sp_torque beta

This was to be my entry into the dm2sp mapping contest until I noticed it didn't follow the rules (valid maps couldn't be for Ep2). Since I no longer have a time constraint I no longer have an excuse for shoddy work! I've never made a single player map of any sort, and I haven't worked on a map this far to completion since 2005, so I'm assuming there's going to be some issues. All criticism is welcome and encouraged. Just note that the enemy placement is very basic. I want the brushwork to be as finished as it can be before I slog through that.

Episode 2 is required to run the map.

http://www.snarkpit.net/pits/Yak_Fighter/portfolio/maps/sp_torque_beta1.zip

Why no map profile?

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Blog: www.playingarchitecture.net
LinkedIn: Eric Lancon
Twitter:@Riven202

Why does this level require Half-Life 2 Episode 2?

I'll download and check it out.

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Aaron's Stuff

Riven said:
Why no map profile?

Well... uh... I'm not sure. It's been so long that I've actually posted a map that I forgot what I was doing. I misinterpreted the profile posting to be for near complete or finished maps, despite the new version of Snarkpit being not very different from the old one. oops

aaron_da_killa said:
Why does this level require Half-Life 2 Episode 2?

With my still slow internet connection I cannot go online with Steam. If I did, I'd be risking weeks of failed Steam updates on top of autopatching games. While Steam updates I lose access to everything and if it fails once, I'm screwed until I have a successful update. I've been offline a year and a half so that's alot of potential failings. While this moratorium has been going on I've (somehow) lost the ability to run HL2DM or the old version of the SDK. So I'm pretty much stuck.

This map was already being constructed as a section of a chapter of a single player mod I've been working on and the mod is based on the Orange Box version of Source. The intent was to keep it fully compatible and to not waste time making two versions of the same map. I didn't realize I'd lost the old SDK until I tried porting it down.

I already downloaded it but didn't get to play it today. Tomorrow!

I'm eager to try it!

Very enjoyable! Reminded me of some of the best parts of the original City 17 chapters. Theres a nice flow to the fights, good use of the layout that already works very well in HL2DM.

My only criticism would be cosmetic.

I nearly died within the first third or so of the map, without having done anything wrong. There was a distinct lack of medkits. Just placing one or two at the beginning could have provided a very satisfying find.

I loved the "energy bridge" bit. Such a small detail, but it gave me a very positive flashback to the gadgetery, button-activated, high-tech mechanics of HL1 (were there bridges like that in HL2? All rust and metal, as I remember). If you feel like adding "moar" of any kind, try doing something similarly techy.

I assume walking through the door is the end? I'm sure you put something there for the final version. Have you planned any kind of "story" (or "pseudo-story", as there are only 10 minutes to fill)? Anything would be nice.

Last but not least, I would have liked to see at least one more enemy than combines. And if it's just a headcrab.

But very nice work overall. Inevitably short, but dense.

reaper47 said:
Very enjoyable! Reminded me of some of the best parts of the original City 17 chapters. Theres a nice flow to the fights, good use of the layout that already works very well in HL2DM.

My only criticism would be cosmetic.

Fire away, I can definitely try to improve things. I tried fixing some of the visual complaints of dm_torque but I'm kinda hemmed in by the layout, especially when dealing with outdoor detail.

I nearly died within the first third or so of the map, without having done anything wrong. There was a distinct lack of medkits. Just placing one or two at the beginning could have provided a very satisfying find.

Good call. I was considering the medic a walking healthkit for the beginning of the level, but that's probably not a good idea considering how easily he can be killed (and how suicidal in general rebels are). Now he can be a bonus instead of something unreliable players have to rely upon.

I loved the "energy bridge" bit. Such a small detail, but it gave me a very positive flashback to the gadgetery, button-activated, high-tech mechanics of HL1 (were there bridges like that in HL2? All rust and metal, as I remember). If you feel like adding "moar" of any kind, try doing something similarly techy.

There were a few bridges like that in the Citadel in Episode 1, but none that I can remember elsewhere. I'd love more things like it in the map but I dunno where I could fit them in or what exactly they'd be, heh.

