FAQ
Here is a list of questions that I often get regarding my maps
- How did you make this?
- How did you learn? How can I learn?
- Are you using ripped models from the game?
- Have you considered making an interactive 3D map?
- Why have you not made a map for location X?
- How long did this take you?
- I spotted some mistakes. Are you aware?
- Have you considered changing X regarding the layout design?
- Can you share the source / blend files?
- Can I use your maps in my youtube or other social media post?
- Can I share your maps with my buddies or on a larger forum?
- Can I upload your maps to my website or application?
How did you make this?
I make all of my maps in an open source 3D software called Blender. I am using a bunch of paid addons for Blender. These include Machin3Tools, MESHmachine, HardOps, Boxcutter, BatchOps, UVPackmaster, ZENuv, Geo-Scatter, Fluent & EasyBake.
These addons are basically collections of scripts that automate tedious actions & speed up certain workflows a lot. Everything I do can be done without any addons – it would just take longer. So do not be discouraged thinking that you *need* these addons to get anywhere in Blender. You dont.
I make the overlay markers, legend and all that stuff in Photoshop. Some texturing is done in Substance painter. Inkscape for logotypes & some buttons.
How did you learn how to do this? What should I do if I want to learn too?
I am self-taught in the sense that I did not go to school to learn how to 3D-model. I learned from online tutors via random short tutorials & articles online as well as full length online courses. Studying games (like Escape from Tarkov) to see how they approached making certain models helps a lot too.
How exactly I got started was that I started with the donut tutorial from Andrew Price. After that I followed some of his more difficult tutorials about how to make an anvil, a chair and a sofa. After that I purchased some architectural 3D courses by Thomas McDonald that were a little bit above my head at the time but I still learned a lot. I went through a bunch of tutorials by Grant Abbitt & Rick Davidsson as well. All great tutors in my opinion. And of course I delved down into a LOT of random 3D tutorial videos on Youtube. There are just too many for me to remember honestly. Right now, if you are interested in learning, I would probably recommend starting with Andrew Price (BlenderGuru on Youtube) & Grant Abbitts tutorials. Find artists that make what you are interested in making. Chances are that they have released tutorials too.
In terms of my regiment I would watch a tutorial/course & then try to make my own small project where I applied what I had learned. After a set amount of time spent on it I would declare the project finished despite not being fully satisfied with it & I am certain that this is an important “skill” to have.
Declaring projects finished despite not being fully satisfied with them I prevent myself from getting stuck for too long in a black hole of neverending detailing & fixing mistakes that are not hard to understand but tedious to solve. I still apply this dicipline to my own work today. Before I started doing this I could easily get sucked into projects that took up so much time that it seriously slowed down my learning process.
My maps usually take a long time to finish but I always set a realistic goal beforehand – such as first making a blockout version of a location without much detail or textures. I release that & then I have “side quests” where I replace those blockouts one by one with detailed versions. I think of those as mini-projects on their own rather than this mega project of hundreds of props that I need to make. It makes things a lot less overwhelming & a more manageable & fun experience.
Are the models ripped from the game or created manually?
I make 99.9% of all the models myself and instance them on my maps. I only use Escape from Tarkov as reference. I stream & post a lot of modeling timelapse VODs on my youtube page if you are interested in seeing the process.
There is one exclusion though & that’s the terrain for my latest maps. I have asked & received permission from BSG to use it in my maps. Reason being that it’s extremely hard to accurately “eye” terrain height differences. I do however still texture it myself though.
Have you considered making an interactive 3D map that can be navigated in the browser?
Yes. The main issue with that is that it can very easily be extracted & repurposed to be sold by conartists & scammers. I have already had multiple scammers impersonating me & using my maps to try & get money from people. Maybe I should just accept that this kind of stuff will always happen no matter what & go for it anyway. We will see. Maybe in the future.
Why havent you made a map for X location?
Probably because it’s not in high demand from the community. Labs for example have a lot of very nice maps available to it already so I just focused on other locations that would be better suited for a 3D view.
How long did this take you?
It depends on a lot of things but mostly it depends on how detailed I decide to make it & the time I decide to invest. I finished the latest dorms map very quickly because I decided not to include any furniture & smaller details like that for example. I have projects that I worked on for more than a year & projects that I finished in a month.
I spotted some incorrect or missing markers. Are you aware?
Please contact me about any errors you find & I will try to fix it asap.
Have you considered changing X about your map design?
Please contact me about any suggestions regarding the design of the maps.
Can you share the 3D file/.blend for X reason?
No. For now I will not share any 3D files due to scammers & conartists. In the future when I put this thing behind me maybe I will release it all for people to do whatever they please with.
Yes! As long as the map is not behind a paywall or getting sold in some way it’s totally fine. Please credit me in the video description or something though. Preferably with a link back here to my site https://re3mr.com.
Can I share your map in with my buddies or in a larger discussion forum?
Of course! I also provide the PSD files so that people can make their own overlays with their own callouts etc to share.
Can I upload your maps to my own website or application?
Contact me – [email protected]