2 New op4 Maps....DONE!! YAY!

OK....the first one is op4_drlightslab, or Dr. Lights Lab.  This map was inspired by the old Megaman Anime that used to come on every saterday morning.  Dr. Light was Megaman's creator, and he often used incredible inventions that only took about 1/3 of the episode to make.  So, i included a quite large armory, and a Plasma Power Plant (seen in one of the episodes) and a missle silo...which wasnt part of the original series, but it looked good.  This map is more for just kicks than for actual playing in...but its still fun, and has some good values to it.

The second map is a forest...named op4_forest, duh.  Its quite a nice little map....still some bugs i need to work out of it, so im not going to post it quite yet....but im working on it.  Now your asking "Ronin, Half-Life engien is ment for sandy, deserty types of environments, how'd ya do it?" And im going to say that it wasnt easy, and its not the best looking forest....you kinda have to use your imagination....but what makes the forest is the textures on the trees...and big trees they are....your more like in the Redwood forest in Calf. not some dinky little underbrush.  The screenshots are coming, i have to fix my graphics program to accept a new program a put in...then i will get them up.  Over all, i think there ok... not my best work, but there maps, and mapping is what i love to do. -Ronin

 

Some images in this post have been automatically down-sized, click on them to view the full sized versions:

Some images in this post have been automatically down-sized, click on them to view the full sized versions:

Some images in this post have been automatically down-sized, click on them to view the full sized versions:

Some images in this post have been automatically down-sized, click on them to view the full sized versions:

Some images in this post have been automatically down-sized, click on them to view the full sized versions:

Pics.....

 



 

 





 



 

All pics above are for the level op4_drlightslab

:eek:   Look at those lights!

Ronin said:
All pics above are for the level op4_drlightslab

:eek:   Look at those lights!

yeah, nice :wink:

i noticed the new downsizer if functioning at 100%.. nice job lep...

does this downsize thing work only for dimensions? or does it incorporate a level of file size adjustment as well?

 

as to the screens.. nice beginning.. i don't think i have seen quite that much grating used all in one room before.. very original :smile:

Thanks Orpheus!  Like i said before, im trying to come up with new things every time i map....unfortenetly that room wasnt all mine, that was the prefab i was talking about....but i am learning....I have tried to make some new textures and im going to be playing with the custom wad files soon so i can make even better maps.  The room with the twin generaters is mine...and the grateing was an adition that i added to the prefab....along with the style of wall....but i think its an over all good map...about the resizer...should i resize my pics before i post them, or is that what its there for?

 

Nah, it just sticks in a 'width=800' tag (and leaves some messages at the top the poster really should delete.. lol), so it does nothing for the real image size. You could make them smaller yourself (preferably 800x600) in an image editor, or just leave them, although obviously shrinking them makes them look a bit awful...

Good on you for experimenting with new ideas :smile:   Here's a few tips that might help:

The lighting in these pics ranges from very dark to fully bright.  Something more moderate would be better.

There's far too much grating in one pic - it hurts the eyes   But the pillar that goes between levels is a good touch.  It always helps to connect areas with bits of architecture like this, since it helps players to trace their way around the map and feel like they are not just in a bunch of separate rooms.

The architecture is very flat and boxy - this stops it from feeling real.  It looks more like "a big box to put cool stuff in".  The first shot in particular suffers from "big open box syndrome".  Try making more interesting shapes and spaces.

The laser effects look funky, but once again it seems like the room has only been made so that you can stuff in those effects.  Make it feel more like a real place.

 

So you play op4?  Check out the maps that I have made for OP4.  :smile: :smile:

First off, thanks to you Gollum for giving me tips....i can always use them :biggrin: , as well as a kinda review for my map.... i need review...desperatly.  And second is to Fiddler, i have all of your maps an like them very much, i use them most frequently on my LAN. 

Now to your comment Gollum about making the rooms different shapes.....so far every map that i have tried this on i end up losing my self in b/c its a little too advanced for me right now, boxes i recognize and i can most easily work with. I also realize that this makes for a dull map, which im going to try to improve in my maping...but my question is, cant i just use clipping to make the "box" more interesting? 

One more thing...my Title for the post says 2 new maps....well due to an unforseen error....its only one for now....forest is delayed for a while, but sibbur i have submited, i just need to add the pics on the SP.  Thanks again guys for the input, keep it coming...Its very encuraging to get such positive remarks on only your 4th map :smile: .  Oh ya...and that "pillar" that you refered to Gollum, is a giant rocket :biggrin: .

EDIT: I'm sorry, I missed the armory.  I've added it to my critique now.

2 hours and 4 sides of A4 later...

Please don't take the following critique too strongly.  My comments sound quite nasty in places but I'm just trying to get to the point so that it wouldn't drag on, so don't take any offence.

Big TV Room

• Your big crates sound like metal.  You can make unbreakable crates sound like wood by making them a func_breakable, setting "Material Type" to 'wood' and making the "Strength" 0 (unbreakable).
• The same for your computer map.  With the right material you could get some nice sparks.  Try making a light fixture above or below the map which  is angled towards it to add some light.
• The angled ceiling monitor is very nice.
• The whitish texture in the middle column is too bright.  Try a more pale brown/green texture to match the other textures.  If you want some light here try a few vertical fixtures around the column, or even make a gap in the column and add a 360 degree light fixture!
• These 4 textures clash.  Try less contrasting textures and add some sort of trim between them to make it flow (a pillar in the corner maybe?)  I think the metal plate ceiling texture doesn't go too well.  Maybe if you use the green lab texture around the room?

