Comments

Commented 17 years ago2006-10-21 18:47:46 UTC in vault item: Half-Life: Uplink Extended 1.1 Comment #13254
Really great recreation of the original, and many things were improved. On average, things felt much better, but I really felt like the outside areas weren't changed that much, if any. I also noticed the few glitches that other people mentioned, like the Gargantua that stopped doing anything, and the houndeye that didn't move. There was also a grunt outside that was stuck, but that was probably some glitch in the code you can't even fix.

However, these are all small problems in comparison to all the awesome stuff you did with the mod (I especially liked the custom zombies you threw in), and your mapping was top notch, even if it didn't always introduce something new, so it deserves all the stars it can be given.
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-21 18:26:26 UTC in vault item: sc_officees Comment #13250
I don't have Sven Co-op, but I can see from the screenshot that you stretched the wall textures across the room, the lights are too big, and you used a floor texture for the ceiling.

I'm not going to rate it though, because the gameplay could still be good. :)
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-19 15:58:11 UTC in vault item: Just another lab Comment #13213
One more thing I forgot to add: I'd really look into replacing those red computer mainframe things. They never look right for some reason.
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-19 15:20:02 UTC in vault item: Two Comment #13212
Did you see blue ladders in HL1 when you played in software mode? Nope. So it's not normal, and you should really fix it.

And you have to have SOME kind of video card, whether it's integrated or not.
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-19 04:54:00 UTC in vault item: Just another lab Comment #13202
Looks really nice. Quite a bit of detail in most places (like the wires going to the computers). The architecture is fairly nice, especially how you made the walls in the interconnecting hallways. The lighting is also very well done. The scripted sequences were good, as they never seemed to repetitive.

The only negative things I could find about it were quite subtle, and they may only be a matter of opinion. For instance, there seem to be too many security guards for such a small area, and I would personally change the ceiling texture to something less bland, such as the one used in the original lab environments.

You also might want to null all the faces on the glass chambers, except the ones that are facing the room, so they don't look weird when the see the corners from the side. You can even see an example of this in your screenshot.

Overall, a pretty neat map, but it could definitely use some expanding.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-10 04:02:38 UTC in vault item: Dmc_GrayDust Comment #13141
Cool, a DMC map. Bad, a dust remake.

I don't have DMC installed, so I can't test this, and I can't say I really want to either (I'm not much into that crazy fast-paced style of game).

Still, the screenie looks okay, so I'll give it a rating.
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-09 18:37:28 UTC in vault item: Apocta Comment #13139
Ratchet & Clank is one of the few console game series I have a fondness for. Most of the levels in it are huge, futuristic, cartoonish, and set in a city, so this map really reminded me of it.
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-08 16:02:45 UTC in vault item: Apocta Comment #13124
This is quite incredible. Reminds me of Ratchet & Clank levels for some reason (probably the cartoonish look). That screenshot really doesn't do this map justice. Who would have guessed it's a big futuristic city-like area?
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-03 05:18:27 UTC in vault item: Xen Cryo - Compo 15 Comment #13079
What's the Alt+E technique?
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-02 23:26:26 UTC in vault item: Xen Cryo - Compo 15 Comment #13074
Kind of neat, although that barrel thing you were in near the end had all these strange brush errors on it. Still, it's nice.
Commented 17 years ago2006-10-02 18:24:44 UTC in vault item: Xen Cryo - Compo 15 Comment #13069
Way to raise your map count, Muzz. :P I'll download to see if it deserved it.
Commented 17 years ago2006-09-09 15:43:54 UTC in vault item: fun_hkkcr Comment #12969
Durrr... It's CS 1.6, goofball.
Commented 17 years ago2006-08-20 17:46:21 UTC in vault item: fun_jumping2_2 Comment #12872
Things that aren't going to help this get downloaded:
  • The watermark in the pic, showing that it was originally submitted to CSBanana, which everybody here thinks is the spawn of satan, and a breeding ground for n00bs.
  • The picture shows only part of the map, and looks like it was taken while you were playing it with somebody.
  • Poor spelling in your desciption.
  • It's for CS, and it includes fun_ in front of the name. You also imply that it's the second version of something, possibly the fourth, judging from the second 2 in the name. Few enjoy seeing remakes, especially of CS maps.
Commented 17 years ago2006-08-15 19:11:43 UTC in vault item: Invasion 105 2.0 Comment #12852
Ah, Spirit. I really should try that sometime...
Commented 17 years ago2006-08-15 16:27:39 UTC in vault item: Invasion 105 2.0 Comment #12849
Ideally, you'd probably want to just use the original grunts without a combine model or anything, but that would look quite out of place in City 17.

