Posts by Squad

  • 'Steam Box' gaming console

    Quote from blackdog

    Nice the borrowing option, if they go through.

    It would be nice to also give a game to someone else, i mean, there are a couple of games I didn't like and used just a few hours that clutter my list and i'd be happy to give to someone for free.

    And Adam Foster?

    Ken Banks as well

  • de_ali (working name)

    Thanks for the feedback!

    I'll look into a way of adding a little bit more color without making it too busy and noisy again

    I also agree that this particular arch looks a bit squeezed in ... cause it is I wanted to put a bit more accent to the painting, but there should be a better way.

    The update is on the workshop now, but I was stupid enough to somehow delete de_ali from the workshop first So just look for de_ali_beta5 if you'd like to check it out!

  • de_ali (working name)

    New update!

    In a nutshell:

    - I've deleted the 3D skybox and rebuild one from scratch

    - Expanded both spawn zones to support 16 spawns each

    - More clipping

    - Some heavily optimizing (which was needed in some areas)

    - Got rid of a lot of hardly used materials

    - ...

    T spawn zone.

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo27.jpg]

    Here I added an extra entry to the courtyard leading to the basement. It was a last minute thing I added today, not sure yet if it's for the better or worse.

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo28.jpg]

    I reworked the area with the long stairs: added a view which makes it feel less cramped and made the part with the tree and benches some sort of balcony, which should help Ts a little bit more.

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo29.jpg]

    Other view.

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo30.jpg]

    CT spawn.

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo31.jpg]

    Redid the building with the arches, gave it a more uniform texture as well so it should fit better in the map now.

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo32.jpg]

    Bombspot A is now a fountain ... which reminds me that I really need to start thinking of a somewhat believable story behind the map, haha.

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo33.jpg]

    I added some mountains in the background (credits for that material go to Yanzl!).

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo34.jpg]

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/csgo35.jpg]

  • de_minaret WIP

    My first thought when I saw the first screen was: Dust2 Bombsite B! It has a lot of similarities, but that's not necessarily a bad thing of course

    Looks good from the screens, perhaps it may be a bit too hard to defend, but that's just speculation. Playtesting should point that out.

    Is this update up on the workshop?

  • De_ruins

    Just had a game with bots.

    Visually speaking this map is top of the bill!

    I do agree that it is a bit dark in a lot of places. Sometimes you're having a hard time noticing ennemies.

    And there are indeed a lot of paths. It's been a while since the playtest with dev textures (the only one I could attend ), but from my memory the layout was much easier to grasp then (could also be partially the level of detail the map now consists of). Some routes are quite hard to notice, especially ladders:

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/de_ruins01.jpg]

    I think it'd be better to simplify the layout. I know it may be quite drastic, but here are some suggestions:

    [Blocked Image: http://users.telenet.be/gus/de_ruins_overview.jpg]

    That being said, the map offers a nice bit of height variation and great fights. And again, visually it's pure sex Nice job!

  • MapCore CS:GO Playtesting 3.0

    Print

    Lovely map. Feels like there's gone a lot of thinking into the locations of the chokepoints and how they are build (great cover options, good flanking paths, height variations). It also offers quite some options to go from one side of the map to another. Some more cover on the right side of CTs (the long road) to stand a chance against snipers wouldn't hurt though.

    Visullay I think it's very nice. Some of the areas would look better if they'd be more 60-70-ish (ie: the reception area feels rather modern in comparison with the rest of the map), but that's just a little bit nittpicking.

    Oldtown

    My first thought was that it didn't feel like a traditional CS layout at all. My second thought was the same, but after a few rounds it kinda grows on you It was pretty fun, but as Skybex already mentioned wherever in the map you were, there was always a possibility of being getting shot at from a completely different angle.

    This may be a rather drastic interference, but I'm curious to see how it'd play out: perhaps it could be beneficial to remove a portion of the map and move on of the bombsites to the triangular market place (with the tree) and relocate the T spawn. If you could post the overview I could explain better what I'm trying to say.

    Mass

    I felt that there were (as either team) only 2 real paths to choose from. I know there's an underground path, but I never felt inclined to take the sewers route (except the first round, but then I was lost ). Two main paths is not necessarily bad, but there weren't any real "subpaths" to go to either, both routes connected only at the location of the hostages.

    I like the church/cathedral setting however, it provides some nice possibilities for the interior (pillars, balconies, ... ).

    [Blocked Image: http://www.hdwallpapers.in/walls/new_york_st_patrick_cathedral-wide.jpg]

    [Blocked Image: http://lincolncathedral.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/splendour.jpg]

    Quote

    In reference to oldtown and mass - a good thing to keep in mind when making narrow corridors: Most servers run with player collision on, so anything less than two players wide and you have yourself a traffic jam and those are miserable on larger servers.

    Good point, but 2 players width should be considered the absolut minimum and if possible avoided. If a player stands in the middle of a 2-player wide corridor than it would not be possible to pass him and would still cause traffic jams.

  • De_ruins

    I'm not sure how Robert Briscoe pulled it of in de_forest, but he somehow created his own foliage system.

