Even if you could make an outrageously huge map, you might not really want to.
Think of it this way: If you could fit all five of Left 4 Dead's No Mercy campaign maps into one, you would have to endure five times the compile time, five times the memory load in Hammer – an application which can be unstable enough as it is, five times the loading time in-game, five times time the memory load in-game to the end user (who might have a minimum spec machine that you have to consider), and five times the server load on a multiplayer map. This isn’t even considering that some aspects of this (like compile time maybe, I don't know for sure) might multiply exponentially with size. So basically, if you were to attempt to create anything up to Valve's professional standards (think of Half-Life 2's levels that wind around each other and overlap - Ravenholm for example - all the while including tons of detail and gameplay), you are honestly better off making a series of small, detail rich maps than making giant ones that hold everything at once. Then again, you could be wanting to make giant open maps just to screw around and play in (like flatgrass in Garry’s Mod), which would be fine depending on what you want to put in the map. Just consider this before rushing off to make the Left 4 Dead equivalent of the Empire State Building. Maybe I should actually help answer the question: I would imagine the absolute maximum size of any brush or level would be the bounding box of the 2d views in hammer - if you zoom out all the way, the grid only goes so far. I don’t know if you can draw outside of those though, I’ve never tried. Thanks for listening to me ramble, I guess. Good luck on your map, whatever it may turn out to be. Phillip Marshall AKA wizpig64 On Wed, May 27, 2009 at 11:43 PM, Alex Guichet <[email protected]> wrote: > > Does anyone know or have any data on the maximums or minimums of hammer and > the source engine for mapping. I'm not looking for "realistic" values by any > means. Such things like "Is it possible to have a brush with the unit size > of 1.0x10-99" (Which is unreasonably small if you're wondering.) > Basically most important data I need is: > > Maximum # of entities > Maximum total size of map (area and/or X*Y*Z values) > > and any other maximum or minimum that has to do with hammer or the source > engine that you might think is important. > > And if you are aware of any hammer related limitation that the source engine > can exceed LET ME KNOW. *Engine values and numbers have priority over > hammer's limits.* > > > I know this seems random, but I'm starting a new project.... you'll find out > more about it in the future. > _______________________________________________ > To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please > visit: > http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlmappers > _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, edit your list preferences, or view the list archives, please visit: http://list.valvesoftware.com/mailman/listinfo/hlmappers
