I love using the forge system in Reach, but eventually I do want to move further into a real map designing program. From forge, where would be a good program to try to take it a step further? I will continue with forge, but I would really like to learn more of what actually must be done making a game, past the placement of blocks. Thanks FH!
I'd say "Hammer world editor" on steam. It's more or less like google sketch up but you can build portal maps and such. I would definitely give that a try. Lernen mit TECHlog (GER) - Hammer World Editor für Portal 2 : Die Basics! (Teil 1) - YouTube I guess it's in another language, sorry for that, this was just a good example building-wise.
Doom Builder. Its free, and you can maps maps for doom, but its a bit basic, but good as a stepping stone for bigger things
I'm interested in this too, seeing as how it's what I want to do for a living. Does anyone know what all comes in the unreal engine? I know about a year ago I heard Cliffy B say there was a free version, but never downloaded it.
I use Cartography Shop. It's free, powerful, and easy to use. In fact, I use most of the programs on that site. Some of them like DarkBASIC have quite a learning curve but are pretty powerful engines.
Google sketchup is cool, but eventually you just want to play a multiplayer match on what you make. Farcry 3 is coming out which is a very powerful in-game editor. Apparently, it isn't going to suck in terms of single player and multiplayer.
Impossible. I would try to learn/understand the Unreal Dev Kit. So many games today are based off that it would help loads if you plan to make a career out of this.
Thanks guys, hopefully I can download some of these once I get a new computer, our current one couldn't even handle sketchup, which is pretty sad. Same as Skisma, I'm hoping to someday make a real career out of this, and I plan to take it very seriously so I need to learn as much as possible. Hopefully I can get a lot in college, but starting now wouldn't be bad. Once again, thank you!
professionals use Autodesk Maya and 3DS Max. you can obtain a 3 year student license for these programs from the company's website, through their "Education Community" program. I've heard people on here say they avoid these programs because of the learning curve, but the fact is that with any professional software, its not going to be a walk in the park. Anyone who wants to talk Maya can message me, I have been learning it for 4 years now. Anyone seeking a future in environmental design would be smart to become familiar. IMO - why waste your time with level editors? you aren't going to be putting your Halo:Reach maps on your resume.
I definitely want to learn these at some point, and I know it wont be easy. If it was, everyone would be producing a game. I started with forge because I didn't know what I could do yet and our computer couldn't handle any of these, so before I bought a new computer I figured that I would first find out how interested I was through forge.
I should just throw out a warning that I spent probably 20-40 hours tinkering with Maya and Max and barely made any progress. And I do Engineering CAD for a living. They are incredibly complex programs with tons of nuances to use well. If you are serious about it you must learn it, otherwise it's going to drive you batshit. On another note, this book is highly recommended by people in the industry: Amazon.com: How to Cheat in 3ds Max 2011: Get Spectacular Results Fast (9780240814339): Michele Bousquet: Books Amazon.com: How to Cheat in Maya 2012: Tools and Techniques for Character Animation (9780240816982): Eric Luhta, Kenny Roy: Books Amazon.com: The Art of Game Design: A book of lenses (9780123694966): Jesse Schell: Books
What Mick is saying is very true. There are a TON of simple things like navigational workflow, hotkeys, and just general understanding of the program, that you will NOT have by attempting to start learning these programs from scratch. All of these things i obviously learned in school, but you can still learn them from the internet in the meantime, if you want. And, as i said, i can attempt to help out as well via Skype or something if needed. Once you overcome the few obstacles of the basics of maya, you can start gaining momentum with it. If all you want to do with it is **** around with primitive polygons and throw together halo-style map designs, i wouldnt think it would take you too long to learn. also, i want to clear up this misconception: These programs are not the only step in the process of making a game, they are only tools for modelling, lighting, animation, etc I'm willing to help anyone trying to learn this stuff to the best of my ability. skype = titmar_9000
I'm currently downloading Unreal Dev Kit for Mac If anyone want's to check it out, it's free. Download - Epic UDK
I know it isn't the only part of a game, and that I have a hell of a lot to learn. I am trying to just get a heads up now before starting school. I think I will be able to get UDK for mac too, but I don't expect I can get Maya or 3ds max before college unless my CAD teacher manages to get a license for one of them. (We have AutoCAD and Solidworks 2009 now, so unlikely we can afford more.) Our computer will never take them. Agreed, minecraft is not what I'm looking for. I want to learn all of the crazy stuff I don't know about designing a game now, and minecraft wont even touch on that. Right now I would rather be in a little over my head and be able to learn from it than not go far enough. Thanks for all the help FH, I'll reply again when I can get something and get started!