Comments

Looking at the screenshot, it looks good. I'll take a look when I have some more time.

Doesn't solve the problem, nublit. It's more an issue of lightmap scales, the wall blocks light already, there's just that blending between light and dark that takes a little too much space.

It's for the fact that it's already running on servers that I leave this map in the Finished section, but maps of this quality belong in the Unfinished Maps vault.

No lighting for performance reasons? Read up on optimization, unlit maps may play nice but in mapper communities, they're frowned upon and really, you're abandoning technology that makes it not only look better, but also outlines the shapes in a map better making it easier to navigate.
It may be a tendency in current CSS communities, but such maps look horrible. Even spending a little more time and effort on them would make them look fair.

A good article about optimization can be found here:
http://www.student.kun.nl/rvanhoorn/Optimization.htm

If you haven't visited the VERC, then that's sort of living under a rock yeah. If you want to extend your knowledge and your library of tricks, go out and look at other sites. Good tutorials, good inspiration, and more.

Poor mans shiny floors don't really cost a lot more work, in fact, you can leave out a lot of the detail since it's basically a dark room underneath with sprites at the locations the lights would be.

In a HL2 map you could use an animated model which would be easier (and perhaps also more accurate). You could do that for HL too...

But anyway, it's a nice example map though fairly simple I think.
For reflections, search for an article on the VERC called 'Poor man's shiny floors'. A much more believeable way of doing reflections.

Everyone here that says 'func_wall' should stay away from HL2 maps. We use func_detail for that now!

Anyway, about this problem, just make your wall thicker. Displacement maps don't seem to be very flexible when it comes down to scaling their lightmaps down (it seems to stick to 15 as a minimum), so either create two displacements, one on each side of the wall, or make the wall thicker. The shadow does actually start underneath the wall but it takes some space to fade (which is where the lightmap resolution comes in).

Lowering the scale of lightmaps has a disadvantage and that's the increased filesize. In area's with a lot of light contrast, you could scale it down, but for area's with very equal lighting you could scale it up to save some filesize. Maps tend to get very big these days...

A shadow_control entity controls the shadows cast by model entities bytheway, not those of brush-based entities, so it's of no use here unless you add prop_models.

I liked this map. It has a style that's almost abstract at points yet feels realistic as well. Sort of typical for you, Rimrook, but it fits well together.

This level uses vertical combat nicely and has some good connectivity I think, it's not hard to learn either. 5 minutes is enough to understand the layout which is just fine. It's not uber detailed but the overall structure feels fitting together good and that may have more impact than extra little thingies all around. Good job here.

But uhm, the waterfalls had some uber-bright glow sprites underneath them... the smoke sprite messed up or such? Looked strange. And you used those green plants as ladders at some point but at another point they were just decoration. That's inconsistent and I just had to try to climb them but nope, they weren't climbable. Perhaps use a different plant texture there to avoid confusion.

Overall, a good-looking map with a nice, a little abstract, style to it and it looks like it has some good vertical combat. Good stuff.

Looks nice. Looks like it has a good layout (though somewhat cramped now and then and the shotgun's a dead-end), but I preferred it to be somewhat bigger. The architecture is well done and the lighting is overall ok, though I think the fire was too yellowish, I think yellow really doesn't go well with concrete grey and such. Make it more orange, gives a warmer feeling and I think it fits better.

Put the sky brushes somewhat higher though. Explosive barrels explode almost immediatyl when you throw em up. I also think a more distinct theme would do your map good, right now it's really generic (I can't see what this area is supposed to be, actually). Wider paths provide some more room to dodge fire, too, so that's something you could improve on as well. Oh, and that fire wood looked odd. Too flat I think, not really burnt either. Oh well...
However, there's some nice touches to this map like the hidden vent route and the stunstick that lies around. And indeed, props don't block movement which is a good thing as well.

All in all, a nice map with some nice touches, but little too small and cramped for me.

Clipping surely is necessary, but putting a clip brush at a spot that looks obviously accessible makes the map feel fake, and that's a bad thing. Try to block off such places in a more real way. Above that bar, for example, you could've put a higher building behind it so you can't jump off into the backyard.

