[Coopernius]

Good morning! So as many of us did, I grew up blasting my way through the classic Build games, and would love to try my hand at learning how to use and create my own. However, I have no idea where to even start. Google has failed me, so I figured I'd come to the experts. Where can I purchase the software? Any recommended reading? Good tutorials? Anything would be of help, and thank you very much in advance for your time.

[Aleks]

Coopernius, on 25 May 2021 - 06:20 AM, said:

Good morning! So as many of us did, I grew up blasting my way through the classic Build games, and would love to try my hand at learning how to use and create my own. However, I have no idea where to even start. Google has failed me, so I figured I'd come to the experts. Where can I purchase the software? Any recommended reading? Good tutorials? Anything would be of help, and thank you very much in advance for your time.

Always good to see new faces who want to make maps!

If you have Duke 3D (or specifically, DUKE3D.GRP), you don't have to buy anything else - the editor is free. It's the best to get EDuke32 with the latest version of Mapster32, which is far more convenient to work with than original Build editor (of course while still basing on the same principles). You can get it here: https://www.eduke32.com/

As for mapping tutorials, I'd suggest starting here:
https://wiki.eduke32...i/Level_editing
https://infosuite.duke4.net/index.php

You might want to use a keyboard layout which has the numeric keypad, also turning Num Lock "On" might be very useful. Furthermore, whatever keyboard setting your system is using, it's recommended to change to US English when using Mapster. There is also quite overwhelming help included within the program - in general, basically every command is key-binded and there's no fancy ribbons or clickable buttons within the editor, but counterintuitively it might be much faster when you muscle-memorize the keys rather than having to search and click everything. In case you have some further questions, there's a dedicated "Duke 3D maps and level editing" forum in here open for questions

[Coopernius]

Aleks, on 25 May 2021 - 06:58 AM, said:

Always good to see new faces who want to make maps!

If you have Duke 3D (or specifically, DUKE3D.GRP), you don't have to buy anything else - the editor is free. It's the best to get EDuke32 with the latest version of Mapster32, which is far more convenient to work with than original Build editor (of course while still basing on the same principles). You can get it here: https://www.eduke32.com/

As for mapping tutorials, I'd suggest starting here:
https://wiki.eduke32...i/Level_editing
https://infosuite.duke4.net/index.php

You might want to use a keyboard layout which has the numeric keypad, also turning Num Lock "On" might be very useful. Furthermore, whatever keyboard setting your system is using, it's recommended to change to US English when using Mapster. There is also quite overwhelming help included within the program - in general, basically every command is key-binded and there's no fancy ribbons or clickable buttons within the editor, but counterintuitively it might be much faster when you muscle-memorize the keys rather than having to search and click everything. In case you have some further questions, there's a dedicated "Duke 3D maps and level editing" forum in here open for questions

Thank you so much! I sadly only have a laptop at the moment, but I figure with some tenacity that should work lol. It does have a numpad thankfully, so I'll take that. I can't afford anything better, but maybe one day. I'll snag Mapster as well and see what I can do! Thank you again!

[ck3D]

^ I've mapped on a (terrible) laptop for years and can't remember really struggling in particular, as long as it's good enough to process the game then it should be fine processing the editor. If you're already using eDuke32 as your port of choice to play the game, by the way, Mapster32 is included with it and so you don't even have to download it separately. I also want to say, Build was notoriously hard to use back in the day because of the relative lack of documentation and how obscure the OG editor was, but Mapster makes it all a hundred times more convenient including the learning curve. A lot of level design elements that used to be a true pain in the neck to deal with back in the day (such as complex spritework and perfect slopes) have now been pretty much automatized with scripts. So you're going to have to memorize some hot keys and that's pretty much it, from then on you're free to create and the rest is experimentation in technique and design. The Infosuite is a really good resource to keep at hand indeed (I've been mapping for 20 years and still use it as a reference regularly, even keep learning new stuff from it). One thing I would encourage you not to sleep on (because a lot of beginner mappers do) is the general shading of the places, rooms, walls and objects you'll design. Those are really quick values to adjust on the spot with just a few + and - keypresses on everything you build (you'll see), and proper shading with good contrast adds depth to even the most humble scenes, so I'd definitely recommend having some basic fun with that aspect early on.

[Coopernius]

Thank you, will do! I played around a bit with Mapster and I can't wait to dive into it! Hopefully I'll have some time coming up. Me, being the idiot I am, didn't own Duke 3D on my laptop, but thankfully CDKeys has it for a buck and change right now lol. EDuke32 is fantastic, and I'm so glad I was able to learn of it's existence. Here's hoping I'll be able to grasp the ijs and outs, and make some awesome levels!

[Coopernius]

Thank you, will do! I played around a bit with Mapster and I can't wait to dive into it! Hopefully I'll have some time coming up. Me, being the idiot I am, didn't own Duke 3D on my laptop, but thankfully CDKeys has it for a buck and change right now lol. EDuke32 is fantastic, and I'm so glad I was able to learn of it's existence. Here's hoping I'll be able to grasp the ijs and outs, and make some awesome levels!

[ck3D]

I'm sure you will, honestly by just spending your first couple of hours in the editor following the Basics section on the Infosuite you should be all good, treating it like basic homework in order shouldn't take you any longer than that (that particular section is designed to be used as such, a formative, clear and practical step-by-step explanation of the actually very few fundamental principles Build runs on; and then once you've grasped that, you've unlocked the freedom of understanding and using every 'advanced' effect you can think of, the technical implementation of which in itself is only made more convenient than ever right now by the modern Mapster32 features (say, things that used to take a day to make, one can now construct in a few key presses). I feel like as a consequence of all the simplifications, mappers have never been as good as they currently are, including new faces picking up everything seemingly spontaneously so really your ability to make a fun level shouldn't even be a question, good luck and have fun!