Dark maps

[o_nitro?]

Is it me or do some maps (Well, crossover and Rock2) look extremely dark? I don't know how other people feel about it but I don't like playing in those maps.

Just look at cs. Dust is mainly played cause it has a great feeling around it created by the light sand.

[o_toffee]

yeah can see where your coming from, I hope they have a good mix come release time. maps like Uno and hunted, from the limited number of screenshots Ive seen look less doom and gloom than a lot of the others...

I do agree that although the architechure in the likes of well is amazing, lighting could be notched up a bit more

[o_kam]

Would look fine in game... if not turn your gamma up.

[o_valk]

why would the devs make the maps dark to the point of ruining gameplay?

..what kam said

[o_ekim]

I think the reason dust/dust2 are widely played is the layout.

[o_ghost]

Yea, what ekiM said. I very much doubt the reason dust is played so much is because of the sand color.

As for the darkness, the devs are experienced TFC players so I'm sure it won't be so dark that it'll hamper gameplay.

[o_kam]

Except Defrags maps.

[o_fresh]

If dust2 has exactly the same layout, but had a roof and a dark industrial look I think it would be much less popular.

The likes of well should be the darkest maps, the only other maps that are darker will be the ones made by the non-dev community.

[o_ghost]

Then you wouldn't be able to call it dust, unless the building wasn't cleaned for a while

I dunno, I guess you can't really say. I just think the layout has more to do with it then the colors. It's easy to learn and plays fairly well.

What if you asked the opposite question? What if you had a map set in a setting like dust but the layout was just horrible and confusing?

The well pics still aren't nearly as dark as half the maps made for TF. It was nice for building SG's in dark corners or feigning death in a dark corner. But with gamma settings it's pointless to try and design a map to use lighting in that way since the way the lighting looks will be different on each computer.

I'm not sure if you are using a CRT or an LCD monitor, but usually LCDs will display the picture a little bit brighter than a CRT.

[o_tennovan]

Originally Posted by Fresh

If dust2 has exactly the same layout, but had a roof and a dark industrial look I think it would be much less popular.

I dunno, aztec is dark/gloomy and is raining yet its one of the most popular maps. I don't think it has anything to do with colors or brightness (aztec and dust/2 are all pretty boring as far as that goes) but rather layout and playability.

[o_ambex]

There is nothing wrong with dark maps.. I like dark maps and i love the night, dustbowl is a light map with sand in every corner and is half made of rocks.

I don't know why sand maps are popular..

[Jiggles]

Rock2 should be pretty dark. At least in the yard.

[o_ambex]

Originally Posted by Jiggles

Rock2 should be pretty dark. At least in the yard.

Yup there, but I'm afraid so the sentry gun will be immortal and hard to see in the darkness so..

[o_loyus]

I couldn't agree more with you. One major mistake Q3F/ETF made imo, is the unfriendly cold looking maps : they are mostly depressing / hostile environnements and you quickly want to quit the game and take some fresh air.

Valve made friendly maps with a strong identity : 2forts is bright, warm, appealing, and even when you reach the basement you don't feel like in some gothic folk's ass. Btw, Quake 3 remembered us that Gothic style is not about gloomy environnements.

Seriously :



You don't even have to expand the pictures to know where you really want to play. Notice that the most popular maps are often the warm ones (de_dust, de_aztec, 2forts...), and to have played CS since beta 2, I can tell you that nearly all the dark maps were eradicated from the official mapcycle. The reason is that nobody (and especially the newbies) want to play such "unfriendly" and cold environnements.

To me, the current shots of Well (and some other maps) show a gorgeous but pale chick, waiting for some sun and make up to be really appealing.





(I would add that the FF screenshot suggests some kind of "shit pool" under the bridge, that brown color...). I hope FF map designers will make their maps more friendly and "warm" in some way (colors ! lights !), because they have a truely great potential (and because it would also help with FF popularity imo).

btw Eat : you're the one who made chimkey... Wich has a great environnement (great textures and lighting), one of the best I've seen on custom maps. I wonder if the lack of textures is the main explaination of such darkness and grey here in HL2 engine. Your FR is already far better than what we have seen on ETF/Q3F, nothing comparable, but still a bit grey and dirty water color...

[o_puppychow]

im sure all will be addressed via internal playtesting. and you really cannot tell anyways from screenshots alone.

[o_ambex]

You're right, people like light!

[o_loyus]

Originally Posted by puppychow

im sure all will be addressed via internal playtesting. and you really cannot tell anyways from screenshots alone.

Playtesting isn't the real issue here, unless playtesting occurs during day time with some sunlight entering the room, so you can check if your map will be confortable for the folks that want to launch FF between classes in the afternoon, or just play in a noisy cybercafe with friends without getting a headache after 10 mins.

I know that most custom mappers work only during the night, wich could explain why we end up with so much "nighty maps". But "nighty maps" aren't suited for play during daytime, they're quickly tiring unless you match specific conditions in the place you play them... While lighty maps are enjoyable everywhere and anytime, wich is best suited for the mainstream. Moreover, in any condition, lighty maps are often more friendly and they just feel better to play, you like to be in this place.

[o_puppychow]

jesus h christ, the point was im sure the maps will be fine. look at the quality of work so far. they are the devs, and you (or me) are not - for good reasons.

[Jiggles]

Other than the bright water, the TFC Well flag room doesn't look much brighter than the FF one. Some of the differences come from the fact that TFC's lighting system is, well, crap by today's standards.


Personally, I'd like to see a mix of bright, dark-ish, and average maps. No one likes to be blind, but I get tired of a rotation full of nigh-fullbright maps.

[o_lord soth]

I liked the orginal QTF lighting myself heh. Than again, parts of the models where 'glowing' so people couldnt really hide in the shadows that well. But, a nice balance of dark/light to a map makes it real sexy.