Anyway, I think allowing people up on the roofs isn't a real good idea here, as it gives them a really large view, plus the map is almost completely linear, so a few snipers simply block off the main and only route. It needs some alternative routes, like paths through the backyards. Oh, and hide the view from the skybox some more, as I already said, a sudden ending road looks fake.

Hmm... I think it's a nice map considering you recreated a real-life area and there's some funny details to it like the Heineken sign and the shoe-store, but overall it felt somewhat bland and there's a few odd places that are distracting.

First, the lighting is boring. It's a sort of yellowish bleeding without real shadows, which makes all feel blending together too much.
Second, there's some area's that suddenly stop or where you suddenly clipped the player. Especially the player clipping feels odd and sometimes unnecessary. The sudden stop of roads is understandable as it's the HL engine we're talking about, but it does feel strange. Something to block sight would be nice.
Third, I believe you've restricted yourself too much to the place you recreated. Some of those backalleys and gardens were just dead-ends and I felt they didn't add anything to the gameplay. Only makes the map harder to learn and makes it feel put down together without too much thought.
Fourth, some things felt out of proportions. The Heineken sign, but also the trottoir heights and other edges and such felt often too big. Some things better fit smaller. This does not really count for the width of roads or generally 'paths', because narrow paths allow few players and little room to dive for cover so that may not be a good idea.

All in all, there's some nice things here but in general, the map didn't do it for me. I couldn't playtest though so I don't know how it plays, but it didn't really feel like it would play too well. Could use some work. Hey, talking about gameplay, David Johnston, creator of dust and dust2, has a blog where he often talks about gameplay issues. Check it out, it's worth a read.

Sure, as long as you put all the files in the right place...

I guess I'm spoiled after playing HL2DM now, but this map has a nice distinct style from other HL maps.

Weapon placement was a bit overdone if you ask me, but maybe that turns out to give some frantic combat, playtesting should tell there. I do think it lacked some medipacks but armor was good available.
The doors would've been better left out, or open on touch. Right now they take out a lot of speed from the game. Some staircases are too steep as you fall off them rather than descending. I think those building insides are too small for the combat that the overload of weapons will give, and the map is generally small but at the other hand very easy to learn.

I'm dubbing a bit about the look of this. Some problems like a too small maximum view distance and the already mentioned wrong gib type for the windows could get fixed though these are minor points. Anyway, the textures look good for this map but some area's look too boring with long surfaces that didn't really fit the area well, and some other areas looked a bit too cramped. I don't know, I think the several aspects don't really work well with each other yet. I think the lighting is ok but nothing outstanding.
Maybe it's the fact that it's supposed to look like a city, but feels very limited (e.g. no road that leads outside like in de_torn and not really a fitting sky for a city) for that theme.

Oh, and more of a technical thing: the .res file lists a lot of files that aren't custom. Afaik, you only need to list custom files. Resgen doesn't do a very good job if you ask me...
And, in case you zip custom files with the map, please zip their folder structure as well so it's easier to know where to place files.

Hmm, that's a point, but I'm planning to distribute a .rmf with it (I think it's better to leave out all the speech system entities and just show the setup that the example .bsp explained) so people can play with it, and always check the in-game tutorial if something isn't clear. Maybe less comfortable than a video tutorial but surely much faster to download.

Ah, yeah, I just noticed. It should be fixed now though.

I must say, this map definitely looks detailed and has a nice ambience. The short fog distance is probably necessary for it to run well, but it distracted somewhat, especially because it doesn't work well with the 3D skybox. Hard to fix problem, I guess?

You didn't state for what player count the map is intended but it looks like quite some players could fit in. I think it's too large for 8 players but with the current fps too many players might be a bit of a problem. Playtesting should tell...