    Here's what he said about it on his site:

    Quote

    Once this stage was completed I spent many months creating an extremely efficient tree and foliage system to run well on the Source engine over a wide array of PC systems.

    Maybe get in touch with him?

  • MapCore CS:GO Playtesting 3.0

    It would be perfectly possible to, after you got the layout blocked out quite rough as you did, turn the map into a believable environment. The biggest downside however, will be that it probably limits your options quite a bit. As people mentioned, it's easier if you have a setting in mind before starting to lay out any blocks and once you do, make it a little more detailed (still rough though, only the basic shapes). But in the end, that's also a matter of taste and working method, I guess. Whatever works for you!

    It's a pretty fun map, I enjoyed it! But it's a bit too large scaled for my taste (then again, I guess I kinda like smaller scaled maps with quick gameplay). It happened a few times that people wandered around the map searching for the remaining enemies.

    I'll try to give some more detailed feedback when I have more spare time on my hands!

  • MapCore CS:GO Playtesting 3.0

    Quote from Al Anselmo~Intelect0

    DE_ALI

    Beeeeeautiful map! It's very easy to get lost on it, though. At least on the first 4~10mins. Many different routes, and some small spaces that at first look like they lead to another path, but in reality they are just a "retracted" space that acts as the entrance of a house, for example. Even though they help to make the layout feel confusing, the good thing about these kind of spaces is that they are usually a good spot to hide/ camp. I think the overall layout is kinda refreshing from what we usually see. Those archways with stairs could be a little larger, because at the moment the player has to try more than once to crouch jump through them (maybe a small clipping issue).

    Yeah, I can image the layout may seem a bit confusing at first (with the little doorway halls, etc), but all in all I think the layout is pretty easy to learn after a few rounds (although I'm not in a very good position to judge that anymore ). The main idea behind these kind of spaces was to provide ways of cover (instead of, let's say, a crate) and, additionally, to break up the buildings and architecture.

    Which archways specifically are you talking about?

    Quote from cincinnati

    de_ali

    can't speak to gameplay, but i ran around on it and think it's looking great...

    the only big thing that stood out were the beams over that curving stair. really out of scale. if you gave them a purpose, it would probably answer itself, but right now they neither provide shade or structure and just look alien.

    also, i like the coded orange arch for bombsite B. site A does have the church facade, but coming from B, you don't see it, and what you do see is pretty nondescript. maybe get more strategic with the color and the trim there (and on the church facade) to equalize things.

    really nice update.

    I agree those beams may seem a bit 'heavy'. Some of them just have a lantern hanging on them. Not sure if I just want to get rid of them alltogether, but I'll definately look into it!

    I was actually considering removing that orange arch at bombsite B, since I thought it was starting to look out of place after the visual update of most of the rest of the map

    Quote from OrnateBaboon

    Regarding the sites on de_ali (assuming they are in the same place as before). I think the placement of them is really good! Although the travel time between them is about 8 seconds or so, there are a lot of places the T's can be hiding post-plant. So the short distance does allow the CT team to search around quite a bit before going for a defuse.

    Bombsites are still in the same place! I think it works kinda well this way (even if they are indeed pretty close to each other), it provides the CT team a fair chance to defuse the bomb if they'd happen to look into the wrong bombsite first. That said, it has been brought up in the past a few times though, so if needed I could push the terrace bombsite a bit further back.

    Quote from 3Dnj

    Only played a few round on ali, like the visual even if it's now a bit too monotonous. The new bombsite is cleaner (last one was a bit too cramped) but the way on the left from T spawn to the second bombsiteis really hard (but again, I was late at the party)

    The part about the left route has been mentioned by Puddy as well and I too think it should be improved a bit (in favour of the T team). I guess its problem is more specifically the tunnel leading to the cellar being a bit of a bottleneck (whichever team can hold/take it, has control over the terrace bombsite).

    Suggestions for this are very welcome I feel that an extra sideroute (leading to the cellar for example) would flip the advantage to the T team too much.

    All in all, I'm glad people generally seemed to like the visual update! Credits to FMPONE for that

  • De_ruins

    Quote from 3Dnj

    It's hard to put grass in this game

    Looks a bit like 'swampy' grass, maybe it'll look better if you put it in a puddle?

    Quote from 3Dnj

    Also I put a MOUNTAIN

    Nice Is it a model?

  • MapCore CS:GO Playtesting 3.0

    I have been playing around with the idea of moving the left bombsite (seen from T's spawn) forward a bit. I've moved it to the cellar and tested it with bots, but I'm really doubtful if it'd be an improvement or not.

    Someone mentioned (forgot who) that some areas were now too open on T's side. Any clarification on that?

    Also, what do you guys think of the changes made to the left chokepoint (the one leading to the cellar)?

    Thanks for playtesting and the feedback btw, everybody!

  • de_minaret WIP

    Had a quick botplay on it. Seems like a fun layout, but there are too many sideroutes making the map too complicated (for example, when starting at CT spawn there are 5 routes/doorways to choose from).

    Remove all paths that are basically unnecessary.

    I like the little height variations throughout the map!