I assume walking through the door is the end? I'm sure you put something there for the final version. Have you planned any kind of "story" (or "pseudo-story", as there are only 10 minutes to fill)? Anything would be nice.

Story is definitely a weak spot for me, and it is inevitably what always torpedos my single player ideas. I can do themes and settings well but beyond that...

I'll try to come up with something. It'll at least be an improvement over walking through a door then fade to black :/

Last but not least, I would have liked to see at least one more enemy than combines. And if it's just a headcrab.

Hmm, I've got a few good ideas for this. Might as well use Hunters if I'm stuck using Ep2.

But very nice work overall. Inevitably short, but dense.

Thanks for taking the time to run through it and give me comments, it is very appreciated!

Is this a single player only? No multi-player? Can a multi-player map be made out of it?

I need to DL it and check it out, because I like what I see from the pictures.

Muhnay said:
Can a multi-player map be made out of it?

It actually was a multiplayer map from the beginning, and a great one, too: http://www.snarkpit.net/index.php?s=maps&map=1543

This was an entry for the (short-lived) PlanetPhillip DM2SP mapping competition.

How hard would this be to convert over to CSS?

By the way thanks for the heads up.. just DLed it and will try it out now.

Muhnay said:
How hard would this be to convert over to CSS?

Well... I haven't the foggiest idea really. I never mapped for CounterStrike.

I'd imagine all the textures and props would have to be changed, plus the map is built out of scale to facilitate deathmatch movement which would mean it would probably look really strange in CSS... and this isn't even mentioning the layout which wasn't designed with CSS in mind at all. It probably wouldn't turn out so well.

I enjoyed this too!

I think defiantly the biggest merit of this level is the gameplay. The whole thing flowed really nicely and it was a joy to play (I was playing on hard). The level design felt non-linear and has the ability to offer players interesting gameplay scenarios (no box room linear fighting here).

Other things I liked:

+ Pacing in terms of enemy placement, item placement and the like was good although I felt it got easier at the end which was a little disappointing. (I guess this is the same as reaper saying it was perhaps a little too difficult at the start).

+ I felt like I was a part of a bigger world! I saw spaces I couldn't get too and saw things in the distance.

+ The weapon/ammo/item crates where semi hidden (around corners and in dead ends etc.) which was good. Always good to reward the player's exploration.

In regards to negatives, I agree with reaper and think that the biggest negative (which is minor compared to the positives I suppose) is probably cosmetic. You've gone with the City 17 visual style which is all well and good and it looks decent but it feels lacking somehow.

I can't exactly put my finger on it, but perhaps the spaces could use a little visual polish. It seemed very generic/diffuse, maybe try adding some more trim around the place and try and squeeze some more depth into the environment. You could also sharpen up the lighting a bit in some areas I think.

If I was to rate the map on it's visuals on a scale of City 17 maps, 1 being the most killboxy, linear, terrible map and 10 being a professional, perfect looking City 17 map this'll be hovering around 7 or so.

As I said, I can't exactly define what it needs, it's really easy to just say "oh yeah, more pipes, signage, graffiti, grunge, rubbish" etc so I'll try not to say that but just add more depth to the environment, give it a touch more character because I think it's perhaps a little generic/bland. Or maybe I've just seen City 17 too much.

Two last things, I wasn't sure when I was finished the map (or maybe I didn't finish it), perhaps like a fade out with music and "The End" would have been nice. And every time I died, the fade in appeared on screen, you should probably fix that too.

"Yak_Fighter" said:
Story is definitely a weak spot for me, and it is inevitably what always torpedos my single player ideas. I can do themes and settings well but beyond that...

Heh, it's simple. A simple backstory and motive for something like this me thinks.

"Set during the events of Half-Life 2, you're part of a squad of rebels scattered across the City and must rendezvous at insert name here to neutralize the insert name here which is crucial to the Human resistance against Combine forces."

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Aaron's Stuff

Yak_Fighter said:
Fire away, I can definitely try to improve things. I tried fixing some of the visual complaints of dm_torque but I'm kinda hemmed in by the layout, especially when dealing with outdoor detail.