I noticed a lot of items are somewhat hidden or placed next to explosives or are otherwise placed in hard-to-get area's. Maybe that works well, but personally I think with the already large nature of the map it's not a real good idea. Armor and a weapon are best quickly accessible from the spawn point so you aren't chanceless against an opponent who's running around for a longer time and stocked up on weaponry already.
So, I like items and weapons to be somewhat easier to get. The more heavy weapons or a real fat item storage room are best made hard to access so their power doesn't come at no cost, but the more basic stuff should be available sooner and easier.

As for visuals, I already said I like the details and especially the sounds and all. They're nice touches, like the man screaming for help. Some textures weren't chosen that well though, like some walls had a generic metal texture that's probably meant as a floor texture. The outside area's looked great though.
The level is also easy to learn despite it's size and I think you've used the vertical axis great. One note about that though: a player that's on a higher place has an advantage over lower players. He doesn't need cover but just has to step back somewhat to be safe. The lower player will have less use of cover because of the height, too. I noticed you placed some AR grenades on the roof. I think that's outbalancing things somewhat: the lower player could use some grenades to counter the height difference rather than the other way around.

All in all, overall it looked great and the ambience was well-done, but the item placement and size could be done better.
Have you playtested this map with others throughout the construction period, bytheway?

Actually, it reminded me of an old idea I had years back, which in turn I've seen as a level theme in some games: the inner organs of a creature. It's pulsating, it feels alive and just like certain organs it's a transport tube. I would've played with func_trains to achieve such an effect though as I think clever shaping and use of these would give about the same effect but be much less prone to getting-stuck problems.
Another thing I would've done was modelling parts of the map and animating them to achieve a pulsating and alive effect.

Maybe that's an idea if you're ever going to use this again?

I really liked this idea as it mimicked an organic transport tube really nicely, but the looks of it pulled me off and the somewhat troublesome workout works against it too. I got stuck several times, almost killing me.

So, the idea is good, if it was for the idea only I think this was the best one, but the workout let it down a lot.

Oh, and you run in software mode? Why not OpenGL?

Oh, and how about an inside room or such, if performance even allows that now? Nice for variations sake...

Just ran through it and checked the .rmf. Looks stylish, it feels somewhat Esscher-esque. I like it.

I think the textures and lighting fit well together, maybe the inside area's could do with some darker shadows to give it some more contrast but all-in-all, it's a solid-feeling theme.
I didn't like the grass texture though. It does give some contrast with the rest of the textures and that's good, but somehow it doesn't feel right. Perhaps a darker stone with some grass on it could do better?

Maybe a rock and some bushes or a tree would be a nice addition to this theme. It's solid, but somewhat too similar at the same time too. Not that it's hard to learn, it's small and I got the layout down in a few minutes, but a little more variation might work well.

Also, I noticed this with wireframe on: some stairs are put into the same func_wall. Did you know that HL determines whether an entity is visible or not by it's bounding box, and that such large-spreading func_walls are more often than not visible for that reason? Heh, I've had entities that were rendered always, even from area's that they really shouldn't be visible from. Splitting them up into 2 entities did the trick: none of them were rendered at those spots then.

As for which mod, I'd say HLDM. Still my favorite for HL mapping, besides HLSP then.

Well, a nice map that definitely has a good sense of place. It has its flaws, both in gameplay and visuals, but at first sight, it looks like a good one.

It has already been said above, but the map is too large. You can compress those curvy roads parts a lot - it'll make the combat happen earlier and that's what most CS players play the game for. Running around isn't so much fun on itself, especially linear routes get boring fast.

The visuals are fine. I like those cars and trains, but at some points these custom textures just clash with the standard ones. The quality levels don't match well. Some textures are also very repetetive (the rocks), scale them up and eventually rotate them a bit so the pattern is much harder to spot. Decals can work well for that purpose, too.
All in all, the map feels somewhat empty and generic at points. The trottoir has the same texture as the road which isn't so good, and the road is perfectly flat and suddenly there's a rock-wall. Usually, there's some sand between these two things.

But, all in all, a nice map, and with work on the layout and the visuals, I can see some great maps coming from you in the future. Just be sure to work on these weak points. Good luck with further maps!

