Customer Reviews

Half Life 2 Mods For Dummies (For Dummies (Computers))

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Half-Life 2 Mods for Dummies is a bit of a mixed bag. Much of the information contained within the book is available on the web for free, but there is something to be said for containing a solid amount of beginning information in one volume. It's also one of the few HL2 modding resources in print, and Guilfoyle has some genuinely solid tips and tricks for level building quickly. Still- I can't wholeheartedly recommend it to the entirely new modder as there are a number of critical typos and incorrect file paths. Buyer beware- make sure you know your general way around Valve's file trees before plunging into this book thinking it will guide you flawlessly.

Guilfoyle does an admirable job of writing in a clear and concise manner. The book will tell you exactly what to do to build a basic level and give it some more advanced spit and polish, but that's also about all it does. "HL2 Mods for Dummies" rarely gets into the nuts and bolts of why certain functions do what they do. "Do this, then this, then this, and you'll end up with this..." is the modus operandi. A bit more information on why Valve's powerful editors do what they do would have been helpful.

I don't mean to be too hard on what is a good beginning guide. If you don't want to spend days wading through the fragmented tutorials on the web, this is a fine place to start. The price is right and I'm tempted to give it four stars because of the cost and the singular place it occupies in print, but...

I want to warn anyone who wants to buy this book that it only covers mapping levels and has no advanced material other than using the compiling console for error detection. If you want complete coverage of the basics you can download the 3DBuzz.com video tutorials for HL2 mapping for free which will start you out with better quality examples and lead to some more advanced material. I was hoping this book would give a better overview of the advanced material you find in the 3DBuzz videos as well as other HL2 mapping video tutorials on the net, but it doesnt. As the other reviewers have said, it is an easy to understand book, but its simply redundant to all the online material that is freely available and doesnt go into the detail it should.

I just love this book. It explained things clearly and was just what I needed to start modding. I never made any mod before, so I was a complete noob to this subject. And if you want to benefit from this book, you better be a noob too. The book explains the very basics of modding, you will not learn modelling, programing nor you will work with 3rd party (yours) models and props. You will learn simple map creation and texturing (using half life 2 native textures). So, if you need to know how to start modding - this book will deliver. If you can make your own basic rooms but need to optimize them, this book is for you too. However, if you can make your own basic optimized room, there's not much for you in this book.

Half Life 2 Mods for Dummies is a great beginners guide for modding the Half Life 2 game. While the book focuses mainly on mapping, you learn how to create maps, make custom textures for your map and how to finish and pack up your map to show the world. I bought this book to expand my knowledge of Half Life 2 modding and I did learn some new stuff. Half Life 2's Source is a very powerful engine: you can get started modding it using this book.

I got this book over a year ago, I learned how to map and I still refer to it some times. This a great place to start if you wish to be a mapper. It only covers mapping, not lua coding, modeling, and very little with materials. However, anyone looking to get a start mapping, I strongly reccomend this book. It out lines the basics and it serves as a great reference. It even comes with a "cheat sheet" that explains some useful things about the source engine. The CD also has videos which is extremly helpful if you're confused at any point. But if you already know how to map and know how to use hammer, don't buy this, it's more for newbies.

I recommend this book for any one that is new to making game mods, period! I was a n00b to modding, I didn't know how to properly put together a map. Now I consider my self a some what competent mapper!

It pretty much spells it out for you, guides you step by step. Teaching you the absolute raw basics that is extremely important to know when level building with the Hammer Level Editor. like the proper map construction, optimization for getting the most out the Source(TM)Game Engine. Also it teaches you how to pack up your map and share it with the world, and how to make your own textures with photoshop. This book will give you a strong foundation to start out on.

However I do not recommend this for the intermediate and the advanced. It really doesn't have much pass the basics. It doesn't go really deep into entities, no information on how to edit terrain, NPCs, ETC.