Counter Strike Source Mapping > Buyzones, Bombsites, and Hostages

Buyzones, Bombsites, and Hostages
Difficulty: Beginner

Making More Spawns

Why do we need to make more spawn points? Each spawn entity in the map allows only one player to join the game. If all we have is a single spawn point in the map, we can only have a total of one player inside the map. That wouldn't be very fun at all. To make a map that holds a total of six players (3 terrorists and 3 counter-terrorists), we need six spawn points.

You should already know how to place more spawn points. So just make two more CT spawns next to the existing CT spawn in our map. Remember, you can use the Shift-Drag trick to duplicate the spawn entity. Make sure that the spawn points are far enough apart from one another (at least 64 units apart) and from any nearby solid brushes (at least 16 units away). If the spawns are too close to each other, the players would be stuck together, unable to move. And remember, the spawns should be at least 8 units above the ground.

Make three spawn points for the terrorists next to the door in the outside area. One thing I want to mention here is the angle of the info_player_terrorist entity. This angle determines which direction the player will be facing when he spawns. The default is "0", which means that the terrorists will all be facing the North wall of the map when they spawn. That's just not cool.

So let's change the angle of the terrorists spawn to "180" so they'll be facing away from the wall when they spawn. You'll notice that when the spawn entity is selected, there is a yellow short line in the 2D views pointing from the entity in the direction it's facing. When you're done, the T spawn area of your map should look like this:


Introduction to the Brush Entity

Up to this point, we have created brushes and placed entities, but we can actually convert a brush to an entity. We haven't really discussed what an entity is exactly. An entity is basically any object in the map that has a special function. It could be a light-emitting object, it could spawn a player, it could make a sound, it could allow the player to buy weapons and equipments.

There are two types of entities. There's the point-based entity we're already familiar with, like the light entity or the light_environment entity. And there are the brush-based entities. Point based entity is just that--it doesn't take up any three-dimensional space. To place a point-based entity in the map, all we need to do is click somewhere in the 3D view of the map. Brush based entity occupies a space in the map. It is often used to mark a special area in the map so the players can accomplish something. Examples for this are buyzones and hostage rescue zones. To create a brush entity, we need to make a brush first. We haven't created any brush entities until now.

The difference between a regular (or world) brush and a brush entity is that a world brush is inert. It doesn't interact with the player in any way except for clipping the player's movement in-game. The player cannot walk through or go inside a world brush. A brush entity, on the other hand, has special functions and allows the player to do a specific task when the player is occupying the same space with the brush entity in the map. A brush entity also never clips the movement of the player in-game.

Mappers call the process of converting a regular world brush into a brush entity "tying a brush to an entity". It's done by selecting the brush first and then pressing Ctrl-T.


Making Buyzone

Typically, the buyzone is located at the respective spawn areas so players can buy things when the round starts. First, select the "tools/toolstrigger" texture as the current texture, and go to the CT spawn area to make a large brush (with the Block Tool) that covers all the spawn entities. It should be at least as tall as the player. After you're done, tie the brush to the func_buyzone entity by pressing Ctrl-T (make sure the brush is selected first). Ctrl-T should bring up an entity properties box. Type "func_buyzone" in the "Class" heading for the entity. Autocomplete should fill out the rest of the function name for you after you type in a few letters.


Then, open up the properties box for the entity, and set Team Number (int) to "Counter-Terrorist" from the drop-down list. Click "Apply" and that's it. Repeat the same procedures (or you can just Shift-Drag and rotate the CT buyzone entity) for the terrorist spawns (and of course, set the Team Number to "Terrorist"). Pretty simple huh? But always remember to texture a brush entity with the "Trigger" texture. If not, the brush would clip the player in-game.

When you're finished, double check that each buyzone covers all the spawn points. Otherwise, some of the players might not be able to buy anything at the start of the round.

not as kewl as the counter strike one o.O

What do you mean not as kewl as the Counter Strike one?

They are all Counter Strike ones.