Hey all,
Below is a link to a slideshow of my latest CS:S map. Let me know what you think.
Hey all,
Below is a link to a slideshow of my latest CS:S map. Let me know what you think.
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pyramids?
its just another shape to make a barrier... having a bunch of boxes and pillars everywhere gets redundant.
how about cliffs, sea and tall buildings?
looks interesting.. looks like it will be funny to play but the pyramids..
I do not know ![]()
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Looks pretty functional as an arena in which to frag, but greatly lacks detail for a source map. Also you seem to have a lot of visibility across most of the outside sections which will likely give you performance problems and is potentially damaging to the game play. Lots of the brushwork needs replacing with models.
Ok, aesthetic concerns aside, what do you guys think of the design? interesting? not?
I can always play with the brushwork and texturing, but the concept is what i'm most concerned about.
thanks for the feedback, both positive and negative, I appreciate it.
Seems to be very dark, gray, and limited to geometric shapes. Having some smoother lines, a more pleasing texture pallet, and making the place a bit brighter certainly wouldn't hurt. It looks to have a ton of available routes to go- that mixed with the dark atmosphere would appear to make the gameplay fairly frustrating (who the hell just shot me!?). It reminds me of the good ole days where you just mapped whatever you could think of.
Something of a Halo MP map feel going on there too.
Quote from Jselen1Ok, aesthetic concerns aside, what do you guys think of the design? interesting? not?I can always play with the brushwork and texturing, but the concept is what i'm most concerned about.
thanks for the feedback, both positive and negative, I appreciate it.
Without a distinct aesthetic in mind it's difficult to produce a convincing design. What sort of environment are you trying to create? It's much easier to have an environment in mind and use reference pics to ensure the map has a degree of plausibility.
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A few photos from the new version (mist added for you nitpickers).
its terrifying to say the least
first map that is unique ...
Maybe the gameplay is fine but looks are really "my first hl1 map", You really need to make it look believeable and convincing because now I can't tell what it is really.
The layout actually looks more belonging to Team Fortress 2. There's a lot of inexplicible structure there that wouldn't exist in the real world, but is typical for TF2 design.
Gameplay-wise it may be a hoot, but this is a community that takes how maps look just as seriously (more seriously at times) as how they play. We can't really judge gameplay from screenshots. ![]()
this map looks too wide open to be a successfully CS:S map, i get the feeling that the player would say "where the fuck did I died from?", alooot of times!
It's impossible to be sure just too looking at this screens, but yeah, I get this feeling...
I agree with Thrik tho, this design MIGHT work on TF2, but it would still need alot of adjustments.
And the map looks too grayish, and lacks life! All I can see is some colorfull lights spread thought the map, blues and yelows... and of course, the final result aint the best.
It all looks too blocky, and it seems like you used the same texture along the map?
And please, remove those fugly pyramids and use a skybox.
alright, I think I need to clear a few things up:
1. The mountains are a 3d skybox, if they weren't no one would be able to run around on this thing with a fps higher than like 6. They aren't exactly supposed to look real, I wanted to give kind of a fantastical feel to the map; something that looks semi-plausible, but also gives the impression of "i'm somewhere kinda strange".
2. As it is a CS:S map, my main concern was playability, not visuals. Hence, barriers are aligned in a geometrically convenient manner, and the architecture is not supposed to be beautiful, it's supposed to be functional. I think a lot of beautiful maps are not functional at all, and as a result they get a lot of praise, but not a whole lot of playtime.
3. All displacements, texturing, and dynamic lighting aside, I think the map as a whole looks pretty cool (am i just crazy?). The architecture is unique, but not insane. Most importantly, both spawn points and bomb sites have been carefully placed for timing purposes. I almost guarantee that the map will play well, and be a lot of fun.
So, say what you will, but I think for CS:S, which is a game with 2 minute rounds and hence no need to create immersion, this map works very well. Although, I get what you guys are saying ![]()
Once again, thanks for the comments.
p.s. I do plan on making the map prettier, I just wanted to get some first impressions to make sure that it wasn't just a throw-away.
Quote from aevirex?!
And what Zete said, sorry.
What I mean by this is that something doesn't have to be beautiful to be well designed. I'm talking about fun and playability here.
If people are having a good time on the map, I don't think they are gonna give a crap about the skybox, geometry, etc.
If it were HL2 i'd agree, but CS:S rounds are so short I don't think visuals matter nearly as much.
And like I said before, i DO plan on making it look a little better. That's why it's in the WIP gallery.
One thing worth being aware of Jselen1 is that a lot of the guys here actually work in the games industry (view list), where having a level that's both functional and beautiful is their job. Therefore the looks are going to attract a lot of comments.
However there is no better place for it.
Oh yea, I totally realize and respect that
I just wanted to make it clear that i'm aware that it looks a bit drab, but I was just curious about what people think about it despite that fact.
and once again, i DO plan on sprucing it up.
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