tr0nic

Map went through some changes. Here's new look of the map:

Hey all! I always worry about seeming spammy, so I'll try to keep this casual and simple ... Unity has a serious lack of focus on Level Design, and I want your help to fix it. Actually, I'd say most game engines these days have this issue ... but I'm only going to poke at the company I work at, for the moment  
Thing is, having been at Unity for about 4 years now ... honestly it's amazing people and they do care. But ... there is very little representation for Level Design. This was always pretty clearly evidenced by the lack of basic tools and helpers for level work, and was the reason I made Grids, Groups, and ProBuilder long ago. Now, I - we, the entire team actually - want to do much, much better. Starting now, it looks like we finally have the timing, team, and opportunity to build a ground-up level design toolset, and we're EXCITED!
So, we need level designers in 2 ways:
UX research - to start, we have a big hope - raw data, so a few hours or more recording of your process during a day of work. This is immensely better than biased/leading questions and feature-focused discussions ... though of course we're totally happy to do shorter interviews and such if that's all you have time or ability for. Many thanks for anything you can provide! Apply and join Unity! There are always tech art, and even some UX positions, that I think would be great options. Nothing against prop artists, animators, etc ... but the tasks and problems just aren't the same, I think Unity needs more level design focused people internally. Could be a start! I hope this ok to post here, and I hope this catches some interest! For me, it's always been the dream to have a full-featured toolset in Unity, hopefully it starts here. Also, ask me anything if you like, I'll reply whatever I legally (and morally) can!  Thanks for looking, and for all the great inspiration as I've lurked here over the years ...

Released another update w/ many fixes, improvements, yadayada, this will be the last greybox version until the full release on Christmas Day. In the meantime here are some more progress screenshots.

 
19/12 Even more screenshots.

This map is now officially part of the Team Fortress 2 Scream Fortress XIII Halloween update.

Previous Winners and Runners Up!
 
 

"Get to the choppa!"
A man is being held hostage in his mansion located in the Swedish skerries.
Secure him and bring him to one of the TWO rescue zones to call in the chopper.
Keep the landing zone clear and extract the hostage!
Made for the 2020 Source Engine Discord Wingman Contest
TEAM
Fnugz | Gameplay
MadsenFK | Art
Andi | Models

SHOUTOUTS
Yanzl | Mapping hotline
ZooL | Grand vscript wizard
Terri | ❤️ 
The People of Mapcore.

Additional Credits
Yanzl | Making and sharing the majority of the assets used
Skybex | A few assets

WORKSHOP LINK





 
MOOD BOARD

I took a break from my csgo map because inspiration hit me and i just couldn't help myself, i had to make this beauty in halo forge, it's called Fantasia and is inspires by Ori and the will of the wisps, and a stage in ssbm fountain of dreams

 

Been on my new job since 6 or 7 weeks now. It's faaaaar way more interesting from all I did during 1 year and a half on my previous one. It was a though move as it took a lot of time to change as I had to make another visa but it was for the best.
 
You know, you move to another country for some fresh air and because your wife reaaally want to but you just took the first job that comes because you are sick of a year of failed tests and interviews. Then you are in another country, stuck in a job you dislike since the first month because of a closed work permit and 25 000 dollars to reimburse if you leave. The feeling that your career and your skills are not growing, you make friends but, well, even if I like them a lot, I miss my coworkers from Arkane sooo much it hurts.
Then this fucking COVID and you have to work from home on a game that is not looking good but you do all you can while keeping your baby at home because daycare is closed and your wife, having an important job, can't work at home. It was a harsh and very depressive times but I kept the pain inside because I made my wife very happy and my baby will have a waaaay more interesting childhood than mine, and also because of all the shits that happened this year, it nothing really, some people are having worse, I would have been a fucking crybaby.
 
But I had this little question in my mind, did I really made the right decision ?
 
Now I'm happy, even if I'm working at home, I'm working with cool people, we talk a lot on discord, the kid is in daycare, we are moving on a bigger condo where I will have an office (won't work anymore in the bedroom, yeah !) even if will will miss the area we are living right now. And I like my job ! It's cool, interesting, not perfect of course, but well paid and I will learn a lot. Well I will learn and do what my previous company promised me when they took me in an interview, those fucking liars !!! (even the job daycare was a lie, seriously !) I"m just happy of all the shit this company has to take now (but I hope good people won't be to much in trouble also). Never again.
 
tl;dr :
My life, after a strange turn, is finally going in the right direction. 

