Commented 19 years ago2005-09-13 12:28:28 UTC
in vault item: ArcaneComment #8983
Yeah... It's only three textures. The lighting is only a single environment light entity, but i made the platform a func_wall and for some reason they lit up sweetly. My inspiration for this was the arcane sanctuary from Diablo II act II meets painkeep's famous PKN9 map. Anyway the sequel will probably be the same setting, only bigger and more "arcane."
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-13 06:37:55 UTC
in vault item: ArcaneComment #8981
yep, look at the top right of the screenie, you can see lighting in there.
anyway d/ls ill review in a min
Its very VERY good for a first map. seriously!
I tested it with my sister (booya! a sister who plays online games! yas!) and gameplay was very funny... but it also lacked a lot.. As far as i could see, the whole map was made out of no more than 3 textures but i believe only 1.
..it just seemed.. empty.. even with gibbed player model's guts flying around
so.. yeah.. good, could be a lot better. but an extremely good start.
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-12 21:54:39 UTC
in vault item: ArcaneComment #8977
This is my first completed original map. It's small, but I tested it with my dad and my brother on a LAN and it makes an excellent bloodbath style arena for two or three people. I'm working on a few other projects right now, but I hope to have an ArcaneII soon. This one will have moving platforms and more advanced triggers. Enjoy!
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-12 12:43:01 UTC
in vault item: Dead labsComment #8970
Nice improvment!
-You used thin walls(only 4 units or something like that) I noticed it in the corridor before the room with the enemies. Try using 8 size grid(and walls) then you will probebly avoid most leaks And it doesn't metter how thick the wall is ingame for the parts that are open to the void or will be covered by another world brush wont be rendered anyway. -All the bodies head torword one direction.(0) In the pitch yaw roll value you'll see three zeros. Insted of the second one write the desiered angle or if you're using hammer 3.5 move the upper dail in the direction you want the body to head to. -Really short. But it's okey for it's only your second map and it's unfinished. -You haven't applied any textures. Learn how to use the texture application tool.(tutorial called "texture application") This is seen when you look at the lamps, they are textured with a lamp texture on all their sides and the botom texture doesn't fit.
-/+This map had the exect mesuare of bulltes. I missed those annoying baby headcrabs many times! -/+You didn't used carving/hollowing which is seen on the walls that doesn't always look like one pice and little bumps. The stuff that proved it are bad and should be removed. You can avoid those stuff if you'll use thicker walls! -/+The gameplay and layout are much better. No more senceless fighting aginst thousand of grunts crammed in a small room.
+You used texture lights!!(the bevrige mechine) But for the lamps you used light entities. +Lightning is much better. A little flickering lights and the light from the bevrige mechine makes that room look nice! +You edited the prefabs!! Some are rotated and some are broken.
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-12 09:18:00 UTC
in vault item: barrel_o_gruntsComment #8965
I won't review, just tell you, what you should keep in mind before going on.
1. Architecture. Try making the areas more realistic. Those corridors were very blocky and those soda machines were too big. Always imagine, how the areas would look in real life and try your best to make it that way. Have a look at the clipping tutorial, that shoulg get you started on the right foot.
2 Texturing. Good texturing is when random textures fit together. You must combine texturing with architecture to make a nice looking map. If you used the lab taxtures in one area, then you shouldn't use silo and babtech textures in another area, just behind a door. That doesn't look logical. Try combining textures that would look logically. Imagine yourself in the map and think, what you would want to see there.
3. Ambient sounds. Ambience is one of the most important things, for atmosphere. The player must feel like he's really in your map. Choose ambient sounds carefully, select their volume, use env_sounds to make the player "feel" the atmosphere of the map.
4. Lighting. Another important part of atmosphere. Lighting must fit the theme. Don't make it too dark in DM or CS maps, cause that makes it harder to play. Use different colours of lights, combine it with texturing and your map will look like you want it to look like..
5. Layout/Gameplay. Layout is most important in deathmatch maps, although it's also important in singleplayer. In deathmatch - you must make the map with multiple paths to the goal and other main areas. In singleplayer you must make the layout easy enough for the player to orientate in, but not too simple to become boring. As for gameplay - it's mostly in weapon placement in deathmatch maps and depends much on layout. In singleplayer - you must combine the weapon placement with monster placement. You don't want the player to be stuck with a few bullets fighting against an army.. (like in your map) ;P Gameplay must be challenging, but not too hard. It the gameplay is too hard, the player will usually turn some cheats on and that will ruin his impressions on your map.
8. Idea. Two words for this: Be original!! If we're talkin bout CS maps then not much ppl like de_dustathon992,3k or cs_italy26carnage. Don't remake maps. That's lame, imo. Always try thinking of something new, original and acceptable for the player.
Good luck with mapping. Oh and btw - i rated your map 3 stars, coz it's a 1st try after all..
