JorisCeoen

What engine is this?

So, am I understanding this correctly that you have the intention to either: Have CT's be the rival cartel members? Have CT's defend a corrupt cartel organization? Just trying to figure out the plot in CS:GO lore ?

Hopefully you'll be able to nail this theme, because in the years I've been doing projects I've seen countless mappers come up with the proposition of designing that specific temple into CS:GO, and none of them ever made it anywhere ? However, since you've worked on Anubis I have no doubts this project will finally be able to put that inspiration to rest!

As promised, here's the final announcement in case someone actually followed this thread. Today, at 1PM - EST the livestream for Surf Ramps will start right here: https://discord.gg/a6ZByvv

Next Saterday 6th of June at 1PM - EST I'll be hosting a livestream on the Wall Worm Discord channel on how to create Surf Ramps in 3DS Max in a procedural and easy way, and export them in matter of seconds with Wall Worm. Everyone who's interested is free to join the stream! I'll be covering a few things that are specifically aimed at Surf Mapping, and how you can create ramps as they appear in surf_galaxy, surf_greatriver_2015 and surf_snowslide. This includes -but is not limited to- the following: Creating ramps in any shape or form. Keeping those ramps procedural. Preparing the ramps for texturing. Creating collision models that are not buggy. Exporting all the ramps straight from 3DS Max and also export them as a scene directly from Max as opposed to Hammer (just so you know both ways ). There will definitly be room for a few AmA's regarding surf mapping in general, so don't be shy and let me know of any questions you may have! I'll also prepare a few scenes that can be downloaded, and in case you can't make it, the stream will be recorded (most likely by myself but I'll be backed-up by other members as well). Before the stream starts I'll make another announcements here on the day itself. The stream will start taking place here: https://discord.gg/a6ZByvv

If that's your next map... then I believe I will be spending my very last houres in my current map ? that looks phenomenal. Nice work man!

I love how there's a lot of classical influence in the overall soundtrack ? don't see that much anymore these days, let alone in an Indie game! The large orchestral touch is pretty nice ?

Weird. Anubis, surely is unconstestable. After their final additions, I think that map was beyond the scope of any of the entries. But, to me maps like Mutiny and Jingshen (after playing their updates) simply couldn't tip to the quality and required skill-ceiling of maps like Swamp and Mustang. Then again, I'm no judge. And, also, those two maps are amazing entries in their own right. But, in my opinion, if we're talking about what makes a level impressive and what's required to make a design work in the smallest of details, I didn't think maps like Swamp or Musting could fall out of the top 4. I can't speak for gameplay, but I don't think the aforementioned maps had anything in them that could be considered unacceptable of sorts. Once again, I'm no judge. It's just my opinion ? At the end of the day, I'd love to be in the shoes of anybody who made it this far, and unfortunatly I didn't succeed in that. Some of the decisions might also just be granting some people the exposure that they deserve and need, whereas some of the entrants have already had enough footsteps in the professional world. Congratulations to the top-4, and hopefully we'll see some of these entries make it into the game (regardless of the contest results).

Wow, the visibility has improved a few levels up... that's incredible! Nice work guys, and good luck with the finals ?

Well... That pretty much adresses all the issues that I had with the map ? incredible how the map is much more defined now. Congratulations, and best of luck in the finale

Can I ask you how long you've spend developing this map? Congratulations on making it into the game ?

If you've played Left4Dead2 then obviously this brings back great memories of the Swamp level ? there's no denying that it has inspired the artwork to some extent, but it's even more impressive that you were able to find the right assets to combine with the theme, edit them, and apply them in the map so it elevates the overall feel and detail even more than it did back when L4D2 was released. I personally think this entry has the most impressive detailwork to bring the level alive. The small grass, rocks and blend textures all fit into one complete picture that feels realistic and comfortable. The water foliage in particular is amazing, and I'm surprised at the readability and clarity the map has, given its amount of flora. However, it's sad that the map suffers heavily from performance. I'm running a 1050ti and I would be able to comfortably play Anubis or Mustang (and many other entries in the top-10) without problems. Even Cache ran a lot better than Swamp, and that map also has a ton of foliage and swaying. It's a huge bummer, because it drops below 50fps in many places. It's important to hold performance in high regards, because while CS:GO does go with hardware improvements over time, it remains a fact that many people run on a budget when playing Counter-Strike and think of performance as one of the most important factors when choosing to queue in MM or play on dedicated servers. Therefore I think the most crucial working point for this map is to improve the performance. I could literally not even suggest ONE thing to improve the visual quality at this point, so I think you're safe to go all-in to improve the FPS. I'm not sure what exactly FMpone did to improve Cache over time, but one thing he certainly did was limit the amount of foliage props and replace it for blendtextures or something else, to reduce the overall polycount and drawcalls. Or, combine props to reduce drawcalls. Or reduce the amount of shaders that are being used in one space. The one and only tiny suggestion that I can think of (visually), is that the text on the crocodile warning signs feels out-of-place. I don't think any realistic warning sign would say something like 'if you wanna be food then please go into the water' ? keep it in tie with the realism of the visuals. Also, while inventive and fun to experiment with, I'm just not a fan of the slowing down in the water thing. It's hindering flow (obviously the point, but still), and just makes me not wanna enter the water, ever. It basically seals a part of the map that could otherwise be used for good fun. It also makes no sense that the water in Swamp would slow you down, but not in Canals... I guess it's something to think about. As it stands now, though, Swamp would be a deserved third place, almost solely due to the performance issues it is currently facing. Still, it holds up entirely on its own in all the other categories, and I don't see Swamp going anywhere else but the top-3. Congratulations, and good luck crancking up those frames ?!