What is this?
    This is a simple roadmap of my optimization papers/articles for any newcomers to Source optimization or for folks who would like to further strengthen their knowledge about the subject. The goal eventually is to produce solid, well optimized maps.
I keep seeing some simple questions being asked such as “what’s a hint brush and what does it do? Where do I place an areaportal? I also see many confusion and misconceptions about Source optimization on topics such as visleaves and PVS. Many folks contact me saying “hey, I read your paper/article X but I missed/wasn’t aware of your paper Y, Z, U, V…which is an additional reason of having this roadmap in one place for people to use for navigation through the different hoops of Source optimization.
The roadmap
Think of this roadmap as a course syllabus depicting the various topics and logical progression of the course, in this case, Source optimization.
1- Man vs Engine
This is a comprehensive paper covering the process of optimization in the Source engine and providing a systematic approach to be used for winning your optimization battles.
This paper should be the first step in your optimization course and it shouldn’t take you more than an hour on a slow evening to finish the read. It is a good idea to keep the Valve developer community wiki open if you need to look up the definitions of any terms that you come across in the paper (to be on the safe side, read the entry related to visibility optimization which contains all the keywords definition like hints, areaportals, etc…).
2- Optimization Testing in Source Engine
It’s a technical paper tackling the issue of methodically testing the frame rate and optimization system in the Source engine.
This should be the second read after Man Vs Engine to get a solid grasp of map performance testing.
Practical work: test the average fps using the timedemo technique on a map of yours (or a stock map if you do not have a finished map yet). Practice all the testing console commands that I gave in the paper to become familiar with them. 3- Demystifying Source Engine Visleaves
This is an article in which I explain Source visleaves in layman's terms to allow beginners and veterans alike to understand the cornerstone of source optimization.
After the first 2 papers being more hands-on and practical, this 3rd read in the roadmap is more on the theoretical side to allow one to fully understand the inner workings on Source’s BSP and visleaves systems.
4- Source Engine PVS - A Closer Look
This is an in-depth technical article where I delve into more details about the PVS creation and visibility calculation and their implication on optimization in the Source engine.
This 4th read is a natural follow up to the previous article and will cement your intimate knowledge of Source engine.
5- Common Misconceptions in Source Engine Optimization
It’s an article in which I identify common misconceptions in Source engine optimization process to help demystify some optimization “myths” and bust them once and for all, thus allowing designers to avoid the costly pitfalls that could hinder their maps’ optimization setup.
This 5th step in the roadmap should come as an easy read once you understood the previous 2 steps (visleaves and PVS)
6- Hints about Hints - Practical guide on hint brushes placement
This is a technical article in which I showcase how I think about and approach hints placement in Source engine and how I systematically proceed with hint brushes with practical examples.
With the theoretical side taken care of in the 3 previous steps, it’s now time to dive into the technicalities of using hint brushes properly and efficiently, and this article will amply show that.
Practical work: make a small test map where you can test the different hinting techniques that I showcased in the article. Make a version with hints and one without and test in-game using mat_leafvis and mat_wireframe console commands to see hints live in action. 7- Practical guide on areaportals placement
It’s a technical article that deals with the systematic placement of areaportals in the Source optimization process. This is the 2nd article in the "practical placement guide" series.
As with the previous step, this one dives deeply into proper areaportal placement with solid examples.
Practical work: make a small test map where you can test the different areaportals techniques/locations that I showcased in the article. Make a version with areaportals and one without and test in-game using r_drawportals, mat_leafvis, and mat_wireframe console commands to see areaportals live in action. 8- Practical guide on occluders placement
It’s a technical article that tackles the systematic placement of occluders in the Source optimization process. This is the 3rd and final article in the "practical placement guide" series.
Occluders have always been a grey area and a big question mark for a lot of designers, and this article will clearly showcase how to practically proceed with them in your map, if needed.
Practical work: make a small test map where you can test the different occluders techniques/locations that I showcased in the article. Make a version with occluders and one without and test in-game using r_visocclusion, r_occlusion, and mat_wireframe console commands to see occluders live in action. 9- Comparative fps study in Source Engine Optimization System
This is an in-depth article where I showcase the clear difference between having a solid optimization system and not having one in a Source engine map. The article will have plenty of numbers, for a complete comparative study that shows the frame rate variation with and without the optimization system in place.
If you have read and followed this roadmap closely, then you are now ready to witness and understand the importance of a good optimization system and the consequences of not having an effective one on the overall frame rate.
Practical work: In one of your maps, uncheck the visgroups of hints/areaportals/occluders in Hammer and save it under a different name. Compile it on final settings then compare the fps with the original version that had all the visgroups enabled to see the difference. 10- Source FPS Cost of Cheap and Expensive Assets
It’s a short technical article that compares the frame rate cost of cheap vs. expensive assets in Source engine optimization.
In the same spirit of the previous step, this one shines the spotlight on the cost of expensive assets so one doesn’t go wild while using them in their map, at the risk of considerably affecting frame rate.
11- Displacement Vs. Func_detail - A comparative fps study
It’s a short technical article that aims at comparing the frame rate of func_detail vs. displacement in the context of the Source engine and the repercussion on their usage in maps.
12- Optimizing An Open Map in Source Engine
This is a technical article that showcases how to tackle optimizing open maps in Source engine.
 
