Building GTA size map: Possible?

[Tyrant9]

Is it possible to to create a huge, open ended map with S:E's SDK or the Source Engine? If yes, what are the caveats if one should endeavour such task?

[Xenogenetic]

Go into 2D view and zoom out until you see the whole grid, that is how big your map can be. To make something the size of a GTA city you might have to link multiple maps together through level change triggers at the edge of each piece of map. Even if there was a map like that it probably wouldn't be as fun because mutants don't drive cars you can steal and no homeless person in SiN has beaten me up yet.
If you wanted to start on a big project like that you should take some graph paper out and plan the whole city to scale first before going into Hammer.

[Gantrithor]

Yeah; Source only supports a map size of 819.2 x 819.2 x 819.2 (metres). Also, a map that size takes an extremely long time to compile if you have RAD enabled. If you want to make a large map like that, I'd recommend using a different engine unless you can live with many level transitions.

[CommanderZx2]

I've played some pretty huge 3rd party maps in counter strike source, so big that even though I'm on max settings I cannot see the other end of it and it runs smooth with 64 players.

The biggest I've played is a part of a city that has jail, where the terrorists start, and two bomb sites one is an apartment building and the other is a bank. I guess it runs smooth, because you cannot enter the majority of the buildings.

Still there are so many different routes you can take between the many buildings and their back alleys etc.

[Michael_Russell]

Short answer: Yes, but you'd probably run into entity limits long before you ran out of geometry, and the time to compile the map would probably be measured in days.

[guru7892]

Short answer: Yes, but you'd probably run into entity limits long before you ran out of geometry, and the time to compile the map would probably be measured in days.
yeah, but you can have a destroyable envrioment and make certain areas inexessable all of the time, allowing you to clean up enties.

this trick is used in HL2:ep1 by closing off places to backtrack, thus making the player unafraid to go forward and allowing for things to get cleaned up.

you could also be smart with the AI and make them chase the player/have choppers pick them up and try to head them off, all sorts of things.

it could be done, but you have to be smart with the limits, I think.

[ripper_hugme]

Whats HL:E1, did you mean HL2:EP1(BTW valve gets name of the queer for such an idiot-proof and confusing at the same time name, hl2:ep1)

IMO a map this size in source would be impossible even if you used models for everything (even the ground) let alone the fact that it would have interactivty = 0 (which = suckiness = 100 to the power of ten)

[guru7892]

Whats HL:E1, did you mean HL2:EP1
sry for confusing you, i'll make the necessary changes