[WIP] de_biome

jd40 · February 27, 2018

16 hours ago, FMPONE said:

I'll have more elaborated thoughts on this map in a video that may or may come out soon, but I did want to share some more detailed thoughts on it.

Starting with art, I feel that some of the indoor detailing in this map is a weak-point for it. In such an otherwise fantastic looking map, I notice that many of the indoor assets such as the displacement walls could use some blendmodulate textures that are more appropriate, some textures that feel a bit higher-resolution and satisfying to look at, and some of the props used to seam the ground and the walls feel a bit dated and low resolution. It's a nit-pick, but in a map this good you are left with nit-picking. While we're nit-picking, I feel that moving clouds in the sky might be a nice touch if your FPS can handle it, remember you can disable certain props on lower settings, so for the super-high end users this would be a nice treat.

Further thoughts: there are many areas in this map where railings are covered, such as in T-Spawn. IMO, that's a bad idea because it really limits the ability of CTs to push into spawn for information. I would remove the covers from the rails so that players have unfettered visibility on those angles.

Overall, absolutely thrilled with this one from a gameplay and art standpoint.

Thanks for the feedback! And also big thanks to everyone organizing this contest, it was fantastic.

I agree that the cave rocks should be improved. I'll probably make some rock inset models, similar to the ones from hr dust2.

Now I might as well use this post to share some progress. Haven't got much done since I had finals last month but there's still something.

Upgrades to the swat van to make it fit Africa better:

Replaced the last of placeholder brush/displacement dome parts with models, should give a small fps boost and it looks much cleaner.

Added some construction guide stencil decals to spice up the plaster walls:

ElectroSheep · February 27, 2018

It's an incredible map man, congrats !!

Serialmapper · February 28, 2018

I read FMPONE's feedback, and it's right if you want to make a perfect, flawless map. However, CSGO (source engine) it's not good for a world simulator (as you know, there are way better graphical engines for that), and when the shooting starts, nobody will care if a certain prop it's a little bit low res, or the clouds are moving or not. These details are noticed primarily by other mappers, the majority of the players are interested in gameplay and frames per second. If they like the gameplay that a map delivers, they will play it over and over again even if it looks like CS1.6.

leplubodeslapin · February 28, 2018

Quote

"The neglect of detail destroys the intelligence of the design", my dad

That50'sGuy · April 14, 2018

Congratulations! I think this map definitely deserved to win!

jd40 · June 17, 2018

Update!

Thanks to all the feedback I've received I determined that bombsite A needed a few changes. There are now spots where you can comfortably hold the site without having to worry about getting shot in the back, whereas previously you basically had no chance but to fall back or push somewhere.

Here's a gif showing the changes:

Screenshots of the new bombsite and surroundings:

Spoiler

And here's some other stuff I've updated recently but haven't posted in the thread:

Wingman mode takes place on bombsite B

Spoiler

CT Spawn:

The boost would be too much of a killbox in wingman so I added this staircase which is only spawned in wingman mode.

Other improvements and polish:

Spoiler

Control room and vending machine room:

Inset props for the rock walls:

Edited June 17, 2018 by jd40

poLemin · June 18, 2018

Nice improvements! Looks awesome!

I am not a big fan of that enclosed cubby on A site, but that's a personal opinion. It just feels terribly annoying to clear, since you have to swing around the entire site to check it and people there just need to aim at the entrance. Maybe make it a little bit smaller, so wall spamming is a little bit more reliable for clearing it?

Secondly, I'm a little sad that you kind of copied the bomb site landmark from B to A. By that i mean having this office room overlooking the site. I liked how the sites had two different approaches, both gameplay-wise and visually.

Keep up the good work - Exciting to see more improvements to an already great map!

jd40 · June 18, 2018

3 hours ago, poLemin said:

Nice improvements! Looks awesome!

I am not a big fan of that enclosed cubby on A site, but that's a personal opinion. It just feels terribly annoying to clear, since you have to swing around the entire site to check it and people there just need to aim at the entrance. Maybe make it a little bit smaller, so wall spamming is a little bit more reliable for clearing it?

Secondly, I'm a little sad that you kind of copied the bomb site landmark from B to A. By that i mean having this office room overlooking the site. I liked how the sites had two different approaches, both gameplay-wise and visually.

Keep up the good work - Exciting to see more improvements to an already great map!

Thanks for the tips! definitely something I'll look at in faceit demos.

Viter · June 18, 2018

Love the new changes! Would you ever consider reducing the construction guide stencil's around B? :D It literally looks like they are everywhere and makes the nice walls look a bit messy, especially when you are trying to spot enemies.

Also the "double quad" boxes on A looks nice gameplay wise, but maybe add something other than boxes there? Environment/walls since there's so many boxes around the map?

Played the map a lot and it is 100% my favorite map! Keep it up

jd40 · June 18, 2018

59 minutes ago, Viter said:

Love the new changes! Would you ever consider reducing the construction guide stencil's around B? It literally looks like they are everywhere and makes the nice walls look a bit messy, especially when you are trying to spot enemies.

Also the "double quad" boxes on A looks nice gameplay wise, but maybe add something other than boxes there? Environment/walls since there's so many boxes around the map?

Played the map a lot and it is 100% my favorite map! Keep it up

Thanks! I do think the map could do with another visibility pass, but never thought those little decals would be a problem. Thanks for bringing it up. As for A, I could replace some boxes with chemical tanks.

Definitely gonna wait to see how it all plays out on the faceit tournament before changing the art.

RadimaX · October 10, 2018

in this spot the the weapons falls trough the map at the bottom edge of the gate and if people die or nades roll off the map you cannot save them for next round, haven't tried with the C4 yet:

Edited October 10, 2018 by RadimaX

jd40 · October 10, 2018

12 hours ago, RadimaX said:

in this spot the the weapons falls trough the map at the bottom edge of the gate and if people die or nades roll off the map you cannot save them for next round, haven't tried with the C4 yet:

Nice catch, I always forget this prop has no collisions on the bottom

That50'sGuy · October 11, 2018

Congrats on getting this map into the game officially!

Serialmapper · October 15, 2018

jd40 · September 7, 2023

It's been a while but here's an update:

I've been working on the CS2 upgrade. Mainly using this to finally learn the tools and I gotta say the new tools are great fun. A little daunting at first but easier to pick up than I thought initially.

So what are the changes?

Did a materials pass so everything looks good and shiny in cs2
Color coded the "samey" indoor areas so they stand apart more.
Upgraded some rock displacements into models

What's next?

Some more art polish/iteration
Possibly some layout changes on A, I'm not a fan of how unintuitive the A bombsite feels right now, I've seen too many people try to plant at the pillar instead of the crates.