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 Re: Armada
Posted by BlisTer on Mon Oct 25th at 8:10pm 2004

i'd like to see Armada as the representation of the mapping level i have obtained during the years. Objectives and such arent added yet, but architecture and lighting are at 100% qua personal taste. This mean there is still room for good suggestions, coming from you hopefuly... so it would be much appreciated if you downloaded it, had a quick run around and throw me some comments ( http://users.pandora.be/storage_dv/armada.zip )

its not intended as a deathmatch map, so its normal that the map is dark, its supposed to be that way. also if you see nulls that's prolly because your behind the scenes ... i still have to add func_blockplayers etc.. its an interim hl release so that everyone can have a look.


Armada is a nuclear fusion reactor facility, featuring the outside part with entrance, a storage hall, connecting hallways, a control room, a basement infected with a hive and ofcourse the fusion reactor itself

additional shots:

three more shots:

http://users.pandora.be/storage_dv/armada2.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/storage_dv/armada9.jpg

http://users.pandora.be/storage_dv/armada10.jpg





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 Re: Armada
Posted by Crono on Mon Oct 25th at 8:18pm 2004

I like it.

You should go kick LucasArts in the balls and show them this map and say, "You See? This is how you make a Star Wars maps!" then kick them until they throw up ...

This actually reminds me of some Jedi Knight levels, but it actually looks good.

The third shot in the maps profile (which you don't have on this page for some reason) looks like a giant (inefficient) capacitor.

I think that making this for the HL engine might be holding the map back ... it looks well suited for something like Q3, UT2k4, D3, or HL2. [addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by BlisTer on Mon Oct 25th at 8:41pm 2004

well they're in the top right corner but indeed i might post them here in big

(the "capacitator" is in fact the fusion reactor, modeled a bit after the tokamak, the the magnets and all)





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 Re: Armada
Posted by Spartan on Mon Oct 25th at 10:32pm 2004

I like it. Although you could improve the lighting some more and add more detail to some of those rooms and hallways. Other than that though I think it looks good.

I really like the 3rd big pic. It reminds me of Doom III.





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 Re: Armada
Posted by Tracer Bullet on Mon Oct 25th at 10:59pm 2004

Very nice. The only thing I don't like is that maybe the supports on the left in the first pic are too thin. [addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by Spartan on Mon Oct 25th at 11:01pm 2004





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 Re: Armada
Posted by Spartan on Mon Oct 25th at 11:03pm 2004

Sorry about double post but something screwed up and I couldn't write anything. Anyways I really like this pic above. Most people would complane that it is too dark but I like it because you get a very deep spooky feeling. I will definatly be downloading this SP series. That is something you should be proud of because I only download maps if I think they will really be worth my time.



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 Re: Armada
Posted by Tracer Bullet on Tue Oct 26th at 12:04am 2004

Some images in this post have been automatically down-sized, click on them to view the full sized versions:So, I?ve had a run-through and?



This is gorgeous. very grand and imposing, exactly the sort of attitude you want to set for the interior which is to come. It?s unfortunate that the ground is so flat, but you can?t really afford the r?s. My only real criticism here is that I think maybe those pillars should taper a bit more before they produce those metal towers.


I think theses lights need to be either recessed or extruded. the just look wrong being totally flush with the ground.


r_speeds are a bit high...



Oops... I fell right out of the map... you really ought to kill the player before something like this can happen.


There are an awful lot of light sources here for not much light... You either need to increase their brightness, or decrease their number to make it look realistic.


Very pretty


Also very pretty, but those r_speeds are killer. Don?t be fooled by that 59 FPS reading. I think it was lying to me because this was a total slide-show for me.


Another place where I ought to be dead.


These doors do not open synchronously as they should. Give them both the same name, and then use a trigger_multiple to open them in unison from each side.


This ought to make some noise. The silence here was weird.


I fell out of the map again?


You can walk straight through this wall and right out of the map, and there are many more like it. I guess what I?m saying is that there are large accessible areas that are totally covered in NULL. These ought to be clipped off.


Overall I really like it but there are a few general problems. I know you want it to be dark but I think this is a bit much. Even in areas that were supposed to be bright it felt dark. I suggest you use the ?dscale switch on hlrad to globally adjust the brightness of direct lighting. In this way you can easily brighten up the areas that are supposed to be, but also leave those nice murky corners. The other major beef I have is the r_speeds. You?re really pushing it there, and my computer did not run the level smoothly. Add more visblocking. [addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by Tracer Bullet on Tue Oct 26th at 12:09am 2004

^ Why is all the text screwed up in that last post?

[addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by Orpheus on Tue Oct 26th at 12:21am 2004

? quoting Tracer Bullet

^ Why is all the text screwed up in that last post?

critiques are not as easy, as people think are they??.. i am always editing them, sometimes scrapping them and redoing them..

my long critiques, should be treasured.. perhaps its my own idiocy making it hard though, so i am not complaining..

[addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by BlisTer on Tue Oct 26th at 1:04pm 2004

thx a lot for the input tracer bullet, ill reply to the different comments

*as u see rspeeds are high in the outside part, thats indeed why i left the grond flat, but also other things like nulling the sides of those groundlights for instance, hence i couldnt extrude them.

