Valve Hammer Editor facts for kids

Valve Hammer Editor, often just called Hammer, is a special computer program. It helps people create maps and levels for video games made by a company called Valve Corporation. It works with Valve's game engines, like Source and the older GoldSrc.

Hammer was first known as Worldcraft. It was originally used to make maps for games like Quake and Quake II. Today, it's used for many popular games, including Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike: Source, and Left 4 Dead 2.

How Hammer Started

In September 1996, a person named Ben Morris created the first version of Worldcraft. He made it so people could create their own maps for the game Quake.

Later, on July 14, 1997, Valve Corporation hired Ben Morris. They started using Worldcraft to help make their own game, Half-Life. This was a big step for the program.

Making Game Worlds

Hammer has four main windows that help you build game levels. Three of these windows show grids, and one shows a 3D view of your map. There are many tools you can use.

You start building a map by creating basic shapes called brushes. Think of brushes as building blocks for your world. You can make these blocks look different by adding textures to them. Textures are like images that paint the surface of your brushes. You can also change the shape and size of these brushes to create almost anything you imagine!

Adding Details and Life

Smaller parts of a level are often made using props. Props are like ready-made objects, such as furniture, trees, or signs. You can't create props directly in Hammer; they are usually made in other 3D drawing programs.

To make a level work, you use special items called entities. Entities give your map functionality. They can be simple things like where a player starts in the game (called "info_player_start" in Hammer). Entities can also be specific weapons, or even characters that are controlled by the computer, known as non-player characters.

Saving Your Creations

When you save a map you're working on, it's saved as a ".vmf" file. This stands for "Valve Map File." However, you can't play this file directly in a game yet.

To make your map playable, it needs to be compiled. This process takes all the entities, lights, and brushes you've added and turns them into a special file format. This new file, usually a ".bsp" file, is what the game can finally read and play.

Images for kids

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  A screenshot of Half-Life 2: Episode One.

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  The launcher menu for Source SDK from 2010.

See also

In Spanish: Valve Hammer Editor para niños