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Flynn said:While what your doing (focusing on brush based detail) is great, I sometimes find it hard to design spaces that look good and 'right' without the level populated with props. I just find it gets my head into the right context and find it harder to come up with ideas if I have to keep coming back to what the level is going to look like with props.
I am not going to put entities such as trash and tables and chairs etc in it yet; I need to finish the architecture of it first, I am just mentioning it so that you guys don't mention that it is lacking little details etc smiley
aaron_da_killa said:aaron_da_killa that is really good, thanks. I have just started playing a map pack of Half-Life 2 at the moment which I hope will help me come up with some ideas. As a result I have not got round to doing anything more on my map since. When I start on my map again I will come back here and try to put the advice you have given here in my map.
Flynn said:While what your doing (focusing on brush based detail) is great, I sometimes find it hard to design spaces that look good and 'right' without the level populated with props. I just find it gets my head into the right context and find it harder to come up with ideas if I have to keep coming back to what the level is going to look like with props.
I am not going to put entities such as trash and tables and chairs etc in it yet; I need to finish the architecture of it first, I am just mentioning it so that you guys don't mention that it is lacking little details etc smiley
Its also hard to do without lighting aswell, I find a fullbright level distracting and also hard to design. When you want to make a level look "good" and "composed", you have to factor in brush detail vs prop detail vs lighting vs decal placement. If I am missing any one of those factors, I find it hard to progress so I generally work on those four things at the same time.
Now, about the screenshots, some of your choices seem like a bit of a mess. Your giving out mixed vibes about your spaces which is a bad thing. They need to have an obvious identity (and purpose) and they need to be consistent. For example, in the 5th shot, I can't decide whether the space is an interior of an apartment or an industrial sort of thing. You have industrial looking pipes/vents than apartment looking textures.
Another thing I see is there is a lack in brush detail/depth. Your hallways are really flat and long, which is boring to play and look at. You need to add more depth into the hallways, more height variation and you need to add things like closed off hallways, doorways, other hallways etc etc. I'm assuming that the hallways are industrial themed and not some sort of apartment interior.Here is an image from a map that I am working on called Night Terror. Just note, its no where near finished yet. Its an industrial themed hallway. I have tried and am still adding depth to it, its not just flat walls, there are spaces inside the walls, there are obstacles in the path (the railings and the metal shelf) and doors which you can't see from this angle. There are wires, little fuseboxs and pipes along the walls. Just remember, everything in that screenshot is WIP and there is still a tone of stuff to do.(Also a WIP) As you can see, its a fairly short hallway, that orangebox texture will be an opening to an outdoors space so the hallway will end there. Adding depth to spaces is something that you have to think about. I find it helps to maybe play a few games that have similar spaces to see how they added depth to those spaces.
As for inspiration, I suggest you replay through Half-life 2 if you haven't already recently. I'm not saying that you should totally redesign your spaces, but I suggest you adapt some of their visual consistencies that they have for different types of areas they have in the game. This will involve making some texture choices in your map. You should also play some games with similar areas as the one you want to make.
I hope that helps, I might later post some material for you to look at for some inspiration.
OK how do you guys do the power cords and cables? Thats something I have been wanting to do, but have not figured out.Get one move_rope name it something of your choice then get another move_rope and name it something of your choice.