Posts by Algor

  • de_mistymountain

    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.

  • MP_TheSpire - GOW - Released

    Quote from buddy the designer

    TRUE!

    Yeah! Right there, up in my ass.

    I think they expected 2006-7 pcs to be far better than they actually are.

    So when I looked in the editor for UT3 the other day and saw all those textures and skins that were 2048x2048, I was just hallucinating?

  • Couple of UT3 related questions

    Edit: First problem seems to just be an issue with that particular sky material. I used the Sky_01 dome mesh and applied a few different materials to it, and most of them looked fine. The material that is default on the Sky_02 dome doesn't like to tile.

    Second one looks like it is a draworder problem. I remember this from UE2 where it was a setting in the DecoLayer properties, but I've never dealt with DecoLayers in UE3.

  • The elephant in the room - Kane & Lynch reviews :D

    The forums are looking equally hilarious;

    http://%7boption%7d

    A lot of people seem to be obsessed with telling people to perform oral sex on them, and at the same time hating homosexuals. Are all of those posts by the same group of 12 year olds?

    Edit: Having just seen the video review and been following most of the review scores on Gamerankings/Metacritic but not having played the game, it seems all of the reviewer's criticism were within reason. The score might seem a bit low based on his given opinion of the game, but some times you just don't seem to buy into a game for one reason or another, and you can't always change that. It seems absolutely ridonculous to fire him based on a harsh review when large amounts of advertising money is being thrown their way. I still can't come to a decision of who I think should be in the spotlight, but the situation definitely does not seem justified. Personally, Gamespot is generally notorious for laying down the law on game reviews, with providing strong reviews and enough reason behind the scores they give. It seems when there's money involved, there's a clear line in freedom of speech.

  • Level Design for different engines...

    Keep in mind- a huge part of being a level designer at some companies is about strictly design related issues. You may never be expected to know how to use Max even the slightest bit in some cases. It certainly doesn't hurt to know how to do it, but depending on needs, it also may not help to know how.

  • HL2 sdk update tomorrow morning

    Quote from Sentura

    you make a map as realistic as you want, whatever the engine

    perhaps, but only so within the engine's limits. i've played through a few unreal 3.0 and while the engine is all fine and dandy, has neat graphics and everything; it seriously lacks proper character facial animation, and it seems every male humanoid model is destined to be a short fat one, while the females on the other hand are all either femme fatales or have a superior body in another way. it's all put to the extremes, there's no middle ground.

    i dont know about you, but this seriously puts me off the engine.

    another thing is that what i mentioned before: unreal is unreal. the graphics are unreal, as in, they are not realistic and honestly i dont think epic was ever aiming for realism in their engine. personally i think i'd be more attached to it if it was even possible to show proper realism, but as it is now every game i've seen has had a much more artistic than realistic point of view; much opposed to source.

    as i said before though, i dont have a problem with the engine, it's just that it works on a different channel that i am on. at the end of the day, it's just the final product that matters and not the engine, but i have yet to see a shift towards realism in games made in unreal 3.0+.

    An engine is just a set of technical features that allow you to use more advanced art. At the end of the day, if you make shitty art, you are going to have shitty art no matter what engine it's on. An engine doesn't limit you to a certain visual style or have art constraints. What are the "few unreal 3.0"'s you have messed around with?

  • CS_Metroplex

    the telephone pole is fine, it's just so barren that it stands out and looks out of place. could also be because it is wood, if it were concrete or steel it wouldn't be so bad. maybe if there were more poles or other connections were made with the buildings it might work well.

    downtown seattle has hundreds of those wires going around. i almost couldn't image it without them.

  • Half-Life 2: Subvertus Recruiting!

    For a mod that's to be set in frozen Europe, there sure seem to be no effort being put into prototyping out some frozen landscapes or scenes. Seems like a major oversight. Part of the draw of getting people to become interested in joining your team is to give them something unique to work with. Right now it looks like you've got a series of generic rooms that we've all seen enough of in HL2's universe. However, you do have a neat idea that you seem to have borrowed from the HL2 art book- and juxtaposing something new (frozen stuff) with something we've all seen (standard HL2 hallways) can provide a nice fresh look.

    I will also never understand why mod teams are always making posts about "hiring" and about "jobs" when no one is ever getting paid. Just seems like such a bad impression, where mods are all about fun and volunteering.

    Quote

    hire hired, hir·ing, noun, adjective–verb (used with object)

    1. to engage the services of (a person or persons) for wages or other payment: to hire a clerk.

    Quote

    job noun, verb, jobbed, job·bing, adjective–noun

    1. a piece of work, esp. a specific task done as part of the routine of one's occupation or for an agreed price: She gave him the job of mowing the lawn.

    2. a post of employment; full-time or part-time position: She was seeking a job as an editor.

  • Mario Galaxy...

    24 stars now... I love how when going to a new world the game does the brief flyby of the world where you just go "WAHAAAAAA!?!!!" knowing that you have to go through all that junk

    anyone else find the toadstool's voices to remind you of teen girl squad?

  • Mario Galaxy...

    How is there no thread yet for Mario Galaxy? The game is brilliant in every way. So far I've gotten 20 stars, and the game is not only staying fresh, but using they seem to be outdoing themselves with every new world. In a world of desaturated brown and gray shooters, this game stands alone on it's own pedestal, with beautiful colors and clean visuals, blending old school looks with next generation techniques. The game does such a good job at teaching the player how to use new mechanics, and then putting them to use, and often time expanding on a certain technique. All of the uses of the Wiimote seem very natural and within the realms of what can be asked from any given player. What a random jumble of praise, but what can I say, the game is great. More feedback as I continue to play...

    Out of 32 reviews, Mario Galaxy still owning it with a 98%

    http://%7boption%7d

  • The Spire (Gears of War MP)

    Very iconic look to it. Would be great with some rim lighting on the rocks to make them pop and give it even more depth. I seem to remember that being prominent in the GoW cave levels... (maybe not?) I do, however agree with KFS about the lack of a proper lattice work in the cover placement. For two days work though, great progress