• Again more computers dying for sparks.  The drinks machine has potential if you use a breakable one with cans shooting out.  Something noisy like that could alert people in neighbouring rooms of enemies.
• The flickering TV is nice but I think the texture is a tad overstretched.  A custom one would do nicely but I understand that it's probably too time consuming.
• These posters should have light fixtures.  Not much point in posters you can't see.  The computers could also do with some light and some whirring computery sounds (use ambient_generic for sounds).

• Some dodgy texture alignment on your big ceiling lights.
• Put some stuff in the middle of your room for cover (like pillars).

Generator Room

• That pulsating lighting can really get to you.  I'd suggest some light fixtures as well so that you can still get a minimal amount of lighting.  It is only a visual affect and shouldn't stand in the way of gameplay.
• Texturing around the room is bland.  I'd suggest some computers and control panels around the edges and only use the wire texture in a few places if at all.
• Try making the top bits on the generators spin around.  Would make a nice whirry noise too.
• That ladder is out of place.  If you fix up the room (see above) then it will fit in.  I think you could also do with another floor to this room, just a balcony floor around the edge, that you could reach with the ladder.  That's be cool.  Also put a grating at the duct entrance (ducts in real-life usually have a grating).  It also poses a decision to the player - should they break the duct and risk being heard or walk away?
• An alternate exit to this room would be good (the duct isn't a very accessable route)

Wide corridor + neighbouring rooms

• The corridor entrance looks odd from the TV room.  You should probably place a trim over the seams between the 2 textures.
• The ceiling fixtures might look better with something around them or try making them indented slightly into the ceiling.
• The floor and ceiling textures are ok, but the walls look odd.
• The crate is good for cover.  Cover is a good thing and adds to gameplay.  Just don't forget to use other objects, and pillars work well, expecially down the centre of wide corridors.
• You have some dodgy textures on the frames of your doors.  Try a trim texture instead.
• The clock is back-to-front!  Set the texture alignment from 'world' to 'face' or vice-versa.  If bith are ticked then put a - in front of your X scaling number.  Also try setting the "Rendermode" to 'Additive' on your clock and "FX Amount" to 255.  Doing this gets rid of the black outline.
• More material sounds!
• The wall textures are a bit odd in the drinks machine room, and both rooms could do with a different ceiling texture.
• Dead ends are cruel.  The whole corridor and adjoining rooms are a dead end.  I'd suggest extending your corridor round a corner and linking it to other arenas.

Rocket Room

• The floor texture on the bottom floor should be changed.
• Watch out for texture alignment on the rocket and back-to-front textures also.
• While the concrete wall texture looks great on the bottom floor, it doesn't quite fit the bright surroundings everywhere else, expecially on the top floor and the doorways.
• The whole area (except for the bottom floor) is too bright.
• A grate on the duct would do nicely.
• The ceiling texture on the top floor is very ugly.  Try making the ceiling slant inwards a bit and then use that texture on the flat bit in the middle (where is will be smaller).
• The stairs look a tad dodgy.  Try only using grating for the bits where you put your feet.
• I like the idea of 2 doorways next to each other.
• You need more exits.

Duct

• Textures are misaligned
• You wouldn't find lights in a duct.  Make light come from the rooms behind the grates, and maybe rooms you can't even get to.
• The duct is straight.  Make it bend a bit, with links to some of your other rooms on the way.
• With more duct entrances there should be more ways to get into the duct.  Otherwise it makes the map feel very linear and straight forward.
• Make the duct in the rocket room protrude so that it goes into the room itself, bends, and continues out another room.  If your map is too small to have your duct continue that far then try this:

Armoury

• The texture on the wall with the door clashes with the rest.  I suggest you just make it a lab texture like the others.
• Ditch the lights on the sides of the chargers and use just the top ones.  Make them brighter too.
• Try using textured lighting.  There is a tutorial or two on this site about how to use it if you are not sure.
• The weaponry in this room is simply overkill and the whole map become based on the weaponry room.  Ditch most of the weapons, and keep 1 HEV charger and 1 health charger.  Maybe it would be a good idea to add a vent exit here, but make it impossible to get into the vent (make it high up).  This will stop campers from lasting too long, especially if you make the lighting around the vent poor.

NOTE: Trims are objects or strips which cover the seams between textures to make them match.  Have a look at the doorframes in your house.  They stop the decoration in adjoining rooms from clashing and looking silly.

 

Longest post ever? :biggrin:

Sim said:
Longest post ever? :biggrin:

for you? yeah, but very well done..

/me bows to a fellow master critiquer..

welcome to the few, and the proud :smile:

if you and mazemaster keep this up, i will be out of a job soon :smile:

Wow....I LOVE IT!!!! Thanks a bunch Sim. WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT!!!! I GOT A POSITIVE NOTE :biggrin: !!!  This is great for me!  I was expecting to have like awful marks and just a bunch of demoralizing remarks....I have to admit, you put it in a way that challanged me to fix it. From what i can tell from the remarks the only major thing was that of the dead end....and the little stuff is what makes the map..(ie, the sounds on the crates...and the textures, Please correct me if im wrong)  I cant tell you how much this helps me!  Where where you for my other maps...?

Im quite happy as you can tell, this is proboly the most helpful thing on the site for me.  I can't tell you how much i appreciate this Sim!  This is great! Im going to try and to what you suggested, but im still a noob so dont expect me to get it wright the first time around, But i will do my best :biggrin: .  I

I dont know if this makes a difference, but if you read my summery of my map i point out that this map is based on some pictures i have seen in an anime.  Now i know that is no exuse for poor textureing and lack of sounds...and poor weapon placement...but i'm trying to keep it as accurate as possible (eg the armory).  I will defenetly look into improving this maps and the maps that i make in the future.  THANKS SIM!!!

No problem Ronin.  I'm looking forward to seeing how your maps progress :smile: