de_raincheck

What can I say? Rabid did it again.

The ambiance is just...cinematic. I feel like I am watching still frames of a movie. And I noticed that the redline no-parking curb problem has been fixed.

The point_spotlights from those lamps in screen4 look very thin and long. I think they would look better if the ray of light doesn't extend so far.

Lastly, I love the rain. I think it's the first map I've seen that has incorporated the rain effect so well into the map.

Lol i had the same idea in an oriental map that im working on... only it looks like half as nice = p. I especially liked the first pic ;D nj and i hope i see this in a server sometime soon. T_T its so much better than mine. Very good dynamic lighting, it fits the rain.

Those are some skinny light beams.

As Mike said those spotlights look too skinny - I'm noticing you have quite a fetish for them like that Looking really nice though, look forward to taking a closer look

Played through it. The inside could be a tad more detailed, but the outdoors is just stunning.

Site B blew me away: It was just amazing. Rain has been incorperated very well indeed. The light beams aren't as thin as they seem in the screenshot, but I do agree they need to be either made wider, or shorter.

The events that happen when the bomb goes off are very nifty, and well thought out.

Now, you're next project is to make a map which is crappy PC (like mine) friendly.

I fixed them for edit2 ;o. Thin spotlights do seem to trail in my wake, don't they ;). I've also replaced some stuff with the new, de_train content, and the Terrorist spawn point is a bit different thanks to some new models and brushwork. It's a bit late, though, so I'll get them up tomorrow.

About time to start a forum thread.

RC1 of Raincheck is now available to a selective audience interested in giving it a go (Hopefully with bots, don't break the Source engine :razz: ) and offering comments/suggestions. (Why a selective audience, you ask? I'm doing it to mainly ensure it doesn't wind it's way over onto someone's server rotation at the current time, mainly becuase I don't want to have to have a bit of a 'petrol' fiasco again ;<)

If you're interested in looking at the map firsthand, feel free to contact me regarding it. Otherwise, you can view the new screenshots and await RC2 which should be available in the coming week or two, and will offer major performance fixes as opposed to this version which is fairly high in visual lag (and thus only suitable for bot-testing on a lower detail level.)

I'm interested in giving it a run through, check your PM's :smile:

The thin spotlights are an interesting and certainly original visual, but are most likely unrealistic.

I've just released RC2 to the public. Additions include some major overhaul to the visblocking, resulting in a faster map. If you want bot location names, wait until tonight, as I have not assembled them yet. The bot mesh is included, as well as all other content necessary.

Enjoy.

Excellent looking map and i'm starting to get jealous of your mapping techniques :sad:

Keep up the good work and lets hope the same event for your other map does'nt happen with this one :wink:

I just gave it a run through. Looks very nice, you did very well
with your brush work and the lighting is fantastic. I really got
a feeling of time and place, the enviroment really drew me in.
You do need to optimize the map, I didn't take a look in wireframe but
I think that if you add alot of your background into a skybox then it
will work much better.

Also, you need to include the custome models you used, I also got a
huge amount of red errors in console when I loaded the map (which took
quite some time).

"ERROR!: Can't create physics object for models/props_wasteland/woodwall030b_window01a_bars.mdl

ERROR!: Can't create physics object for models/props_wasteland/woodwall030b_window01a_bars.mdl

ERROR!: Can't create physics object for models/props_rooftop/Sign_Letter02_Rus2002.mdl

ERROR!: Can't create physics object for models/props_rooftop/Sign_Letter02_Rus2002.mdl"



This and some other vent things looked a bit odd, I'd add some supports or remove it. just a little detail.



The truck in T spawn is off the ground by about 8 units. You
should place your physic props closer to the ground, when new rounds
start they all settle and it looks kinda strange, again just small
details.



I dont like the long thin beams of light at all, I think you should
tone it down quite a bit. These lights were by far the worst, a
small glow maybe, but I dont think you would see anything like this in
real life.



This just looked odd to me, can you make the green light less opaque? its a little too bold.



Lucky I didn't download fishy's models yet or I may have not caught this. include those models.



