Build - level construction standards

[CDC Mainframe]

Build - Level Construction Standards

Have you ever created your own standards in Build that you would like to share with the rest of us 'Build'ers?

After all, Duke must be in scale with his surroundings, to avoid the 'little mouse' or 'giant' effect you get in many user-created levels.

For example;

My standard for creating a 'table', 'fence', 'kitchen sink', or 'windowsill' in Build is 6 clicks from the floor. This enables Duke to be hidden from view when crouching, and he cannot run over the obstruction.

For a set of stairs, 2 clicks allows Duke to glide up them, without creating that 'bumpy' look when ascending stairs, or making the player jump up the stairs (when's the last time you had to jump up a stair?)

How many clicks from the floor to create a standard room height?
How high and wide to you make swinging doors?
How wide do you make a 'reality' door?
How wide do you make a standard hallway?
How wide do you make a bathroom stall?

>:-)

[alejandro]

for a table, i use the same: 6 clicks
for stairs, 1 click (i like long stairs smilies/images/icons/smile.gif )
for a room, i use 8 clicks, and i resize textures to 50% size

bye

[Guest]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CDC Mainframe:
Build - Level Construction Standards

Have you ever created your own standards in Build that you would like to share with the rest of us 'Build'ers?

After all, Duke must be in scale with his surroundings, to avoid the 'little mouse' or 'giant' effect you get in many user-created levels.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

In Build I used an automatically scaled Duke sprite as an approximation of 6' and measured him at 13 clicks tall, therefore each click is slightly less than half a foot. For all practical purposes one click <=> 1/2 foot is pretty workable, although you may want to use 1 click = 0.46 feet for more accuracy (of course that's assuming Duke's six feet tall, if he's taller than that then one click *is* six inches).

Since standard counters are 3 feet tall, that would fit right in with 6 clicks as a standard height.

For the horizontal sizes, the largest grid squares are equivalent to 16 vertical clicks wide, and of course each scale is 1/2 the previous one, down to 1/2 click for the smallest grid.

Of course, for the authoritative answer, we could load up one of the original levels and count clicks there.

This would be a good FAQ to create and post for those people who do these things.

--

This doesn't have anything to do with anything but it would be cool if someone were to make an Alice-in-Wonderland type level where things kept getting bigger and smaller ... just a thought.

[Diaz]

How many clicks from the floor to create a standard room height?
I don't have a standard for that, I use the player's size as a measurement and make them as realistic as possible.
How high and wide to you make swinging doors?
3 clicks higher than the player, a bit wider than the player.
How wide do you make a 'reality' door?
¿?
How wide do you make a standard hallway?
Around 2.5 times wider than the player.
How wide do you make a bathroom stall?
As wide as the player, or a very little thinner.
All my measurements are realistic smilies/images/icons/smile.gif

[Kef Nukem]

How many clicks from the floor to create a standard room height?

Umm that is different! But in a living room, pfft 19? I dunno.

How high and wide to you make swinging doors?

Raise it 15 times from the ground and it should be pretty realistic.

How wide do you make a 'reality' door?

Reality doors? umm..

How wide do you make a standard hallway?

Well there's no way to explain because if you use the biggest grids it will be around 1.5 and if you use the smallest, a lot more so I can't say that! And again, it pretends on what kind of hallway.

How wide do you make a bathroom stall?

Most of the time baths are a bit thinner than a person, and duke is HUGE! so you should not make it too big smilies/images/icons/smile.gif You can check your wide well when you put lo-tag 2 in the bath so duke will swim in it, if it fits right, use it! smilies/images/icons/grin.gif

[widowmaker]

I use the Duct texture as my guide for scaling. It is as high and wide as the largest square on the grid. This way I can draw out a map and build it in exact scale.

For most tables etc.. I use five clicks. One more than Duke can climb over but not high enough to get in the way if the player uses the RPG.

I use this scale for hallways and bathrom stall etc...

Well used to use those scales. I haven't been in build so long it isn;t even funny.

-widowmaker

[NutWrench]

For Deathmatch maps, I always make decorations non-blockable. It really sucks to get fragged simply because you got hung up on a barstool or a potted plant.

