Ok .. I am a complete n00b to mapping. But I think im starting to get a handle on this. Few questions..

1. What is an appropriate size of your "World Cube" (Im assuming all maps are suppose to start inside a world cube.. if otherwise.. plz answer that also) ive been using like 4096 wide 4096 long by 2048 hight

2. There seems to be a leak checker in jkradient but i cant see if its selecting it ... or how else i might prevent leaks.

3. Someone mentioned something on another thread about not using hollow.. and if not .. how else to make a cube world.

Im sure ill edit an add to this as i find more questions.. But any help at all would be appreciated.

1)I've never heard of a Worldcube, and I've got a working map. Unless you mean a skybox, you don't need it (and you only need a skybox if you plan to have a sky).

2)You'll know if you have a leak when you bsp your map. There'll be a big ascii sign in the dos window that says leaked, and after that, in the editor, a big red line will follow along the path from the closest light source to the hole in the map, allowing you to find it no matter how small it may be.

3)It's true that using the hollow command isn't the best idea all the time. It's better to make each wall individually, either already in position or moving them into position after you make them. If you want all your walls to look the same, you only need to make one, then use the copy/paste brush commands to recreate it (the new brush will appear in the exact spot of the old one, assuming you didn't move the old one after you hit copy). If you want to do it the easy way, it's best to remember that people will usually only see the inside of rooms, so as long as the inside looks lined up correctly it doesn't always matter how the outside looks (though if you're like me the outside is usually as neat as the inside for disk space purposes and to save download times on the internet).

I think he means the overall size of the map, and to answer your question, make a map as big (or small :)) as you want (although I guess there is a limit).

Yeah, when the grid runs out, weird things tend to happen. I found that out when making a city map for vampire. So basically, stay on the grid, but otherwise make it as big as you like (so long as the player can fit in it...).

you really don't need (and probably shouldn't use) a world cube.

just make seperate brushes to contain the area you need


I don't know much about JK2radiant yet, so I couldn't tell you about the leak checker. I know that a point file shows you were the leaks are, but that's it. hope that helps

Well ive managed to make lots of "working maps" I guess im asking more of "What do ppl usally start with" ... one floor.. build up from there.. and i do intend to use a sky box.. So im assuming i need a big world cube type box or whatever ppl wanna call it.. I just read that in a few guides while searching for help. And ill want some places where u can "fall off and die or whatever also" So what ive been doing is just making huge hollow cubes.. using the bespin skycube.. creating a floor (which seems to be makin it all black lately) raising that brush off the floor a bunch so when u step off u die. im assuming if its high enough your just die.. then i plan to build the map up from there. This is more of a learning experience for me .. I wanna know how most of this works before i just dive into some specific map.

I suggest you immediately stop using your worldcube. It will give you a dramatic decrease in framerate, and your bspsize will be larger than needed.

I build room to room, just the basic layout, no fancy stuff, no stairs, just the rooms and their connections in caulk. That will be my structural walls. Then I add detail walls that are textured. Afterwards I apply my hint maps.