I finally have the first public release for the map. Been a very long journey, 7 months since the first post and I started the map long before that. But I am extremely happy to get this out in the wide world at last.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/fi…s/?id=531801711
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/qPFmsYn.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/EpslPnV.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/RB9oUic.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/15eD1jV.jpg]
Thanks for the nice comments, glad you guys like what you see.
The devshots were made with the help of this article
https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Point_devshot_camera
But as you pointed out @El_Exodus some cameras take shots in black and white. So I had to add three extra "dead" cameras and add all the cameras to an instance, then edit their entity ID's by opening the vmf in notepad to make sure the three dead cameras are the ones that take the shots while things are black and white. Maybe I'll write an in depth guide if there is interest. The one on the wiki is for TF2 and doesn't take into account csgo's quirks.
@will2k About 1/4 of the top deck is playable, there are also 2 other floors. Maps looks big in screens mostly because its more narrow than most maps, so the rest of the volume is made up for in the length and height.
@Vaya I added the handle things in late last night, but the model looks a bit crap so will have to work more on it. But should be looking nice in time for release.
And everyone loves the triangle carpet? Good to know 
Been a bit slower with updates than I would have liked, but still working hard on the map.
So very close to having a release, but still have to do a lot of work on the lighting so that everything is visually clear. Lots of other small things to fix up and polish as well. Also managed to get the map performing well but still need to play with the model fade scales.
Here are some of the latest screens. And as always there are more images in the albums, but so many of the devshot cameras got eaten by walls or props. http://skybex.imgur.com/
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/Ol9Aah9.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/5gQSURQ.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/PTJJQh6.jpg][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/zcyPew0.png][Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/KKbfO6Q.png]
I end up playing games that don't require constant attention. Games like Civilization, Total war, Xcom and most recently Fallout shelter where you can spend 5 mins on a turn and then go check that your food in the oven is not on fire. I purposely didn't get The Witcher 3 simply because I wouldn't have time to fully immerse myself in the game. I will have to practically take a holiday just to enjoy Fallout 4 when it's released.
As soon as I saw the car in the video thumbnail I thought "Rollcage". I was not disappointed. Played the original to death.
I might be remembering it wrong, but "positions" should be defined in hammer with the soundscape entity before they will play. I am guessing you haven't done this because all your positions are set to "0". Quite a few of the stock maps will have it done like this, but cant remember off the top of my head what ones. I think Militia will have it so open it up and have a look.
Also you might find this useful http://forums.tf2maps.net/showthread.php?t=11967
Quote from blackdogI know it's not a problem, but for the sake of conversation... does Steam don't offer the "offline mode" anymore? that should allow for two simultaneous instances running (that's how I played Sin Episode 1 before buying it).
Yeah it does, I gave it a try the other day so can do it no problem. Incidentally I also gave the game streaming a try and it works quite well, really cool idea.
I really hope that with the extra money they will be getting with the warhammer brand they can develop this game into the full potential of the total war series. I am a huge warhammer fan and total war fan.
It could be such an excellent game, but Attila it is full of such rage inducing bugs and issues that save scumming is the only way you can really play the game, but then it dilutes the whole experience. Not to mention the terrible performance and waiting ages for the AI to make its turns. This stuff really needs to be fixed otherwise all the new fans that don't know what to expect from a total war game will trash the game on the forums and steam reviews.
Quote from SquadBuying a yacht off course.
I will name it the Hurg of the Seas and have a giant picture of Hurg on the side. But none of those parties that @Sprony seems to want
Quote from QuotingmcIs there is a "Homebrew Coffee" aboard the ship? How else would the VACationers get their daily cup of coffee.
I wanted to add one, but there was not really any place for it to go. But there will be a special place for all the VACationers.
Also replacing a lot of the brushwork with meshes, and deleting out a few crazy expensive meshes reduced the compile time to a much more reasonable amount.
Quite a few big changes since last time I posted. Been pulling things a bit closer to the real life boat and removing some of the more "gamey" elements of the map. In the process I also recruited the help of Yanzl to help out with the art.
Biggest change has been the T spawn area. Visually it looks much more like its real world counterpart with minimal gameplay impact
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/pgWJPAm.png]
I also finally got round to working on some of the interior sections. This bar area has been annoying be for ages so I decided to have a proper crack at it. Spec maps are doing strange things in the image so don't pay attention to them.
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/S2gYGk1.png]
And some updates to other areas
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/Yytgnkf.png]
The arcade area has been totally ripped out and is next on my list to work on. Once that's done, It should be quick progress to getting a closed release build.
And as always, more images in the albums http://skybex.imgur.com/
blackdog I tried to compile on my other machine, but steam doesnt allow you to have the same game open on 2 different computers. And this includes CSGO SDK so I would have to get a new account and csgo to compile on one machine while working on the other. Not something that's hard to do, but I didn't really bother yet as overnight compiles are fine.
It really isn't an easy process when learning. But first thing to do is get wallworm tools for 3d max and get it working. I switched to WW mid project so couldn't adjust my workflow to match it, but if you set the tools up correctly then WW is simple to just export from max and its already ingame. As for making the meshes, there are so many tutorials out there far better than anything i could say here. The 3D motive tutorials helped me out a lot in the past though.
