SPLA Map

alrighty, so umm... ive already got a first build product, but i fear my section is gonna be a bit small as is, seeing as how i was following the 512 restrictions, should i worry too much or you think this be ok? and another thing, does HLDM have worldspawn kills alot? cause my section is built around the insta-death slime, add that to the small size, and my section is pretty much a killbox in its self...lol

i think i might have an out-dated or noobish fgd file...im too use to my uber cs fgd file...lol im using the standard HL.fgd that came with hammer...any better?

question about textures... im just sticking to the hl wad, are there any other wads i should have a look at?

P.S. i can only get stuff to/from you guys on fridays...atleast for another week or 2. my work comp still has no internet :sad: so anything under 64mb i can get on fridays.

Download the newest halflife.fgd from VERC

look on the wadfather for textures.

alright, well ill just continue workin til friday, then ill get the latest fgd, and post my first build. GL guys i hope this works out good.

I'm just kinda thinking about the connections and door sizes, will we just make general halls between them or...?

Sinner_D, get the latest HL.fdg I guess, I dont know if its changed, but I'm using the one that came with VHE3.4. As well, go take a look at Wadfather for textures you can use.

Ok, Gorbachev, you just raised and interesting question. Ok guys, if your making a hallway with the intention of it connecting to another section, then just make a simple hallway (1 ceiling, 1 floor, 2 walls) and texture it with the crete3_wall01 that way I know its going to connect somewhere and I'll mess around with it when I put the sections together.

well, my section has 3 ways in and out...2 of which are threw the stream. and my doorways are simple archs, i guess once we all get something done we can look more into the connections.

i guess im just too use to my uber CS fgd, its been a while sense i used hl fgd so im not use to the lack of ents...lol, ive also got the "3x" version, is that any different? i havent noticed anything.

Sinner_D and Gorbachev, we need to talk about connections. Where are your streams, so I can have them entering my map? And what color is your water?

I'm thinking of making my area a contained factory that has been unused for a while, so it has begun to be taken over by nature again...

ahh the joys of teamwork :smile:

Im hard at work with a Smelter.. its looking hot.. Ok not lava so much, but molten metal..

Do we need to worry about pipe works connecting?

($)

Gah! there is no way I'm touching hammer between now and december 10th, when my finals end. being a senior is a bitch.

ok horn, ill be uploading all my work sofar tomorrow, sometime around noon PST.

my stream goes strait threw my section, and im using !watergreen (hl wad) for the texture. anyways everything will be up for DL tomorrow. ill post a link for DL in here when its all uploaded.

P.S. i know this is gonna sound noobish, but how do i get a brush of water (slime) to move when triggered by a button? i want players to beable to drain my slime pits to access a super weapon :biggrin:

GL on the smelter money. do yah need a molten lava texture? i might beable to work one up for ya. let me know.

A func_water has all the same properties as a func_door. use it as such. HOWEVER, you MUST specify a lip value, or your water will dissapear when it stops moving. a verry irritating quirk until you figure it out!

Here's a few shots of my area in progress. It has 3 exits, two on main floor, and 1 above. It has a jump-pad from center floor to top floor. Feedback please :smile:



Little dark



Another view.

The walls all look too flat to be convincing rock IMO, lightings nice adn moody though and the layout looks like a good start.

Waterfall wise, since I wanted to use one as well, I think we should find a nice animated waterfall texture that everyone can use..

Rocks dont look conviencing as Schmung said. But otherwise its starting off good.

Light_environment plays a very important role in all of my maps. Which way will it be coming from and the pitch and color? I'm thinking of adding windows hewn thru the stone, and I'd like a light beam coming in...but don't know which way it will be coming from...

The rocks definitely need rockifying up a bit :smile: Maybe have the steps at slightly different heights to each other, or maybe a little wonky. With it being a natural cave-like setting, I doubt the steps would all be equally spaced from each other - rather worn into the environment from years of water/wind wear :smile:

And the glows on the lights could be a little less harsh as they jump out a little too much at the moment. Also maybe have something powering the lights?

Nice theme though! I like :smile:

light color is prolly gonna be a light blue with a 10-15 brithness. Angle and pitch is for you to have fun with.

The steps are all off centered :smile: I think the pics are too dark to really tell...I'll add more lights to the place and get some fresher pics for ya to see.

I'm going to put alot of weedy growth on alot of the rock surfaces to hide the "generic" feel. Alot of weeds will be hanging from the roof as well.

I'll be doing alot of work on it this weekend...and Sinner, I need to talk to you about your floor plan so we can get our doors matched up a bit :smile:

edit: just saw WC's post...the angle and pitch of the light_environment needs to be the same throughout the entire map...since it is one entity which lights the whole place...

perhaps a little more natural into your steps.

Heh :smile: I didn't word that too well. For the steps, I meant in a vertical sense - sorry about that, I should learn to type better :wink:

ya mean, make it so the player has to jump, crouch/jump up the steps?

nah, I think he means just so theres some variation in height. SAy some of them are 12 units some are 16.

I 'spose I should be thinking about my doors as well, but I can't say I've given it any consideration yet, hopefully I'll post some pics of what I'm working on later tonight.

Dark areas + water = bad (since the water is always lit). No doubt that will be different with the light_environment added.

Anyway, looks decent - I just can't tell much more than that because the pictures are so dark.

wow doc, im ashamed to even post my shiet...lol i didnt know we were going for broke. ok guys everything is up...here are some SS and link to DL







i was trying to keep the architecture as simple as possible. ill add in anything needed later...dont forget this is "first build" any ideas and such are welcome... heres the

Update: DL removed :wink: well it looks small but realize that im hovering...its acually bigger then it looks, but yes it is rather small, i think ill slow down on work and wait til i get pix of what others got...im already pushing the 1024 limit :

Is that all your section? Kinda small. Try to expand on it, add more detail, more lighting. Use your imagination. And dont post a download link just yet...

