WIP in WIP, post your level screenshots!

[Bic-B@ll]

dding ding ding. looks awesome

it looks like it should be a little wider though?

[Tequila]

Pegasus Bridge, yeeees. I've got a good book on it by the Band of Brothers guy, Stephen Ambrose.

Looking mighty so far.

[teeluu]

I love the muddy look of the water, how's it done? Does it just blend to muddy texture on the displacement or what?

[Ginger Lord]

Just a mud texture blend, plus one of the stock HL2 waters. The bridge is accurate dimensions in width and length (within 12") and not checked the height but it seems right. The pic you posted Bic isn't the original bridge.

[Bic-B@ll]

i know, it's the saome location though it just looked too narrow in your picture.

[mabufo]

I haven't been working long - but this is a map I am making so I can learn to control NPC characters. It's suposed to be a subway station - that happens to be based off of a real location known as 'woodhaven' in new york. (which you will see below)

the map:

the real location:

My questions are: How can I make mine look more like the real thing - and how can I make mine better in general? I have not added any fine detail yet - so aobviously the ligting isn't final either - but tips are, and will be apprechiated.

[MJ]

finish the actual subway section, use white/light blue lights instead of the dark color you have now, add dirt, papers etc like in hl2. You should scale it down some, yours looks way wider then the picture.

[Fletch]

first off, squeeze down your horozontal scaling in your screenshot. Your platform area is too wide, which will just end up making everything else overscaled.

second, play with decals and overlays to get a nice grit going

third, add a railing for that stairwell.

[mabufo]

Thanks for the tip guys - I'll post an updated shot once I get some significant progress. I'll add in plenty of gritty detail. So far, I've shrunk the platform and added brush based railings and whatnot to the stairs.

[von*ferret]

honestly in such a basic scene like that, lighting is going to be key in creating the right mood and making it realistic. So focus on lighting after improving the geometry of the scene. Like fletch pointed out.

[THE Phreak]

From experience, if you're gonna even try to do a Resident Evil based map, make sure it looks as complex as the game levels did.

I think that is asking a little much when the games set in Raccoon City all used prerendered background Not that you can't give it your best shot obviously, but I think matching the complexity of some of scenes is a little optimisitic.

No, it's not.

[skdr]

honestly in such a basic scene like that, lighting is going to be key in creating the right mood and making it realistic. So focus on lighting after improving the geometry of the scene. Like fletch pointed out.

Yeah, I came here to say the same thing. Need strong shadows and better light control.

[michi.be]

im missing small details and some shadows in their. it looks to ambient lighted.

[SKULLHOZER]

Wonderfully recreated. I wonder though, can the bridge be raised (in-game)?

[Tequila]

From experience, if you're gonna even try to do a Resident Evil based map, make sure it looks as complex as the game levels did.

I think that is asking a little much when the games set in Raccoon City all used prerendered background Not that you can't give it your best shot obviously, but I think matching the complexity of some of scenes is a little optimisitic.

No, it's not.

Oh, but it really is. If you take even the most rudimentary look at old RE game backgrounds, such as RE2 and 3, there's more detail there than in ANY game. And Capcom can afford such detail, since it's all prerendered.

To even come close to emulating that level of detail, you'd need hundreds upon hundreds of custom props, textures, decals etc.; a quality and quantity of assets beyond all but the professional developers.

And THEN, if by some miracle you can get all the assets in place, managing performance will be a nightmare.

It's just not viable.