UT3 DM-Cath

Since this is a beta i think its not to late to ask, where are the normal and specular maps?

It looks good but it looks more like a UT2004 map tbh...

no matter what it looks like in any other tool, we can only give feedback from what we see. i thought the same thing as aevirex: looks like 2004.

the lighting is without any harshness. all areas are near fullbirght. making a histogram out ofthe screenshots would show that there is no really dark places that would give a good contrast.

from brush and model work it's all really bland. its all 45 or 90 degree.a lot of edges are hard. this kind of reminds me of the quake and half life. for those games that was ok since they relied on CSG and BSP tools for the entire level. But now where your level (==the visuals) can be made 99% in a modeling app there is no excuse for such a lack of details.

Ok, to be more specific: The way I do my speculars (most of the time) is to add a grey constant to the diffuse (0.3-0.6) and link it to a power node with an exponent of about 4-12 (depending on the texture). Also, do you use skylights? Although the UE2 bug doesn't appear where static meshes are lit too much it still washes out the lighting and makes it look boring... subtle use is ok.

kewl

i think that purple lightning ruins the map

if it was more blue than purple.. or just blue rather than purple I'd probably dig the light.

otherwise some top notch work goin on good job.

reminds me a lot of the original Unreal. hotsauce.

I haven't tested it yet but I love that blue light, what I don't really like is the plants texture. I'll try to test it as soon as I can

I think it looks pretty good! Might look a little too much like UT2k4 in some places though.

As this is Unreal I think that both intense light and purple light is ok cool as long as it's on the level as it is here.

Even though this is in finished work section, it would be cool if you kept updating this map. Each time you update, it looks a little better.

I have some gripes though... From the way it looks, cover seems lost and ascent from scenes and though I applaud you for acknowledging the importance of colored lighting, it seems that the colors may be a little too strong. Try lightening it a bit.

Quote from Nurb

Yokai: I'm not sure what you mean about cover, but from my experience UT gameplay doesn't require "cover" in the same way you think of it in for example tactical shooters. In UT you want to avoid really large areas of nothing but flat surface, but otherwise you want to keep the geometry clear of obstacles and instead focus on gameplay in multiple heightlevels. The map has gotten alot of positive feedback from UT players, but the negative comments have almost all been about the pillars beeing in the way, obstructing the fast gameplay. On the lighting, I've gotten so much both negative and positive comments on it, I've figured I'm not gonna be able to make everyone happy The map has several weaknessess that I will address in my next project.

I'm completely new to mapping, and so far I've been pleasantly supriced with all the consturctive critisism I've gotten, both here and in other places. Compared to when I post a painting in a forum, when making a level, everyone seems to get much more involved with the map to a much higher degree. UT players give feedback because they personally want the map to become better so they will enjoy it more when they download and play it. When making a painting there is no personal involvement from anyone else than the painter and I think this is because a painting isn't "used" in the same way a map is. Needless to say, so far leveldesign has been a very positive experience for me and it's something I intend to keep doing and improving (allthough it made my girlfriend crazy when I was making Cath, cause it took up so much of my @home time ^^).

Well if the players like it, then it must be well thought out. I mean, I know what you mean by not having too much clutter, but I think I was thinking more of a tactical mind than a DM mind. (You caught me on that)

As for the lighting, I love the use of colored lights. I really really do. But the more white you make them the more realistic they look. But that aside, the map seems alright. I am getting my new comp set up as I speak so I can try it out after I install my UT3. =)

As for being completely new: I really didn't expect that. Maybe you mentioned it before, but so far your stuff looks alright. As I read through your post, it seems that you don't make the mistake that many new mappers take. I think you take a step back and actually do some deep LOOKING into your map, which is a good thing to be able to do. Some people are blinded by what they think is quality and just release it, and that usually comes to bad maps. So really, nice job for your fist released map. God my first map was horrible so I won't bother to bring it up. Bon Voyage.