Conclusion
The roadmap presented above should cover “optimization 101” through “501” courses and cater for a broad range of Source engine users. There are no more reasons for one to feel confused and “not sure where to start/look” when it comes to Source optimization.
If after reading and experimenting with all the above you still have some questions about optimization, then feel free to post here and I’ll try my best to help.
Once you finish all the reading with all practical work, please pass by my office so I can schedule your final exams.
Happy reading
 

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OoG0Ob ???

Most important thing to mention is that in the average round you will have four terrorists doing all this checking against one or two ct players. This gives the terrorist team a great advantage in firefights because they can easily trade if any player goes down. Additionally, you can have different players checking different spots on the site, meaning that all of these positions will be cleared in mere seconds.
Bomb site takes (and retakes) are ALWAYS the moments your players will value the most. In a single moment, the fate of the round is decided as players exert themselves to push their team closer to victory. The push through a chokepoint onto a site is the most important design of any good counter strike map. Most other things on the level must than be built to add more importance to the choke point. What areas of the map do teams need to control to stop or mount a push? What space do we give players to set up before going in (on either side)? How do players get to the chokepoint in the first place?
A counterstrike level is about exploring and exploiting the level to gain a firm grip on your chokepoints, and then blasting through them to secure victory against the other team. It's important to remember that the defending team should also gain something once they push through a chokepoint. Usually this is flanking options and rotation paths against the enemy team, but this could also be intel on where the enemy team isn't.
A good chokepoint is also usually not just a single doorframe or hallway. My two favorite examples are A long and catwalk on Dust 2. As the defending team is pushed back, they get multiple safe areas (corners) that they can duck into in order to try and stop a push. The enemy team also gains cover positions that allow them to hold their newly gained ground and push defenders away from the next safe area.
TLDR
In summary, when creating a chokepoint you shouldn't focus on making it work in a 5v5 scenario with no utility, because no one will ever be playing your map that way. Make developed paths with planned cover positions along them. Make interesting set up areas that allow teams to take a breath before getting into a fight. Create positions that are exposed and hard to get to, but can allow a team to swing the round if they take the risk of taking that ground. Perfecting these areas is what will make your map interesting to players, because these areas are what create those amazing clutch moments that players will remember.

Finally, our long national nightmare is over. We can once again update our maps using workshop_publish.

Hey you can self boost on A 
https://clips.twitch.tv/TrappedEnchantingJellyfishTwitchRaid

Additional gameplay changes:
- We improved the flow in apartments as it is a high traffic area and a crucial point of contention.
- Added car in T streets to provide additional cover for Ts against aggressive mid CT pushes.
- Moved truck outside B and clipped it.
- Clipped Bombsite A truck.
- Reduced Bomb blast radius.

progress update on bg map, now in action
 

WIP background map for Map Labs competition mod

Introducing my latest map set in Cusco, Peru.  
While my first map de_neighbors was born out of a desire to turn a real location into a playable map, I knew I wanted to take a different approach for my next project, specifically one that was born out of good gameplay--the one thing that truly matters. Now that I've experienced a full development cycle (with the exception of making custom assets) and have honed my process, I decided I wanted to do this right and start with an idea.
I had a few ideas:
A curved mid A connector that converges with a main entrance to a bombsite site A bombsite that Ts have a vice grip on, but if CTs were to gain control of it, they would put serious flanking pressure on the Ts. A bombsite that CTs could choose to hold proper or push out towards the main routes early to gain more map control before the first encounter.                                                   So I began with some simple pathway flows for the map.