Hmm, fair mappack. I felt that the lab environment (the one you're fighting in) was spent most time on, the other area's stuck me as somewhat bland.
Some (nasty) errors now and then kept the gameplay from being really nice. Things like being able to get behind the rocks in the apache area (clip these area's off) or not being able to get up from the water (add a ladder) made me think it was just rushed off in a hurry. You should playtest your maps more to spot such things before releasing a map.

The getting stuck (ok, a sequence... then make that more obvious because now it isn't - also, end the game rather than letting the player wait for anything to happen) and loosing weapons felt indeed like a bug or sloppy design. There was no reason for loosing the weapons (or you should give a message that something went wrong during the teleport or such) and getting a weapon while being shot at with a sniper and some more guns... well... at least it was a different gameplay but it felt unfair and strange because I had 'earned' my weapons up to that point.

Also a remark about the puzzles: often it was unclear what a button would do or for what door a keycard was meant. Closed doors also didn't give a sound and it was hard to spot what doors would go open and what wouldn't. It's nice to give a sign so a player doesn't walk to a door only to find out that's not the way to go.

All in all, nice idea's I think, but it's rushed off and somewhat sloppy at parts.

Nah, no, he just has it in a counter-strike folder in his .zip file. Not really a good idea to do so, but it's a HL mod anyway.

I think this map shows some nice idea's, I found the time travel nicely done. Care for details (though it misses some polishing-up) and all... nice one.

I think that the gameplay is somewhat sober: it's just pushing buttons and running around. The rooms also looked like an abandoned part of Black Mesa while it's really just 2 days before the cascade. Also, some music during the transport rather than leaving it for the end would've been better, though the music was a nice touch.
Oh, and next time, please don't include your config.cfg... I had to adjust my mouse sensitivity as well as restore the keyboard commands to their default before I could play it as I'm used to.

All in all, nice map, good entry. Could've used a little polishing though.

Just a few things:

The wall blocks the solar panels from receiving any light. Pus that a wall suffices, no need for the fences anymore. Also, I could get stuck between the walls and the fences (odd turret placement there too, they didn't even work too).
Pressing buttons in guard towers to open a bunker access door doesn't make much sense to me. Oh, and let the player know what happened. The purpose of those buttons is unclear, you can't see what they do. They appear to do nothing when you press them actually.
The lighting is ugly. But I suppose you'll change that in a later stage.
The elevator is boring (it's slow and it's a long way down. Don't waste the players time, at least give him some interesting things to look at), and it doesn't fit well in it's environment. Why have a large cargo elevator when there isn't even room for such large cargo there? Those rooms are too small for that. Doesn't feel right.
Dark room, too bright glass, painfully flickering light and a bunch of zombies together with barney's? I'm not sure what to make of that but it's no good at the moment.

Conclusion: some improvements were nice, but there's still a lot to do. Don't forget about logic: several things in your map don't feel right. Why? Compare them to the real world: would they be done like that in reality?
For example, buttons are usually labeled to make their purpose clear. Buttons that control security doors are usually placed in security offices.
So... good luck with it!

Well, definitely a funny idea. The area looks fair for what it is, though there's some things I should've put some more time in. Those lamps are both oddly proportioned and are too repetetively placed. It's not so important for the gameplay but it caught my attention and threw the sense of realism off somewhat. Overall a somewhat bad choice of textures I think.
Lighting is ok, it fits the map.

A thing about the crushing other players: it's a nice idea, but I wouldn't have found out really easily. It's not intuitively visible. I'd say put some spikes on that crushing platform, and maybe some wires that go back from the targets to the other players crusher. I think that makes the idea pretty well visible to players. Also put a glass wall between them or something, a bullet doesn't get stopped by thin air...

All in all, fun map, but could do with some improving.
Oh, and what about a 8-player version? There's 8 firing lanes...

info_nodes make grunts move smarter, but well used scripted sequences make them appear smarter. There's a difference indeed, but the second is just as important as the first. Dumb appearing enemies kill the immersion of the game.