By the way, how did you get the Barneys to attack you like that? Did you have to recode them or something? They act just like regular Barneys in every single way, except it's like they're being controlled by another player.
Commented 17 years ago2006-08-15 03:37:27 UTC in vault item: Invasion 105 2.0 Comment #12845
Yeah, for the amount of updates this had in it, it probably wasn't worth bumping anyway. The gameplay remained nearly untouched.

Still, I'll just re-rate it.
Commented 17 years ago2006-08-14 17:13:16 UTC in vault item: Invasion 105 2.0 Comment #12842
Thanks for the patch, but I just realized there was a little more health laying around than I first thought. I think the real problem is the Barney-like AI of the combine soldiers. They seem to know where you are all the time, so they can shoot at you the second you come into sight, unlike the grunts.

By the way, I thought you said you would add another map where you went inside the citadel? I was expecting more than a few little changes here and there.
Commented 17 years ago2006-08-14 03:46:53 UTC in vault item: Invasion 105 2.0 Comment #12836
Am I the only one who thinks this is way too hard? Maybe I'm just "out of shape" (I haven't played many games lately), but with the normal grunts replaced to do the damage that barney would do to you, it's impossible! I won't be able to beat this without cheats...
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-26 05:57:36 UTC in vault item: Srry's Minicompo #3 Entry Comment #12663
i will let my brother lay it
He obviously likes my dragon a lot... A little too much! :P
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-23 21:39:10 UTC in vault item: "Build A Statue" Entry Comment #12642
Nice and detailed!
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-22 21:28:50 UTC in vault item: Srry's Minicompo #2 Entry Comment #12633
EDIT:

2 - I'm not planning on making this into a DM map, but I might use the same theme to make another one with. The hallways were intended to have a small, cramped feeling to them.
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-22 21:26:35 UTC in vault item: Srry's Minicompo #2 Entry Comment #12632
Just a few things to clear up:

1 - The elevator was just meant for transporting small items from the rear storage area to the second floor.

2 - I'm not planning on making this into a DM map, but I might use the same theme to make another one with. They were intended to have a small, cramped feeling to them.

3 - The buttons don't do anything because the map wasn't made for that, it was made for a minicompo where you had to detail everything. If I'd had more time, I might have made some of them do something.
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-21 05:17:12 UTC in vault item: Srry's Minicompo #2 Entry Comment #12603
Gee, Thanks for the big review. Could you at least tell me what you thought?
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-09 04:49:58 UTC in vault item: gone Comment #12503
I saw your plea for more map comments in your journal, so here's my short pros-n-cons review.

----- PROS -----
  • Mostly clean architecture.
  • Nice use of flowing water.
  • Not too confusing to get around.
  • Secrets - Which I didn't spend long enough in the map to find. ;)
  • Mostly okay lighting, except for a few small areas which were too dark.
  • Smaller details in certain areas.
----- CONS -----
  • Kind of bland texturing. The It's okay to use the original textures, but the ones chosen here struck me as all fairly flat, and mostly concrete. Because of this, no part of the map really stood out that much.
  • There may have been some ambience, but I don't remember hearing any, apart from the sound of flowing water, and that computer beeping.
  • A little too cramped in places, and It seemed a bit small overall.
  • That overlapping brush at the bottom of the big waterfall made a huge impact on the otherwise great graphics in that area.

