Does T3D support Hammer Editor like TGE/TGEA???

#1 If you can compile the maps to DIF from these versions of Hammer (assuming you have a full legal notice of compliance from Valve to use Hammer with your projects), they can be loaded into Torque 3D. They will be converted to Collada models.

#2 Emphasis: assuming you have a full legal notice of compliance from Valve to use Hammer with your projects

#3 anyway i set up Hammer Run Map setting just like I did for TGE and TGEA? thx.

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#4 The same setup should probably work. I haven't tried it so I can't say for certain.

The legal bit is an important part, hence Michael's added bolding of it. Most people don't realize that Hammer is only legally able to be used on Source engine based projects only and you have to get permission from Valve to use it for anything else.

#5 You could use the DIF files that are converted with Map2DIF from TGEA in Torque3D however IMHO you would be crazy to do so for anything other than some real basic shapes.

Why?

Well each surface from a DIF is a new draw call. As such even the most basic looking shape/form can end up eating up most of the draw calls that are possible from your GPU and negatively impacting performance (nevermind when you get the rest of your content in there).

This really isnt much of a Torque issue either, most game engines that support BSP act the same way. You only want to use it for at best 10% of your content and even then its mostly there for the most basic things like flat floors and the shell of a room. Everything else is polysoup geometry.

#6 should i just use Constructor instead for a level editor/map builder? or does T3D have a built-in level editor?

#7 T3D does have a built-in level editor, but it doesn't work the same way that Hammer or Constructor do.
Basically you use the T3D level editor to create water/terrain, then use the T3D level editor to add in structures you created with Constructor (or Hammer), then you add in objects and props made with a 3D modeling program.

#8

Quote:Well each surface from a DIF is a new draw call.

This isn't true at all. The whole point of BSP is to manage visible portions of a map, and while it's true you shouldn't be designing objects that should be dedicated to shapes (complex structures, furniture, etc...) a large bulk of the work can be done in BSP modelling, and it's one of the most efficient ways to display geometry.

Quote:should i just use Constructor instead for a level editor/map builder? or does T3D have a built-in level editor?

It depends. Like Shaolin Dave said the built in level editor is more of a world editor than a level editor. I suggest using Constructor for structure building, you'll find it's workflow is nearly identical to Hammer for level design. You should split the map into several DIFs if they aren't all part of the same structure though, and if you're used to displacements in Hammer to create terrain, the terrain system inside the T3D engine is the same thing (a little better actually).

#9 Also I recommend:
http://www.delgine.com/

A free level editor.