Posted by G.Ballblue on Thu Jan 13th 2005 at 2:19am
Quite impressive from those screens 
Just something I noticed in Orph's critique though, (I ask due to a lack of any major HL2 mapping) but are model renderings supposed to go that high? (Static prop rendering and Other model rendering) 
[addsig]
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 13th 2005 at 2:11am
you are quite welcome.. it was a joy to behold.
be good.
[addsig]Posted by ReNo on Thu Jan 13th 2005 at 1:23am
The sound probably did work, I just didn't remember noticing it at all. Thats probably a good thing - sounds should really be subtle for the most part. For the last point, you should just set the prop in question's collision type to "no collisions" rather than "use v_physics". Its not a critical error, so its not a big issue, I guess.
[addsig]
Thanks heaps guys. It's funny, most of the problems you pointed out I myself noticed, but just didn't have time to fix before the deadline.
- I don't know what the hell the pink shadows were doing, I couldn't seem to get rid of them.
- The pipes definately need some more work I agree, and the squat jump bits, on second thought, were not perhaps the best idea, but they can be fixed with more so they become thin stairs.
- I don't why the sound didn't work for you Reno, I attempted to use the new soundscapes in combination with standard ambient generics. Ideally I would have liked to make custom soundscapes so they blended better between the areas, but that was about the best I could do with theirs. They did work on my PC however.
- There is actually a doorway in the fence near the gas pumps and tank, just left of where you took the screen Reno.
- The cables just use the standard thickness, and they aren't actully hooked into the pipes above, they've been hung over the top so as not to get in the way. Might need a bit of work to more clearly represent that.
- There are a number of small texture misalignments I'll admit. With a map of that size and the limited timespan I couldn't check it quite as throughly as I would have liked.
- The weapons were placed in about an hour, and needed a bit more consideration. I think the idea at the time was to place the weapons in areas where they are not immediately useful, so once you find a crossbow in a lower area, you have to get higher up to use it effectively. I probably placed a few too many bigger weapons (combine rifle), but I thought it was needed to off set something that is primarily a long range map.
- The rock textures pissed me off no end Orph because they looked stretched. It's my fault really for not doing the rock work as correctly as it should have been, but again, time constraints.
- That problem with the brambles prop I also recieved Orph. It seemed that it was a static prop that had no physics model or collision hull, which upset the engine a bit. Didn't seem to have a negative effect though.
Ultimately I think I should have started with a smaller project, but dammit I've been waiting to large open maps since I first started mapping. Thanks for the comments guys, I'll do some fixes to the map before its publicly released. [addsig]
Posted by Orpheus on Wed Jan 12th 2005 at 8:55pm
This is one of those rare occasions where i am genuinely impressed enough that "Oh my f**king God" doesn't quite seem a strong enough phrase to convey my thoughts about a creation done on a user level. I looked this map over, I saw nothing blatantly screaming "FIX ME". Most of the things I noticed were either small texture misalignments (which were quite numerous) or just plain old opinions. I will post both for illustration purposes, but only as such since its not a real gripe.
So without further delay:
I received this error message. I have little clue exactly what it is, but felt i should post it just in case it was overlooked in the creation process. It could very well be only my substandard hardware causing this. I will allow the author to determine exactly what it is, without speculating further.
Over-stretched textures bother me almost as much as mis-alignments, so I just had to mention it at least once 
The vistas and long sight lines of this map had me drooling, and a trifle upset. All they did was drive home just how inadequate my hardware is. In this shot, the use of terrain elevation was used to good effect. It really made it feel complete.
The connectivity the pipes added, brought it all together IMO. however I felt that the rewards for descending into them were not in proportion to how hard it was to get back out. I saw nothing in the holes, that couldn't have been obtained easier, elsewhere.
The squat-jump of that step area, was IMO not a fair egress option for the holes i mentioned earlier.
8 freaking damned frames per second. It seems to drive it home, I really need a bigger machine. 
That RPG was the only real reward i saw, I admit I could have missed any others since i was noclipping around at this point.
Certain textures just wont align well no matter what you do 
Vista's galore.. Man did it look nice.
So far, this has been the best water texture i have seen used. My biggest complaint about HL2 maps so far has been the jiggly waters. They move with no outward reason why. Water doesn't just move.
The crane looked out of place, and not at the same time. Like the auto's, I kept asking, "Why are these here? What purpose did they serve when they functioned?"
The auto's, not one of them was up-side-down. How can the be so disabled and be all right side up
All these shots are strictly for vista purposes.. I couldn't get enough of them.
I also noticed sounds used to good effect. IMO, this is the best user made map I have seen thus far, At least of the ones that were this close to complete.
Very nice map. 
Posted by ReNo on Wed Jan 12th 2005 at 8:39pm
Ok here is what I noticed in my run through...
In two places you have paired up your chargers - personally I think it might be better to have spread them around a little.
Flickering texture here, looks like you have some overlapping going on.
No texture on these - is that a bug or just how they are?
For some reason I was getting pink shadows on all the props in the level - not sure if you did this on purpose or not, but it looks wierd.
This section of pipe in particular is vastly too long, and its not as if there is a great reward for such a slow and perilous journey either. I disliked all of these pipes to be hoenst, but this one really has to be changes in some way IMO.
Coming all the way to the top of the map, to find....a shotgun? Considering it is probably the weakest non-standard issue firearm in HL2DM, I think its a bit of a slap in the face to get this for working your way up. Perhaps a super suit charger or something woulda been better, at the expense of removing one of each of the other chargers?
I loved the collapsed road tunnel, very nicely done. These wires looked a bit odd to me though - a bit too thick perhaps? Also, the wire connecting the two light fixtures together seems pointless to me since they are already connected to the conduit thing along the ceiling.
I couldn't see any way in there, yet it seems there is a stash of pickups. Am I missing something or was it just a little oversight?
All in all the map is nice. Visually its great, and it has some sections that should be fun to play. I think the connectivity is somewhat flawed, particularly forcing the player to do so much tedious jumping up huge stair type things. Also, the water section of the map felt very redundant to me, with the focus of the level very much being on the structural part as opposed to the really empty and open lake part. Still a very nice level though, great way to introduce yourself to the new engine
EDIT: Come to think of it, it seemed a bit devoid of life. Did you use any sound effects at all? I can't remember noticing them.
[addsig]
It's called sunset monkey. You know, that time when the sun is large but it's angle means that it isn't as bright and its getting dark. <br> <br>Also the sun is just below the edge of the lower dam, so most of its light is cut off. You can really only see it here, about the highest place in the map, and in a few other high places.
Posted by The_6th_monkey on Mon Jan 10th 2005 at 4:07pm
Omg from the new pics I gotta wonder what u did to the lighting... it looks to dark but also it looks like the sun has exploded on ther but with very little light but a big yellow mess :P <br> <br>I hope u improve the lighting lol
Posted by Loco on Mon Jan 10th 2005 at 2:20pm
I'm really looking forward to the release of this map - great work! Third screenshot looks a little grim/grey, but otherwise, fantastic map.
