How do you become familiar with a texture set?

There's actually a UDB config on the OTEX website courtesy of @SiMpLeToNiUm , sorts everything out by category:
https://doom.ukiro.com/2020/07/03/otex-v1-1-is-out/

What I did for example was to go through the entire texture pack with Slade and choose the textures I really like and would want to use, and filter out the rest. I would delete all the rest and add the remaining ones to my own custom set. It takes some time as there's a few thousand textures to go through but it ultimately was worth it and improves the workflow tenfold by not having to skim through a long list of textures in the editor itself.

If you like multiple themes however, for example tech as well as hell or something else, then I recommend creating multiple folders and extract those textures with those specific themes in them. After that create a texture wad named after each of those themes and import the specific textures in them from those folders.

Your editor will list the sets as follows (you can name them as you fit though):

Doom 2

Otex: Tech 

Otex: Hell

Otex: Rock

etc.

Compiling a texture set to your own preferences is highly recommended as it improves the workflow and process of actual mapping in my experience.

OniriA has a good answer, but I do it differently, on some large texture packs (including OTEX), I try to search for keywords like "ROCK" or "TEK"/"TECH" and it works but not on every texture pack as some texture packs have textures named differently than the textures in other packs.

You make a map with it and see how you feel, and do what's said above but I do it on UDB while in the map to see what I find works.

Thanks for the advice everyone :D !

I had a similar problem recently, also trying to familiarize myself with OTEX. What I did is I made several very small maps with very distinct visual themes. Took some time, but I'm getting much more confident with OTEX now. And yeah, use filter field, it helps a lot, searching "OMET", "OROCK", "OCONC" (concrete), "OGRS" (grass) really helps to get things more manageable.

Just now, Ravendesk said:

I had a similar problem recently, also trying to familiarize myself with OTEX. What I did is I made several very small maps with very distinct visual themes. Took some time, but I'm getting much more confident with OTEX now. And yeah, use filter field, it helps a lot, searching "OMET", "OROCK", "OCONC" (concrete), "OGRS" (grass) really helps to get things more manageable.

is the filter field in UDB, or in SLADE. Sorry if that's a dumb question. I'm still relatively new to the editor.

12 minutes ago, Silent Wolf said:

is the filter field in UDB, or in SLADE. Sorry if that's a dumb question. I'm still relatively new to the editor.

 

I meant in UDB when you are selecting a texture/flat.

There is a filter field there.

@Ravendesk  I completely forgot that about that. Thanks for pointing it out.

7 minutes ago, Major Arlene said:

There's actually a UDB config on the OTEX website courtesy of @SiMpLeToNiUm , sorts everything out by category:
https://doom.ukiro.com/2020/07/03/otex-v1-1-is-out/

Awesome. This will be very useful. Thanks for sharing!

I really learned to use OTEX while making Neoplasm (my RAMP 2021 submission).

Honestly, most areas during blocking-out phase were a "generic" texture I'd chosen to represent the vibes (grey panels with green piping). Floor and ceiling just plastered with that. When the detail pass came, I textured with similarly-named textures (OTEX. Is extremely well organised like that). After scrolling through a while looking for textures, you start to pick up the patterns and know what to look for in the names.

This method of leaving texture selection until later for most areas really helped. Meant I was only focusing on textures when the time came to choose them.

Thank you for the advice. I'll try my best to leave texturing until a later stage :D

I sometimes create a map without any texture at all, and then start applying textures. 

On most texture packs I use slade beforehand to find out what texture could suit for my needs...what feels right for the theme. And i extract them to "projectname/project custom tex" folder. 

Also the textures I use frequently, like some recolors, I usually extract into seperate folder. 

you can also create texture sets in .zip file.

However, if you need to quickly familiarize yourself with textures, then skimming is your best option. You skim through texture pack, then take a few minutes to develop your wad, then you scan through the texture pack, then develop some more and apply first texture, and then you can look through texture back and select what textures you think you need.

You can always add more textures. Removing them is the pain in the ass part. 

@IcarusOfDaggers Very helpful advice. I'll keep that in my mind once I start working with OTEX.