On November 30th, Valve released the full Software Developers Kit (SDK) for Counter-Strike: Source. The SDK allows people to do anything from making a Counter-Strike map to making a whole new game for others to play.

Expect a ton of new single player missions to start coming out by the end of the year, as well as plenty of betas for some great mods. Mods usually have a way of finding new and fun types of game play that developers never think of. Team Fortress, Counter-Strike and Day of Defeat all had their humble start with just a handful of mod makers.

Four very powerful tools are included with the SDK: Hammer map editor, Create a Mod, Model Viewer and SoftImage|XSI.

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 Hammer Editor

 

As much as I hate to say good things about Steam, it has made getting the Hammer editor up and running a breeze. In the old days with Quark or Worldcraft it could take hours of searching websites before you had your editor set up. All of this has been streamlined with Steam: just click on the icon and download. There is no need to set up all your compiler tools; just start up the Hammer editor and everything is set up for you. If for some reason your tools are not set up for you just click on the Online Resources - VERC icon for step by step instructions on how to set it up.

While not the easiest thing in the world to get the hang of, Valve does make things easier than they could be. A drop down menu before you run the editor lets you choose Half Life, HLDM2 or Counter-Strike to load the tools for each game. They also provide sample maps with 3D skyboxes and vehicles among other things in the over 30 sample map (.vmf) files. With these files you can quickly see the inner workings of such things; this means no more searching forums on how to get your dune buggy up and running as your answers are already at your fingertips.

Using the Hammer editor is much the same as using the old Worldcraft program, so veterans will be able to build layouts in no time - just set up a sample map or build your own then hit F9 to compile and run your game. The game will then launch on its own and let you run around the map to see what you have built.

The only drawbacks I have found so far are that importing  textures is not nearly as easy as it was in Worldcraft, and the fact that RAM usage is rather intensive. However, I am sure that someone will soon write a tool to streamline the import process,  in which you currently have to account for a range of variables on your texture. The RAM usage problem should only really be an issue for mapmakers with less than 512MB of RAM, who will have a hard time building complex maps.

Create A Mod

Create a Mod gets the busy work out of the way so you can start working on your mod. A few simple questions - such as whether it is single player or multiplayer, and what the name of the mod will be - and the program loads all the files where they should be, as well as having a config file loaded for Hammer so you can quickly get to making your maps and keep all of your files in the right place.

After this is done, you can launch a website that will help you every step of the way. It is not going to teach you how to code, but it will help you spend more time building your mod rather than figuring out where to find and put your data.

Model Viewer & Softimage|XSI

Softimage|XSI is a 3D modeling program that lets you build anything from full character models with realistic face movements to a simple wall texture with a 3D light map. Models like cars, buildings and bottles can be built and imported into the game, or you can use the Model Viewer to look over all the models and animations that you plan to use in a game.

 

 

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This is not merely some cheap tool; it is a very professional program that Valve has put a lot of effort into, as they know what a great contribution the mod community makes to their game. Valve has rewarded modders with a one-stop shop for all the tools needed to get a map or mod off the ground. With a program like this made so accessible, it’s quite possible that we will soon see a new game oust Counter-Strike from its current position at the top of the online gaming world.

 For more info, check out http://collective.valve-erc.com