Doc- your waterfalls seem kind of thin, but otherwise I like what I see :smile:

Sinner- I guess 512^3 really was too small. I assume those are the dimensions you have? don't worry about keeping the archatecture simple. especialy if you are doing a small area, you should cram in as much detail as possible since your r_s aren't being used up by lots of open space. Oh, and those are really nice looking curved pipes :smile:

thnx...i posted a tut on how to do those pipes...soon as lep looks at it :biggrin:

yah im gonna work on the architecture now...i was just trying to keep it simple til i had an idea what others were doing. how you like my inst-death slime pits? MUAHAHA...lol

yah TB, 512^2 really was a small...not too small, but small limit :wink: ima try to enlarge it a bit.

P.S. if anyone from the team would like a link to DL... pm me and ill give it to ya.

Yes, expand on it, and, a general rule to all. If you want to give dL links, send them via PM's only.

A reminder to all that the UPPER CENTER section is still available

I think My piece may fit welll there.. Ill post pictures soon.. I went a tad more indrustrial, than the other two.

I like the cavern one alot.. very nice.. Waterfall is too thin.. but I like how you broke the water up.

The toxic waste room is small, but well done. Only problem I had with the room was the walls were very plain. I can see metal I Beams along the walls supporting a metal gang plank over the top of the containers, so someone could walk over and check levels and what not.

Well Like I said they are both very nice, and will be very cool in what ever we end up with as a collective.

($)

Maybe everyone should post what they're thinking of doing in their section so we all can get a grasp of what the overall picture may look like. Like if someone was gonna do an industrial setting right next to a cavern, maybe both guys doing those sections can kinda add a "hint" of each other's level in their own level..

kinda like Money was just sayin...an industrial..and if he chooses the top center, he'll be right next to me, so maybe I can add an industrial touch to the left side of my section since that's where his will be..and he can add a sort of cavernous rocky look to the right side of his section...

Just an idea...

Good work everyone so far...this is gonna be one hell of a |2/\|) map

I agree with Doc, sort of. But you guys need not worry too much about this yet. Because once I get the sections and put them back together, then the map will make it's way from one mapper to the other and they will modify their sections accordingly.

Bugger. Everything was going swimmingly, when I realised that to make my area work I'd have to break the size limit. The only solution I can see is to allow part of what I was doing to connect to someone elses section before re-connecting to mine, but that sort of ruins the plan I had for including my own little waterfall thingy.

?

I'll post piccys in a bit to explain.

Ok, this is the map as it is. I want to add supports under the platform and this is really early betaas stuff, but you get the ideas.



Basically what I wanted was to have stairs and my waterfall behind that wall and then entrances off the top. Alas I am already over my size limit, so I'm a bit f**ked. I'll see what I can think of by tomorrow, but this is the basic theme of my map.

the wall design in the first pic looks great. But the second pic looks fairly plain in my opinion. your red and white lights also looks strange as they dont appear to pop out or anything of the sort. the texturing and brithness look great though. :smile:

your red and white lights also looks strange as they dont appear to pop out or anything of the sort. the texturing and brithness look great though. :smile:

Explain what you mean by 'pop out' please. Not sure I get you. Anyway, more work will be done later today.

they dont look realistic, because they are in the wall. Its not soo much a problem for the red ones, but the white ones in the second pic would need some kind of changing.

New info for section mappers:

deadlines:

November 1st: send me your map (.RMF) with any needed files. I want to see how everything is going and it will give me an idea of how to start the centerpiece.

End of November: your sections must be done. Send them to me, I will put them together, then the map (as a whole) will be sent from one mapper to the next for adjustements to their sections and connection to their neiborring sections.

If the deadlines seem too soon, please let me know.

1: Pictures and White Lights..

The ones in the roof look fine. the big boxy ones I think look outta place. The red lights should be pushed in a bit, I know more faces, but it would look more finished. The cement beams along the roof, should also come down the wall in pic 2 and connect with the floor.

2: Deadlines

Thats fine by me Wild Card. ( stupid question ) how do I send it to you?

($)

answer to stupid question :razz:

You put everything in a .ZIP and email it to me
topgun832@hotmail.com

thnx for the idea money...i like it, and yes i am totally looking towards adding some more architectural design to my level. im planning on starting that asap. hey doc, what section are you? if your near me you can put some sort of industrial waste dumb (toxic slime barrels spilling over) stuff like that :wink:

schmung, lookin good

Doc, in your section I really suggest something other than the default textures for the water...if there's one thing I cannot stand in HL is default water textures. They are brutally nasty.

2 bits of advice.

1) only post images with the r_speeds turned on, so your team mates will have reliable info (always post images of a full compiled version)

2) reduce the area you plan on incorporating, people who are accustomed to working by themselves always tend to build grandiose areas, and forget the overall feel when working with others.. docs area looks ok, but is already nearing the r_speeds ceiling, and has almost no detail yet to speak of, his area might need reduced by 30 to 50% in overall space.

just a thought

words of advice from the old Orpheus. He is wise, but he is also old. :razz:

Wild Card said:
words of advice from the old Orpheus. He is wise, but he is also old. :razz:

sometimes it would be nice if age did play a role in wise comments, but alas, its not.

actually, i feel my age is a hindrance in my words, cause as much as i see children at snarkpit, the children only see and old person :sad:

as usual, my advice is offered in good faith, use what you need, disregard the rest.

I see a man with a hell of alot more experience than I have. Cheer up Orph :smile: