de_ironhorse (alpha_5)

    Greetings!


    Been keeping my eye on this community for some time now, and have finally built the courage to briefly introduce myself.


    I've been working on level design projects for about a year now, and like many of you, want to become one of the best in the industry.

    I've worked on a couple indie games over on the Unreal Engine, where I started this hobby in the UDK. Most of my maps have flown under the radar, but my current claim to "fame" is tied to the Wake Island map I created for Rising Storm's mapping contest last year.

    After playing around in UE4, trying out ideas in VR, and a little bit of UT mapping, I was hired on a team that I'm planning on calling home for the next couple of years.

    Even though I'm technically employed with a full-time schedule, I still want to squeeze in some learning along the way, and I think Counter Strike is the best highway for me to do that.

    I'm pretty new to Hammer, and Level Design in general, yet I've been playing Counter Strike and watching the mapping scene grow for about a decade.


    So let's get to it.


    This is my first serious attempt at CS LD, and I'm guessing the more experienced mappers here will pick up on that pretty easily. The criticism and feedback from you guys is what I'm after. The only way to get better is to keep making stuff, so I'm starting my baby steps today.


    I don't think I'm making the next Dust2 here, but I do want to give it my all, and maybe one day create something that can stand on its own with the other maps.

    I do expect to be hanging around these forums for quite some time, but all I ask is for strong and honest feedback, and I will be sure to return the favor.


    This is a two site defusal map, that was built up from a quick blockout finished in about 30 minutes. Some props are already placed in the map, but most of the buildings are still comprised of dev textures.


    I have posted the map on the workshop, which can be seen here if you'd like to fly around in game.


    Currently trying to pack the radar with the map, which I'll try to tackle later this week.


    Looking forward to starting my new adventure at Mapcore!


    Woods


    Unless it's important to you or specifically designed to be so, I would recommend another theme than what appears to be the "classic" industry setting. There are just so many of them out there.


    Good luck with the map.

    Fair point, thank you. I guess this could serve as an opportunity to learn some texturing along the way.

    In order to stand out, would focusing on creating a unique theme be more important at this stage?

    Or should I be strictly working with dev textures until a layout is concrete?


    Curious to see what the recommended workflow is.

    It depends on personal preference, I guess. Some people first come up with a theme that seems interesting to them, others try to nail a layout and then come up with a fitting theme. There is an interesting article about the making of de_facade that Facade was basically build with only layout/gameplay in mind at first and only when that part was more or less done they started exploring what kind of environment/theme would fit the layout. You might want to read it


    There is no recommended workflow imo. You mentioned the (probably) two most important aspects of a CSGO/MP level: layout/gameplay and theme/atmosphere/environment. I guess you can achieve them both in different "order".

    For all it's worth de_facade might have well gotten a totally different theme. Or it would be perfectly possible to remake de_inferno into a modern looking city.

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