- Bapabooiee
- |
- Fabled Legendary Member
It would be suggested that you know what you are doing before going about such an endeavor. But if you installed Halo CE and the HEK to its default directory, it should be here:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo Custom Edition\
That is what you call your "root directory" - it is the location Halo CE was installed, and the location the HEK's tags/tools were installed.
You should be able to find a help document, and a tutorial if you browse around. A link to the tutorial should be somewhere in your Start Menu.
Edit: It shall be noted that the HEK isn't a singular "editing program" (like a lot of people seem to think it is), it is a suite of development tools, and some source content to get you started.
A Halo map is basically made-up of these things called "tags", and the HEK comes with tools to create and manipulate tags. Some examples of tags would be a "vehicle" tag, a "bitmap" tag, and a "scenario" tag. People can create mods, like their own custom vehicles by creating their own tags, and changing their properties.
You would use a program (listed below) to take the tags, and compile them all in to a Halo ".map" file. That's basically how it works.
The 3 tools that come with HEK are this:
Guerrilla - A Halo PC "tag" editor, used to manipulate tags. An example would be opening a Warthog "vehicle" tag, and changing its acceleration speed.
Sapien - A tool used to open a "scenario" tag file, and allow you to fly around and place items. It's basically a level editor.
Tool - A command-line application used for such things as level compilation, and converting source bitmaps in to bitmap tags.
If you want to make your own levels, you'll need to know how to use 3ds max (a 3d modeling tool), and how to properly export geometry from it. You would then use a tool to convert the exported geometry to a "tag' file, and then go on from there. It's all up to you.
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Anyway, that's just a quick run-down of what the HEK is, and what tools it comes with.
Edit 1.1: Again, check out the tutorial that came with the HEK - it'll show you, step by step, exactly what it takes to create a map--from the 3D modeling, tag creation, lightmap compilation, and finally level compilation. The HEK even comes with an example map you can open up in Sapien, and fly around to just get you started.
There's also plenty of great tutorials and resources on the Internet. I used the tutorial that came with the HEK, as well as a video tutorial I found on HaloMods.com when I first started a few years ago.
And since you'll need to use 3ds max, you should find some crash-course guides on how to use 3ds max, too.
[Edited on 01.09.2009 2:08 PM PST]