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-12 03:52:22 UTC
in vault item: Canyon WarehouseComment #8964
I've used a few func_walls to have less r_speeds, but those hills still eat a lot of polys. And the main problem was, that I couldn't make the vis process, because when I made that, te editor crashed. So I only made csg, bsp and normal rad. Sorry, but that was the onmly way to make it work...
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-11 18:29:57 UTC
in vault item: barrel_o_gruntsComment #8962
Not really a playable map but hey, it's your first creation... Just continue mapping, take a look at some good maps for reference (search for a site called TenFour reviews and download some of the best mods there) and maybe you'll get some insight in what makes a level fun to play.
Some tips:
more enemies doesn't mean more fun. Use them wise and with care. Enemies and hazards are sometimes used only to add athmosphere or to keep a player alert, not even to give the player combat. There's more to enemies than just mindless fighting machines.
combat should challenge a player, not leave him frustrated. Playtest your maps often to see if they don't get too easy, or too hard. A map should be beatable even without knowing what comes next. It might be wise to ask a fellow mapper to playtest your map and give feedback before you release it.
As for the technical side of it, let me just add this: working with Snap to Grid on makes your maps cleaner and it's easier to avoid leaks that way with a gridsize of 32 or 64. For details, you can always switch to other grid sizes with the [ and ] keys.
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-11 11:32:42 UTC
in vault item: barrel_o_gruntsComment #8959
yea elon pointed that out before about the flickering i just thought that would add to the challenge kinda part and im fixing most other parts at the moment
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-11 11:10:19 UTC
in vault item: barrel_o_gruntsComment #8958
Okay, after playing, here some points im gonna give you. Starting with the good ones.
The texturing in some places (not realyl that many) was fine. And a nice use of prefrabs. And the lighting in the office areas was nice.
Bad points-
Everything was either too cramped (corrindors) or too large (those office rooms) Too many grunts, and the flickering lights did NOT do any good. My eyes still water from the pain of all the flashing and such. You need to add more detail to your lighting, basically make it look like the lights comming from somewhere. And not just from thin air.
Overall, i thought it was nice for a first map. Well done! 3 stars!
Oh and a bit of the AAAtrigger texture is showing.
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-11 11:02:16 UTC
in vault item: barrel_o_gruntsComment #8954
-Decal on the wall(storage area)is unreadable. Use the texture application to to fix it, aglain the wall's texture to face. -The door is to close to the wall's end so when it opens the wall on the room with the H.E.V suit looks strange. -Really short -I only meneged to kill half of the grunts and then I ran out of ammo so I tried to take some from the grunts. More ammo.
+/-Used only prefabs for details and you even didn't rotate them. +/-Lightning is boring but not fullbright. +/-You used carving. It's ok if you're a begginer. +/-No artitecture
+The monsters are patrolling
This map is quite nice for starters but you need to learn alot.
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-10 16:39:24 UTC
in vault item: Canyon WarehouseComment #8947
Very nice! About the canisters in that fence, just use a clip brush on top. Unless of course you intended to have curious players get stuck there. The only other problems I encountered were R_speeds and that many of the weapons on the floor were basically unlit and black (could just be my PC). But the R_speeds got up to almost 2000 wpolys in certain areas such as outside where the RPG is on the wooden platform.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 19 years ago2005-09-08 15:29:39 UTC
in vault item: TensionComment #8938
If anyone in the past has had an issue with the map crashing, please download it again. I FIXED THE PROBLEM and the map is now 100% playable and crash-free.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
single texture! YAY!
it's nice. I dunno though, lack of cover? mehbeh
anyway d/ls ill review in a min
Its very VERY good for a first map. seriously!
I tested it with my sister (booya! a sister who plays online games! yas!) and gameplay was very funny... but it also lacked a lot..
As far as i could see, the whole map was made out of no more than 3 textures but i believe only 1.
..it just seemed.. empty.. even with gibbed player model's guts flying around
so.. yeah.. good, could be a lot better. but an extremely good start.
BRING OUT ARCANE II
Nice, really nice
-You used thin walls(only 4 units or something like that) I noticed it in the corridor before the room with the enemies. Try using 8 size grid(and walls) then you will probebly avoid most leaks And it doesn't metter how thick the wall is ingame for the parts that are open to the void or will be covered by another world brush wont be rendered anyway.
-All the bodies head torword one direction.(0) In the pitch yaw roll value you'll see three zeros. Insted of the second one write the desiered angle or if you're using hammer 3.5 move the upper dail in the direction you want the body to head to.
-Really short. But it's okey for it's only your second map and it's unfinished.
-You haven't applied any textures. Learn how to use the texture application tool.(tutorial called "texture application") This is seen when you look at the lamps, they are textured with a lamp texture on all their sides and the botom texture doesn't fit.
