Latest Security Breach screenies Created 19 years ago2004-06-19 15:26:47 UTC by m0p

Here is some screenies from the latest build of security breach map 1. At the moment it is about 30% complete. Some of the lights are too dark and a couple of rooms arent finished, but I am working on it. This latest build isnt on the net yet, but I am releasing the screens early.

1. The starting lab. Nearly done. Just some little details to go.2. In the corridor which the duct drops into. Notice I have mucked around with the walls to make them have more shape.3. The storage room. The entities and things are ready, but I still need to add lots of detail.4. The bridge to the recreational areas of the facility. 2 barnacles, a bridge, water, elevator. The lights need to be brightened slightly though.Please post comments and suggestions.

I'm very canny concerning praise, so I will quickly get over to the suggestions part.
1st picture: Looks ok. Especially those rounded curves, hopefully not at the cost of r_speeds. The lower floor, with the corpse on it, needs more detail. Some blood traces or so, trashcans, benches etc. And you should put something between the grate and the floor on the upper level, just a single sill.
2nd picture: Boring! There's nothing to look at, yet. Put some signs or ventilation shafts there. And make those lights func_walls, they obviously split the walls and add those nasty edges.
3rd picture: Also a bit empty except for those boxes and barrels. I don't know what it's supposed to be, but if it's a storehouse, you could put some kind of transportsystem for the crates there. An unloading point for trucks might be look good too, or just a big freight elevator.
4th picture: Empty too. And as you already said, way too dark. You could boulder those empty walls with pipes spitting out dirty waste.
The bridge looks moveable. Why? Put a train track there which crosses the bridge to make the purpose for that movable bridge more obvious. The banister looks bit plain too, just add some pillars to it.

For the lighting: I think all the pictures are a bit too dark, make the levels brighter. If you still want some darkness, you could add some broken lights at critical points.

Ok, I hope all this didn't sound too negative, it's not meant to do.
If almost never say good things about the work of other, unless it is really good. Just don't take it personal.
Anyway those pictures look like a good start, keep working on them and the result will be also good.

Looking already way better as the first time I saw this. Might I still recommend some things? I know, I'm really focussing on small things sometimes...

1. The railing could still be a bit thinner. The lower walls look good but the upper walls could use some more detail indeed. Just break the repetitiveness there. The ceiling could use some variation too, now it's just a big flat surface. Some supporting beams, external vents or vent openings, maybe a shaft that leads to a fan, such things could make it more interesting. Just play a little with height variation on it.

2. Looks a bit too repetetive. It could well do it with some valves, some machinery connected to these valves sticking out of the walls, some electricity cables or such. The wall insertion is a nice addition bytheway.

3. The green gue looks a bit too bright for the overall light level. The back of the room is pretty well filled up but the rest looks empty. Maybe spread the details some more across the room. Also, supporting beams sticking out a bit from the walls might break the repetitiveness of that surface. The texture only won't do it. The ceiling could also do with some supports. The lights now are subtle, not overdone. I like them now.

4. That area is still under construction I see. As for now, I'd say the bridge's railing isn't very well integrated with the bridge itself. It also looks strange why the bridge is higher than the two platforms, looks like two unnecessary placed elevators because of a too high bridge.

Heh, I'll check it out and be right back for more...

hazardous, the curves dont sacrifice r_speeds. And if there is any face-splits, I will fix em when the level is done.

Good, but I think getting a routine in tying light and stuff to func_walls generally, makes things a lot easier. Btw, can you post the average r_speeds? Just interrested.

i think it looks nice for a start, but as cp said, it need to be filled

Average currently is 399 for me. But thats with a 4.2GhZ machine.

Me and Cap'n P were discussing ideas for the map just now on MSN.

Err, r_speeds do not depend on the hardware. Or did you mean fps?

Well, captain P said he got pretty low speeds when he tested it earlier.

Hmm, maybe I should make the recreation area the next actual map. And have the whole of this section sewers and labs. I have already thought of an idea for that bridge. Only me and Captain P know about it. Captain P has been very helpful with this project. Cheers to him!

BTW, anonymous was Captain P.

Thanks. It's nice to help develop this map by giving comments. Good to see you improve the map. Keep it up!

