Using hammer: 2 room + details (screen video)
Some ppl asked me how can I make maps so fast with so much detail.
So I decided to make a small map in 15 min to show how I use hammer and how I optimize/test maps.
Its not a tutorial, but I've aded some annotation to explain things... enjoy:
youtube vid #1 (15 min)
youtube vid #2 (15 min)
The source VMF and the BSP: gepy_template.zip (159K)
Excellent job! I really liked how you keep a template of you favorite textures/entities so that you don't have to go searching for them... Thanks a lot! 
Have a nice day,
~Sidneys1
^Click to go to my Steam Community Profile^
Wow, you have so good Hammer control! I learned quite a few things from this. 
I'm usin hammer since 1997
First I mapped for wolf3d and made a map editor for that, then I made a map editor for dune2 (the reaso why I bought my first PC, or actually my dad bought it), then I made some texture editor for doom, and lots lots map for doom1 and 2. Then When quake came out, I found this program called Worldcraft and immediately became my favorite. I checked unrealed too, but was too hard compared to that. And when I found out that halflife can be edited with that as well.... heaven
Then I havent used it till halflife 2, then after some break, Portal came out and I polished it again. And now again, and I must get used to it again, since I still need to remember things
I have poo microphone and bad english and accent, but if u want to know something, I can show how I do it in a short tutorial with annotations. maybe how to button + gel or how to open a door, etc...
or I just record how I finish the last room in my map...
Hey thanks for the awesome tutorial. Definitely saved me time and frustration (especially with aligning textures). I just have one question. In the first room, where you textured the ceiling with 'toolsskybox,' how did you get it to work in your map? Simply texturing the bottom face of the ceiling gives me nothing. I get the weird 'void' effect, not the white, natural lighting like you. What did you do to apply the skybox to the ceiling? Thank you!
there were an entity named light_environment that I copied along with the other props. That controls the skybox (environment) lighting. The properties that changed (different) from the default are:
Pitch Yaw Roll (Y Z X) 0 280 0
Pitch -80
Brightness 255 247 217 100
Ambient 255 247 217 250
(these are a little yellowish colors to simulate the sun)
All skybox emit this kind of light (first 3 are the RGB colors, 4th number is the strength)
I've added the download link to the map's source.
If u need help with anything, I can make other vids too.
Pitch Yaw Roll (Y Z X) 0 280 0
Pitch -80
Brightness 255 247 217 100
Ambient 255 247 217 250
(these are a little yellowish colors to simulate the sun)
All skybox emit this kind of light (first 3 are the RGB colors, 4th number is the strength)
I've added the download link to the map's source.
If u need help with anything, I can make other vids too.
Thanks. But for some reason my ceiling still doesn't work. I now have the lighting, but I don't actually get a texture. It's as if the ceiling is textured with nodraw. 
Upload the file to the Download Database, please.
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