I finally landed on a flow that incorporated a number of these ideas. Throughout this process I wasn't concerned with figuring out the exact shape of the routes or specific angles. It was more about establishing the general relationship between the routes. Once that got ironed out, I built a general layout in hammer. I then took the simple routes I had and bent and twist them in thoughtful ways to create interesting angles and to adjust timings. I tested the map very frequently, so frequently that I would say I designed the map through playing. I ran around thinking through scenarios, where I wanted to move, where I wanted cover, etc.. I imagined attacks on bombsites, the approaches and how I would want to move throughout the bombsite if I were defending and trying to stay alive as long as possible. I crafted the map angle by angle with the guiding principle of creating as much complexity as I could with the fewest elements possible. CSGO players are really good at breaking new maps, which is why I try to break my map as I'm designing it. The best way I've found is to test it as much as possible. The slightest change could have a cascading effect across the entire map. A silly double boost could break your whole map if you don't catch it early. And you don't want to have to comprise your art later on.
After dozens of iterations, my notebook doodle eventually turned into this:

 
The map was built on gameplay, but I kept my theme in mind throughout. To convey Cusco properly, I knew the map had to have a lot of outdoor areas, some streets, and iconic architecture like the city's stunning cathedrals. This was all very loose in my mind as I was building the layout, but it help keep design decisions in check. Since i wanted to have streets, I knew certain routes had to be a certain size at minimum to be believable. I made sure any indoor areas could believably be shaped into a house or commercial building. Again, all very loose and vague. I didn't want the layout to be too compromised by theme so early. I was more willing to retrofit the architecture to the idea. I must admit it was scary at first, but as I continued and I started pulling some art references, I found things started to just fall in place. The deeper I searched, the more architecture I found that suited the geometry I had built. Over time the map began to separate into distinct areas. 
 
Mood Board

It behooves you as a map designer to get as immersed in your theme as you can. I spent hours just traveling around google maps looking for inspiration. And each time I did, I would return to my greybox with new ideas, new angles and new architecture for what areas could be. It's still evolving.
I particularly loved the variety of doors around Cusco.

The greybox will be ready for playtesting very soon (with screenshots to come).
Let me know your thoughts so far! 

fck fmpone

And it's officially out on Steam now! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1274450/Bear_Party_Adventure/

Yeah i think Better Call Saul is one of the best shows ever written, at least among the shows i've watched. I'm not the only one:
Haven't started S5 yet, just wanted to have a few episodes available cos i would often binge two-by-two.
I need to return to Mr Robot, but I'm waaay back, I watched a couple episodes of S2 last year and never continued.
Suggestions:
You could try Startup (Amazon at least in UK), I liked S3 the best I think. I only watched a couple episodes and always wanted to go back to Halt and Catch Fire, to stay on the IT theme.
For the crime genre, have you watched Ozark? New season in a few days.
There's The Outsider I'm watching atm, it's from Stephen King.

Over 10 years since I watched The Wire, still think about it sometimes. Great show

Mr. Robot finale! This is one of the best shows..

I'm currently watching Better Call Saul Season 5 and it's fantastic!

I Also burned through all 5 seasons of The Wire in early 2020. One of my favorite shows of all time. Great mix of police work, gangsta action, politics, drugs, sex and burner phones!

Keep the suggestions coming! I suspect we'll all have a lot of time on our hands in the coming months...

Mr. Robot finale! This is one of the best shows..

I'm currently watching Better Call Saul Season 5 and it's fantastic!

I Also burned through all 5 seasons of The Wire in early 2020. One of my favorite shows of all time. Great mix of police work, gangsta action, politics, drugs, sex and burner phones!

Keep the suggestions coming! I suspect we'll all have a lot of time on our hands in the coming months...