de_static *RC VERSION DL* - updated 16/02

Just noticed there is a download link added! Will have a look soon and provide feedback. From the pics, this now looks like the only way to add the tree shadows. To use any other way would just be inferior.

The only things I noticed that I didn't like: A few of the ramps have poor headroom when going down (so if you skip / slide even a bit you can hit your head, plus it affects visibility a lot). Moving the entrance roof up 32 units would sort that and it wouldn't affect the looks. I also noticed you've used some phys props in some places (like the girder bundles) that don't really need to move -- it gets really annoying bouncing off stuff when it could be static. You could recompile those and bundle them as statics. Lastly, you have big shutter doors that appear to go off into nothingness in a few places which I think looks a bit odd. Like, the door at B is about 3 metres tall and it just disappears into a fairly small roof. I'm not sure how these doors work in RL (like if they get rolled up in a hidden holder etc) but it looks a little odd to me.

I haven't thought too much about the gameplay running through it (I find it a bit hard to do that alone / without an overview) but the aesthetics and theme are brilliant. It's got a very distinctive look and it's very different to other CS:S maps I've seen -- always a good sign! Ace job.

Any servers playing this yet? Would be good to get on one to properly provide feedback. A good place to pimp it is here:

http://www.thegamerplanet.com/forums/fo ... .php?f=104

Bunch of serious gamers, and nice chaps in general. Will no doubt provide constructive criticism.

Grrr! Hammer still not working since the update. Might as well do something useful. Still not managed to find the map on a server with humans yet, so I will just post a few things based on what I can see with a run through.

I would say that a bit more sign posting of the bombsites would be a worthwhile addition. I know on most custom maps, people seem to get lost a lot, especially when it comes to finding the sites. Site A is in the open, so is not such a big problem, and generally, players woulld feel led there anyway. Because site B is inside, I could imagine people having a bit of trouble locating it in their first few rounds. Nothing some well placed decals can't solve of course.

Regarding the balance, I would say that the map would favour the CT's, though by how much, I don't know. Reason I say this is becasue a few of the lines of site are quite long, and the CT's can look down them with a double scoped sniper gun from reasonably safe positions. A full CT team with snipers might be able to hold off a T team with pistols so well, that a similar situation to that found on de_aztec might occur. T's holding near and around the spawn, hoping to pick off rushing CT's. Good thing though is that if this is found to be a problem, the level is open enough to add cover, rather than rebuilding sections. Be good to test the map with a bunch of people wo are good with the AWP or the auto sniper I suppose.

Some of the rocks in the T spawn area look as though they can be climbed over, but are then clipped I think. Maybe adding in some more trees to make it clear to the player that s/he can't get past would be a good way of letting them know this. Small issue I know.

The broken fence at site A can be a bit awkward to jump over, especially from the inside, when it can take several attempts. Perhaps make the jump easier, or even remove the fence completely?

Inside the compound, there are concrete structures with a tree placed in the middle. There a lots of leaves neatly placed on the grass/soil, but none spread around the area. Maybe scatter a few leave decals around so that there is not such a prepared look?

Inside the buildng with the skylight windows, maybe it could be good to add pipes beneath the floor with a mesh covering. Also cut out a few squares on the tiles to give a more used feel? The area looks like a storage/vehicle type of room, so possibly add more props that would be expected to be in a place like this.

Agree with Defrags points as well.

Bugs I have found:

The radar dish at site B pops into view when approached from the T spawn area.

The metal girders up against the wall near the B bombsite can trap players.

The fences have not been clipped, meaning that players can get caught slightly.

Some of the grass displacements near the T spawn are pulled into each other, and the shadows can be seen.

Otherwise, top stuff. Just need to find a server with it, and a load of humans. Would have posted pics of the issues, but since the last update, any pics taken come out a garbled mess on my PC.

Quote from JamesL

Cheers guys and thanks Hessi, the tutorial was very helpful.I turned off shadows on the trees and made some overlays to fake them. They are not quite perfect yet, and there is a little of what looks like z-fighting where my displacements hit world brushes, but it's certainly an improvement.

[Blocked Image: http://www.code303.com/files/images/static/statictreeshadows.jpg]

that's cool. hopefully everyone sees that those shadows kick ass.

to blur the shadows just make the texture more lowres. you dont even have to modify your overlays after changing the textures resolution!

i'd like too set off those rocks from your grounddisplacement. it reminds me of soldier of fortune 2 levels. they had such flat rocks too.

create a few models you can use as a height offset border. so you have a ground plane. then rock models stick together and then again a rock top displacement with grass or anything. that way you could get rid of those smooth heightfields which annoy me since their very beginning in game art

i hope you could understand my suggestion.

Quote from hessi

i'd like too set off those rocks from your grounddisplacement. it reminds me of soldier of fortune 2 levels. they had such flat rocks too. :/create a few models you can use as a height offset border. so you have a ground plane. then rock models stick together and then again a rock top displacement with grass or anything. that way you could get rid of those smooth heightfields which annoy me since their very beginning in game art

i hope you could understand my suggestion.

we played this here at GBX. 6-7 of us versus bots. Man it was a lot of fun, I took some pictures and will put them up later. But the flow and speed of this map is really great. I shall move it to the SLG and toss the link on the front page when I get a chance (or if someone else beats me)

Couple of things I noticed were that there were quite a few places (mainly props hanging on walls) you can jump onto where I guess you should clip, unless you wanted that, for example the air conditioner model thing on the wall across from that metal set of stairs. Also you need to clip the inside of that concrete ring model because I fell in there and was trapped, had to noclip out.

Yeah and the bombsite in that small room way in the corner took me some time to find and really I think any t who planted there would get his ass owned. That could lead to some problems potentially. You could make the site a bit bigger or move it to the middle of that room maybe?

Overall verry good map, really liked the feel of it.

I find it helps to set some things at that lower level of the player to non solid, instead of clipping. Just a thought.

I played the map a bit, most of the important things have been mentioned, but I also like to suggest you optimize the map more. Especially if you start CT spawn running above to the T-side, I had mayor FPS-losses.

I think it is very important to have stable FPS to be a successful custom map

Those screens look very nice just played the beta map, and i really loved the design and overall look

edit: btw, the gras/trees do look like an area from guildwars (pre-searing ascalon)

this map is awesome!

i like the nature/industry combo!