(WIP) FF_RMayo

[Credge]

Well, I decided to start fleshing out the map I've had on paper for a while as I continue tweaking 5xas. This will also be a journal of sorts of this maps progress. I'll add everything but the initial sketches as I have no way of scanning them and taking pictures of them is lulzy.

Also, please check the entire thread for updates. I'm not just going to edit this post as it would get insanely long.

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Today I started on the map. I fleshed out the basic idea and then tweaked the size a bit. It's currently about where I want it to be, with maybe some flag room size changing and maybe a slight increase in the size of the halls. All in all, an easy change if it's needed.

The first thing I decided to do with this map was to work out a theme as i decided I wanted to do some more 'complex' texture work and environment effects.

So I started with the left entrance hall to the base. It's the second longest hall on the map and I figured it would be a great place to get a theme.

I started off with some pipes, glass, and some ceiling lights. As you can see, it was rather dark, although lighting like this is incredibly awesome for atmosphere in, say, a fun map.



So I lowered the lights a bit and increased the intensity. Sadly, I didn't get the effect I wanted.



As for my third attempt, I tried something different. I took the idea from SirTiger/Gator as I really like floor lighting. The result is a little too bright for my tastes, especially as there will eventually be outside lighting coming in.



I also changed the glass (which you can't actually see in any picture) to a fence, although this will probably change as well. You may notice some steam coming from the pipes. I was rather shocked that my FPS didn't drop as I ran past 8 of them at a time.

I'm still working on creating the right lighting, although that's probably the theme for the map (steampunk-esque). I'll be, literally, rounding out the edges I go using displacement curves... although I may just keep it as is as I sort of like the retro and busy feel of it so far.

I may also deploy some custom textures on the map as FF (and HL2) don't really have any good steampunk textures. The secret to steampunk, it seems, is lots of pipes... which really isn't that big of an issue.

Edit: I'll be editing this post as long as it deals with this hall.



I'm enjoying this a bit more. The lighting is nice and the gunk on the glass texture is on the side that the steam is on.

[פֿяαιп βαмαgεפ]

I really like the first one, it was very eery.

Last one is too bright IMHO.

[GeoKill----->]

Yeah I liked the first one as well, great place for sneaky spies, reminds me of manhunt2. Overall this looks promising so far from what I can see

[Credge]

So here's another hall I've been working on. I can't get the pipe lighting EXACTLY how I want it, but it's coming along decently.



The left pipe is how I want the right pipe, so I'll probably be copying, pasting, and flipping it around.

I also changed the lighting in the entry hall.



Here's the end of the main hall that leads to the FR.



Yeah, the FR is going to have some open sky, but I'm not sure how much yet.

Also, I used Bumgravy and Gators waterfall to make some flowing water that goes down some rocks. It's a bit fast but that shouldn't be a problem. I'll probably go in and edit it some.

NOTE: The following two screens are fugly, but the idea is there.

[fishBurger]

An interesting look, i'm excited for more.

A few suggestions though? When you add your detail and themery, please don't forget the need for fluid movement. Dont let the detail interfere with what should be simple movement, blocking, stumbling, etc.

e.g. the trim on the floor seems like it might clip a scout trying to conc up, out, down, or through this hallway. Try making the detail with textures/decals, or even narrowing them closer to the wall and smoothing them out near the ends.


For recessed areas on the hall like this, add a player clip to smooth out rough edges, so players backpedalling/getting blasted with rockets don't get caught on the corners by the fence.

[Credge]

Everything is lined up perfectly, despite it not looking like it. You can't get caught on anything currently as everything is perfectly flat with everything else =P.

[Doompiggy]

Lights with no source makes Doompiggy a sad panda D:

[BumGravy]

Tip: On the moving textures, change texture scale along the axis the water is travelling to change the "speed", ie small texture scale makes fast water, stretched texture scale makes it look slow. Saves editing the texture files.

[Crazycarl]

All your indoor lighting is way too red. Colored lighting should be used as an accent, not main illumination. Not only is colored lighting ugly and unrealistic, it can make team colors hard to distinguish. You want to make your main lights pretty close to neutral white. That way when you do put in a red light, it sticks out.

If you are looking for a particular lighting effect but the fixtures you have aren't doing it, go ahead and put in some extra light_spots to complete the effect. As long as there are light fixtures in the room, the player won't notice or care that each light entity is next to a light fixture. For example, in the first couple of screens, the light is not bouncing back up to the ceiling very much at all, which makes the corridor very dark. You can subtly place some light spots on the floor, pointing up, to provide a little more illumination.

If you want a steampunk theme, stay away from concrete textures and modern lighting fixtures. Stone and wood would be typical building materials.

[Credge]

Originally Posted by Crazycarl

If you want a steampunk theme, stay away from concrete textures and modern lighting fixtures. Stone and wood would be typical building materials.

Steampunk, generally, consists of concrete and brass.

[פֿяαιп βαмαgεפ]

Nice, nice, very creepy, me likeah

[KubeDawg]

Holy crap I'm loving this current design! Great work! Plus that water effect looks really cool!

[Credge]

I've been working a, very little, bit on my map lately. I've mainly been staring at it, feeling absolutely inept after looking at ff_meltdown. I've also been stumped as to how to make custom rounded pipes (not models, although I finally got my models to work... thanks Jester!) and I figured THAT out as well.

Essentially I used the primitive tool 'torus' and messed with the settings until I got a decent enough looking rounded bit. The biggest problem, though, was that this chunk was absolutely huge in file size.... so I recreated it with nodraw and I'm still in the process of filling in the spaces people will see.

Anywho, here's a picture of what I've done with it thus far.



It's a bit dark as I'm not done with the lighting, however, the idea is there.

The hall in the distance is a bit too dark and too bright red, but that's not my focus currently.

I really don't expect this map to play very well, at least not with the layout I have now. What I'm doing currently is working on my steampunk theme which will be used for various maps in the future.

Also, a question.

I'm wanting to create an underwater base for my next map but, for the life of me, I can't seem to emulate the effect. If I use glass with a water texture on the other side of it... it just looks lulzy. In fact, it doesn't look like it's under water at all. Anyone know how to emulate the underwater look?

[Crazycarl]

I used the torus tool for some pipes in ff_banderas, but it made so many planes that I remade them as a model. It was a great savings especially considering I used it 12 times in the map. You could also do these with displacements, but getting the curve perfect would probably involve moving each vertex one by one into its precise spot. It might be worth it.

Water textures aren't meant to work if they aren't horizontal. The main thing you need for the water look is fog, and you should be able to simulate that with gradient textures and/or particle effects.

[Nuk3m]

RELEASE