If you want to spice up visuals, I guess the somewhat flat, 90° building facades are the biggest drawback. I have a hard time thinking of ways to improve them, though. What could help is getting rid of some right angled geometry. Skewing some of the buildings by a few degrees, maybe adding a little slope to the street, etc. Could turn out to be quite a pain in the ass, though...

Try some more colorful textures, maybe, especially for the background buildings which might allow a little more experimentation without having to redo the layout.

aaron_da_killa said:
I enjoyed this too!

I think defiantly the biggest merit of this level is the gameplay. The whole thing flowed really nicely and it was a joy to play (I was playing on hard). The level design felt non-linear and has the ability to offer players interesting gameplay scenarios (no box room linear fighting here).

The benefit of converting a deathmatch layout, no doubt

Pacing in terms of enemy placement, item placement and the like was good although I felt it got easier at the end which was a little disappointing. (I guess this is the same as reaper saying it was perhaps a little too difficult at the start).

Yeah, it definitely gets easier as you go along, by the third button you've likely killed all the enemies in the map. That can be fixed

I can't exactly put my finger on it, but perhaps the spaces could use a little visual polish. It seemed very generic/diffuse, maybe try adding some more trim around the place and try and squeeze some more depth into the environment.

As I said, I can't exactly define what it needs, it's really easy to just say "oh yeah, more pipes, signage, graffiti, grunge, rubbish" etc so I'll try not to say that but just add more depth to the environment, give it a touch more character because I think it's perhaps a little generic/bland. Or maybe I've just seen City 17 too much.

Are you thinking this about the outside area, the hotel interior (the big room with the busted roof and multiple levels), the other interiors, or the whole map? Specifics would be nice :P

The outside is difficult to for me to improve with props like awnings, gutters, etc because the vertical scale is 144 units a story as opposed to the official 128 units, which makes stuff like gutters not fit well. I've got some ideas though.

The hotel interior is going to get slightly custom textures and a few visual tweaks which I think should help that area.

Some of the other interior areas are definitely lacking detail, so I'll fix that up.

You could also sharpen up the lighting a bit in some areas I think.

No doubt, my lighting is almost always terrible. Which areas though?

Two last things, I wasn't sure when I was finished the map (or maybe I didn't finish it), perhaps like a fade out with music and "The End" would have been nice. And every time I died, the fade in appeared on screen, you should probably fix that too.

There was an end, you go through a door after bringing down the gate and it fades to black with "THE END". That's gonna have to change as it sucks. I never noticed an improper fade occuring after death, I'll look into it.

Heh, it's simple. A simple backstory and motive for something like this me thinks.

"Set during the events of Half-Life 2, you're part of a squad of rebels scattered across the City and must rendezvous at insert name here to neutralize the insert name here which is crucial to the Human resistance against Combine forces."

I have that in the readme:

The battle for City 17 is in full swing. Early success has been met with the crushing reality that is the might of the Combine military machine. Progress has been stalled on nearly every front, with many difficult obstacles standing in the way of victory. One such obstacle, Checkpoint Torque, has proven nearly impossible to overcome. Enter Gordon Freeman, Earth's champion and last hope. The gate into deeper sections of City 17 must be brought down if the Combine is to be defeated.

...but I'm not too sure how well the current map reinforces the story. I'm pretty sure players would rather the story be in the map as opposed to the readme.

Thanks for playing and thanks for the comments!

reaper47 said:
If you want to spice up visuals, I guess the somewhat flat, 90° building facades are the biggest drawback. I have a hard time thinking of ways to improve them, though. What could help is getting rid of some right angled geometry. Skewing some of the buildings by a few degrees, maybe adding a little slope to the street, etc. Could turn out to be quite a pain in the ass, though...

Pain in the ass indeed. That's definitely a visual failing of dm_torque. There's basically a big orange cube in the middle of the map, which was a cool throwback to the original HLDM torque but not exactly visually stimulating.