What can you say, when you have an entry like this... this is just incredible, and a statement to the possibilities of the Source engine even to-date. It feels like Egypt, and the artwork is some of the best in the competition. The amount of work that must have taken this map to completion is insane. I suspect slightly that this map is in development for quite some time, but regardless I think Anubis will end-up being either first or second. The optimization of the map is incredible, and there are no real spots in the map that feel out-of-place. However, while initially I thought Anubis was uncontestably a first-place winner, running in the map currently clarifies one thing that some other maps are much stronger in (for instance, Mustang): You can't ever really focus. Running around, you feel that it's hard to know exactly where to look for, because there's never a prop or detail that gives an indication where connections or angles are. This is quite a strange bummer for now, because it hinders the flow to some extent. It truly is the one and only thing that I feel needs to be worked on at this very moment. I know that readability is an important factor, and this map probably has the best overall color for that, ever. Period. BUT, it feels like Anubis went so far in trying to cather to that feature that the repeated color removes the ability to read or feel the layout comfortably as it stands now. In any event, when you've achieved such advanced progress that you are able to work on that particular aspect, I think that says enough about the quality and sheer potential of a map like this. Congratulations, and best of luck in the finale ?

Since my return from holidays and the top-10 announced, I've finally got the time to run around some of the maps. And, truth be told, when I saw maps like Anubis and Swamp I initially felt like Mustang would fall around third place judging solely from screenshot impressions. However as it stands now I can clearly tell that Mustang is by far the most impressive map in terms of visuals. I think what gives Mustang the edge over all the other maps is just the sheer atmosphere and feeling of actually being there. The colors and fine details in combination with the skybox make it feel like you're up in the mountains, in that cultural town of Nepal. The optimization is also the best out of the three (although Anubis is practically on-par), and the subtle introduction of different colors, details and flora make this entire entry complete and worthy of first place. I love the tree models, and some of the soft edges on the fine woodwork. Very inspiring! Also great remix of some existing Valve-assets (such as the wooden arch of Dust2 CT-spawn for one of the connector gates). I obviously can't speak for gameplay, since I haven't played with players, but I don't think that will be much of a problem. There are definitly enough options for both teams, and the flow of the map is very good. The only 2 small gripes I might have, are some of the rock formations being tough to read against when they're blending in with the same rocks a few ways up (T-spawn), and that the beautiful flags sway a bit too far back-and-forth to my taste. Congratulations! Very jealous of this entry's quality ?

Perhaps try to go for Danger Zone? Massive scale is perfect for that!

I probably should play/open this once I’m back from holidays, but from all the screenshots it (still) looks like it’s incredibly dark, especially the shadows. It has always given me this ‘clamped’ feeling. A bit like the old Aztec. But, other than that it looks great!

All I would really care for is some feedback on what further progress I could make on the map. Feedback about things I might have missed or that caused the map to miss out (not about things missing in the map, which I obviously know about like nodraw spots and no 3D Skybox). Congratulations to the finalists

Historical comments: 28/09/2019 02/02/2020 28/02/2020 02/05/2020 08/05/2020 18/05/2020 04/08/2020 25/08/2020

I knew it ? nice work guys, I really like the theme!

Usually when you have that error, it's due to Steam's workshop itself. Just like they need time for their bots to scan/review your submission, it can take a bit of time before it's definitly live.

Congratulations on winning the contest! ? Oh, wait...

I'm just in the same situation ? I'll have to make amends, but it'll be done I guess!

This is looking incredible! Great job guys ?

I hope you realise zombies in Half-Life 2 already do this?

This is looking pretty cool. Great job guys ?