dm_hydroponicz | map by Pig Popper

This is a a discussion topic for the map "beta_colony (a working title)" by pig Popper which can be found here

Map description:

Current named beta_conoly (this name sucks, maybe dm_hydrology)

DOWNLOAD!!

Play Style:
Built with 3v3 in mind but shold work equally well as 1v1, a split level and circular style map well connected with some teleports for added fun

Theme:
Set in what has been described as a lost colony, possibly harvesting some unknown resource (check pic 4, 6)

Weapons:
At the moment there are 2 of everything excluding the RPG, and a nade crate and about 6 loose nades.
Personally i think the current weapon layout works well but I'm keen to get others opinions about this.

The RPG is atop of a tube that constantly raises and lowers so you gotta spend some time planning when yuo're gonna access it, it also functionis as a lift (it is not a lift) to the 3 levels. When someone attempts to collect the RPG the seconds it takes allows an opposing player time to reach a vantage vai an alternative route, hopefully balancing the rpg's role during play.

Health:
1 x super charger
2 x suit chargers
2 x health chargers
about 4 health and suit
(loose health suit needs to be tweaked)

Areas: The map is comprised of 3 main play areas
1. charger area
2. RPG (lift) area
3. Garden area (+ indoor botanical garden)
there is also a rather pivotal connecting setion that overlooks all 3 to some degree.

gonna be playtesting this soon but heres a few pics in the meantime

thoughts welcome.

Map screenshots:

---

http://aworkingpig.org

Good to see another pig-beta! Really like this so far. Geometry is very well done, I can see it being pretty fast. Lighting is a brighter than the screens portray. Some notes from a run through:

• The hatch-doors are way cool, but there's one near a yellow railing that actually did impede my 'escape' by not being fast enough ( if you try to pass through at the outer edge rather than the centre )...Im not that fast of a player but I can see that being a frustration. Maybe an invisible func_brush toggling to nonsolid instead of the actual door brushes? or just make it faster?

-unsure about the looping sound, a little monotonous after awhile

-was looking for another exit out of the green outdoor-charger area

-love that sky texture. There's quite a few other tetxures that don't do justice to the potential, though. The stock concrete and metal just seem drab and lifeless and actually take away more than they add here. I can see you're experimenting there; the basement plant area looks good... I kinda think going for a more airfusion-style texture scheme will take this farther than the dirty hl2 ethic.

Awesome stuff so far!

thanks the input mate, some useful points there.

I was actually thinking the same about the stock textures but they started to grow on me after a while :), I'm glad you mentioned it, they do look drab.

---

http://aworkingpig.org

The map has been updated, some minor game play, sound and visual tweaks, if you spot anything out of place let me know as I'll have missed it

DOWNLOAD!!

---

http://aworkingpig.org

Downloading now. It's probably a good idea to specify what game this is for, not everybody is going to know this is for hl2dm.

---

Aaron's Stuff

Link doesn't seem to work at the moment

---

Aaron's Stuff

aaron_da_killa said:
Link doesn't seem to work at the moment

Thanks for pointing that out, this link should work.

DOWNLOAD

---

http://aworkingpig.org

Hi all, this map is near complete but I'm getting an odd shadow effect in teh map
Initially i thought it might be the nodraw brushes i used to create the grate effects as they sat inside the other brush but i fixed that.
Anyone recognize this issue?

---

http://aworkingpig.org

duplicated brushes in the same space?

leak?

Ive seen this shit on displacements before but not regular brushwork. What's the lightmap scale there?

also post yr log perhaps

Yea, my thoughts are with the lightmaps. I tried the map out and I must say, it's another creative addition to your collection. This one has a lot of neat new uses of given content, and the next textures and models fit in quite nicely. my favorite area is the green space, just because what you did with the framed 'displacement' walls, -and also the glass dome was a nice addition.

-A few bugs I remember: You can clearly hear the generic door swing sound for your tube elevators. The iris doors for the teleporters look like they're opening not only into the wall, but out at you a little bit as well. I'm sure you had a fun time lining up their open axis

I like how you changed the dx color for some of the models to give them a new 'edgier' feel to them, and also the colored spotlights pointed upward let players know where to go to get to the familiar themed areas.

-About that sound though, I thought it got a little annoying after a while. -Is it just for the beta release? I think you should really invest some time in a custom soundscape with more sounds included so that it doesn't get old too fast.

About the issue though, it could be microbrushes, but my thoughts lie in a leak or mis-scaled lightmaps.

---

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

thanks for the advice all,

It's an odd error that doesn't show up all the time, I'm gonna try adjusting the lightmaps and tweak all the micro brushes in the map.

@ Rivin: I have removed that sound finally, It really was annoying people
and unfortunatley had to lose the up pointing spots as they semed to be draining resources somewhat.

---

http://aworkingpig.org

Map complete,DOWNLOAD

Check top post for details...

Pig Out !!

---

http://aworkingpig.org

I love your maps.. they remind me of old style Unreal tournament maps.

Very nice map!