Not that that's so important here as there's little immersion to kill since it doesn't look like anything in reality anyway, but hey... you've gotta strive for perfection, isn't it?

As for nodes, I've used them in my map The Playtest and they make the grunts move pretty nice: they're chasing you, searching for cover and all that. But without the scripted sequences they would never have 'followed' you down the deep water-filled pit. I agree, it's faking the player, but the effect is surprizingly nice (at least some liked it so those aren't completely my words ;)).

1. The screenshot (.bmp!) in the .zip is wasted filesize (screenshots make someone download a map, they aren't needed in the download itself anymore).

2. Throw out the opfor.wad and tfc.wad from your Hammer configuration, as not everyone has them (using a non-existing .wad causes the game to crash).

3. I don't know how you did it, but the game stops when you get to the end of the map. And then I mean that the game closes. Back to the desktop. You might want to fix that.

For a first map, it's ok. There's much to improve on, though.
Things like light sources (lamps) are absent in your level. The architecture is square and simple overall, and the environment isn't really recognizable as a real place (e.g. there's no sense of place, to give it a fancy name). The only room that looked somewhat more interesting was the small one with the .357 in it.
Combat is basic and enemies appear to be really dumb. They are, you could say, and to some extend that's true, but as a mapper, you can make them appear smarter by giving them a goal to run towards when the player comes close, so it looks as if they are actively searching for the player, or similar things.

Well, not a lot more to say as it's your first map and you've got quite some things to learn yet. Good luck with further maps!

Thanks for the comment, rowley.

The map lacked detail because I was working towards a deadline, and there wasn't much time left. But it's a good thing to mention the landmark function of them. Nowadays I try to give seperate area's of my maps a slightly different theme or function to let players know where they are. And yeah, detailing things to give them more character helps greatly there.

"The part with the couches is a "waiting room" so to speak."

I know it's a waiting room. But that doesn't really fit in a bunker (unless it's a dictators bunker - this seems more like a field bunker).

You put the wrong .bsp in the zip file, it's an unlit version.

What direction are you heading with this map? It's unfinished and I can't really think of what you're planning for this map...

Anyway. Some things you should definitely improve on are the bunker inside (bunkers with couches? and what are those bleu blocks supposed to be?) and the bunker entrance (I'd expect a fortified crete structure but this thing has thin walls and a really light roof. Not very well protected).
The base also lacks a noticeable entrance. Adding a road will help.
Also, do something to make the map feel more real, as the skybox is quite distinguishable from the level itself. Perhaps use some rocks or such.

Nice secret grenades though, and that generator with solar panels looks like a good idea. Tweak them a bit and it's a nice setting.

Judging the rmf file then, it's quite a pointless map. Just a train-ride from somewhere to somewhere else, without anything to do or to go next. Yeah, nice map then but not interesting for a player.
I guess that's why it is in 'unfinished'...

Construction is so-so. I'd strongly encourage using larger brushes (and larger grid-sizes to snap to) as it makes maps cleaner and it's easier to avoid leaks. Those brushes covered with the aaatrigger texture could also cause trouble (I got an error, it might be because of this?), use 'null' instead.
Also, thin walls can make a map look thin as well - that is, the map gets to feel less solid, less real.

Just my 2 cents on the .rmf.

So, that's a nice lightmap error... too many luxels (and quite a lot more than allowed). Anyone else had this?

For a first map, it's fine. Nice idea, clean workout.

There's some problems to this style of maps though, and players will either like it or hate it: falling off the ledges is very easy and draws away attention from combat. I think somewhat wider paths would be good to make the map more playable. Pushing an opponent off the ridge could be a nice gimmick, bytheway. How about user-triggered pushers?

Weapon placement and layout was rather simple and there's not a lot of thought behind it. The map is linear so I don't think it'll stay interesting for long. Give players more choices, more routes. Area's can be made interesting by putting goodies in them (strong goodies put in dangerous places can work well). Cover spots will also enhance the gameplay as these give players an opportunity to improve their chances.

Yeah, texturing and lighting is simple too. Give the map a more distinct style, give the map 'character'.