This is one of those situations where I don't think the rating system is broad enough.

3.5 stars from MY rating system.
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-07 06:38:01 UTC in vault item: aim_alien27 Comment #12490
Well, you could use PSP like me, but then you'd be called a n00b. And... who is it that you're disagreeing with?

Anyway, I'll finally download it.
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-07 05:41:15 UTC in vault item: aim_alien27 Comment #12489
Oh, please shut up, and stop trying to convert people into using hard-to-learn and unnesessary programs just to adjust the brightness.
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-06 02:09:18 UTC in vault item: The Mansion 2 Comment #12473
Rowley, Why don't you just go out and buy HL2? Or is your computer just a piece of crap?

Anyway, thanks for re-uploading it.
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-05 21:35:56 UTC in vault item: The Mansion 2 Comment #12467
Looks cool, but I'm not downloading until somebody says zip works.
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-03 21:47:03 UTC in vault item: aim_autosniper27 Comment #12444
Oh, I downloaded it again and it still said I was missing some WAD, I can't remember the name of it.
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-03 21:15:30 UTC in vault item: aim_autosniper27 Comment #12442
To take the screenshot, you just press f5 by default. It then saves the images in the cstrike folder (for normal CS anyway).
Commented 17 years ago2006-07-03 20:24:15 UTC in vault item: aim_autosniper27 Comment #12438
You can mark it as CS, but you might want to wadinclude those textures, if you haven't already. This will work on normal CS though, right?

About the Screenshot, you just open the image in a program like MS Paint (for a very crude example), and save it as a jpeg instead of a bmp.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-30 04:27:54 UTC in vault item: Twisted Pillar Comment #12415
Yes, of course I looked at it. I was the first to download! Your method was nearly the same as mine, except I made one piller side at a time, then copied it and rotate it 4 times. And mine ended up looking too long and thin, too... Okay, you win, but I still submitted before you, haw-haw!
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-30 03:22:17 UTC in vault item: Twisted Pillar Comment #12413
Hmmm... I don't know about THAT! You're still on my "whacking list" for now.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-29 12:05:06 UTC in vault item: Twisted Pillars Comment #12409
So I did it first (or second, after Skaarj), and rowleybob perfected mine... That doesn't mean he's not still a theif! Theif!
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-29 00:01:35 UTC in vault item: Twisted Pillar Comment #12405
And then changed again, after realizing not everybody had one of those textures...
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-28 23:57:01 UTC in vault item: Twisted Pillar Comment #12404
I put up another version, but all I did to it was change the textures and lighting to make it look nicer.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-25 04:42:50 UTC in vault item: Map1 Comment #12366
Pretty damn amazing if this is your first map ever. You actually have GASP detail! Nice lights and little stuff like that. Great use of entitys too. If you already know this much, you should try making better (real) stuff...

You need to put a roof on it though, or else you'll get that ugly hall-of-mirrors (HOM) effect, and there could be some other problems if you made a bigger map. You need to sort out the scale problems too, that one door you had was way too small to walk through.
This comment was made on an article that has been deleted.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-24 00:12:38 UTC in vault item: aim_neon_abyss Comment #12323
This is actually quite a nice little map. It's got cool colors, good abstact architecture, ambience... It's not really missing anything, and feels quite well made, despite the fact that it's just a side project.

The background noise could get a little irritating though, so you might want to replace it with a less repetitive one, if you plan on working on this any more.

I didn't think I'd give a rating to such a simple little map, but turns out this one is actually pretty good. There's nothing great about it, but there's nothing bad either!
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-21 18:51:03 UTC in vault item: cs_road_ex Comment #12282
This is an example of the type of map that should probably only be made for CS:S, if you were aiming for it to be playable. It just demands a lot more than HL can handle, and it really shows.

