Posts by Gale

  • Overwatch

    Quote from FMPONE

    9 hours ago, FMPONE said:

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    raise your hand if you've been in this boat once or twice

    I have been extremely lucky only the ever have this happen to me once. I managed to somehow get all of the best team mates from gold all the way to diamond in one season...

  • WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

    I haven't posted here in a very long time, and I feel inclined to share so here goes nothing!

    The first set of screenshots are of a church i'd slapped together. It's all BSP minus the benches and statues.

    This is a sci-fi sketch but it's due for a complete makeover. There is a lot of wasted geometry, and if hope it to be a complete map(and I do!) I'll need to refine it a bit.

    This is a bunker that I was commissioned to do for a military RP map. There are more screens but I don't want to take up too much space.

    These last 2 are two textures I worked on. They are a mix of samples from texture sites and handmade shapes and height maps.

  • WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

    Since I've had no internet for the better part of 3 months I decided i'd try to make something pretty, even if the gameplay turns out to be bland, or if some things make no sense:

    It's a WIP practice map, I hope you enjoy!

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    Sorry about the video being on rails, and the actual quality of the video being balls. I've had to use Mc. Donalds internet for a while now, and 200 MBs of video takes an hour-and-a-half to upload.

    I chose to post a video because you can't hear soundscapes through screenshots.

    Thanks to the authors of Agency, and Watersource for their assets!

  • VMT Editor - fast and simple editor for vmt files

    Thank you!

  • Stuck on Making a texture From Scratch

    Quote from Sigma

    On 3/10/2016 at 0:36 PM, Sigma said: Can you give us info as to the target engine? The reason I ask is because the engine selection alters how the texture should be judged.

    The Source Engine

    Quote from blackdog

    On 3/16/2016 at 6:03 AM, blackdog said: Looks like a generic floor panel, but is it? Sounds like you don't know yourself what is going to be.

    Depending on that I think there are things you can draw yourself and other you need to achieve using techniques like a mix of filters etc.

    Usually a metal base is achieved by using Gaussian noise and a motion blur, to give that "brushed" feeling.

    I know what I want it to be, just not how to execute it!

    What I'm going for is a floor panel that was made to be easy to clean, and to be used in a moderately high pressure environment, hence the rivets and seemingly stamped panels. The specular mask you see(the dots) is a super thin coating - I'm just going to say graphene - that is anti-microbial, and durable. The underlying metal would be a brushed metal to enable to coating the be affixed to the surface(like similar process electroplating, or hydrographing, I'd gather).

    Despite all that, that advice with the filters is absolutely what I needed! Thank you!

  • Stuck on Making a texture From Scratch

    So, I decided that I'd make my first texture from nothing but a white canvas, but I'm stuck(said texture is attached).

    I'm to the point( I think) of where I should start putting in detail. I'm Going for something sci-fi here, but I have no idea where to start. As you can see on the image that shows GIMP, I do have a detail layer, but it's just a grey metal texture. If you need any more info please let me know ans I'm not sure what kinds of details to include!

  • WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

    I figured, after a hacker was paid to try to extort the VMF out of me, and took over some of my accounts, that it'd be a good time to post this so people know I'm the one to did the work on it: http://imgur.com/a/dnHAX This is a gallery of a (sigh...) downtown edit I was payed to do. Now that I'm finally done with this(minus bug fixes for the next forever), I think I'll move onto CS:GO mapping. Here are some images from the gallery:


    This map is quite literally 2 maps stacked on top of eachother. The islands you see are the bottom half, and they were made from scratch, I made my own soundscapes and textures for a good bit of it. They are both full grid -1024^2 units. It was a huuuuge pain getting this map to work with sources limitations, but even with it's huge scale, I've managed to keep the brush count at 93.6 percent with very little propper use(4 props). The upper half is the downtown edit, and that is an edit. I had to do some hacky optimization work because anything put in dark RP instantly nets you 30 less FPS, and with 60 players, you can have good luck getting anything past 50.

    On another note, the gmod server hosting community is extremely insidious and actually dangerous to be around. It was nice, but I don't like being made a target like this.


