1. Standard Dimensions

Why is Scale Important?

A lot of beginner mappers think the concept of dimension and scale is intuitive in mapping. Yet one of the most common pitfalls for beginner mappers is that the architecture they construct is totally out of proportion with the player. Most frequently, the scale is too large, so players feel like midgets running around in these maps.

That's why getting to know the dimension in Hammer is so important. Not uncommonly, mappers find themselves having to abandon an enitre project because they realize too late that the scale of the map is all wrong. There is no easy way to fix a scaling problem. The only resolution is to start over from scratch.

So, to prevent you from making this costly mistake, we'll get acquainted with the standard dimension in Hammer and the Source engine.

Compile Early, Compile Often

This is one of the major mantra of veteran mappers, yet it is not always heeded by beginners. When you start a new map, it is a good idea to make a few major landmarks first and compile the map before devoting too much time on building the rest of the map. If you compile the map and run around in-game, you can assess the scaling of the architecture. If there is something wrong, you can detect and fix it immediately before committing more time to the project with the wrong scale.

In addition, it'll give you an idea whether the layout of the map will work well for good gameplay and performance. Any other map problem may surface as well. So please remember this golden rule of thumb.

Player Dimensions

An unit in Hammer is an arbitrary measurement. It does not exactly correlate to any standard unit of measurement in real-life, but an unit is roughly an inch. Even though the current version of Hammer does offer the opportunity to map with standard length measurements (i.e. inches, centimeters), I do not recommend it. The vast majority of mappers use the Hammer unit, and it would be confusing for you to be the only one using another set of units.

So how tall is the player model in Counter-Strike:Source? He is about 73 units tall, which means that if you made a door that is exactly 73 units high, the player would be able to walk through the door unobstructed. In a crouching position, a player can clear an overhead obstacle of 46 units (thanks to smm967 for the tip).

How fat (or wide) is the player? He can squeeze between two brushes if they are at least 33 units apart, regardless of whether he's crouching or standing.

Player Movement

When we map, we should always keep in mind how players can interact with the architecture. Naturally, we need to know the physical limits of the player in order to achieve this.

The tallest object that the player can jump onto is 45 units high. With crouch-jumping, a player can get on top of something that is 60 units tall.

The maximum distance between two objects of the same height, while still allowing the player to jump from one object to the other:
- crouched: 99
- walking: 109
- with a running start: 239

A player can fall a maximum of 218 units without suffering damage to his health. Anything higher will start to reduce the health of the player.

Architectural Dimensions

These are some standard measuremnts for a typical house, and they usually correlate to the architectural models built-in the SDK (i.e. window frames, door frames).

Height of the wall: 128 or 112 units, depending on whether it's a large or small room

Thickness of the wall: 16 units (this is fairly standard, unless you're making a fortress that has a very thick wall)

Door frame: 96 units tall, and 64 units wide

Window frame: 32 units above the floor, and 64 units tall (so the top of the window is at the same level as the top of doors)

Stair steps: 8 units high and 16 units deep, the width may vary

Of course, a mapper can always be inventive and create something that does not adhere to the standard dimensions. In fact, many professional architects play with dimensions in their designs. But it's important to at least have an idea what standard dimensions are before venturing out to the wild side. And in Counter-Strike, most of the textures are designed around these standard dimensions. So unless you are ready to make custom textures, it is best to stick to these measurements.

At this point, if you haven't learned how to expand the basic single room map yet, you should proceed to Working with Brushes next. It will teach you how to build an adjacent room to the existing single room.