Gosh darn golly, those r_speeds are the worst I've seen in a while! You could have at least upscaled some of the textures, as that would have helped considerably. As far as I'm concerned, 2500 w_polys is simply unnacceptable, and you can't hope to be able to play this without lag.

On the other hand, it's still a fairly well constructed map. Your architecture was a little blocky, but some places like the tunnels looked like more time was spent on them.

There were plenty of small details in places, but for a map like this, it was still too many. Most indoor areas should generally be avoided in open maps, unless you know you have sufficient view blocking.

One thing that bothered me was the (blah) drivable tank. Those things are just way too glitchy. In my opinion, they should be left out of every map except those that were specifically designed to compensate for their... considerable suckyness.

Fairly nice job in places here, but not enough to make up for the downfalls.

2.5 stars, but I can only give you three. ;)
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-15 04:16:19 UTC in vault item: cs_rushdown Comment #12240
As I said, the layout was poor in that perspective, but he said he based it on the Rainbow 6: Black Thorne training map. Obviously, as that game came out three years after Half-Life, its engine was more suited to this kind of map with open areas and higher detail.

Although, I just took a look at some R6: BT screens, and I have to say, it doesn't look too hot. Maybe built from the Quake 2 engine at the most. Is it possible that this version actually has more brush detail than the original?

Still, as Dr. Cheese said, you could probably make use of HINTs and NULLs in some areas, it would help quite a bit I think
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-14 19:04:52 UTC in vault item: cs_rushdown Comment #12235
One more thing: You shouldn't stretch the textures on the stairs so much, they look a little weird.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-14 06:52:05 UTC in vault item: cs_rushdown Comment #12225
Dr. Cheese, you are sadly mistaken. You should really look at the r_speeds instead of just taking a glance at an area and determining there could be "10 times more detail". When I'm in some corners of the map, the w_polys reach 960 or so, and you shouldn't go much higher than that.

A lot of polys were probably wasted on the trim, though. That's good detail, but most people won't notice it, and you could make better use of those resources by replacing it with something that stands out more.

Good ambience too, that's something that leaves too many other maps feeling bland.

I think you might have gone more for the realistic feel than for good graphics, which is why many of the rooms feel blocky. You did use that realistic theme fairly well, though. The textures were very good throughout most of the map, conveying the feeling that you were in a bunch of abondoned buildings, and they made up for some of the blander rooms.

I noticed in a few areas that your brushwork was a little sloppy, but that pretty much blended in with the theme of the map, and ended up feeling more like detail than error.

Overall a good job. If the layout wasn't so open, you'd be able to put more detail in, but from a gameplay perspective, it's fine.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-13 17:25:19 UTC in vault item: My_House (CS or HL) Comment #12221
These:

http://img506.imageshack.us/img506/5770/myhouse00011ir.png

I could be wrong about them being too high, I haven't gotten around to playing it in CS since I got it working again.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-11 17:52:28 UTC in vault item: My_House (CS or HL) Comment #12195
Thanks for changing it. I would have used CS to play it, but mine isn't working at the moment.

I have to say, though, I thought the scale looked almost perfect when I played in HL, even if you could step up on the seats. I think those counters (they were kitchen counters, right?) might even be too high in CS.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-11 17:38:28 UTC in vault item: cs_palm Comment #12194
Yes, I did had pineapple trees at one time during the early stages. Silly me.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-10 17:26:28 UTC in vault item: My_House (CS or HL) Comment #12183
This looks cool, but I got a message saying you were missing fire2.spr. For now I'll just rename another fire sprite.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-09 21:00:15 UTC in vault item: cs_palm Comment #12177
Thanks.
Commented 17 years ago2006-06-09 00:06:13 UTC in vault item: cs_palm Comment #12162
Ummm... You never did actually rate it, so it's still 2 stars. :)