KungFuSquirrel

I don't get the sense that it's random, but rather that you build custom tiles in Hammer, then use the tile editor to stitch them together. Check out this page:

http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki ... and_Themes

Edit: Man, how awesome is it that you could just create packs of tiles and release those for people to build their own campaigns and stuff. I'm gonna love the hell out of this, I think.

Edit 2: Hmm, looks like I mis-read that and it does do the generation in TileGen. Looks like you can tag your different links to help nudge things in the right direction. Neat.

Here's the editor they're including: http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Swarm_TileGen

Holy shit this is going to be awesome.

Sorry to resurrect this, but I had a request on Twitter for the .rad files we used... I don't know if I have all of them, but I found this set from Adam, ferret, and BadMofo. Will add this to the first post for anyone stumbling upon them.

http://www.filefront.com/17048783/rad.rar

Ah, yeah, I was just going to guess that that might have been the problem. I think that's still toggled with the ~ key; maybe you bumped it by mistake. It's amazingly useful on meshes... but not so good on brushes

I hate you all.

I remember the first version of this you posted way back; this is a really impressive improvement. Seeing it in motion is fantastic; I love how much life is actually in the scene. Well done!

Also, Willits confirmed the PC version will ship with the editor. Awesome.

The important part he mentioned is Steam/Steamcloud integration... Which may mean a link to your PC Steam account, cross-platform play, cross-platform saves(?)... he talked about treating it more as a service... now there's three potentially linked platforms under the Steam banner. Interested to see what that actually means.

Seconding the warning from Mino, we don't care about your baggage from other sites, and bringing it here again won't go well. Keep it civil.

These galleries are really great. Matt (Lunaran) was just recommending them to me the other day. Makes me want to build cathedrals!

Haha, I'm using this for my Radiator mod, actually -- is it unethical to re-purpose something for another mod, or is that smart asset re-use?

Haha, nothing wrong with that. I don't think you need to do too much with the brightness overall... One thing we all do have to keep in mind is we're also viewing it against a very light site background. Even on dimmer monitors it'll look better fullscreen, but just a little boost combined with a darker TV (like you already mentioned) should still be helpful.

Prod me with the rallying, I'm working on a Q3 map with Lunaran right now but I've got a short level worth of ideas that might be a good fit. If schedules line up I'm still interested.

Kaz: looking at your shots I somewhat disagree with CJ in that I love that it has a sort of classic/old school Q3 look to it. I'd be interested to see more shots, though, and it's a little tough to judge this one without being able to see the proper floor (though the ceilings do look pretty cool)

CJ: It read well on my monitors at work and at home, but people will probably still stab you for it. I think you'll probably want a slight boost overall, and maybe just a hair more intensity to the light coming in from the window.

It looks great, though. What's the ETA for the full package? I've been floating around some ideas, but have another personal project to clear out first.

3dnj: Good start so far. The one thing that is bugging me is your use of the rock texture on the ground. I know what you're going for with that blending, but it ends up looking really off. That type of texture is the one you'd expect to see on more sharp geometry. I'd recommend changing up your texture use there.

Mino: Looking better and better. Really interested to see how you're going to flesh this one out. I love the lighting in the first shot in particular.

Great thread, HP!

Never underestimate simple image searching at flickr. Not all images are available in large sizes for download, but I've never been let down.

Valid concern, skdr, though I think I'll be able to keep up for a little while. Hopefully you guys will pick up the pace and I'll have to enlist a little help!

Also, since people started posting their own twitter accounts, mine is: http://twitter.com/kungfusquirrel and I'll go ahead and sticky this for future reference. Thanks for the support, too! I wasn't expecting any stellar number of followers, but so far there's been more than I expected.