If I were remaking the map from the ground up I would definitely try to reduce the right angles but with the map as is it's difficult to do with any great effect. I'd think it's one of those things that have to be designed in at the start as opposed to grafted on at this stage. I can try a few different things though.

Likely though this is going to remain a problem that I'll just have to accept

Try some more colorful textures, maybe, especially for the background buildings which might allow a little more experimentation without having to redo the layout.

Yeah, that's a good idea. I was probably a little too aggressive in reducing the number of textures used, especially since I use that ugly orange building texture on 4 seperate buildings...

I think I'd like to see more signs that there is/used-to-be life in this area of the City. Looking through the screenshots, I can't see any nice tall (or short) trees or any flora at all and I know there is some flora in the level but some more would be nice, even a few of those tall trees in the foreground where the player can't get to are nice.

There are some things in level design such as ambient sound I'm pretty big on and knowing there is more outside of the area I'm confined to is one of those things, particularly if what I can't get to or can see in the distance is interesting.

Some wires dangling around the place from the tops of buildings would be good.

More signage such as advertisements, warnings, notices etc around the spaces are always a nice touch and give areas more character and depth, plus players might want to read them.

Imagine these spaces in real life at night. There would probably be street lights and some other lights around the place to light up the area, you might want to add some light fixtures where you think they would be in real life such as some street lights. Even though they won't be in use, they still contribute to the depth of the environment and make it contribute to the sense of live being present here at some point.

I mentioned that the level design gameplay wise is pretty non linear, but the actual architecture itself is quite linear, everything is at 90 degree angles. See if you can make some of the existing things in the level face other angles. Just a few things at a 45 degree angle would be enough to make the architecture appear alot less linear.

Also, some arbitrary quirks in the environment is nice. Maybe a surface is slightly angled for some reason or there is a pillar embedded in the side of a wall for no particular reason.

I'd perhaps also like to see a little more variation in the textures. It appears the map uses a very narrow pallet of the same type of textures (plaster/concrete, orange/white) not to mention that the ones with the embedded doors/windows I've always found quite unappealing and this level seems to use alot of them, plus the player can walk right up to them as opposed to keeping them away from the player. I think you should try to add some more brick/metal textures in there.

Also, it seems alot of the maps depth/detail come from the textures themselves and I think I'd like to see more depth from the brushwork and other things you place in the map as opposed to the various patterns and variations in the textures themselves.

As for the lighting, I think sharper and more defined lighting (more contrast between light and shade) is more attractive than a relatively evenly lit map with very diffuse looking shadows which is what I see in the exterior spaces (it is a cloudy day I suppose). Increase the lightmap scale where you can to sharpen up those shadows.

As for light colours, I think subtlety is the key. Most of the lights in the level shouldn't be too far away from white. Don't make most of your lights too yellow, or too green or too blue, lights mostly white with slight shades of colour look nicer in my opinion but remember, don't do that to all of your lights, having some stronger coloured lights occasionally is nice.

Your spot lights I think should be quite bright and have a relatively narrowish range so the rest of the room is darker. With that in mind, this spotlight is probably too dim. The difference between light and shade here is quite minimal and I think you should increase that difference. Also, consider making the light less coloured and more white but still keep that blue colour in it.

Lighting is pretty important because it's like a visual overlay ontop of everything else and regardless a poorly lit space never really looks good, you could get the most beautiful environment and light it like shit and it would look terrible.

Hope that helps!

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Aaron's Stuff

aaron_da_killa said:
I think I'd like to see more signs that there is/used-to-be life in this area of the City. Looking through the screenshots, I can't see any nice tall (or short) trees or any flora at all and I know there is some flora in the level but some more would be nice, even a few of those tall trees in the foreground where the player can't get to are nice.

Trees in the background is an excellent idea. I could also add a few more things to the inaccessible-yet-not-skybox areas.

There are some things in level design such as ambient sound I'm pretty big on and knowing there is more outside of the area I'm confined to is one of those things, particularly if what I can't get to or can see in the distance is interesting.

