I thought I'd start up a thread for my map so it feels like I'm getting somewhere with it.

In 1988, Incentive released a game called Total Eclipse which ran under the Freescape 3D engine. It was one of the first 3D game engines for the PC, but had no proper physics (like jumping) and no texture mapping. Despite this, there was still a lot of control over shooting/touching objects which made for some fantastic puzzles.

The game is set in 1930, and a total eclipse is due over Egypt. However, there is a curse on the shrine of Ra that promises destruction to anything that comes between the pyramid and the sun. If you don't reach and destroy the altar in time, the moon will be destroyed and will plunge the Earth into chaos.

I debated whether to leave the box-style rooms or redesign the whole thing, and I've decided to leave it closer to the original in layout. There are quite a few puzzles that require the map to be the way it is, as well as oddities such as darkened doorways and high gravity.

This is not your typical HL2 single player game - there are no monsters moving around and no weapons and ammo to collect. It's very much a puzzle game and quite visual. There are traps everywhere, but nothing that requires fast reflexes.

One thing I'm not sure about is the lighting. The original game had no shadows, it was all fullbright. I'm thinking a pyramid is going to be pretty dark apart from the player's torch, but that wouldn't make for a fun game. I think it would look ugly relying on heavy ambient lighting, but I can't exactly fill the place with archaeologist lamps.

Thanks for the tips Reno, I really appreciate your input.

The floor in the second picture actually IS water. I don't know why it looks so un-watery. I've changed the texture so I'll see how it turns out in the next compile. Apart from that, I think that room is the best so far to play. In the original, you shoot the beam and it is instantly replaced with another beam at 90 degrees - you have to be standing in the exact middle to avoid falling. In my version, as you approach the whole beam grinds up momentum. It's awesome. " SRC="images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">

I'd like to put in some pots and pillars but I'll need to think about how to do it. The game already has large pots in a few locations which are worth money when you collect them. They also serve as greed traps in places so I'd have to implement them differently if I put in a lot more of them. Pillars would also look nice but I'm faced with a similar problem. In the original, there is only one room with pillars and they're there as a curiosity hint. If I put pillars in other rooms I think I'll have to implement them quite differently.
There are also sarcophagi and other miscellaneous things around the place.
Another difficulty with detail is a series of puzzles spread around called Make The Match. Basically there is a picture of something Egyptian (like a bird or an eye) next to a stone slab. You have to find the matching symbol and shoot it to make the slab break. If I add a lot of Egyptian artwork around the place (which would look cool) I run the risk of complicating the puzzles.

For now I'm still building the actual rooms - there's 40 or 50 of them. Once I'm done I'll go through and pump up the detail. And especially work on the lighting. I think some piles of rubble using displacement maps might work well too. I put some windswept sand around the pyramid entrance using displacement maps and it seemed to look alright.