Posts by spence

I also have a Clevo/Sager laptop which has lasted a good five years. I originally got it so I could travel by air with my computer easily, but it worked well as my main workstation for a few years and for a while I took it back and forth to the office every day.

I wouldn't expect any laptop you purchase to outperform a comparable desktop build in terms of price. An equally performing desktop PC will probably cost a little bit less, so you have to decide if the portability is worth it. I know I wouldn't want to haul a desktop around too often, even a smaller one - I put together a mini-ITX system for my home PC recently so it would be somewhat portable if I decide to move, want to take it to an event/LAN, etc, but it's still pretty sizable and definitely more 'fragile' so I wouldn't want to lug it around on a weekly basis.

It's mostly for consistency as you mentioned. If you want to change the color or intensity of a specific light fixture you can just update the values in the instance and it will apply those changes to every instance of that light. Otherwise you have to search through the map, create a group of specific lights, or use the entity reporter to make changes on many objects.

It's broken in the CSGO hammer, and there's no fix. You have to do your blocking out in flat mode if you really need the depth cues (it's annoying, I know )

I remember this. Advanced carving, lol

Yes, it happens where vertices of a func_detail touch a world brush.

You can either turn this func_detail geometry to a model (using Propper is one way to do this easily) or move it away from the world brush it's touching - moving it away by one unit is enough.

If you use Propper keep in mind how models are lit differently than brushes. You might have to add some more 'segments' by clipping big props into several pieces to get better quality lighting on your props, especially if you have a big model that takes up a lot of space in the world.

Just delete the big toolsskybox brush you have surrounding the level and it will work fine...it's not compiling because the playable space is inside of a big, solid cube

Alternatively, make the sky cube hollow by a small amount (tools -> make hollow) and it should also work.

Combine them into one mesh in whatever program you're modeling in (duplicate the planes several times, then attach/weld them together) and then make sure you have a new lightmap UV for this piece. Most modular environments have this issue, the difference is in how they hide the seams (either on a natural seam in the texture/mesh, or behind other geometry). In the realistic rendering example, the walls/floor/ceiling are just one purpose-built piece, and in the modular sci-fi environment the seams fall behind other geometry or in locations where a seam wouldn't look out of place.

You can hide this effect with your textures/materials, too. Because the surface is a flat, light colour, it makes the seam really apparent. Look at these examples from the subway demo; the texture works well to hide the seam from the modular components and the obvious difference in shadowing (when you look at the scene in lighting-only mode). If you're going for a look that's less noisy then you have to find another way to hide the seams.

It's a cool little demo and the layout is neat, but I feel like visually it suffers a little bit if you're looking at it from a functional standpoint. Particularly I'm talking about the crates, they don't make me feel like I'm near a helipad (or a rooftop, for that matter). Ventilation equipment, rails for a window washing platform...surely there are better things which belong on a roof than crates! Perhaps this isn't the sort of feedback you're looking for though (particularly if there aren't so many assets to work with )

The layout works, though. Only two small notes from me:

I kept falling through this small set of stairs and out of the map (but only when I ran up the stairs...not down...)

Also, you may want to add a kill/teleport volume below the map so the player doesn't just keep falling if they jump off the roof.

Layout looks cool and I like your concept paintover. Some areas look like they might be a bit cluttered, but this might just be because a lot of the world is the same colour (due to the dev textures) and things start to blend together. I don't think it will be an issue provided the final assets aren't all the same colours as the blocking geometry.

Are you going for a cleaner style with the map? Because of the textures, I mistook this as a TF2 map for a moment

de_licious doner

Seconding the map looking very...clean and flat. Making the environment light more interesting might help a little bit (rotating it and changing the color), right now it looks like it's on a 90* angle, and also a very dull, almost white colour.

I'd also focus on how you're going to make the map playable before worrying about things like extra models and decals. Already it's obvious that the streets are too wide-open and need cover (think back to the DOD map, there are craters, sandbags, tanks driving over piles of rubble...)

