Posts by Rick_D

  • [WIP] mp_cc - Chechnyan Crisis [COD4]

    Quote from Frittz

    A lot of work has gone into making this map a little less blocky thanmost COD4 maps out there...

    It's still pretty overtly blocky though. Nothing wrong with straight lines but for the location and the setting it is too blocky.

    The overview shows perfectly aligned walls and houses; how about rotating some of those houses, make the walls and fences follow non-straight paths (make them broken down in places to prevent a long horizontal line).

    There doesn't seem to be enough grime and dirt on the houses exteriors either. Streaks of dirt or flaking paint would add alot to the ambience.

    I also think the "edges" of the map are very bland. It makes for an incredibly obvious ending; I would fill these with vegetation if you are not going to have a detailed "skybox", because currently it feels incomplete.

    The lighting is also tonally very much down the middle; it doesn't sway into contrasted areas. I don't know how to fix that as I am not particularly good at lighting, but perhaps check out some other CoD4 maps to see their lighting (although if I rememebr most of their lighting is quite even, rather than dramatic).

    Anyway, keep at it.

  • Fallout 3

    It's amazing. It is essentially Oblivion in a post apocolytic wasteland, it keeps a lot of Fallout content and introduces plenty of new things.

    If anyone is considering whether or not to buy this game, I would reccomend it over ay of the other top releases this month. Although Saints Row 2 has co-op story mode.

    lol.

  • Breakable props?

    $modelname "path/model.mdl"

    $cdmaterials "path"

    $scale 1

    $body studio "model_ref.smd"

    $sequence idle "model_idle.smd" fps 1

    //$staticprop

    $surfaceprop "plastic"

    $collisionmodel "model_phy.smd"

    {

    $Mass 1

    $concave

    }

    $collisiontext

    {

    break { "model" "path/model_gib01" "health" "0" "fadetime" "0" }

    break { "model" "path/model_gib02" "health" "0" "fadetime" "0" }

    }

    $keyvalues

    {

    "prop_data"

    {

    "base" "plastic.Small"

    "dmg.bullets" "1"

    "health" "5"

    }

    }

    $lod 15

    {

    replacemodel "model_ref" "model_lod1"

    }

    works fine in OB

  • How You Got Into The Industry

    Quote from Mazy

    I still wonder how viable the MOD way will be for getting into the industry in a few years, wouldn't be surprised if that's going out quickly with all these artsy fartsy educations.

    I think employers find modders pretty much invaluable. Being involved in mod work pretty much means that you've gotten off your arse and actively learned how to use an engine (rather than someone in a school pointing you at all the right buttons), which in turn shows a level of personal motivation. Along those same lines, it shows you have a level of problem-solving abilities, because mod work generally means you end up spending a lot of time figuring things out the hard, and very hard, way.

    It also shows that you can see a project through until the end, lots of half finished work is.. ok, I guess, but nothing beats dedicating yourself to a level or a prop or a piece of code and working like a dog until you get it working.

    I think these courses will improve with time, no doubt about that, but I'd like to think that a modder would come out of 2 or 3 years with their heads screwed on the right way, and a little more insight into game engines and how they work; and on top of that, having built up a good portfolio along the way.

    No idea what you guys think about it, I never went to school and I'm not responsible for hiring people so I can't really give a true assessment.

  • How You Got Into The Industry

    Lots of personal histories here

    I asked a similar question about 18 months ago: Should I go to school and do a course that focuses primarily on game design.

    The answer was a pretty resounding NO!

    Resons being, it costs a lot of money, it takes up a lot of time. These two things, money and time, could be better spent suporting yourself while you build a good portfolio, learn new things, and start hunting out companies to apply to.

    If you're doing art, then I'd suggest doing a demo reel (90 seconds). Or, put together a rar/zip with all your best work and start sending it to people. It helps if you know someone on the inside as they can pass it on to the right people and skip the whole annoying application step.

  • The Forgotten

    Some very promising stuff in the outdoor areas.

    I think you get nice results when texturing the BSP with unique sheets but I think you run into problems with reusable sheets, and wasting time making unique sheets. Would be worth building a few very generic sets (a 512x512 sheet with two 256x512 walls on them, for example; a generic ceiling and floor etc) to save yourself time and only use unique sheets where you absolutely have to.

    The reason that it'd be easier in source is you have more tools to allow you to detail places more uniquely without having to rely on very detailed unique texture sheets. However, it looks fine on HL1, has a very retro vibe to it. In a sort of ugly pixelated way <3

    Anyway, looks very nice, more screens please.