Textures is also something I had to really work at, and I am still quite bad. For mesh textures I usually just rely on the renders from the high poly and dirt masks. World textures pretty much the same, but of course using source photos from CGTextures and crazybump to get normals/AO/Cavity.
Feel free to add me on steam if you have questions or need advice.
Normally I compile overnight and its done by the morning so don't worry about the computers performance but this time it was still running when I woke. I still had 3ds max, photoshop, crazybump and a few other programs open, and had been playing New Vegas earlier in the day. So could probably save a lot of time by just restarting before compile and not have resource hog programs running.
And since I just finished making these, I might as well post them. Casino chips scattered on the floor
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/3tGZYki.png]
Quote from blackdogThat's so interesting, thanks for sharing.
Only thing I would say is hostage upper looks too dark, but I'm sure you are planning to change that.
Yeah some areas are pretty dark, working on that now. Since adding all the lights in the interior my compile has jumped to 10 hours 
Quote from biXenLooks great! How are you balancing / testing the hostage part of the gameplay? Feels like there's so little good info on how to make a good hostage map, it's all defuse.
I am following the same type of guide I used with workout. Having the 3 lanes in the map with connectors (similar to de_maps) with chokes at the central meeting points. But Unlike de_maps' bombsites I make the hostage rooms harder to defend. I also make the CT spawn/rescue area quite large with multiple entrances so its harder to camp the rescue zone.
Been working on the smaller details and making the place look like an evacuation mess.
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/6Kdtwb3.png]
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/Evue9ZX.jpg]
I dont generally use pen and paper as I prefer to see things in 3d space as height can play a huge role. But I always make sure to have a theme decided and enough reference collected before I do anything. Then I get an idea of what I want areas to look like. "Site A should look like these 2 images, T spawn should look like this...". This way when laying the floor plan I can get spaces that work with the theme and i don't need to fight with the layout afterwards to get things working visually.
Once I get the floor plan done, I check all the lines of sight and see where any problem areas might be. What can be solved by simple cover vs what is flawed at in the layout and take steps to fix it. Then play with bots to find any problem areas. Areas that might be uncomfortable to defend, areas I felt i was killed unfairly, areas where I can see the enemy but they cant see me (slopes or other height stuff often causes this) and make sure to fix all these issues at the very early stages. Will also make sure the timings to the chokes are what I had planned.
I will do this many times over fixing all the issues I can see while building the map up in a dev block stage or with very basic textures (no detailing) until I am confident not only the layout works, but the spaces work for future detailing.
During this time I test often, doesn't always need to be a 5v5 but get as many humans as you can and lets the bots fill the rest. This way you can get human timings to chokes with pre nades and flashes as well as smokes while taking a site. even a 1v1 can help a lot with this. Additionally what can help is to block of half the map so the players and bots can only go to one site, this way you can check the chokes, cover spots and generally get a better idea of the site. So often when playing with bots they all march one way and your bots march the other and the bomb is down without anyone having seen each other.
Only once I am confident in the layout will I do any real detailing.
Still hammering away at this. So much of the work I have been doing doesn't come across in screenshots so haven't posted anything. Got the map properly skyboxed, an early pass on optimization with func details and the obvious hints and started a proper clipping pass so it can go back into testing. Also spent ages on the 3d sky testing what I will do with it. Still looks a bit lame, but it will do for now.
I finally got round to adding the main central column thing, had been putting it off for ages as I knew it would go in the 3d sky. Turned out well as you cant notice its 3d sky when in the playable space
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/0Xdpo8G.png]
And started the 3d sky at the other side of the boat as well. Once done properly I don't think you will notice the transition and should look quite nice.
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/usKm1vX.png]
Need to now spend some time on the point lights, it can get a bit dark in places. Need to also figure out how to do the water. And what do you think of the new 2d sky? I found anything with clouds make it a bit more gloomy, so I have went with a plain blue sky.
Not a great deal else I can show in screenshots, but the albums have been filling up nicely so can be interesting to have a look http://skybex.imgur.com/
Possible new map "crashsite"
Congrats people, another Mapcore pack.
Any chance we can have a boarder or something between the sticky posts and the normal ones? Gets a little confusing especially when on mobile
Quote from blackdogYet again amazing!
Just curious, is it a bit exaggerated or there are cruise ships with such a big fitness setup? Never had a serious look at those beasts
An aerial view of the one I am using as reference. These things are bigger than some cities in England and the one I am using is not the biggest.
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/TL3IN4X.png]
Been doing a lot of tedious work recently to make the level properly playable again. Stuff like the collision meshes on all the big models, preparing the map for a proper skybox and editing textures/specs/normals.
Also made this. Initially I was using a L4D mesh here, bit its texture was far too low res and I couldn't really re texture it without proper high poly bakes, so I made a new one using the L4D one as a guide
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/Uoe3ibV.png]
Did a few other smaller props you can see here. Sun lounger, parasol and the fence thing. Couldn't really think of a better solution to block the players path other than maintenance barricade, so it will do for now.
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/Pb3cHnO.png]
[Blocked Image: http://i.imgur.com/UbWTalg.png]