All in all, a good start, but it could do with some improvements. Keep it up.

Hmm, quite an improvement over your first map. Monster and weapon placement is a lot better this time.

Some additional comments (again, much has been said already by others):

• Avoid flickering lights, they gets painfull on the eyes quickly. Yes, they can be used to create a good athmosphere, but use them with care
• Give your maps a goal, and let the player know it. It's nice to play, but without a reason, players quickly get bored or annoyed

Good luck, and keep improving.

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.

Keep it up.

The most usefull commands for performance checking are:
r_speeds 1 (displays world and model poly count, fps and time it took to create the frame)
gl_wireframe 1/2 (1 displays a wireframe overlay, 2 displays a wireframe of all drawn faces, which is quite usefull)

"Don't worry, that place will be revisited in later chapters."

That's a good thing. Showing area's (long) before you can visit them is nice.

"No one noticed the 'plane' flying way up in the air after you pass the bunker?"

Nope, didn't notice. Didn't notice any plane sounds there, either...

"And no, I didn't run vis. I wasn't planning to intil I completely finished a/the map(s). sorry."

Run vis before detailing area's. That gives you an idea of where you have enough poly's left to spend on detail while still not to wrecking performance. Most of your area's are already quite detailed, I think this is beyond the layout test already. It's better to know where you have to hold back with details than to have to delete a lot of work afterwards. Saves you time, and I think that's an important factore here...

Next time you request a review from me, PM me. I don't look at maps here that often.

Anyway. Here goes. Some things have already been covered so I won't comment on everything when I don't think it's necessary anymore.

Overall, I think this is a good job done so far. It certainly shows you know what detail is. I think it gives a good impression all in all. There's some spots I liked especially like the orange-steaming vents in the end. But, as in all things, there's flaws (and some errors) to it, and I think I'm particularly good at spotting those. Forgive me my critical point of view, overall the map looks good, but there's just things I notice and won't let slip by. So, a list of bugs/glitches/stuff acompanied with suggestions follows:

1. The elevator made some nasty sounds at the start. It also looked flipped upside down due to how you placed the side panels. Usually, they're put down to prevent people from falling. Could do with some cleaner textures, other than that, it's fine.
2. The area thereafter feels cramped, too small. I'd suggest some wider corridors, or more options to make it feel more like a real complex. The book shelf fits better in a room, or make a reading area over there or such. Also, don't let Barney wait for the voice system to be finished. Those voices feel quite triggered bytheway. Triggering them with a delay might help, or just playing some at random.
3. That ladder behind the window is a nice touch. It doesn't lead anywhere though so add a door. Adding a door that the player can see on the other side as well is better I think (locked, of course ;)).
4. Entrance to the control room is small, cramped, and you feel it when you get back off the stairs: I got some headache when bumping into the ceiling. The sewer acces(?) didn't really fit in that area, though it's a nice detail. Some valves and electricity stuff (control box or such) fits better.
5. The train room is ok. But it's odd that I can't get on the rail while the bar is still open... senseless clip brush. You might want to use clip brushes on the train instead, to prevent people from jumping out. That sweeper in the corner looks slightly misproportioned.
6. The dam scene was nice. The dam itself is empty, though. Adding some control towers could make a good difference. Also, I don't like the water. I don't like Half-Life's standard water anyway. It kills fps easily and looks odd. Maybe you should check my map The Playtest for some inspiration on different water methods? I'd happily supply you with the custom textures and all. Just make that look better...
7. The machinery room looks nice. Good athmosphere and nice details. The whole area feels somewhat blocky though, mainly the rough architecture. But maybe that fits the style of the building there just fine. Just don't use 90-degree angles too much in your maps. The lab there is a nice one. Just make those windows clear. That's eye-candy that could get some more attention...
8. Outside area was good. Odd bunker there (not bad-looking though, I kinda liked it) but the rest seemed to fit well together. But those textures on the building are over-stretched. Makes it feel much smaller than it really is.
9. Orange steaming vents. Look cool. The room feels blocky though and seems purposeless. Adding some maintenance doors and stuff that belongs there would be some nice touches. Detail isn't always a small or complex brush. It's also the logic in the level.
10. Only now I noticed the high r_speeds and the bad job you did on VIS. 3000 poly's at some spots? Runs fine on my machine and the limits are increasing now that people get better systems, but that could've been toned down a lot with proper VIS work. Did you even ran that compile program?