That isn't a console or platform specific issue, the proper tech to deal with it didn't exist until DX10:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deferred_Rendering

Another rather important disadvantage is that, due to separating the lighting stage from the geometric stage, hardware anti-aliasing does not produce correct results any more: although the first pass used when rendering the basic properties (diffuse, normal etc.) can use anti-aliasing, it's not until full lighting has been applied that anti-alias is needed. One of the usual techniques to overcome this limitation is using edge detection on the final image and then applying blur over the edges.[2] DirectX 10 introduced features allowing shaders to access individual samples in multisampled render targets (and depth buffers in version 10.1), making hardware anti-aliasing possible in deferred shading. These features also make it possible to correctly apply HDR luminance mapping to anti-aliased edges, where in earlier hardware any benefit of anti-aliasing may be lost, making this form of anti-aliasing desirable in any case.

Portal nicely references into the Half-Life universe without actually overlapping into it, which I think is awesome. The nod to Aperture with the mention of the Borealis (cut, of course, from HL2) is nice. But if the two actually cross-pollinate... I'd be really irritated. Portal's a far better spin-off than it would be a mainline HL2 universe title, and HL2 should be able to stand on its own and come to completion (as in Ep3) without needing to pull in Portal.

I went ahead and created a MapCore twitter account: http://twitter.com/mapcore

I was inspired by polycount's new twitter feed and the work they've been highlighting, and figured even though our community is smaller that it might help bring some more exposure to some stellar work here. So, if you're on twitter, follow up... shamelessly retweet and promote stuff... and we'll see if it goes anywhere.

First up is a shout-out for insta's Mission Improbable pack... I'll try to keep highlighting excellent wip and finished work threads as they pop up. Enjoy!

=================================================
MapCore members on Twitter, current to April 8th, 2012:

3Dnj: @3Dnj

AlexM: @InfStateMachine

Campaignjunkie: @radiatoryang
channie: @channie
csyver: @csyver

deceiver: @jobyek

FrieChamp: @friedrichbode
Froyok: @Froyok
Furyo: @froughol

generalvivi: @generalvivi

Hourences: @hourences
HP: @HelderHP

Jake Gilla: @JakeGilla

KungFuSquirrel: @kungfusquirrel

Minos: @leveldesign
Minos: @thiagoklafke

Nysuatro: @Nysuatro

Psy: @aarongarcha

sarge mat: @matseffect
seir: @leveldesign_org
Skjalg: @skjalgsm

Taylor: @tayl1r
Thrik: @thrik

Warby: @soenke_c_seidel

Zacker: @Michael_Zacker
zaphod: @NimbleDave
Zyndrome: @Evstrand


The MapCore LinkedIn group is now over 3 years old and growing strong every day with new MapCore members, industry recruiters and students. By joining the group, you get first hand contact with hundreds of experienced professionals looking to expand their network, share their insight on the games industry, or for their next challenge.

To join the group, simply click on this link : http://www.linkedin....ular=&gid=74499

Hey guys,

LightBox is currently looking to add an additional Game Designer to our team. Here's the rundown:

LightBox Interactive, inc. is an independent game studio founded in January 2009 by former team members of Incognito Entertainment. We're a small and dedicated team of experienced developers that have been making games together for 10 years.

Our team is comprised of members that made significant contributions to the games Twisted Metal:Black, War of the Monsters, Warhawk and all of its expansion packs. We're currently engaged in a multi-year, multi-title partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment America developing games for the PlayStation family of platforms.

We care deeply about all aspects of our craft - from the fun creative process that fuels the development of great games for our fans, to the efficent production practices that ensures the delivery of a great product to our publishers. Our team thrives on its rabid enthusiasm for making AND playing games. It is this passion that helps keep our studio's attentions keenly focused on our game's fun-factor and at the same time, pushes us as a group to break through the barrier of conventional thought.

We have recently moved our studio to Austin, TX, to take advantage of Austin's creative culture and its well established game development community. We offer competitive compensation including Alpha, Beta and Gold bonuses, royalty participation and generous benefits such as 90/10 medical and matching 401K.

-----

Game Designer:

Are you fascinated by the art and science of game design? Are you driven to build games that advance the state-of-the-art? Do you believe that strong games are built on strong communities?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we want to hear from you!