Ok, we have sorted out most of the plan for the flow of the map. And it's secret for now! hehehehe.

Having read all the above comments, I think the screenies are fine the way they are.
If it is fun and exciting, no one will notice the eye candy.

If it is boring and predictable, then you will really need to show off your skills and fix it up.

Some of the best HL stuff was really bad... but you didn't notice, because you were having too much fun.

Don't believe me?
Run the game again, and see how they did it.

I just tried out me and Captain P's idea for the bridge and it went wrong and now I have to fix loads of leaks

More updates on the status of the leak fixing session later!

Yea. Some of Half-Life was incredibly ugly but it made up for it by being fun.

Wich is why gameplay is so very important. Something I tried to focus on in my contest entry map. As for now I've only given achitectural comments. You're right when you say that's not the most important, Andy.

A map doesn't consist of architecure only. It's the whole thing that comes together in a map. From models and texture usage to suspension and action. Something I tend to forget now and then. It's quite difficult to explain indeed, I guess one has to develop a feeling for it. Might be good to search for articles on gameplay and game experience...

I stand by big architecture

If you have all the "life" of the map worked out, why not go all out with architecture ???

Its winwin

Of course architechture isn't everthing. But on the internet, the first thing people see of your mod are pictures. If they look crappy you can have the best gameplay ever, nobody would download it though.
There are also some examples for good architechture and lousy gameplay, James Bond: Nightfire. Looks great, plays terrible.

Ok, I fixed the 2 leaks. And I havw fixed the textures that it messed up. I need new ideas for that bridge!

Read my first comment. You could make a train track which crosses the bridge. So the bridge must be movable.

I have put one underneath the bridge. I was going to put a sequence involving a train going very fast and an explosion, but I can't make the train without loads of errors

What errors? Just post them here. This community is made for helping.

They are coplaner plane errors but I completely at fault. I used vertex manipulation to join the two faces. But, I am working on something else for it.

Oh, BTW, I made video of my map. You need DiVX 5.11 with Hi-Def version support. You also need WinRar to unzip. I made it with FRAPS free edition (hence the free edition, you will find out when u watch the video) and Dr.DiVX. The file is 20mb unzipped and 17mb zipped.

http://m0pX.net/m0psb1video.rar

stop making things in winrar!!!

WinRar 0wnz WinZip's ass!

in some ways, winzip has it's advantages tho

i d/led the first version of this map and i quite enjoyed the way it got into the action so quickly. some non-architecture related points:

the crowbar in the vents is a bit dodgy, why is it there? i think you should sort out the weapon placement. the storage room was a little empty, but i don't think you should go nuts. a few stacked crates and some pipes running around the edges would be fine. the agrunts in there take your eye away from the actuall structures.

keep it up. and have a few pointless routes to stretch the level out (send the player on little missions to collect ammo/supplies and then have them progress through the level)

overall the lighting looks dark in those screens but when i played it it seemed just right, giving a nice atmosphere etc. a few broken lights would sort out the realism though.

good luck and keep us posted.

^ Agreed. It seems a bit linear to me, some sidetracks would definitely add to the wonderful level.

Gnn! Can you make a smaller version for me and modem users please?
I don't need super quality, and 15fps are enough for me too.
I have about 5-8kb/s downstream. 20megs take about one hour and I don'T have a flatrate.
Btw: Do you know Xvid? It's at least as good as DivX and, afaik, for free. Virtual Dub is also a very good program for converting videos.

I knew someone would complain about the size at some point. Next time I will encode at 20fps with less quality for 56k users then.

Peace and LOve, the crowbar was suggested by someone. And the storage room is completely different now.

I am building a sewers section at the moment which could have several different routes like in Blue-Shift or Opposing Force.

cool. have you posted any new bsp's?

I havent uploaded any bsp's with the sewers yet, although, a small circle of people are testing the latest build which has the start of them.

I agree with Peace and Love about the crowbar. It's location is strange, I mean, how would it ever get there? Maybe locate it somewhere before or after the vent.

Oh, and the multi-routed idea is good, but... let the player know he has to choose from different paths. Otherwise some people will think they're on the wrong way after a while and go back to explore that other route. I mean, there was another route and maybe you'll miss some important things... At least I would think so...