[map] kap9dm

This is a a discussion topic for the map "kap9dm" by kvackabill which can be found here

Map description:

The map is a remake of my house. I started working on it years ago and decided to finish it after a long hiatus. The environment outside the house isn't a realistic image of the real world but more of a stripped down version.
For obvious reasons I couldn't do the whole environment surrounding the house.

The map took 20 hours to compile. Because of this it is tedious to continue building on it. There are some things I would have wanted to polish though, maybe later.

Map screenshots:

Overall, I was surprised at how well detailed it all was. It really does feel like a real place in so far as it really resembled a real place. I know it is your house, but I just want to say even though I've never been there, I think I have a pretty good idea.

Also, what really impressed me was the 3D skybox. the way you managed to slip the displacements between them, seemed really well done. and the skybox trees are the right distance away. as well as the skybox building models. And with minimal content, you pulled off a nice scene.

A few little things like the water could probably be scaled up a bit so it's animation didn't seem so apparent. And the map didn't seem to have any cubemaps built yet. All I saw were what looked like skybox reflections. I ran "buildcubemaps" and only loaded 3 of them (as far as I could tell).

Overall though, I don't know how well it will play as a DM map, but as an accurate representation of a real place, it looks believable. And I can't believe this map took 20 hours to compile, that's crazy. There are some complicated brushwork for the angles in the house, and I must imagine, vis had a fun time dealing with that. A map of this size should not take 20 hours to compile. But whatever you did, it seems to have come out nicely. A shame you can't work on it further.

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

Thanks for an insightful review, a generous rating too! I'm very glad you found
it believable as a real place..
About the water it shouldn't be animated (it wasn't on my computer) so that I should fix..

And I will upload an updated version of the map soon, (because of the visual quirkiness)
also this particular version doesn't have grass sprites, which it was intended to have..

Uploaded updated version, fixed the cubemaps.. (the reason they werent built is I included the wrong bsp).. also the grass should work now...
I tried it on another computer and everything looked ok.

Is there anyway I can get you to compile another version of this map for Counter Strike Source?

This is a very pretty map with an excellent skybox.

However...

The map is a remake of my house

says it all really. Real world locations recreated 1:1 almost never work for deathmatch. Your house is no exception. Way too cramped interiors, too many dead ends, low head clearance, no space for evasive maneuvers and on and on. The connectivity, flow, and layout are all terrible.

This kind of design would be more appropriate for a single player map.

I disagree, it works for cs_militia. Ok maybe not a real world location.

Yak_Fighter said:
Real world locations recreated 1:1 almost never work for deathmatch. Your house is no exception. Way too cramped interiors, too many dead ends, low head clearance, no space for evasive maneuvers and on and on. The connectivity, flow, and layout are all terrible.

This kind of design would be more appropriate for a single player map.

I am well aware of the faulty gameplay in this map. It's more of a design project than anything else.
The map is playable though, but any more than 4 players would be a nightmare..
As for converting it to CS; it would probably be better because of the less hectic tempo. But it still wouldn't be good gameplay wise, the only way it could be playable is as an aim map.

Is there anyway I can get you to compile another version of this map for Counter Strike Source?

Sure, if you want.. As said it would probably be better off as a CS map.
But don't expect it to be so good.. and if I encounter too much problems converting it, I won't bother.

I think your map is a good "base" for a map, but it unfortunately does not lend itself to deathmatch gameplay. Inside the buildings require increased flow. Doors are too small, hallways are too narrow. More props needed inside also. Outside connectivity and flow also needs some help. If you can improve these areas then I think this would make a good deathmatch map! As I said, I think this is a good map as a base so I sure hope you release additional versions.

As I said I have not put any time into making it suitable for deathmatch. It is what it is.
Maybe I will continue working on it, but I don't think so.. it would be very hard to change those things (making hallways broader and doors less small etc)..

When I continued building on this map, I didn't think it was going to be good gamelpay wise. I was just interested in finishing it and thought it would be a fun project to work on.

Actually removing some walls and rooms all together is the best solution, maybe I can do that when I convert it to CS.