Making a cs map

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This guide is also very simple. I will show you how to place hostage spawn points in your map now.

Make a new map. Select the entity tool and select point based hostage_entity and place it where you want your hostages to spawn. That is it. The hostages will now appear in your map.

Generally, people place 4-5 hostages in their maps. Don't add too many otherwise the map will be imbalanced. Also, the hostage entity does not have any values and so it is not triggerable.

To make the hostage rescue point, just make a brush and turn it into a func_hostage_rescue entity.

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Making proper arches

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There are many ways to create arches in the goldsrc engine. But the method which saves the most polygons wins. I have been mapping for quite some time now and I have seen many mappers make arches poorly. They could have saved a lot of polygons if they would have carefully made their arches. So I am going to explain this tutorial in detail.
 In this tutorial I will teach you how to create arches the proper way in cs 1.6

Step 1
First, make a 128x128 wall. This is the base brush. From this, you are going to create a arch. Now, clip the sides of the brush by 16 units. It will look like this:

Now, create a cylinder of 96x96x96 units and place it next to the middle portion of the wall. This ensures it fits properly in the middle of the wall. It should look like this:

Step 2
Resize the wall behind the cylinder until its height is half of the cylinder. Now select the wall and use the clip tool to cut segments in the wall. Cut segments for every side of the cylinder. See this screenshot:

My cylinder is composed of eight sides so the wall is divided into only four segments. If your cylinder is made up of more sides, lower the grid size and cut more pieces. There is no need to match the exact location of the vertice on the cylinder but you may need to use smaller values to create more detailed arches.

Step 3
After cutting it, move the vertices upwards to match the vertices on the cylinder. There is no need to match the exact vertices but you may need to do so if you want to create detailed arches.

 You should get a alert box asking you to merge the vertices at the center. Click on yes. Now refer this screenshot:

Move the vertices on the blue circles to the orange circles. This makes them triangles thereby reducing their polycount. This technique saves a lot of vertices and shows a lot of difference when lots of complex arches are used in a map. When making complex arches, move all the vertices on the orange circle. You will get multiple alerts asking you to merge. Click on yes. Now delete the cylinder. The final arch looks like this:

Notes
To makes arches quickly, simple make one side and then copy paste it and rotate it to 180 degrees and place it next to the other arch.
Making cylinders of 32 or more sides may not allow the map to compile. To overcome this problem, simply make a 32 sided cylinder and cut it in half. The compiler will treat it as two separate brushes.

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Making an as map

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Another easy tutorial. Just select the info_vip_start entity from the entity tool and place it next to the counter-terrorist.

Note that the vip won't be bot controlled; it will be player controlled. Also, the vip gets 200 armor from the beginning.

To make the vip rescue zone, add the brush based func_vip_safetyzone entity on the desired location.

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Making a res file

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Res file is very important for server admins. If you are to make a complete map with custom assets, it is important to add a res file. You can also use a res file generator to create a res file

Introduction
Back in the days, Valve made their file system in such a way that whenever a user hosted a custom map on the server, the bsp and the txt file would automatically get transferred to the clients. But they did not anticipate the large influx of custom maps and assets. So, they updated their system in a patch.
 
         Now whenever you host a custom map, the server checks for a res file. If it finds one, it will automatically upload the files mentioned in the res file along with the bsp,txt and the res file to the client. Otherwise it will only transfer the bsp and the txt file.

Step 1
Open a new notepad file and change the extension to .res Now open it up.
The res file syntax allows double slashes for comments. Like this:
//This is a res file for de_muhahaha
It is not necessary to add comments but it is a good practice.
Also, you can leave as much whitespace as you want to.(Blank space)
Now , I have a sample map having two custom models in models/de_muha folder. So type in:
models/de_muha1.mdl
models/de_muha2.mdl
This also applies for every other game asset. Keep in mind that bundling the wad file in your bsp is the best option. I will post a tutorial about integrating your wad files in your bsp file later on.

Step 2
After you have added a couple of sound and model files, the res file should look like this:
//This is a res file for de_muha

models/de_muha/deadbody.mdl
models/de_muha/pinetree.mdl

sound/de_muha/rusting.wav
sound/de_muha/ambience.wav

de_muha.wad

As you can see, I have also added a wad file to the res file. Keep in mind that you do not have to add the bsp, txt file and the res file in the res file. This will make the client download the assets again after download.

Now just paste the res file in you maps directory and change its name to the name of your map. Eg: de_muha.res

Res file generator
Many people prefer the res file generator. This app automatically generates a res file of your map. Downside is that it is command line only so it may be a bit intimidating for people without any command line programming experience.
Anyways, its quite simple to make a res file with a res file generator. First, download the generator from here.
Extract the file contents anywhere. It is recommended to read the manual.txt file. Now copy the contents of the res file in your maps folder. Now start cmd by clicking windows+r and typing cmd in run. This will open up command prompt. Type c:\ -f -gg.bsp -resgen.exe in the cmd window.(gg.bsp is our sample map. Type in some map which has custom assets to try out)
For example, I will type c:\cs\cstrike\maps -resgen.exe -f -gg.bsp. This will create a res file for gg.bsp


Notes:
Making a res file is really simple. But a res file generator is only needed if you are a server admin as it has a parameter by which you can generate res files of all the maps in a given folder. What server admins really hate is to see a really good custom map without a res file. So don't forget to make one for your next big map.

