de_manor

here you can download it :

http://bylecotam.w.interia.pl/de_manor.zip

There is one little problem - in this ftp you can download it only once time per hour. I would be gratefull, if someone would show me better ftp :>bylecotam.w.interia.pl/de_manor.zip

I used websamba.com for a while, though there are many other sites that allow file downloads, like FilePlanet.com and such.

Anyway, the screenshots don't show up... indeed time for another host... :wink:

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Create-ivity - a game development blog

Since Orpheus seems to be missing I will tell you that you need to use a jpeg optimiser to reduce the size of your pic files.

Here is anotrher link to the map. To download it click "free", wait few sec and you should have a link with file:

http://rapidshare.de/files/3640381/de_manor.zip.html

I'm confused about your screenshots - why are they such strange
dimensions (almost square)? As Juim said, you should also make them a
more acceptable (~100k) file size while you sort the dimensions out :wink:

The pictures show the map to be a fairly interesting mix of dust style
and more castle esque interiors, but it looks quite messy, unpolished,
and simplistic as well. The curved stairways having only a tiny gap
between them at the bottom looks really unlikely and awkward. The sand
dunes outside the walls are a nice touch, but they could really be done
on a larger scale since currently you can still see an obvious "edge"
to them. Are you using a 3D skybox for them? If not, do it :smile:

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

Reno : Background is small, cuz map takes really much fps :/ I've cut many things to make map more fast, with less requirements. Yeah - it's 3d skybox.

What do you mean with that "strange dimensions" ?

Well when you play the game, the screen resolution is normally of the
aspect ratio 4:3 (eg. 800x600, 1024,x768, etc...). Your screenshots
aren't using that aspect ratio, in fact some of them are even TALLER
than they are wide, which is just completely wierd. Look at the text on
the images, its distorted because you have resized the screenshots and
not kept the same aspect ratio.

The map doesn't look to be anywhere near complex enough to be causing
FPS issues, so that probably means its either got some problems with
its construction, it isn't fully compiled, or you've made things too
open (not using enough "vis blocking" as it is commonly called -
blocking the views from one big area to another, thereby reducing the
amount the game has to render). I'll maybe take a look a bit later on
and try to decide which :smile:

Sorry to sound all negative by the way. Your map looks to have quite a
bit of character to it, but only by pointing out problems can they be
narrowed down and fixed.

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

Yeah - you got me. Map isn't fully compiled, because it would take more than one week. Too much for me :sad:

What is the step you don't run fully; VIS? If so its typically quite
easy to reduce the amount of time it will take to run. One step is to
make any non-signficant brushwork into func_detail entities. Taking a
look at your screenshots there are certainly candidates for this - the
handrails on the balconys are made up of very small brushes, so by
turning these into one or more func_detail entities they will be
ignored by VIS and simplify its calculations significantly. Another
opportunity to reduce its running time would be to turn those stairs
into a func_detail, as the curving nature of them won't make things
easy for VIS. Just be careful not to turn anything on the outside hull
of the level (anything that plugs off the inside of the map from the
outside) into an entity, as this will cause a leak.#

Do this and see how it goes. If it still looks like it is going to take
huge amounts of time (over an hour or so) then there are more steps you
can take to reduce it, but I don't want to confuse you going over them
all now when that may be enough.

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

to make your map faster you should also ( if you haven't yet done this) consider using alot of hint brushes ( use em correctly though ) as this has drastically improved fps in some of my work.

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Hell, is an half-filled auditorium

Thats EXACTLY what I was referring to when I said I wasn't going to mention them until after seeing if this step helped :biggrin:

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

Screens don't load for me :-/ I don't know much polish, which is whats on the page I get when I try to visit them, but I do know it says you've exceeded your bandwidth :razz:

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-[Better to be Honest than Kind]-

looks nice, especially the stairs. but fix those misaligning bricks.

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These words are my diaries screaming out loud

It looks pretty nice, texture and layout wise.

However, some of the details aren't coming together as nicely as they could.

For instance: The stairs seem to end far too close together. Try, instead, to have them curve out and end right before the opening in the wall (meaning extend the curve up towards the entrance), most likely, adding stairs, but it will move both start points on the stairs farther away from each other. This will give more room in the middle of the floor, while still leaving that little space behind the stairs. To make that accessible, something that would look nice, is if the underside of the stairs were opened up with some nice architecture. This could also be an excuse to put some water in, if you're not going for the overly parched desert look. That way the back is still accessible, the stairs look proper, and you have some less boring architecture in your map. The wood in certain areas also makes no sense. Why would the ceiling and railing be wood, then a set of stairs solid stone?

The only other complaint is: What's with the crates? I know they're for cover, but get more imaginative. Why are they there, in regards to the setting and not a map? Did someone just move in or something? Try something else for cover points. And ditch those stone crates in the room with the stairs.

I'd then suggest going through and fancying up the architecture. You can add statues, beautifully shaped stones, all sorts of things that will make this map pop out.

I think, in one of the higher traffic areas, put some vases and porcelain statues, which can all be shattered. It'd be a nice touch.

Anyway, you're off to a nice start.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

This images never loaded fully for me. They took forever for the bit I saw as well. They must have been huge since my DSL is pretty snappy.

As for the map parts I saw, you seem to have fallen into the same rut most new mappers do which is an out of proportion scale.

The areas are over large and need to be scaled down a bit. I do however like the architecture and have no complaints about anything I saw in the 1/2 pictures that downloaded.

If you could scale this map down and keep the style, I feel you'd have a winner.

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There is no history until something happens, then there is.