I do need to put in some more ambient sounds, that's on the list. I'm also considering using a heavier combat soundscape as the current one is very light combat.

Some wires dangling around the place from the tops of buildings would be good.

dm_torque had wired telephone poles but I deleted them cause I felt intact wires amongst a bunch of shattered buildings looked silly. However I think I've got a better solution than just cutting them out.

More signage such as advertisements, warnings, notices etc around the spaces are always a nice touch and give areas more character and depth, plus players might want to read them.

Hmm... I felt there was already enough of this stuff in the map but I can always add more.

Imagine these spaces in real life at night. There would probably be street lights and some other lights around the place to light up the area, you might want to add some light fixtures where you think they would be in real life such as some street lights. Even though they won't be in use, they still contribute to the depth of the environment and make it contribute to the sense of live being present here at some point.

That was an oversight on my part, something so obvious and so easy to do.

I mentioned that the level design gameplay wise is pretty non linear, but the actual architecture itself is quite linear, everything is at 90 degree angles. See if you can make some of the existing things in the level face other angles. Just a few things at a 45 degree angle would be enough to make the architecture appear alot less linear.

Also, some arbitrary quirks in the environment is nice. Maybe a surface is slightly angled for some reason or there is a pillar embedded in the side of a wall for no particular reason.

I'm not gonna make any promises, but we'll see.

I'd perhaps also like to see a little more variation in the textures. It appears the map uses a very narrow pallet of the same type of textures (plaster/concrete, orange/white)...

That is definitely an issue that can be remedied.

Also, it seems alot of the maps depth/detail come from the textures themselves and I think I'd like to see more depth from the brushwork and other things you place in the map as opposed to the various patterns and variations in the textures themselves.

That's the point of the textures. Obviously I could carve out every window, have it set in a few units, make a trim, add breakable glass, and give an interior, but there has to be some concessions for performance. If this were still a deathmatch map I'd dismiss this entirely, but since it's single player I'll look to add a little more building detail outside.

Maybe it is silly of me to still take design and performance cues from Half-Life 2, given that it is 5 years old and many people's computers are more powerful (not mine :P). Perhaps it's kinda like making a HL1 map today that'll still run in software mode, a pointless exercise that nobody cares about :/

...not to mention that the ones with the embedded doors/windows I've always found quite unappealing and this level seems to use alot of them, plus the player can walk right up to them as opposed to keeping them away from the player. I think you should try to add some more brick/metal textures in there.

I'm assuming you're talking about the area in the second picture. I know that pretty much nobody likes the windows as is, but what is the alternative? Every window I knock out adds to the brushwork and probably adds another room the player can get into. It also reduces the 'scanability' of the map, where it is less obvious where you are supposed to go and less obvious what spots should be ignored and what spots explored. If I were to remove every single window from just the bottom level and make rooms there that would be 16 additional rooms the player can enter to pretty much no purpose.

Some of those windows are slated to go, especially the broken ones that are almost totally black, but replacing every single one of them is a very tall order.

As for the lighting, I think sharper and more defined lighting (more contrast between light and shade) is more attractive than a relatively evenly lit map with very diffuse looking shadows which is what I see in the exterior spaces (it is a cloudy day I suppose). Increase the lightmap scale where you can to sharpen up those shadows.

This is surprising because I'm pretty sure the light_environment is set to have its shadows as sharp as possible. Maybe I changed it on accident or something.

As for light colours, I think subtlety is the key. Most of the lights in the level shouldn't be too far away from white. Don't make most of your lights too yellow, or too green or too blue, lights mostly white with slight shades of colour look nicer in my opinion but remember, don't do that to all of your lights, having some stronger coloured lights occasionally is nice.

Of course. Nobody wants colored lighting vomited all over a map, though I'm pretty sure that all of the light colors in the map are taken from Valve City 17 maps so I dunno :/

Your spot lights I think should be quite bright and have a relatively narrowish range so the rest of the room is darker.

Hmm, I can try that and see how it goes.

Lighting is pretty important because it's like a visual overlay ontop of everything else and regardless a poorly lit space never really looks good, you could get the most beautiful environment and light it like shit and it would look terrible.