--Nut

[Goomba]

I only make maps for Blood. And i design them with Co-op in mind. Me and my friends usually just load up a level on hard mode, and kill baddies and have conversation, its really fun. Plus you can set the baddies to respawn, so you can keep killing. Anyway, that in mind, I make my levels with alot of big constructions such as alot of high stair cases, drop offs, cliffs, edges, giant doors and elevators. I also have alot of things to crouch and dodge behind such as crates, rocks, and pillars - because i toss in a ton of baddies. and of course, to get rid of this mass horde of baddies..i supply alot of weapons, but they arent all in one spot, they are spread out throughout the map with a lil bit of ammo here and there. Let's just say, my maps are messy with loud explosion and gunfire. DEATH! smilies/images/icons/smile.gif

[Grande 3:16]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Diaz:
How many clicks from the floor to create a standard room height?
I don't have a standard for that, I use the player's size as a measurement and make them as realistic as possible.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Same here. smilies/images/icons/smile.gif

Tables. Usually about 5 clicks.
Stairs/steps. 3 Clicks.
Footpaths. 3 Clicks.

[ 06-15-2001: Message edited by: Grande 3:16 ]

[Kef Nukem]

First of all, I agree with NutWrench smilies/images/icons/grin.gif

And second, I think stair should be just 2 clicks smilies/images/icons/grin.gif

[Rott King]

yah i like 5 or 6 clicks for the sink thingy,2 or 3 clicks for stairs,doors i use 11 or 12 clicks,hallway,about 2 dukes wide.I would use Blood's Build more often (Blood Rules!) but when picking a texture,it is hard as HELL to find the right texture.I think Blood's weapons are really unique, different from regular FPSs.SW is also my favorite,but back to the subject smilies/images/icons/grin.gif err..i guess i already said everything i wanted too. smilies/images/icons/tongue.gif

[Piano Man]

Here are just a couple of standard I always use.

For the height of a Door, I use 16 Clicks.
For the height of a table, I use 5 clicks.
For the Width of a door, I use G to get the widest and then another G to make it 2nd biggest. I make it as wide as that and as thin as possible using the smallest grid.

For the average room, you could make it 20 clicks high, but I usually use 16 for normal.

Here are a couple of other tips I use to create real effects.

For maskable glass, I make it as translucent as possible, then I shade it 20 or 22 in a normal room. For a bright room, you may want to leave the shading alone, as it adds a glare effect.

For water, I sometimes use sprites. For the sprite water (eg. a little puddle or leak) I shade in a pallete of 13 (I think the light grey) and then make it look very translucent.

Vents I believe should be 8 clicks high from the ground. I always use the grid for scale. A lot of the time I use the measurements from the grid.

Hope that helps. smilies/images/icons/cool.gif

Stairs and steps should be 2 though.
Footpaths should be 1.

[j.h]

i dont really have standards.
i just build it till i think it looks right.
but one thing i have to do is never have any texture fullbright.

[Joe Siegler]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by j.h:
i dont really have standards.
i just build it till i think it looks right.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is the best way to go about doing it.

[Diaz]

I think none of us really uses "standards". All we have posted here is an approximation of what we do, but you'll never see 2 doors with the same exact size on any of my levels nor in any of other people's levels. I think the only FIXED standard I use is 2 clicks for stairs.

[Usurper]

If people want their textures to line up properly, they should be using standards. As textures tend to have dimensions in powers of 2, wall heights should also be in powers of 2. 16 clicks will tile your textures properly. I usually prefer 20 clicks (with 16 for doors), so I'll put 2 click high "trim" around the top and base of the wall to keep things tiling right.

[Roger]

For swinging doors, I make a doorway and when you drop it and it starts to push you down, I push it up one so Duke just fits it. I make the door that high and on Standard Size Grid (no grids+G 3 times) two blocks wide and in Minimum Size Grid one block thick.

A hallway in Maximum Size Grid is two wide.

In Standard Size Grid I make a bathroom stall 4X4.

And a small note: when making a room, the ceiling is between 3-5 units above "squish" level (where you're forced to crouch).

[Megazoid.com]

Hey Joe, did you ever make a level for Duke3d? I guess you would have owned up to it by now, but I'm just curious. smilies/images/icons/grin.gif

Also, this is a great thread. I've stopped level building, but I always got the sizes a bit wrong.

[Joe Siegler]

Yeah, I made a couple a long time ago - but they mostly sucked. I was better at ROTT design.

The maps I did in Build got lost a few computer crashes ago.

[martyd]

As for sizing things I guess you get to know eventually what is realistic. As a freehand artist I just make sure Duke is standing on the ground and walk up to the thing and if it feels right than it is. Not much help for some, I could go on about this forever. But seriously, don't ya just hate those toilets that you have to point an arc to the ceiling to gain 10 points in health (he's gonna break his teeth on one these days!) images/icons/shocked.gif All I found is numbuz iz a good place to start but a good eyeball makes it all just right. Anybody agree?