Yeah I agree with you both. I'd had a few drinks and made my point badly :wink: What I was getting at was I've actually recieved some quite useful stuff to work on based simply on those sets of pictures and I've saved myself the hassle of releasing a beta or 2 before making those changes, which previously I would have done. I'm trying new approaches with this map and 1 of those things is to not release 10 betas of something like I have done in the past. Whether that works out better or worse we will have to see but so far the mapping has been more enjoyable.

The PM system works. You can govern who has the beta's.

You can also specify that they not be made public to keep them out of the servers.

Screens are nice, but I trust my own eyes, not yours.. Sorry. Thats not meant to be hateful.

Well, I still wouldn't underestimate the importance of a beta version - it's good for gameplay testing, and that's a thing you want to nail down pretty early since assets take so much longer to create these days. :smile:

Thanks again for the feedback. In the past I have had the habit of releasing loads of betas of my maps so am adopting a image-focused approach this time. Dont underestimate how helpful judging a map based on in-game shots actually is, its given me something to think about/focus on without spending loads of time adding the iffy functionality required to play/release the map as a fully fledged beta. I've already made a siginificant restructue to the map which I would no doubt post pictures of soon :biggrin:

That's true, Orph. But, I would assume you take screenshots of the most interesting parts of your map (well, I would). Either way, the shots provided do lack things I mentioned (in my point of view of course :wink: ). But yeah, the lack of focal points or landmarks is indeed discussable for the moment.

I think the only problem at this point is his presentation. Since there is no download link, you cannot really comment on its focal point. Who's to say that he took a true representation of his entire map with just those screens?

True, the majority of the screens show nothing but hallways but, one cannot really be so sure enough to say the map lacks something until they have been inside it. At least don't sound like thats a certainty.

/methinks it needs a download link, and a critique before it gets much closer to completion to ensure the feasibility of editing.

Heh, so I was wrong. Ok. :smile:

I believe reaper47 makes a good point too: there's no strong landmarks or unique things to see. I already said it looks monotone because of the limited colors used, but that also counts for other things. The streets and plaza's are fairly empty and flat and it does feel a bit 'standard'. Putting in some height difference (definitely don't make those roads so flat), perhaps up to the point that it becomes a hill village, could help, and placing high, outstanding buildings (like indeed a church) helps giving the map some unique points and they break up the low buildings. Higher stuff is usually also more impressive. :smile:

The lighting was meant to be more orangey than green to try and get a hot, dusky feel. No, I didnt use goggles :biggrin: Thanks for the feedback so far but can I have more non-lighting based critiques now please :wink:

Alright, you asked for it! :biggrin:

[man, I could have sworn I already posted this answer, maybe it's floating around in another, totally different thread where I accidently posted?]

Anyway, I think what your map lacks is a center point, a highlight, a "trademark" if you want. The shots all look very well done but they could be from 4 different maps and not necessarily the most exciting parts of those maps. Right now this map looks "a bit like cs_italy". Add something that brings all the parts of the map together, a unique feature, a piece of architecture that stands out, that people can easily think of as the "Map with the .....". Maybe a church?

I was gonna say yesterday you were wrong Cap'n but if 'I' was wrong I'd look the fool so I hid. A nice looking map by the way.

The lighting was meant to be more orangey than green to try and get a hot, dusky feel. No, I didnt use goggles :biggrin: Thanks for the feedback so far but can I have more non-lighting based critiques now please :wink: