JackT

The update just before Faceit mapcore hub week with de_Echolab!
Basic-art (whiteart) is done in ~35% of the map. 
Layout changes comparing to last Mapcore stage 1 hub week:
-Heaven A added
-Vent B retake added
-Bridge mid ct top removed
-CT A-> top mid -> B route modified
-and tons of minor changes like; clippings/covers/angles/timings so on, so on...
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3239216729





Thanks for constructive feedback and hours which you have already spent on that map guys. Appreciate!

Another update on the texture work, but first heres how the skybox is currently looking, still gotta fix fog and transparency, but overall almost done.

Next up heres some progress shots of the graffiti in the map, yeah lots of it. To get a decent variety of graffiti, I ended up mixing from CS:GO, Half Life Alyx and texture sites, edited to all have a blue tint.

One potential problem with this amount of graffiti is visibility, and surprisingly; it's fine.

Continuing on with graffiti, I also wanted to integrate gameplay information into them; arrows and a blanantly obvious "PLANT HERE".

 

G'day, again.
Currently working on my map 'Vandal', a Wingman map set in the Land Down Under.
 
Heres an overview of the map so far.

Also heres a screenshot of it to gawk at while you're here.

Infact, heres a bloody gallery of screenshots.
https://imgur.com/a/Tt5Tbif
Oh, and heres the workshop page too if thats your fancy.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2789383372
(It might be outdated...)

Small art guide update and trying to put it in the map bit by bit to get a vision of how the map will look.

It's been a while since we posted a proper update here but a lot has changed in the last two months.
 - B site has received a full rework
 - rotations are faster and simpler
 - mid was reworked to make it fair and fun
 - outside A now has a tunnel connecting it directly to B site
The version shown here should be live by tonight and we are hoping to finalize the layout soon.
Feedback is, as always, very welcome and maybe I'll see some of you in the next playtest ?
Radar:
Screenshots:
 

Did some significant improvements to Middle/Bombsite B, because I didn't like the original look.

Added more cover to Middle because a few people said it should. I also reduced the amount of props because it didn't look as good.

The 3D skybox I originally added was quite boring, it was literally just black mountains. This update improves that.
 
There was also a bunch of FPS increases all across the board thanks to actually optimising the map properly.

Little update again...

Replaced thick as fuck walls with sheet metal, still need to brighten up this area though.

Moved the car, because stairs are for people? (And they're clipped now :D)

After careful consideration... wall, with arrow.

finally found something that worked for the weird shaped blockout
 
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2401850892

Updated the workshop with some more shit.
For this update, I worked mainly on the T-Spawn to Bombsite A lane, trying to build up the greybox-ing for this area.

Instead of some more boulders, I removed them and added a power station to the facility, this will change the angles from "Truck" to "Nest".
 
Still got lots to do though 
 

Our first slot on the mapcore hubs is over and we've got a lot of feedback regarding various areas around the map.

Right now, we are working on an update which will be playable on the hubs on march 30.
Here are some sliders that show our progress so far. (Please let me know if there is a better way to embed those on the forums).
https://imgsli.com/NDU1ODc
https://imgsli.com/NDU1ODk
https://imgsli.com/NDU1OTA
https://imgsli.com/NDU1OTE
https://imgsli.com/NDU1OTI
https://imgsli.com/NDU1OTM
https://imgsli.com/NDU1OTU
https://imgsli.com/NDU1OTc
https://imgsli.com/NDU2MDA
 
Cheers!

We released another small update and tweaked some things just in time for our slot on the mapcore faceit hubs.

 
A big thank-you to all the playtesters! The feedback from last week's match made us change the connector in a way that hopefully gives CTs a stronger position against rushing Ts.

 
We added a pillar to the upper canal area for more cover.


 
We also went wild with walltags to help with communication and feedback.

 
Thanks for reading. Have a nice day.

Update time!
Finished the blockouts, and did a lighting pass. Now onto my favorite part: Texturing
 

I finally got around to packaging up all the models I made and/or modified (with perms) for cs_orion.
 The custom materials made for brushes/displacements are not included as I do not have the proper permission to distribute those.
Some models aren't great so I'm providing them as-is. I won't fix anything but you are free to contact me on Discord (Squidski#9545) if you have any questions about how I did things or why.
You are free to use these for all non-commercial purposes provided you give me credit in the description, for any commercial usages contact me. A final note, some things in the VMF are scaled up for better viewing, some things have multiple skins, and 90% of the things that are just solid white are tintable. Go crazy and make cool stuff.
 