So, that should keep you busy, again. Don't get me wrong, it's a good job done overall. Just fix the most nasty glitches and everything should be mostly fine. Keep it up there!

I'd prefer a .bsp file over a .rmf...

Actually, I think it's good for a first map. My first one was a L-shaped corner... not that I ever showed that to anyone except for my family, but hey...
Anyway. There's a leak in the .rmf you uploaded. I'd recommend mapping with Snap to Grid on, and using a rough grid size for the base architecture (something like a 32 or 64 size). It's easier to prevent leaks that way. When dealing with detail, you can switch to lower grid sizes quickly with the [ and ] keys.
Give that ladder a Render FX - Solid, and a Render Amount - 255 to make the black parts invisible.

Other than that, keep going, and post .bsp's next time.

I've played it and I must say, it's not something I'll quickly play again. Most parts were either awfull looking or of mediocre visuals. Overall gameplay seemed either forgotten or badly implemented in most area's. As many have noticed, Haz!' part definitely stood out from the rest. The sci-cloning facility also looked nice, and here and there I could see some nice idea's, but overall... it was disappointing.

Now I understand the goal of this joined effort wasn't to get a good result but to create something together, but as a player I'm not impressed with it. And that's probably not really satisfying to you as the mappers. I'd say, next time, try to create something that plays fun and wich visuals don't hinder the fun but rather enhance it. Good luck on further efforts.

// A note on available time: working on a map until 2:00 in the morning is devotion, not having a lot of time. Haz!' part showed devotion, a lot of other parts didn't. It's not all talent that does it, it's devotion that counts.
And sure, there are time constraints, but that doesn't say all there is to say. I've made maps or map parts within 2 weeks and the result was positively received by the public or my fellow mappers. Now I have been mapping for 3 years, but in those 3 years I've read a lot about level-design, about what makes levels and games in general fun, about how to create models, textures, and so on... so you could say I've devoted quite some time to mapping. Combined with the artistic talent I have it leads to the quality I currently produce.
That's not to say I'm 'uber' or 'l33t', in fact I know far better mappers, far better modellers, far better programmers than I am. But I do try to say that devotion does make a difference...

Anyway, good luck with TWHLmix 2.

Really gave me a deya-vu feeling. Wich is a good thing in this case. You captured the feel of this HL level really good, though a bit more tweaking to the lighting (looks somewhat bland in some spots, and some colors just don't fit (purple)) in the largest area's and a bit more refined brushwork (trims, machinery and the like) can still be done here and there.

Overall, looks like a decent map with thought for gameplay. I haven't playtested it with others but the multi-levelness of this one can make for some interesting combat. Keep up the good work!

Three things pop to mind:
Masked textures, scrollwater (stretched textures) and mod folder.

It ran laggy on my machine, on OpenGL, 1600x1200, but not as bad as I expected. I wouldn't advise Direct3D over OpenGL though, as both make use of your 3D-card but Direct3D was added later to the game as OpenGL and therefor isn't as optimized as OpenGL... Although some 3D-cards may run better with it.

But aside from that, looks like a good recreation of the bridge itself. Would be nice to see it being lit though.

So, challenging isn't the same as hard.

Hard in terms of an overload of grunts and a need for ammo, especially in the start. Often, such maps fall down into what I call 'glock sniping'. It leaves the player but few choices: rushing in, wich is often very hard, or glock sniping, wich I find often very boring as it's nearly not challenging. IF you have a glock, of course. So in this case it's just a hard map (not for everyone, it seems).

