dm_2base

Hey guys... I just wanted to post this map up and see what ya
think. Afterall, if it weren't for SnarkPit, I'd have nothing to
show at all.

Anyway, I'm not sure how this "map forum post" system works yet, so I'm
just assuming that I don't need to describe it or post screens as it
oughta link to the map's profile... right? One way to find out...

***Edit - Woo, ok. I'm not seeing the screenshots I uploaded
anywhere... well, at any rate, you can check out THESE screenshots
instead, same map of course:

http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0001.jpg

http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0002.jpg

http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0003.jpg

http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0004.jpg

I don't know if its just an amazing computer you're running the game on
or what, but those shots look really clean and pleasing to the eye...
especially the 4rd and 4th ones. The second one... I'm not too
crazy about. The wall looks a little awkward... and flat.

As for your style of bases, the last two pictures remind me of
something that I would like to see in Fortress Forever. Very
clean, almost cartoony color style would fit in well with that universe.

The only thing bothering me is the grass sprites coming out of the concrete floor (road) in the 4th pic.

Funny you say that ATM, to me they look blurred, and I can't focus on them. And yesterday I had an eye test saying my eyes were fine...

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-[Better to be Honest than Kind]-

Nothing too amazing computer-wise. :smile:

As for the plants through the floor, I'm still tweaking that... I made
those ramps func_details, and I discovered that apparently world
brushes stop plants from coming up, regardless of the alpha below them.

Fixed soon. :smile:

By the by, and I don't know if this is old news or not, but I somehow
managed to get 2 cameras displaying 2 different real-time videos on 2
different monitors. Almost everything on SnarkPit in both forums
and tutorials says that you can only have one camera displaying
anything at one time, and that every monitor will show only the picture
coming from the first camera made (unless you switch cameras using
buttons or something); Those findings don't appear to be true anymore,
unless I'm missing something.

http://www.snarkpit.net/editing.php?page=tutorials&game=HL2&id=158

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The best things in life, aren't things.

Specially made, just for Orpheus:

http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0001_o.jpg

http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0002_o.jpg

http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0003_o.jpg

http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0004_o.jpg

The map has a nice, clean style to it indeed.

But for a combine base, I don't think the style really fits. Combine
either use their own alien architecture, or existing buildings that
they sometimes modify with combine architecture. I think that may add a
more interesting touch to your map, having a normal structure being
broken up by combine installations, sort of what you saw in Nova
Prospekt.

And the rebels do something similar as well, in fact. Building their own junk hideouts in existing structures.

I also think the terrain can use some more variation. I haven't seen
all of the map of-course, but those hills look somewhat flat on the top
while the rest of the terrain looks flat as well. Throw in some height
difference, some rocks, some trees, some water...

Besides that, I think you're going well. :smile:

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Create-ivity - a game development blog

The map has a nice, clean style to it indeed.

But for a combine base, I don't think the style really fits. Combine
either use their own alien architecture, or existing buildings that
they sometimes modify with combine architecture. I think that may add a
more interesting touch to your map, having a normal structure being
broken up by combine installations, sort of what you saw in Nova
Prospekt.

And the rebels do something similar as well, in fact. Building their own junk hideouts in existing structures.

I also think the terrain can use some more variation. I haven't seen
all of the map of-course, but those hills look somewhat flat on the top
while the rest of the terrain looks flat as well. Throw in some height
difference, some rocks, some trees, some water...

Besides that, I think you're going well. :smile:

Thanks, I appreciate the comments. I'm definitely going to try to add some variation to my terrain. :smile:

It's not combine, but I'm not sure if you wanted it combine. What is this place meant to be? Explain.

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-[Better to be Honest than Kind]-

Coestar said:
Specially made, just for Orpheus:
http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0001_o.jpg
http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0002_o.jpg
http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0003_o.jpg
http://www.xenostarz.com/TEMP/base_lm0004_o.jpg

blushes

Garsh... thanx bud.

Does this mean we're going steady now?

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The best things in life, aren't things.

blushes

Garsh... thanx bud.

Does this mean we're going steady now?

Not til after prom. And no, I don't put out.

It's not combine, but I'm not sure if you wanted it combine. What is this place meant to be? Explain.

Well, it's not meant to be
Combine. It's basically just this: I wanted two bases with
two varying styles, and since I'm just using HL2's included
resources/textures, using Combine related textures/models provided the
most drastic contrast to my "Rebel" base. Aside from that, I
wanted to keep the physical layouts exactly the same.

but I somehow
managed to get 2 cameras displaying 2 different real-time videos on 2
different monitors.

Can you send me the area in vmf, or tell me how you did such a thing...

Until Later...

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Dark_Kilauea
DVS Administration
http://www.dvstudio-production.com/

but I somehow
managed to get 2 cameras displaying 2 different real-time videos on 2
different monitors.

Can you send me the area in vmf, or tell me how you did such a thing...

Until Later...

Well, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work exactly right anymore. My entities were set up similar to this:

Camera_Base_1

Monitor_Base_1

then...

Camera_Base_2

Monitor_Base_2

(f'ing logical, right? guess Valve didn't think so)

At first, that didn't work for displaying 2 different camera views
at the same time. Then I decided I wanted the monitors to switch
between views for a more... useful sort of display. I added a
logic_timer and math_counter (probably didn't achieve much with those
enties). Anyway, I tried setting it up running outputs from the counter and timer to the cameras, and when I tested
it, I noticed that I had two real-time displays! I even loaded
the map up on my roomate's computer and put him in front of the other
monitor. I stood in the hallway looking into both our rooms and
the monitor on his screen was showing a different camera view than the
one on mine... at the same time.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the process of working on the map, that
functionality seems to have faded away (as do most other things in
Hammer for some godforsaken reason). It's more random now, and it
seems the camera view depends on who was the last to look at a
particular monitor. :/ Sorry I can't be more help, but maybe
someone with more Hammer skills might read this and figure something
out?

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My maps are stupid.

Well, my hopes for this map were smashed after loading it on a
dedicated server. Apparently, buggies are automatically removed
(even though they work just fine in a LAN game with my roomie).
Then, my door alarm sounds don't work. Since they were also working
just fine when I ran the map, and over the LAN, I can't imagine why
they don't in the dedicated server. Bleh.

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My maps are stupid.

Map looks great for a first map!

you need to work on the maps connection to the outside world though, it seems like a empty walled in area with some random buildings around it. Make sure it appears to server some kind of purpose in the place where it is.

Make it for Fortress Forever (TFC for HL2)... Seems suitable from the pictures. A bit of colour coding, and your sorted.

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-[Better to be Honest than Kind]-

[size=13]Thanks Dr. Glass! Yea, it is essentially an empty walled in area
will little obvious connection to the 3D skybox. That's due
mainly to poor planning. I intend to plan out 3D Skybox - Map
connectivity much better next time.

Make it for Fortress Forever (TFC for HL2)... Seems suitable
from the pictures. A bit of colour coding, and your sorted.

Ha! That's a nice thought, but I've seen
their maps. I look up to them. This map I've made is
definitely not up to the task. I definitely would like to make a
fortress forever map in the future, though.

I'm probably going to abandon this map design... I didn't optimize it
enough, I didn't play out the layout before building it... it's just
not what I was hoping for. At the very least, it was a handy
learning experience.

If anyone wants to try the beta version of it, I've put it online at
http://www.xenostarz.com/maps/dm_2base_beta.zip, and on a test server
at 70.176.164.81:27015.[/size]

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My maps are stupid.