I don't know what the system cost would be, but you could place some water in your 3d sky box and extend it further. I bet u would barely see the transition between the water and the sky water.

no no, not finished. I just mean I finally finished V2, I still plan on releasing a final. and if there is a way to make the transition from from water to sky smoother I'm all ears, not sure how to go about making it look better tho.

Finished finished? Maybe you could add some sand to that coast. Is there a way you could make the transition from water to sky a little smother? Looks good other wise. Good amount of detail.

Well I finally got to finishing this. Feel free to criticize or comment

Thank you to everyone who has commented on this map, I had my PC die on me when I was about finished with this map. The other day I finaly got it to boot and backed up my files, so now that I have the vmf again I will continue to work on this map and you should see a new version followed by a final, soon.

UnholyGemini, Thanks for your comment, I'll mess with the outdoor lighting a bit, this is something I wouldnt have even noticed, there is just something about lightin in newer games, I never realy payed much attention to how its "supposed" to look.

Ok, the main problem is that the map needs better lighting. When I looked at the first image of the map, I thought that you did not even run VRAD, but I could barely see some shadows. You need more crisp lighting, so set up your light_environment better, use slightly yellowish light (SLIGHTLY) and use regular light mainly on the inside parts of your level.

EDIT: removed double post.

Most of my work in the list of changes/fixes has been put into improving the texturing and adding new detail to add to the creation of the sof2 version of this map. I've decided it dosnt need to be exaclty the same, and would like to add more detail than whats there. The new hallways should improve the maps flow quite a bit. I got numerious complaints about the dead end even tho this is how it was in sof2. This new hallway will make 5 diffent ways to take from the front courtyard to the back.

Those windows were the closest thing I could find to match the windows from sof2. I think I will change the windows completly tho. Not sure atm what to use, but I will make sure to use frames around the windows this time for a little better looks.

I've changed the scale a bit in spots of the map, there were a few spots that the top buildings were just to big, and all the window fittings I used I stretched a little much, thier like the size of the player itself. I think I'm just going to have to rethink the windows all together. I'm trying to stick with just valve materials and textures with this map, tho I suppose I could add some custom stuff if needed.

The skybox is no longer an issue for it facing the way I want. I've actualy found a diffrent skybox to use that has the light comming in from the side I was looking for. Its got the color in it I was looking for as well. atm I am using sky_day03_06b ... BUT the problem is I doubt I'm gunna get the lighting right, my monitor sux and I'm used to hl2 on bright settings so I'm sure you guys should have a better perspective on the light settings to use to match this skybox. atm I'm using light_env: 255 255 255 100 env_sun: 253 243 80 any suggestions for how to get this just right would be appreciated.

I get some wierd reflection I dunno how to get rid of, Its relecting the buildings from inside the map on the watter in the 3d skybox. You don't see the problem untill your on the middle roof in the front courtyard and look up about 45 degreese, I belive this showed up after I placed a env_cubemap above the water in the 3d box and pointed it to the brush peice on the waters surface. later, I deleted the cubemap, I was still seeing the problem tho, so I'm not sure how to get rid of this. any thoughts are appreciated.

Regarding issues with the sky not facing the way you want, I believe that can be fixed simply by changing the angle of the sky camera in your sky box. So work out which side its on at the default angle, and rotate by 90 degree increments to get it where you want. However if you've already done the skybox content then you will also need to rotate that to match.

I think that will work, I seem to remember doing in that dod wip I posted a while back, though don't quote me on that :smile: .

Other than that the map is looking good, though I would suggest adding more detail to the buildings and other structures. Some static props, varied textures, basic brush work and displacements can do wonders for the unique-ness of a map. It would break up the relatively plain structures you have at the moment, and make the map more engaging. Now is an excellent time to do this, since your map is basically constructed you have an established fps to work off, making it easy to add detail while still maintaining a decent framerate. In the same vein the windows look out of place to me, maybe because they are for warehouses and I'm getting a villa type vibe from your buildings. Either way some varied windows and ones more appropriate to the general style of the buildings would go a long way.

So essentially I've just repeated everyone idiot.

Well done so far :smile: .

Sounds like you made a lot of changes...i look forward to seeing your changes it action... :razz: