I have 3 small questions about the Portal 2 Authoring tools:

1) Why is my texture/entity/material bar at the right so oversized? How can I make it smaller? Screenshot: http://www.Bildermonster24.de/images/113_tools.bmp

2) How do I add objects for the decoration purposes in my map?
Is there a "model"-entity, that i can use for models that havent got any function?

3)What is the best way to learn making maps? Are there any good videotutorials? (Because there are many things missing in the Mapping wiki...)

thx and sorry if I overlooked something

I can't really help with question 1, but this will help with both 2 and 3:

The VDC has a tutorial for creating your first map in Hammer. It's available here: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Your_First_Map

The tutorial is written generally, for making a map for any of their games. It's great for getting your feet wet in Hammer.

Here's a couple of things that I figured out:

1. If you want to be able to place portals on your walls, make sure you pick one of the white textures. "Portalability" is directly connected to the texture you pick.

2. This one's a bit esoteric, but when it's time to lay down props, (what you're asking about it question 2, and discussed in the tutorial), you won't have access to the same models the tutorial discusses. You'll need to make sure your prop model matches your prop. Generally speaking, you've got three types of props: prop_static, prop_dynamic, and prop_physics. (The tutorial goes into that.) When it's time to pick the World Model for your props (in the green Model Browser window), click the "Info" tab, and make sure that the checked model types match what you're trying to lay down. For example, when you're laying down a prop_physics prop, make sure the "physics" check box is checked in the Model Browser. That will make more sense when you're doing it. You'll know you did it wrong if the prop doesn't appear when you test your map.

Good luck!

S

The individual fields you see on the right are actually draggable dockable windows. Just drag the individual frames around just like you were reorganizing gadgets on Windows.

I use Prop_Dynamic for random props. If that doesn't work use Prop_dynamic_override

http://www.youtube.com/user/SkwittGaming
really good authoring tools tutorials, check it out

SkwittJames wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SkwittGaming
really good authoring tools tutorials, check it out

Lolselfpromotion

Nice videos, though.