Looks fantastic! I love the colours, the lush green and the pinkish sandy dirt really work well together.

Cool, looks like there are some really neat routes there. The middle bit with the boat/lock area reminds me of an old CS:S map, can't remember its name though.

Pretty cool, liking the shadows you've got there.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/406357/Chopsskybaxes.7z

The more mirrors the better, right?

Put them in materials/skybox and set the sky name in map properties to correspond to the sky you wish to use.

Well done, looks fantastic

Focus on getting good at one thing before branching out to become a 'generalist'. You'll bring more to a team if you have a solid skill base and comprehension of one subject that is supplemented by knowledge of other disciplines, rather than mediocre skills but a knowledge of all disciplines.

I don't think generalists inherently have a harder time finding jobs, it's more to do with the fact that many have average skills spread throughout several roles which makes them a less attractive hire for a job that needs someone to focus on one particular role (which is a lot of games jobs, really).

If you really just want to make cool environments and spaces, focus on environment art first. There is a bit of skill overlap anyway, knowing how to use 3dsmax is useful to designers when building a greybox level, for example.

I thought the same, they reminded me of the fake 'rock' installations I've seen at aquariums made from poured concrete and mesh/rebar (except for the bulgy bit in the last shot, which looks a bit odd).

I agree with FMP about the lighting, a warmer light_env color might make a world of difference. I like the way it looks in those indoor screenshots but outside it feels somewhat washed out...there's some nice colour richness from the sky and the blue of the aquarium area (the seal/dolphin ball and the life preserver add a nice splash of colour too) but there's a lot of white/cream/sandy textures otherwise.

Since this really boils down to colours maybe a bit of colour correction would be useful? It might bring out the greens of the foliage a little more (the grass seems really dry and desaturated, perhaps intentionally). It also may create a little more contrast between the different materials (the sand, the concrete tiles/walls, etc)

Otherwise it's looking fantastic, can't wait to give it a go when it's on workshop

What benefits me most is trying to stick to a schedule/routine. When I'm not doing this I tend to put things off, and it makes me even more frustrated/upset about not getting things done. Try not to compromise or sacrifice on your routine too often, lest it starts to slip, and then you're back to where you started from. Personally I have to be well rested to be productive, so this means no all-nighters or heavy drinking sessions if I'm going to be doing anything useful the next day. If I'm working late into the night and getting tired, I stop and go to sleep, because I know I'll be able to do more when I'm well rested than if I force myself to stay awake and work.

Another thing that helps me a lot is to keep a written to-do list of tasks. It sounds simple and obvious - and it is - but it really helps me to stay focused. When I don't do this, I tend to get lost on other things that are unrelated or less important, and it takes me a while to get back on track and into full-on 'work mode' again. I combine this with working in smaller, focused blocks of time (hour or two-hour long increments with a break for snacks/tea). If I can manage to squeeze in an hour to get one or two tasks done before going out, cooking dinner, etc, then I feel better at the end of the day and I'm also one hour closer to completing whatever I'm working on. Keeping lists and working in this manner also motivates me to keep going, especially if I can easily get a picture of what remains left to do, rather than trying to build a picture in my head and becoming swamped with ideas and tasks. If you feel like you have too much to do and you aren't making any headway, it's super easy to get discouraged and lose your focus or motivation.

Stay conscious of how much you enjoy what you're working on. There are always times when you lose confidence in what you're creating, but if you're repeatedly not enjoying the work and having trouble coming up with good ideas or solutions to the problems you encounter, it's worth considering why this is the case, and what you can do about it, whether that's talking with others and getting feedback earlier on in the process, cutting a portion of a level/environment to make way for better ideas, or putting a project on the back burner if there's absolutely nothing else that can be done at that point in time.

Managing your motivation and task management is just a skill like any other, it gets easier and more effective with practice.

This looks fantastic, can't wait to play when it's finished