-/+This map had the exect mesuare of bulltes. I missed those annoying baby headcrabs many times!
-/+You didn't used carving/hollowing which is seen on the walls that doesn't always look like one pice and little bumps. The stuff that proved it are bad and should be removed. You can avoid those stuff if you'll use thicker walls!
-/+The gameplay and layout are much better. No more senceless fighting aginst thousand of grunts crammed in a small room.
+You used texture lights!!(the bevrige mechine) But for the lamps you used light entities.
+Lightning is much better. A little flickering lights and the light from the bevrige mechine makes that room look nice!
+You edited the prefabs!! Some are rotated and some are broken.
1. Architecture. Try making the areas more realistic. Those corridors were very blocky and those soda machines were too big. Always imagine, how the areas would look in real life and try your best to make it that way. Have a look at the clipping tutorial, that shoulg get you started on the right foot.
2 Texturing. Good texturing is when random textures fit together. You must combine texturing with architecture to make a nice looking map. If you used the lab taxtures in one area, then you shouldn't use silo and babtech textures in another area, just behind a door. That doesn't look logical. Try combining textures that would look logically. Imagine yourself in the map and think, what you would want to see there.
3. Ambient sounds. Ambience is one of the most important things, for atmosphere. The player must feel like he's really in your map. Choose ambient sounds carefully, select their volume, use env_sounds to make the player "feel" the atmosphere of the map.
4. Lighting. Another important part of atmosphere. Lighting must fit the theme. Don't make it too dark in DM or CS maps, cause that makes it harder to play. Use different colours of lights, combine it with texturing and your map will look like you want it to look like..
5. Layout/Gameplay. Layout is most important in deathmatch maps, although it's also important in singleplayer. In deathmatch - you must make the map with multiple paths to the goal and other main areas. In singleplayer you must make the layout easy enough for the player to orientate in, but not too simple to become boring.
As for gameplay - it's mostly in weapon placement in deathmatch maps and depends much on layout. In singleplayer - you must combine the weapon placement with monster placement. You don't want the player to be stuck with a few bullets fighting against an army.. (like in your map) ;P Gameplay must be challenging, but not too hard. It the gameplay is too hard, the player will usually turn some cheats on and that will ruin his impressions on your map.
8. Idea. Two words for this: Be original!!
If we're talkin bout CS maps then not much ppl like de_dustathon992,3k or cs_italy26carnage. Don't remake maps. That's lame, imo. Always try thinking of something new, original and acceptable for the player.
Good luck with mapping.
Oh and btw - i rated your map 3 stars, coz it's a 1st try after all..
Just continue mapping, take a look at some good maps for reference (search for a site called TenFour reviews and download some of the best mods there) and maybe you'll get some insight in what makes a level fun to play.
Some tips:
- more enemies doesn't mean more fun. Use them wise and with care. Enemies and hazards are sometimes used only to add athmosphere or to keep a player alert, not even to give the player combat. There's more to enemies than just mindless fighting machines.
- combat should challenge a player, not leave him frustrated. Playtest your maps often to see if they don't get too easy, or too hard. A map should be beatable even without knowing what comes next. It might be wise to ask a fellow mapper to playtest your map and give feedback before you release it.
As for the technical side of it, let me just add this: working with Snap to Grid on makes your maps cleaner and it's easier to avoid leaks that way with a gridsize of 32 or 64. For details, you can always switch to other grid sizes with the [ and ] keys.Keep it up.
The texturing in some places (not realyl that many) was fine. And a nice use of prefrabs. And the lighting in the office areas was nice.
Bad points-
Everything was either too cramped (corrindors) or too large (those office rooms)
Too many grunts, and the flickering lights did NOT do any good. My eyes still water from the pain of all the flashing and such.
You need to add more detail to your lighting, basically make it look like the lights comming from somewhere. And not just from thin air.
Overall, i thought it was nice for a first map. Well done! 3 stars!
Oh and a bit of the AAAtrigger texture is showing.
hopefully my next map will be better
-The door is to close to the wall's end so when it opens the wall on the room with the H.E.V suit looks strange.
-Really short
-I only meneged to kill half of the grunts and then I ran out of ammo so I tried to take some from the grunts. More ammo.
+/-Used only prefabs for details and you even didn't rotate them.
+/-Lightning is boring but not fullbright.
+/-You used carving. It's ok if you're a begginer.
+/-No artitecture
+The monsters are patrolling
This map is quite nice for starters but you need to learn alot.
with the rooms do you think they are tall enough or should i make them smaller?
with the charger it would be 2 small if i made it closer to the wall and i dont know how to put lights on the ceiling =(
For the extra mirror and for you give Timefall little space on your server.
Tlax
http://m0px.net/zl/files/Timefall.rar
Great map (mod?) - if you haven't tried it already.. do it.