I personaly cant stand invisible walls, Right here just seems usless
becuase there is a blocked door just 2 feet from it, but you need to
think about how to block the player without 'cheating'. The clips
in the outdoor area was a big pain, I'd move some train cars into the
door ways and block the player that way.

I also had a problem with the CTs that were out side the CT spawn, its
a cool idea, but if a Terrorist were to come out there it would just
spook him, and it would confuse him when the CTs didn't die. I
see where your going with it, but they arn't moving or really doing
anything but adding extra polys to your map.

Over all your map looks and feels great, fix some of the small details
and move as much background as you can into the skybox and this could
be a great map.

Just as I was thinking my boy...

I had a run through and performance was a major issue. I had two
versions of this map, and the one you said was the "improved" version
seemed to run worse for me :sad: I'll try and do a critique tomorrow, as
I've got a mate visiting at the moment so I just had a quick run around.

Hrm...are you running significantly higher detail levels than your computer can handle? For I can run on my recommended settings (and slightly higher) and it runs at a playable speed for me. I get major slowdowns when I'm running 16x filtering/6xaa, as well as high shaders, textures and models, but that's sort of expected ;< - I'm not sure what you consider 'good' performance, too, so we could both have our own ideas about it.

Thanks for the comments, Dr Glass, as well. Those errors you're recieving are coming from my phys_override ents - For some reason the models don't settle well with prop_physics (some of the rooftop lettering and the window bars) and they don't like static either - Just slapped 'em on an override and they worked fine ;p

I'll fix the truck and include the models again when I recompile. I'll move the phys props again, too, thanks. I keep messing with my light beams but I can't seem to find something everyone likes - I do want a beam coming from them (check some darker areas at rainfall and you'll often see a bit of a beam - Perhaps they should be shortened? Or just colored sprites? Not sure where to go with them.)

The green light is a decal, can't change it much :sad: - If it would be better, I can 'fix' one of the lights there to be flickering or something and casting enough light to mess with the green a bit.

The major problem I'm having with skyboxing everything is that A - I've already done all the displacements (Which don't like to be scaled) and B - I'm using copious amounts of props in my 'skybox' which cannot be scaled as well, unfortunately. I can shrink a few things but I don't think the gain in performance is worth it.

Unfortunately, the contest entries (I've found another to enter too ;o) are due shortly, so I'm trying to limit the amount of things to change unless they are severly impacting.

all good, I didn't think to fire it up with bots but I may go back and try it out.

I think the only big problem (for me) are the player clips.

That light effect you have reminds me of something moving at high speeds at night, hence creating a light trail. I doubt anything is moving, but I may have to take not for any future speedy creations :biggrin:

Well I was getting around 10fps at some of the points, which I'm sure
we both consider to be poor performance :sad: The settings I run at at
currently UNDER the recommended for my computer, and all the default
maps and most custom levels run nicely.

About the light trails, particularly those on the train, they really
ought to be shortened. I like the trails and think they should stay,
but they are hugely over the top at the moment. My flatmate popped into
my room while I was running about and he also thought it looked a bit
daft as is. Would be a neat effect if the train was moving, but as is
its just too extreme.

Very pretty map, only problem I had is the new models you put in just
appear as the error thing. I love the thin spotlight effect even though
it is very unrealistic. Framerates for me were horrible though,
especially in the train yard, I dont think the rain helped much either.
Played it a few times with 6 bots and it was pretty fun, only thing
that killed it for me is the framerates and I have a decent computer.
1.2GHz, 512 mb ram and Nvidia GeForce FX 5200. I havent played alot of
cs source so maybe I just have my settings to high.

'beams are fixed - shortened and widened.

I'm tweaking the outer area - I'm considering transforming it or part of it into an indoor-sy area so it's a bit brighter as well, not to mention it'll save me some FPS too. I'll get it done by April 1st since the compos end then ;<

Final's been out for a bit, but the map hasn't been updated here since the downtime and all. It is now ;D

I hope you finish this and fix the bugs I pointed out on TWHL.

Please just finish it before mapping for Black Mesa Source please

I've already started my work for it and a new map, sorry. The bugs reported detract from the map but they don't affect it too majorly to require another full compile time, and a complete new botmesh.

You just made me cry

Oh well I don't blame you, having the opportunity to work for that mod is cool.