    Again, please, look at the gallery here: http://imgur.com/a/dnHAX

  • Absolutely At a Loss On How To Progress As a Level Designer.

    Quote from Skybex

    Technical knowledge and how to apply it at quite different things. Technically I know how to write a novel, but in reality I cant. This combined with where you say "developing aesthetics from scratch" could be harming your ability to develop. I can promise you that no one that has made an official or operation map for CSGO has "developed aesthetics from scratch". It all comes from using real world sources for inspiration or outright copying, and using your technical knowledge to make it all fit within a proper working and tested layout.

    Pretty much all the work i see in that gallery looks like its been purely off the top of your head, so in many aspects it falls short because a lot of it lacks the realism the human eye expects to see. Parts of the scene just reads as "wrong". Even when making crazy fantasy scenes like the majority of those images, there is more than enough real world reference to utilize.

    I don't want to pick on specific details on the images, but although its all quite fantasy, in essence what you have there is a cathedral, a medieval town an underground station. Simply googling any of those phrases will show a plethora of images ripe for being used as inspiration. And ask simple questions about each image. "what shows in this image that people live here?", "What is it that people do here?" and "how does this place function?". Asking simple questions like that will instantly give your cathedral an alter as people come to see some kind of sermon, will give pews for the people to sit on as well as lights so they can see. Keep following those lines of thought and before you know it, you have a perfectly fine looking environment that doesn't look "unflattering".

    Thanks for the advice, mate! I had a talk with a friend a little bit ago where he stated that I should ask "What happened to make the environment look the way it does?" and that certainly pointed me in the right direction, although I don't think it can be applied wholly to a super clean/perfect looking environment. As always, Any more comments would be appreciated!

  • Absolutely At a Loss On How To Progress As a Level Designer.

    To start off, I've only been mapping seriously for 1 - 1/2 years, and have improved quite a bit over that time period(I'm amazed at how fast you can learn a skill). Right now, I'm working with the Source engine, and I know the next step for me is going to be asset creation(ie. Material Design, Modelling, and much much much later Programming), but as far as level design goes I'm at a loss. I've read all of the articles on the sticky, and even though when I read over them once or twice I notice new things, I really lack in execution. As far as technical knowledge goes in the Source engine, I'm pretty confident that I know 80% of what I need to know for just level design(Never really messed with logical entities, and various unknown unknowns).

    The main thing I struggle with is more broad things like developing an Aesthetic from scratch without relying on cliches(powerful tools no doubt) too much, and just coming up with ideas in general. I'm also -really- bad at keeping things basic when I start a level, I can't seem to get any level layouts in my head without actually opening up hammer and working, which in turn, creates some pretty stilted works. I've still got creative juices flowing, no doubt, but due to lacking some basic skills like the one I just mentioned, most of my projects come out pretty unflattering.

    Here is some of my stuff, in no particular order in terms of date: My Imgur Album.

    Is there anything you can suggest to me? Because I'm plateau-ing hard, and can't think of a way to get better, despite knowing the problems. I feel like I'm applying too many rules to myself, and it's messing with my ability to map, but feel those rules are necessary progress as a level designer, and to create something worthwhile.

    Any help on this would be greatly appreciated, and thanks for your time!

  • WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

    Quote from laminutederire

    @kinggambit that blue and red logo on the gate made think about the Korean Air logo^^

    I think what are missing the most are shadows, it feels too unnatural without them I guess. That'd be the main things to fix through a better lighting.

    PS: I know it's hard to balance this with readability :)

    That is exactly what I was going to say. The lighting really kills how beautiful this map could look. Shadows and better lighting would really do this map justice.

  • The random model thread!

    Made my first model ever. I think I did an OK job with 0 experience with working with meshes(besides source 2 alpha & beta), and no experience with 3ds max. It's a barrel, clearly, but there is much wrong with it. The texture doesn't tile worth crap, and the baked shadows and highlights are way too pronounced. I made it over a month ago, but hopefully I can make the time to create a 6 panel wooden door. I'm still trying to wrap my head around working with meshes, like how to create cuts in 3ds max so I can actually start forming the panels for said door. While I'd like to figure it out on my own, I may not be able to, and tips are greatly appreciated!