I guess when I said my lighting was terrible I should have described it as 'utilitarian', cause it's there and you can see what needs seeing. It probably doesn't add much though.

Hope that helps!

Of course, the more the merrier!

Between you and Reaper my to-do list went from 4 items to three full pages!

Yak_Fighter said:
That's the point of the textures. Obviously I could carve out every window, have it set in a few units, make a trim, add breakable glass, and give an interior, but there has to be some concessions for performance. If this were still a deathmatch map I'd dismiss this entirely, but since it's single player I'll look to add a little more building detail outside.

Maybe it is silly of me to still take design and performance cues from Half-Life 2, given that it is 5 years old and many people's computers are more powerful (not mine :P). Perhaps it's kinda like making a HL1 map today that'll still run in software mode, a pointless exercise that nobody cares about :/

It might not even be a good idea stilistically or gameplay-wise to add more interiors, but let me tell you that additional geometry of this sort has hardly any impact at all on performance. Even on low-end systems. Brushwork is cheap in Source. You could definitely try and give windows or wall columns some indent, without doing an interior. It would add maybe 100-200 polygons, which is hardly worth a single frame per second in Source.

It's almost exclusively shaders, models and bad vis that is causing performance problems. Rows of polygons like this have hardly any impact.

5 pages now?

Nope, just five or six additional notes.

and yeah, I know Source allows for many more brushes, just that the relative ambiguity of showbudget has always annoyed me, and it's hard for me to avoid slipping back into goldsrc "r_speeds over 1000 better start cutting" mode. Even though there's no r_speeds in Source.

Hell, when dm_torque was in beta I noted the less than ideal performance and my solution was to cut brushes and I don't think it had any impact at all.

I'm only five weeks behind schedule, but I have been working on beta2 of the map. Part of the delay is from distractions, but also because I needed to take a break to allow myself to change what I had become so enamored with. A vis compile time that has ballooned to 4+ hours from 1 hour hasn't helped either.

Many suggested changes have been incorporated, but there's still plenty on the todo list, the biggest remaining being improved lighting. Gameplay as of now is unchanged, and as the visual changes are not yet finished there's no reason to post beta2 for download. Next update will include the map download and a Snarkpit map profile page.

Here are some comparison shots. Top picture is beta2, bottom picture is beta1:

This is the main Combine base building, completely redesigned with a round corner (the pictures are taken from opposite sides of the building). The orange building, retextured and with additional damage to the roof. You can also see part of the rounded corner of the new Combine base building. View of the orange building from the opposite side. There are additional rubble props and a broken streetlight in the rubble pile. Interior area of the Combine base, with additional Combine influence. Roof of the orange building with additional damage. The Combine floor is there to keep the same amount of walkable floorspace and to reduce the player's ability to get himself stuck in the rubble below. The hotel interior, with retextured walls, inset windows with metal trim, and improved handrails. Alternate view of the hotel interior. The starting building which is basically retextured. Telephone poles and wires added. You can also see a tree way in the background. First interior area, retextured and rethemed with additional props. The outside of the end building. It now has some depth instead of being a flat plane.

It looks good man. Love the hotel and how you did the crashed floor.

Great additions. Looking much better now.

Hey cool. I don't have steam installed right now, so I can only comment based on screenshots. I especially like the inside of the hotel, that's looking really good. It also looks like theres a lot of 3D connectivity, overhangs, overlooks, etc, which makes for great gameplay in my experience.

My main suggestion is that the piles of rubble look too clean and smooth. I think it would help a lot if there were occasional pieces of 3D rubble sticking out of it to break the smooth contour of the displacement. Eg: broken boards partially submerged, pieces of bent rebar coming out of it, chunks of concrete stuck in there. Maybe an upside down sliding chair sticking out, a decrepit car half-covered, etc. For most of the small stuff you can just make it walk-throughable so it doesn't block movement.

It's sort of like how an artist doesn't draw every single brick on a wall or shingle on a roof, but they carefully articulate a few here and there.