New Screenshots ...

Well I recently updated my website (http://mysite.freeserve.com/thursday_lvldsgn) with these two screenshots ...

Why are your spotlights in the first picture so blocky?

No idea, compiled with full rad etc. I think I just need to reduce the "outer (fading)" angle of the light though.

The overall structure of the room is still very box-like. Sure, you've decorated it with some walls, trims and pipes, but its still a box. And still kind of boring. Try to make it feel like less of a box.

Use "-chop 32" with RAD, it helps break up the stepping effect of lights.

I think it looks quite cool, but CJ is right about it being somewhat boxy in the first shot - not that it isn't a nice looking box. The spotlights also seem somewhat random - perhaps thats what you are going for, but it comes across as odd to me. In a spaceship / facility / whatever, lighting is likely to be quite uniform, but here is looks haphazard. Oh and watch your ceilings, they seem to be very flat and uninspired here, much like your last effort.

I like the second shot more I think, I'm a bit of a sucker for upwards lighting it seems :biggrin:

I can't see an obvious source for those spotlights, either, though maybe it's just the angle.

I find that for light_spots having a fade makes them look a lot better.

Its NS. There is so many lights up on the ceiling anything could give off a spot light! Also, r_speeds don't permit me to allow anything else without badly suffering.

Really, that room shouldn't be giving much w_poly at all. And the spotlights do look odd, you'll have to fix that.

I loved the look of NS maps at first, but they all look so similar I couldn't tell 2 NS maps apart just from the screenshots :sad:

-smooth 80 in rad, that'll sort then nasty blocky edges a bit....

-smooth is used to set the cut off angle between faces for the light to NOT be smoothed over them. Not very well described there but its late, forgive me :biggrin:

I'm a sucker for fades on spots too Jinx, makes the world of difference :wink: And I'm with you on the NS map similarity syndrome, many look absolutely stunning, but they are still much too alike, much too often.

Jinx said:
I loved the look of NS maps at first, but they all look so similar I couldn't tell 2 NS maps apart just from the screenshots :sad:

Here here.

Jinx said:
I loved the look of NS maps at first, but they all look so similar I couldn't tell 2 NS maps apart just from the screenshots :sad:

Surely you can tell the difference between a few ... I mean Eclipse / Veil may be harder, but them two compared to Tanith / Caged ... 3 different mapping styles, themes and use of textures in 4 maps.
Although many people are starting to use the NS2.WAD alot more, so there will be alot more similarity. I try to add my own uniqueness into a map to give it character.

I'm supprised theres no random map generator for NS made using halls and big rooms plonked in different places....