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Originally Posted by TwiNCannoN  I'm surprised to see others think UE is more user-friendly though. I've taught at least a dozen people how to use hammer and generally the BSP method of building levels (while not as effecient, to be sure) seems to be much easier to understand all around. |
IMHO Unreal Editor is easier. But everyone has their own preference obviously.
BTW, small aside but something level designers should know. BSP refers to the data structures that partition the game world into volume spaces:
Binary space partitioning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
but the general "addition" and "subtraction" technique that both Hammer and UnrealEd use to build levels is known as CSG or Constructive Solid Geometry:
Binary space partitioning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So, CSG is a generalized technique for building 3D geometry, and BSP is a specific data structure produced by building. I believe that even Unreal still has a form of BSP, since the main problem in fast game rendering is (a) finding where in the game world the player is and then (b) discarding everything the player cannot see. The partitioned spaces provide that very easily. Collision detection is also optimized through BSP, since you cannot collide with anyone who is not in your partitioned space.
So, if you ever wonder why most games don't allow you to make your levels one big mesh in Maya or 3DS (i've heard this asked many times), that is why. A single huge polygon soup mesh is not divided up into small zones or sections which are optimal for level rendering or collision detection.
