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HL2DM Winning Maps Released
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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by habboi on Thu Apr 14th at 7:13pm 2005

Perhaps new weapons smiley
Maybe Valve should help promote their game by making a map of their own to add to the collection.

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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by ReNo on Thu Apr 14th at 7:33pm 2005

Nothing new in the update apart from the 3 maps, according to the steam news. There is a fix for some CS:S bug that went out at the same time however.

I'm not hugely impressed by the maps but will hold my full judgement until I actually play them on the server. Underpass is a pretty nice map but the connectivity is pretty iffy in places, and to me it doesn't seem like it should be the winner. Resistance looked promising in screenshots but the map felt too small to me and lacked polish. The areas that are in place also looked as if they would offer loads of vertical gameplay but really failed to deliver. Powerhouse is, from first impressions, my pick of the bunch. It has loads of vertical gameplay, its a good size, and it looks fantastic. Some of the linking corridors felt a bit boring and unsuiting to both the source engine and the main areas, but nothing too drastic.
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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by Cassius on Thu Apr 14th at 7:39pm 2005

? quoting Agent Smith
After playing through them a bit I'd say that powerhouse is a far
better map than underpass as far as connectivity and playability goes.
I found underpass to be extremely cramped, with lots of props and
things to get stuck on, as opposed to the more traditional and more open
style of powerhouse. That said I'd agree that underpass beats
powerhouse in the looks department, as it actually looks fairly real
where as powerhouse looks like its trying hard to be a UT map.

Why do you write your replies in free verse?





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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Apr 14th at 7:46pm 2005

? quoting Cassius
? quoting Agent Smith
After
playing
through
them
a
bit
I'd
say
that
powerhouse
is
a
far
better
map
than
underpass
as
far
as
connectivity
and
playability
goes.

Why do you write your replies in free verse?

Could be worse.

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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by Spartan on Thu Apr 14th at 7:50pm 2005

Underpass is the best looking of the 3 but it is also cramped at times. [addsig]



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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by Andrei on Thu Apr 14th at 8:17pm 2005

? quote:
Underpass is the best looking of the 3 but it is also cramped at times.


No no no and further more NO. It has god-awful lighting. Why don't people understand that lighting is just as important as architecture and proper texturing? Besides, good lighting can mask ugly architecture. I know best smiley .
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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by satchmo on Thu Apr 14th at 9:01pm 2005

It's really up to our own personal taste. I think the lighting is pretty well-done in underpass, with a good mixture of natural (light_environment) and artificial (light_spot) light sources.

I didn't think connectivity is such a problem for underpass either. I haven't played it, so I guess I can't say that with authority.
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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by Captain P on Thu Apr 14th at 9:29pm 2005

Of the three maps, I found underpass indeed best-looking. It has a strong City-17 feeling and the natural lighting just fits the area. The high surroundings also make quite some impression.

Powerhouse is my personal second. It has a more unique look, despite the HL2 textures it reminds me of an UT2K4 level. Looks very gameplay-oriented, with all the emphasis on weapon placement and such.

Resistance has some nice touches, like the torches, but I found it the least impressing map. The z-axis could've been used much better for the combat I think. It's quite a large building, but most combat plays at only one or two levels.


Overall, I'm pretty happy with these maps, and I'll definitely go and have some fun in them (I haven't played them on-line yet).
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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by Campaignjunkie on Thu Apr 14th at 9:46pm 2005

I like Powerhouse the best, for the same reasons as Reno - it seems to have the best potential for gameplay and looks good. However, there are some serious framerate issues and a few too many crates for my liking.

Underpass has some good connectivity, but some of it feels a bit too random for my liking (like the arched hallway in the sewer). Way too much use of graffiti decals in some areas too. While it is probably the most realistic / City-17-ish of the three, that definately doesn't make it the best looking.

