| − | [[Category:Mapping]]
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