Posts by AkatsukiUK

Hey everyone,

Just a quick link download to de_subliminal for tonights playtest:

05.05.15

de_subliminal_v2

The above changes will be in now, thanks to the lovely Mapcore team.

Play test of map will be on the 5.05.2015

Look forward to seeing you there .

They don't tend to be a readily available resource unless you get permission from the original creator.

My advice would be to go with a stock skybox for now. I say this not to deter you from being ambitious but more so you can focus on the design feedback others have given you so far .

Valve have this handy site all setup with the correct light settings to match the skybox texture.

skyboxes

Design first, art later, especially if level design is the career you want to pursue. You can get bogged down with art until your eyes and brain fall out .

Heya,

Good to see you moving forward and applying the feedback given to you , this in turn is making your level better so yes on any better.

Ok before I comment on your light_environment, are you going to change the skybox to support this change in lighting?

The light you currently have is closer to what we call a 'Sheperds Delight, red sky at night'. Red of this level of saturation is very difficult to manage.

link here

The image below is for a typical early morning sunrise.

Link I found for image that might support this better

The colour of your shadow_control is also closer to a night time/moon out as they're noticeably on the blue side.

I recommend finding images like the one i linked, then if you use a paint program like paint, gimp or photoshop, use the colour picker tool and pick the main colour/shade and take note of the hue/sat/lum and RGB values. You then have a good base to tweak the lights from here.

-Final question I'm guessing you haven't finished the nav mesh for the bots yet? (as my whole ct team were jumping up and down at a wall in the piggery room )

ha yea. That's why you buy a coffee machine

Quote from blackdog

First episode of Daredevil was solid but definitely not starting with a boom.

I'll see where it goes

Yea I just finished watching daredevil myself. Amazing, can't wait for the second season.

hehe it was more slow than painful. With every version change I would check each lit area in-game with a friend, and then adjust/circle lights in my notes that needed adjusting. I would definitely say that this appears to be the Source engines biggest drawback and outdoor levels always look great when lit even with dev textures.

I recently just got my level to a solid release stage that is indoors only. I made it to challenge the editor in creating indoor environments. It is really hard to light well.

Fairly new to Hammer myself I looked at how a lot of the official maps were lit. Now of course they all have outdoor skyboxes, but maps like Office have quite a large section indoors.

You will need more lights than what would seem sane in some areas to really light the level realistically. I found using light_spots in conjunction with the normal lights worked well. Office employs the same process. The other thing I would look at experimenting with is the 'falloff' settings in the lights properties. This allows you to take a single light source and expand its influence outwards or inwards by a specific amount.

This topic is really handy, something I bookmarked early on

Lighting Tips

Hope this is of some help. My level is de_subliminal if you fancy checking it out.

I have knowledge of creating 3d work in other packages but not for Source I am afraid, so hopefully you will get one of the many talented artists on this forum to reply to that question. There are plenty of tutorial resources out there though.

As for packages, Sketchup is really good at creating fast prototype layouts. You still have to remake it again however in your editor of choice, unless you import the assets into it, but I have never tried this process.

Any artist will tell you that scale is half the battle won . Stick with it though, 3d work is not something you can really learn overnight. If this is your first proper map I would maybe keep that side of things simple. Try to keep with the stock textures/assets, because the work load will escalate very quickly and you might lose motivation.

Just added your suggestions MaanMan.

Thanks for the clear feedback examples, you would make an excellent QA tester if you're not already one .

I moved the ladder to the opposite side, as I felt design wise it was more readable for players running down the corridor, but the outcome is the same and those pesky bots now use it properly! If the bomb does roll into the water on top of the Sub it will now reset.

Quote

http://www.henrytoftsdesign.co.uk/communities/4/…/4620581337.swf

Ha yea that texture isn't great, but it was not as bright as it looked within the editor. Sketchup was essentially my grey boxing phase.

Sounds like a plan .

The lighting will change a lot, what you have now is perfectly fine to start with. For example, just changing a texture will suddenly make that previously perfectly lit room look really bad.

I don't know if this might be a help to you, and just to state I am always learning too. I wrote a blog detailing my process I follow when making levels here:

Prototyping

I can't really comment as regards to Hammer as well as the other members on this forum, but my link might help you in forming the rest of your level. Don't take it as a literal how to, over time you will have a process that you really like to follow

My final advice is focus on the design not the art first. It's much better that something looks like crap but plays really well, because it is so much easier to make changes to the art than it is to floor spaces. So when you feel happy with the layout, tell us about that, the art and fancy flossing will come later.

and...yes yes if you make it look nice at the start people will subscribe, but you will lose them soon after if it doesn't play well. There is a reason the industry has 3d and environment artists, the designers design and the artists make it look pretty, but everyone will have a say. Don't be put off by low subs or ratings either, the best mappers are the ones that keep their subscribers.