Resistance has some great scale (especially the outdoor area) but it's really disappointing when you find out there's only 1 or 2 Z-Levels to fight on (as Captain P mentioned). Seems kind of shallow and gimmicky in that respect, like the mapper built the amazing outdoor area then decided to build the rest afterwards.

But overall, pretty inspiring. I would still take Torque or Rebar over any of them, any time of the day though.
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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by keved on Fri Apr 15th at 1:08pm 2005

Underpass - I've seen all the versions of this one and the framerates seems improved in this final version. Looks good, but still, for me, the connectivity and flow let the level down a lot. Much of the layout is a series of tiny rooms one after another which no interconnecting routes. Doesn't even get in my own personal favourite top 10, nevermind 1st.
Resistance - I'm not sure what to make of this one tbh. I want to like it, but it seems half finished. Others here have commented on the lack of z axis fighting; it seems to me like much more was planned. The relatively small level size, impressive but largely wasted building frontage outside, shabby construction in places, and routes up to the 1st floor being pretty pointless - I kinda think he may have intended extra floors above (collapsed in places like the main indoor room) which also connected to the outdoor building frontage, but perhaps through lack of time he decided to concentrate on the bottom floor.
Powerhouse - I always liked Wolf's levels from HL1 and for the most part like this one too, though unfortunately it seems a departure from his old style (more UT influenced with "show off" geometry, less two tier sprawling & twisty outdoor levels). The big industrial rooms are great for fighting in, though their framerate isn't too good (I've got HL2 installed on 3 PCs and don't get more than 25-30 fps on any of them in the large rooms). Still my favourite out of these 3 winners, though.




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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by Agent Smith on Fri Apr 15th at 2:55pm 2005

This seems to be the general opinion of a majority of mappers, which I think is saying something about Valve's judging. Sure these maps have some good points, but most of us have seen maps that are much better than these. In short, a complete ripp.




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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by ReNo on Fri Apr 15th at 3:13pm 2005

We've all seen maps that are better since the deadline. Remember that not all the "better" maps were entered into the contest.
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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by Agent Smith on Fri Apr 15th at 3:26pm 2005

True, but also don't forget these maps would have been edited after the deadline to bring them up to scratch, so they wouldn't have been this good when submitted. Really Valve should have had a further deadline, instead of just a month, it was really rediculous.




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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by SaintGreg on Fri Apr 15th at 4:03pm 2005

Agreed with that, if it was a month longer I think more people's maps would have gotten submitted, and they would be better.

I pretty much agree with all of you, my personal favorite was powerhouse. It just looked damn good, and the map layout is great, but perhaps somewhat unoriginal. The fps just rapes me in outsides of the middle room. I liked how the whole level recieved about the same level of detail, there weren't any really bland or too complex areas.

Resistance I thought wasn't that great at all, and I can't believe that there was nothing better submitted. The floating trees and shrubs outside were a nice touch to an otherwise mediocre map. The only thing I really like about it is that hallway where the light shines through the prison cells and casts shadows on the floor. That and the outside area where you cant get to was better than the rest of the map.

I thought underpass was really good too. The outside areas were about as low fps as the room in powerhouse, but it was much more complex a layout. I didn't really like how the outside areas were well put together but the sewer tunnels and below areas seem like they were put together as an afterthought. Plus the falling props at the beginning of the map is on the same level of noobocity as the floating shrubs in resistance. I don't like the repeating sounds as they get annoying and old after a while. Maybe if they were repeated less it would be better.
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 Re: HL2DM Winning Maps Released
Posted by satchmo on Fri Apr 15th at 5:41pm 2005

I played dm_resistance last night on another server (where the lag isn't so horrible for us Americans on the SnarkPit server), and it's not all that interesting as far as gameplay goes. As mentioned before, vertical play is virtually non-existent, and the weapon selection is very limited. Most people kill others with either the SMG or the crowbar (which was the weapon I favored).

I'll look into dm_underpass in a real game setting soon.
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