As a Game Designer with LightBox Interactive, you’ll be working with a small, tight-knit team of experienced professionals to design, prototype, and balance single- and multi-player levels and core game systems. You’ll participate in vigorous peer review, iterate and refine your designs, and always look for ways to push the envelope.

Responsibilities:

As a game designer with LightBox Interactive, you’ll be responsible for:

• -Designing and implementing compelling single- and multi-player levels that support a variety of gameplay approaches.
  -Designing and balancing weapons, vehicles, player abilities, and other game systems.
  -Using Lua to implement game rules and mission logic.
  -Thoroughly documenting and communicating your designs to programmers, artists, and production staff.
  -Tightly integrating your designs into the established game fiction and setting.

Requirements:

We’re looking for game designers who:

• -Are proficient and comfortable with Lua: you will be using it every day.
  -Have previous gameplay scripting experience on commercial or independent games and/or finished mods.
  -Have previous game design experience (game systems and mechanics, balancing, etc.) and/or level design experience (concept, layout, and implementation) on commercial or independent games and/or finished mods.
  -Have a strong understanding of fundamental game design concepts: meaningful play, systems, emergence, etc.
  -Are very analytical, detail- and quality-oriented, and comfortable both giving and receiving detailed, constructive criticism.
  -Have very strong written and verbal communication skills, especially the ability to effectively communicate complex game design concepts to non-designers.
  -Are avid gamers across multiple genres and platforms.
  -Are proficient users of Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Visio.

It’s an extra bonus if you have any of the following, but these are not necessarily required:

• -A background in mods and/or indie game development.
  -Familiarity with formal design approaches, such as MDA.
  -Close interaction with established game development communities like IGDA, GameDev.net, or TIGSource.
  -Experience in creative areas beyond game design, either as past work experience or as a hobby.
  -Proficiency with Photoshop and/or Maya.

Submission Info:

If we’ve piqued your interest, please email your resume to jobs@lightboxinteractive.com.

If you have a portfolio of past design work, that’s even better. You can include a link to your online portfolio with your resume, or mail us a Windows-compatible CD/DVD at:

LightBox Interactive


211 E. 7th St. Suite 500


Austin, TX 78701

We have a soft spot for indies and modders, too, so even if all your work has been noncommercial, don’t be afraid to contact us!

-----

Also, if you have any questions about the studio or Austin, please feel free to PM me for more information. Thanks!

Textures are now able to be scaled to values beyond 2 decimal points. Yippee.

Oh, they did fix that? Awesome. That was terrible while I was working on NS2 - I was using everything at .125 and had to constantly re-apply textures on every goddamn face in the whole level. Unbelievable time sink.

This is just a first pass of the basic shapes (the underside of the turntable is still just the dev grid texture) but that's really great feedback. I'd love to see any photos you have - what I've found to work from is ok, but some higher-res stuff would be fantastic.

I'm going to have to take some license with the central platform to make it a viable control point (who knows, it may not be) but some of what you're showing there may also help my concerns about how to make that a reasonable playable space, mainly the sloped outer edge.

Thanks much!

Welcome! This is a great start you've got going here. I like the simplicity you have going here; these shots are definitely going to speak for themselves. Obviously you need to fill out the information section; I also think it'd be good to see even just a little information about each project, but I think you'll have a great setup when you're done.

Welcome, Matt!

This is a great looking site... very elegant, easy to navigate, and all the right information. Nice to see some video links included as well. And, on top of that, you've got some pretty solid looking work to show. I would encourage you to try and get higher quality video captures if you can, but I don't think that needs to be a critical "do it now" update.

Huge improvement! The front page feels a little weird right now (a little off-balance with the smaller images on the left), but I'm sure you can sort that easily. The in-progress stuff and layout images are really great - it's not something I think anyone has to have on a portfolio, but in your case it definitely adds a lot.

Quick tidbit about the new quick-hide feature: Any geometry hidden in this manor is treated as a visgroup, and will NOT be compiled if hidden. Useful, but keep track of what you are and aren't hiding