Well your comments had me intrigued so I subscribed. To be honest there is so little here at the moment to give much feedback on for subbing ( I know it's a work in progress, but this seems quite early).

The shaping appears quite nice, but because of the clean look to the lines you will need some really solid looking textures to carry the rest of the level if you're using this early area to iterate from for the rest of the map.

A description is just as powerful as screenshots in my book . Before you buy a game or look at a preview of a new title in the works, you look at images and then the creators description.

Even if you don't have an idea yet as to how evil these terrorists have been, try writing some sort of story about the level. It will get us interested and also inspire you in designing the rest of the level. For example, you have what looks like some sort of reception/security control desks in the next area. Is this where workers would check in? where would they head next...perhaps a staff room or meeting room to discuss the days work? I am getting a science facility feel from your level so far.

Ah ok handy to know thanks .

I will add your suggestions when I get a free moment this week. Thanks for taking the time to play.

Filled out form to reserve slot for the 7/05/15 (de_subliminal_v1)

Big update in today.

Last of the big detailing is complete now. I may add some very minor spot details at a later date, but overall I am happy with the final look.

I noticed a sharpish contrast post cubemap on one area in bay 02 on the walkway leading from the steps. So will get this fixed this week.

Based on the feedback above about bombsite B, I have:

- Added railings to the ramps leading onto the sub

- Added collision volumes around all railings now so you can no longer jump over them to your death

(This also means the bomb is less likely to fall into the water)

- On top of the sub itself is still a hazard, and has no invisible collision volumes to keep you penned in. The bomb can roll into the water if you die here while carrying it.

- Added a small piece of cover at B.

- I am keeping the walkway width the same. I want to get players to think more as a team, rather than tank rushing. There are plenty of connecting spots that link up to B site.

Thanks all and I will see about getting the map hosted so we can play without bots getting in the way.

Having read most of the posts in this thread, its nice to find a bit of a home among like minded individuals .

I too have been working from home for what seems like an age now while my wife goes to work and earns the bread. Things were doom and gloom for me for a time:

Family member ill > Burgled(lost all back ups, imac + big project) > Flooded in our flat (lived in premier inn for 3 weeks) > living in Bradford(Chaos sorcerers live there and drain away all happiness).

Then we moved to London, and I decided to stay on the path of the games industry, made a game and rebuilt my portfolio + double backed everything and cloud .

There are few passions in life that demand absolute dedication, we don't just do this for the love of it anymore. It's in the bones.

Ok thanks Riv that is really useful feedback . The bomb falling into the water was my worry also, due to some strange reason, while carrying the bomb if you die, the bomb jumps forwards two metres at speed.

I made a post about this in the discussion threads on the levels workshop page. So far a few people like to keep it as it is, due to it being 'funny'... and changing the game mode on the spot from bombing to a team deathmatch.

Annoyingly the solution I had was to use the bomb brush tool to block off the bomb rolling away into the water. Sadly the brush also stops bullets, which would mean you would not be able to shoot through the railings anymore.

Once I have done the last of the detailing, I will get the map hosted with full human players, and I can use that to design a solution that works for everyone's tastes. One example: putting some custom railings on the ramps themselves.

I am certainly open to suggestions . When you said your brother fell in where did this occur and how many times are we talking?, Was this a regular occurrence or just the once?

These questions will help if changes need to be made.

Hey RivFader,

Thanks for taking the time to play and comment on the level. I'm a bit of a level design purist so all the detailing comes in quite late on my map design work, you can see on my portfolio the early stages and how bland that looked , but it will get there I promise.

The whole of B site is a bit of an experiment at the moment in trying to mix up tactics and to create new strategies. CS promotes good positioning, but it can be quite a static game with two parties shooting from the same spot a lot of the time. The idea of the risk is there so that if players want a LOS reward, they will have to cross the ramps onto the submarine. This means you need to be a little mindful of your step if strafing while scoped.

I have made it so you can plant on the ramp leading onto the submarine, this is an intentional design decision to make the area more forgiving for T's under fire looking to make a quick plant.

The area is ready to completely box in and make it health and safety regulated if the overwhelming response from the community is that of genuine hatred, but I hope through regular play, people will be more open to a bit of change.

We are gamer's and we learn by dying