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DM_Hydro by Agent Smith

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NEWEST UPDATE: Well I've finished beta 2 of DM_HYDRO so it's ready for some playing. Finallys the pit is back up so I can get some decent commentary.

DOWNLOAD FROM HERE: http://files.filefront.com/DM_HYDRO_B2/;3802345;;/fileinfo.html
EVEN NEWER UPDATE: Here are some screens of the changes/additions made since the competition, which will be featured in the beta 2 released in a couple of days, new weapon placement permitting. The shots show the new larger tunnels, the addition of a walkway and structure across the canal, and small stairs that have replaced all of the jump crouch areas (they've been clipped so they work smoothly).
NEW UPDATE: Here are some new screens from the compile that I have sent for the competition, showing the basic layout out and features of the map. It's still got some bugs I haven't had time to fix, but they are only minor and do not effect gameplay.

Once I had fixed some obvious errors in the map the compile time was only 2 1/2 hours, just goes to show how rooted it was before, with a compile time of 60+ hours and counting :P.

Download should be available sometime after the competition closes.
UPDATE: Here are some new screens for the map, including some of the partially constructed and still under developement surrounding environment.
Here is my entry for the Valve Mapping Competition which I've been working on since the release of the full SDK. It's set amidst a partially constructed and subsequently abandoned hydro electric plant at the base of a dam.

In its current stage it lacks detail which will be added shortly, as well as the surrounding environment and part of the playable area. I wanted to go for a more open and realistic environment for the combat as supported by the new Source engine, with various vertical levels of combat as well as a mixture of close-long range fighting. These shots show the main generator building with partially completed generator pits (linked with piping) and a section of the water front area. This structure will be situated directly at the base of the dam.

I hadn't intended on posting anything till it was finished, or just about, but after getting back from a weeks vacation and seeing Tarky's release of dm_cascade as well as other maps of a similar theme I figured it might be a good idea to put it up, lest someone thinks I've ripped it off.

Anyway, it has a long way to go still so be gentle. Now I'm back home I should have some updated screens shortly.

Discussion

Posted by G.Ballblue on Thu Jan 13th 2005 at 2:19am
Quite impressive from those screens :smile:

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) :eek:
Posted by Orpheus on Thu Jan 13th 2005 at 2:11am
you are quite welcome.. it was a joy to behold.

be good.
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.
Posted by Agent Smith on Thu Jan 13th 2005 at 12:49am
[Author]
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.
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:

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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.

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Over-stretched textures bother me almost as much as mis-alignments, so I just had to mention it at least once :biggrin:

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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.

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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.

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The squat-jump of that step area, was IMO not a fair egress option for the holes i mentioned earlier.

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8 freaking damned frames per second. It seems to drive it home, I really need a bigger machine. :cry:

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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.

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Certain textures just wont align well no matter what you do :sad:

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Vista's galore.. Man did it look nice.

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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.

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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?"

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The auto's, not one of them was up-side-down. How can the be so disabled and be all right side up :smile:

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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. :clap:
Posted by ReNo on Wed Jan 12th 2005 at 8:39pm
Ok here is what I noticed in my run through...

User posted image

In two places you have paired up your chargers - personally I think it might be better to have spread them around a little.

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Flickering texture here, looks like you have some overlapping going on.

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No texture on these - is that a bug or just how they are?

User posted image

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.

User posted image

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.

User posted image

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?

User posted image

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.

User posted image

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 :smile:

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.
Posted by Agent Smith on Mon Jan 10th 2005 at 11:44pm
[Author]
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.

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 Forceflow on Mon Jan 10th 2005 at 8:30pm
This looks really great.
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

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.