Now I understand it's hard to make combat interesting, but I also think a player doesn't neccesarily have to engage into combat immediatly. In games you often see a certain increase in difficulty. As the player gets more and different weapons, the combat also becomes harder and, hopefully, more interesting. I wouldn't advise you to use grunt enemies at the start immediatly, they're not the most easy ones, especially not at the start when the player is often still low on ammo (or experience?).

I'd also advise you to build things up throughout the level. Integrate the weapons into the gameplay. When the player has a shotgun, give him some opportunities for close combat. When he has the crossbow, let him do some sniping (but try to keep it challenging by not giving away all enemies, or making the snipe positions hard to get to or to stay at. Don't forget to reward a player after some hard fighting either...).

Also, a player doesn't always have to be in combat. Give him some breaks, a little puzzle in between, or just some exploring. Prevent the level from becoming boring so put in some things to keep him busy, or start building tension before the combat (wich can really raise your combat to higher levels, making it belong in the map). Gameplay is more than combat and puzzles alone, you know...

As for the environment, it'd be good to experiment with cover and the like. Don't give away too much of the map at first too, give the player something to explore. Ok, this is a small map and quickly made, but mind it for next maps. Players like to find new things, they often like secrets (fairly hidden ones ;)), the like it when they get rewarded after having done something hard. Otherwise you'll leave them unsatisfied...

Ratings say nothing imho. Comments, on the contrary, do...

From the screenshot, I'd say the architecture is very basic, as is the texturing. Plus those computers look awfully prefabbed. For CS maps, I wouldn't advise the hl.wad anyway...

So, my first impression isn't a real impressive one.

Whether or not it's the real thing, it doesn't look all too good. And for an introduction that's painfull, as it's meant to make the player want to play more...
For 'the real thing' it would be even more painfull...

Entities are your friends. Entities are not taken into account by the VIS process. This can have some great advantages. Normally, small detailed brushes would really make the VIS process a lot more complicated. Turned into entities however, the VIS process is much more simple, taking less time and probably being more effective too.
Be warned though that you should not make so-called 'vis-blockers' into entities. Basically, this counts for the rough architecture.
Oh, and... your map is pretty small still. Don't worry about overloading VIS yet. There are much more complex maps out there that made it trough the compile process...

As for the map, I would advise you to do some research before you start mapping. Searching for photo's of such environments often helps you to get a grip on what you're mapping. I usually seek for concept art and pictures, then I make some sketches and then i start mapping. The pictures and concept art help me to get an understanding of the theme, the sketches help me to create a layout.
You may find other methods to work better for yourself, that's fine as people are different, but perhaps this can help you a bit.
What I mean to say is: preparation is important. A good start is half of the job, or however they say it.

At least it doesn't make me care about this map...

A proper description and representative screenshot do a lot... It's your presentation of the map towards the public, and that's something not to be underestimated.

There are some interesting articles at the VERC, it's really worth checking out that site.

As for your levels... The Xen part bored me since it was exactly the same speech as in the end of HL. The instant kill I got with that blue 'wall' isn't really a great idea too. All in all, I didn't really get the meaning of that introduction.

The labs' ceilings were too high. The architecture is indeed not very outstanding, the layout of that level is too squared indeed. The lighting could be made more interesting too.
The level seemed... unrealistic for some reason. I think it's because rooms aren't connected this way in real-life. Put more thought in that, e.g. try to think of how an architect would create such an environment, and what the demands of the inhabitants or users would be, so to create a more convenient environment. You see, every building has a function, and this determines it's shape and look, as well as it's layout and the like...
I really can't tell the exact function from your level. It seems like a mix between an office, a computer room and a... power plant alike environment? You name it...

Here, maybe this article can help you on your way:
http://www.johnsto.co.uk/text.php?t=common_sense

Oh, and post a screenshot, not a random picture! Such a habit won't get you really far here... nor does it encourage people to download and play your maps.

No, it's not me. I don't use any other nickname on the internet besides Captain P. Plus, I don't map for SvenCoop.

I've seen this map somewhere else though, just a day back or so... a thread containing some screenshots...

You'd rather not release this, by the look of it it didn't even compile properly. Don't expect it to be downloaded a lot...