*for the inside part you indeed struck the place with the highest rspeed peak. i thought about visblockers but they would ruin it a bit im afraid. anyway, there wont be enemies/fights there so, myeah

*the doors are gonna be switch triggered in the final version, so i couldnt bother

*good point about the silence @ the fusion reactor, ill look around for a good sound

*i'll try a compile with the -dscale

*overall: as mentioned, all the places where you can "go out of the map" or fall, or go in the water, are all gonna be blocked by func_blockplayers, so no worries





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 Re: Armada
Posted by Tracer Bullet on Tue Oct 26th at 7:40pm 2004

I'm glad I could be of some help. This will be a fun one I think.

? quoting BlisTer

func_blockplayers, so no worries

What the hell is a func_blockplayer?? do you mean CLIP brushes?

[addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by BlisTer on Wed Oct 27th at 10:32am 2004

its a paroxysm specific entity, blocks players but not aliens, so they can come out of the walls etc where you went



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 Re: Armada
Posted by Pvt.Scythe on Fri Oct 29th at 2:08pm 2004

Holy crap! I think I need to change my pants... This map looks so much better than your previous ones. But alas, I must agree with TB on the tapering...

There's one big problem about func_blockplayers. If you use them as "ground" your fall through it slowly and jerkingly. I noticed this while I was making px_sithania... Maybe I should resurrect that map. It's definedly better looking than px_bridges on some areas.

[addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by BlisTer on Sat Oct 30th at 10:15pm 2004

? quoting Pvt.Scythe

Holy crap! I think I need to change my pants... This map looks so much better than your previous ones. But alas, I must agree with TB on the tapering...

There's one big problem about func_blockplayers. If you use them as "ground" your fall through it slowly and jerkingly. I noticed this while I was making px_sithania... Maybe I should resurrect that map. It's definedly better looking than px_bridges on some areas.

i agree about the taperings but you get weird stuff if you try to rotate non-rectangular brushes + leaf saw into leaf errors mostly. besides i cant really afford it r-speed wise.

and indeed the func_blockplayers are best not used as horizontal boundaries. ever tried to jump on them? you get a very fast pinball effect And yeh you should resurrect sithania





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 Re: Armada
Posted by BlisTer on Tue Nov 16th at 2:38am 2004

was nicely surprised today to see that 76 ppl downloaded it

was working on the door buttons, but im not sure about adding mod specific entities as paroxysm's future is a bit of a question mark.

as for other changes im considering making it overall brighter cause many ppl said it was too dark.

anyhow, if anyone has ideas for armada's future, feel free to speak up

[addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by satchmo on Thu Dec 2nd at 6:50am 2004

There are also quite a few places (esp. outside of the complex) where I can get stuck between a rock and a hard place. I had to restart when that happened. And would it be possible to make a path so the player can climb out of the water tank beneath the reactor? What about func_player_hurt (for radiation) in the vicinity of the reactor itself?

The r_speeds are indeed high, at many places. I know I don't have the sharpest hardware around, but I had significant lag running the map (My computer is barely adequate to run FarCry, so at least it's respectable).

I believe you made those null-texture walls intentionally, since they tend to look "organic", compared to the rest of the interior walls. But there are also a few places inside these null-texture rooms where the texture doesn't look very nice. I am sure you'll fix that before the final release.

I think the dimness of the lighting is okay, since you're going after this "Doom" mood. In fact, this map is probably brighter than most of Doom3 (where you need to have a flashlight to see anything at all).

But, like everyone else already said, this map is visually impressive. I assume you're going to add env_sound to the various rooms to have them feel commodious.
[addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by Spartan on Thu Dec 2nd at 11:20am 2004

I thought Blister provided an updated version of his map? [addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by BlisTer on Thu Dec 2nd at 12:59pm 2004

? quoting satchmo
There are also quite a few places (esp. outside of the complex) where I can get stuck between a rock and a hard place. I had to restart when that happened. And would it be possible to make a path so the player can climb out of the water tank beneath the reactor? What about func_player_hurt (for radiation) in the vicinity of the reactor itself?

The r_speeds are indeed high, at many places. I know I don't have the sharpest hardware around, but I had significant lag running the map (My computer is barely adequate to run FarCry, so at least it's respectable).

I believe you made those null-texture walls intentionally, since they tend to look "organic", compared to the rest of the interior walls. But there are also a few places inside these null-texture rooms where the texture doesn't look very nice. I am sure you'll fix that before the final release.

I think the dimness of the lighting is okay, since you're going after this "Doom" mood. In fact, this map is probably brighter than most of Doom3 (where you need to have a flashlight to see anything at all).

But, like everyone else already said, this map is visually impressive. I assume you're going to add env_sound to the various rooms to have them feel commodious.

thx for the comments satchmo.

fiirst of all spartan, i havent provided an updated version yet, cause in the mean time we decided to stop working on paroxysm, so i didnt add the paroxysm specific enities, so armada is hanging in mid air at the moment.

anyway, when armada has a mod again, the places where u could get stuck and the func_illusionaries are gonna be clipped, the water is gonna be deadly,...

interesting idea about the radiation, i'll consider it. the organic room is a hive. i agree that those textures could be better, ill try to find better ones.

i havent got hl2 yet, havent played around in hammer with the new sdk yet, so i dunno if its doable to rework hl1 maps into hl2 maps, if so, then maybe ill make it into a hl2mod map.

[addsig]



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 Re: Armada
Posted by satchmo on Thu Dec 2nd at 9:04pm 2004

It's really a total overhaul to import a HL1 map to Source. All the architectural details should be made into func_detail or models to reduce r_speeds (or I should say, budget, in the new lingo). The entire approach to mapping changes completely in Hammer 4.

So I would say either stay with HL1 and finish the map or start from scratch in Source. It's just too much effort to transfer a map to the new engine.
[addsig]




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