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Making a deathrun map

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Deathrun maps are very rare maps. This is partly due to the fact that you need a unique level design and also the fact that many people think that deathrun maps are unbalanced.

The objective of this map is that the terrorist have to move towards a designated safe zone before the counter-terrorist whack them all. Due to this, terrorist are often given dumbled down weapons. Imagine the assassination map type but substitute the vip for the terrorist.

Make a brush based func_escapezone entity wherever you want the terrorist to escape. This is all you need for this map type. Keep in mind that you can combine different map types like placing hostages in a de map but making a cs map in a assassination map can lead to serious bugs.

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Entities: Making a train

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In this tutorial, I will show you how to make a train in cs. Keep in mind that the train does not work on a single entity; in fact, it constitutes of a group of entities. Therefore, it can be called an entity system.

A little information
You can not only make trains but also elevators, cranes, moving platforms, etc. I will simply explain the concept of making the train here. Also, you should be well versed in the type of entities in goldsrc. If you can't understand the entities system shown here, go to this tutorial.

Step 1
Make a simple brush about 64x64x16 units. You can make any type of brush but make something small and simple for the first time. Now place cube on top of the brush. Keep in mind that it should be in the center of the brush and it must be fully covered in the "origin" texture.
Done?
Now select both the cube and the brush and tie it to the func_tracktrain entity. Keep in mind that the brush covered in the origin texture will not show up in game. This brush tells the goldsrc engine the center of the train. So if you make train and place the origin covered brush on the front, the train will take turns from the front, thereby simulating 2x2 drive which is found in vehicles.

Step 2
Now setup the properties of this entity.

Name: Type something unique like train1. This is used to ink the func_traincontrols entity.
Invisible: no(obviously)
Non solid: no
First stop target: Type something which can be written in progression like r1 or t1. This targets the entity the train will teleport to first when the round starts.
Sound: Some sounds are given to select, choose one.
Distance between the wheels: ignore this property for now.
Height above track: Ignore this one also.
Initial speed: Leave it at default.
Speed: add some number around 500.
Damage on crush: 0 does not hurt the player when he blocks the train on its path but add a number to make the player take damage upon blocking the trains path.
Volume: Control the noise the train makes.
Bank angle on turns: This useful property makes the train automatically tilt when it turns. Add a small value like 4 or 8 for now. Angles are measured in degrees.

Flags:( no need to mess with these for now)
No pitch. Disables the train to automatically tilt forwards or backwards between two turns which are located at an uneven height.
No user control: Disables the user control. Useful if you want to make a train which runs automatically. Keep in mind that you still need to add a name for the train as you will make to manually trigger the train by another entity.
Passable: Makes the train pass through players without blocking them.

For this tutorial, I have named the first stop target as t1. Now place the point based path_track entity in front of the train. Name the path_track entity as t1. Type t2 as the next stop target.
What does this mean?
It means that the train will follow a set of set of entities. Just keep placing the path_track entities and name them in succession like t1>t2>t3, etc. To make the train go in a loop, type t1 in the last path_track's next stop target.

Step3
Now you need to make the controls for the player. Create a box on top of our platform. Texture this brush in the aaa texture and convert it into the func_traincontrols entity. When the player enters the box, he will be able to control the train.
But what if you want the train to be controlled from another position? Like a control panel or any other entity.
Just place a trigger_multiple or a func_button entity and type the name of the train in its target name.
See this screenshot.

The number on the left is in the name field and the number on the right is the target field. Both of them constitute a path_track entity.

That's it. You have successfully made a moving platform which goes from one point to another. However, there a lot of different entities to experiment.

Notes

Func_train and func_tracktrain are basically same. Just remember that the func_train entity is useful for making elevators while the tracktrain is useful for making actual trains.
Keep in mind that the func_tracktrain will not work with the path_corner entity. That will only work with the func_train entity.
Ducking while in a moving train or any other moving entity will cause the train to stop moving when it comes in contact with a solid brush.

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Making rotating doors

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This is a simple tutorial on making rotating doors.

Step 1

Make a brush which should have a height of 96 units, with of 64 units and thickness of 8 units. This will be your door. Now make a brush covered in the origin texture. Place it at the edge of the door like this:

This brush covered in the origin texture indicates the point of rotation of the door. The center of origin brush tells the compiler the edge of the door from where it will rotate.

Step 2

Now select the door and the origin brush and turn it into a func_door_rotating entity. Now just compile the map and the door will rotate when pushed.

You can also further customize the door. Enter a value in the speed property box to change its speed. You can also add sounds when it moves and when it closes by using the move sound and stop sound box. Everything else is pretty much self explanatory. Also don't forget to check the flags; there are important options given for controlling the door.

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Making a cs map

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This guide is also very simple. I will show you how to place hostage spawn points in your map now.

Make a new map. Select the entity tool and select point based hostage_entity and place it where you want your hostages to spawn. That is it. The hostages will now appear in your map.

Generally, people place 4-5 hostages in their maps. Don't add too many otherwise the map will be imbalanced. Also, the hostage entity does not have any values and so it is not triggerable.

To make the hostage rescue point, just make a brush and turn it into a func_hostage_rescue entity.

Making an as map

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Another easy tutorial. Just select the info_vip_start entity from the entity tool and place it next to the counter-terrorist.

Note that the vip won't be bot controlled; it will be player controlled. Also, the vip gets 200 armor from the beginning.

To make the vip rescue zone, add the brush based func_vip_safetyzone entity on the desired location.