Google Drive download link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FrjGU40lf5Odq8lhtQZkkYBiu56issQj/view?usp=sharing

If anyone downloaded before this message, I had forgot to include a model and have now updated the download link (at 1:44pm EST)

I'll get a scene with whatever I want modeled, and save as a VMF like youre making an instance in hammer. Then import that vmf through wallworm model tools in 3dsmax, then export the objects as an fbx and bring that into Maya. Then export the fbx from maya back into 3dsmax to compile as a model to bring into source.
Also helps to get a scale of something you want in hammer to the units there, I made those modular ceiling pieces to scale from hammer brushes, (16x16, 64x64, 128x128)
 
Hammer Vmf -> 3dsMax Wall Worm Import -> Export as FBX to Maya -> Export as FBX to 3dsMax -> Import FBX and export QC model to Source

Update time!
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2326921664
 
We've had another playtest and changed some things around acordingly. Thanks again for all the feedback we got in the past weeks!
 
The big change this time is the area leading from the canal to the A site. We needed to separate the paths and do some trimming. We also thought a freight yard might fit this part of the map.


 
The canal also saw some changes. There is a bit more cover now and there will propably be more of it in future versions. For the connector we are trying a non self-boostable solution.


 
We've enlarged the CT-heaven and added a ladder. This should cut down on rotationtimes between sites.


 
The radar

 
We're excited for the next playtests. Have a nice day!

@esspho has been working on changes from our first Mapcore playtest including a new design for outside A (thanks @Roald for the suggestions!) while I've been working on and off on bombsite B's main attraction.
Should be ready for another playtest soon!

thanks, first player camera 

first of all happy christmas everyone!,

So after making pithead which got 9th in the wingman competition, i wanted to have a bigger challenge.
so i decided to make a 5v5 with @Ynel  we started 4 days ago and we have made some good progress already!

de_maar is set in norway close to a maar, where you can see auroras etc, our goal is to have a nice warm/cozy looking village.
while having great gameplay

some wip shots (some models are still placeholders)
 
I hope you will enjoy them!!!

some more pics 

Yeah makes sense. Guess I'll come back to this idea later. In the meantime, some bomb site impressions:

Hey everyone,
Here are all the assets from Anubis + a zoo file. Unfortunately some of the models aren't complete or really useful. I meant to clean everything up a bit before doing this, but I haven't gotten around to it and I figure it's better to just put it up now than keep delaying. Hopefully I find the time to come back and fix some of these up later on.
Anyways, here ya go: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ryx5i5ssab1d569/anubis_source.zip?dl=0
 
Also, please let me know if something in the zoo is missing from the files and I'll upload it asap.

As I mentioned above, I thought it would be fun to post some early blockout shots, and then post some final shots and talk about some of the design choices behind them. If people enjoy this, I can post a few more.
Bomb A Changes
After multiple playtests I identified a few problems with how bombsite A was playing, and how players perceived the spaces they were flowing through. In the old version, players would come down around this bend here, and be presented with option of ducking into this building to take a more protected, but tightly choked route, or they could try and work their way through the street choke and into the bombsite. The street opening here didn't have large cover, so this required a smoke or you would be destroyed by snipers. The less obvious thing that was occurring here was that players felt they were not aware they were transitioning into a bombsite/contested zone. Because you were walking down streets to get here without any changes in spaces, players did not perceive the immediate threat that was waiting around this corner. After some thought, I realized I could create a better choke point , add better cover from snipers, and create a clear delineation of spaces by adding a tunnel with vehicle cover. This also fit well with the aesthetic of Edinburgh. This would however end up impacting the secondary route that players always took into the bombsite. More on that below.


 
As I mentioned above, players would go through the structure's interior, and be spit out at the back of the bomb site. This had its pros and cons. However, the one thing it did allow was for Terrorists to rush this point at a much faster rate than the CT's had time to deal with. In an effort to allow CT's better timing to both bomb sites, some work went in to slowing down the terrorist by just a second or 2. This also allowed me to build a courtyard that would be a bit more memorable than just an interior hallway. This also made the approach into A more interesting, especially when I did an overhaul on the bombsite in later iterations.


 
When I started this level, I had a few core ideas I wanted to execute on. One of these ideas was how I wanted to go about differentiating the bomb sites. I knew I wanted one bomb site to be an interior or more close quarters fight, and the other to be a bit more open and long range. Possibly open enough that it might even be a bit uncomfortable for Counter Strike. Originally Bomb A was down in this recessed patio space. While I thought it may be interesting to fight down into this space, or hunker down to cover this area, it only took a few playtests to show me I was wrong. First, this spot became a grenade pit. You could almost guarantee that you were going to get 1 or more nades thrown at you here. Second, the recess made a lot of the fights kinda gross. You were trying to fire over the railings, and the players who were on the street above, you could only see their heads. The space really wasn't playing out the way I wanted. I had the idea to raise it up instead of the recess, and this turned out to be a much better choice. This got rid of the strange angles, cleaned up the fire fights, and made the space a bit easier to navigate through. 


 

@esspho doing some greybox work ❤️