Snarkpit2

Yak_Fighter said:
No doubt. I spent about 30 minutes and cut 75 solid entities, and I didn't even bother looking through all the sections.

Since I'm back I'll try to get an update soon.

yak,

IMO, the map is about done.. all it needs now is more items, and sounds.. what'a you think?

I've still got about 10 changes to make in this beta, plus some retexturing and weapon placement. It's close, but the weapon placement will probably require another beta run to see if people think it works. Because of the nature of the map it's going to be difficult to get the right balance and I want people's opinions on that aspect before it gets finished.

ummm, i've had these comments kicking around for several days and was in two minds about posting them but ho-hum, here goes...

Sounds have improved and it looks better than the last version i've got (25/11/03). This is the stuff that stands out and tried to avoid anything that would need a major edit.



1 - those brown beams with strutting above look very weird and out of place, feels as tho' they've been randomly dropped in.

2 - theres some underwater fences which i suppose are there to make it harder to get the gauss but they're a pain to nav tbh.

3 - RPG which you get at thru an underwater passage is a bit too much seeing as how theres already a gauss in this area.

4 - too empty.

5 - have to jump up to get onto the grating which is annoying.

Suggestion - ditch the RPG and the passage to it, make it so that you can get into the water from both ends of that grate walkway, place the gauss in the middle of the water and... have a button to electrify the water and zap anyone in it. Putting a button/control panel somewhere near 4 at the edge may work and be near enough the water to hear players in it.



1 - only 1 ladder will prolly be ok here.

2 - may look better if this wall was removed and replaced with sand terrain.



Its very dark in that vent. Could also knock out one of those platforms and ladders as it gets annoying having to get on/off ladders all the time.



1 - theres 2 ways up from the lower level but both are close to each other.

Come to think of it, this area may work better if there wasn't a drop down to the lower level, maybe put in a ramp round the edges or raise the lower level so the room is easier to nav around.

2 - thats one lonely window.

3 - ceilings too flat, needs a different tex or a couple of beams putting across it.



Theres nothing wrong with this bit, nice architecture and texturing, but it feels empty like a lot of the larger rooms. Putting in some simple brushwork - machinery, crates etc. may make some of these areas a bit more spiffy.

beerman, you knock 4 of my favorite areas, and leave mine unscathed.. which is IMO the worse area of them all.. was this accidental on your part, or is the map just to big to critique all at once?

I hope my area was one of your favourites. I wouldn't fancy being rated lower than that red vent.

Cheers for the comments Beer. :smile:

Alien_Sniper said:
I hope my area was one of your favourites.

Dave, you have talent.. accept the compliment.

Twas a joke. :smile: I've improved a bit from when I made that area though, it looks like it's from straight out of blandville!

Alien_Sniper said:
Twas a joke. :smile: I've improved a bit from when I made that area though, it looks like it's from straight out of blandville!

and mine isn't :sad:

oh well.. i was truly thinking of your outdoor area TBH.. its top notch.. i swear.

Naah, yours was copied (without consent :biggrin: ) from one of the prettiest q3 maps I've ever seen. :wink:

edit: Oops confused what you were referring to. :smile:

Alien_Sniper said:
Naah, yours was copied (without consent :biggrin: ) from one of the prettiest q3 maps I've ever seen. :wink:

edit: Oops confused what you were referring to. :smile:

not funny.

Sorry bud but you just promoted it to hilarious.

Alien_Sniper said:
Sorry bud but you just promoted it to hilarious.

no it was not funny at all, mine was a poor copy at best, and you just made it more obviously so.. and i was originally so proud of it too :/

beer hunter said:
ummm, i've had these comments kicking around for several days and was in two minds about posting them but ho-hum, here goes...

Sounds have improved and it looks better than the last version i've got (25/11/03). This is the stuff that stands out and tried to avoid anything that would need a major edit.



1 - those brown beams with strutting above look very weird and out of place, feels as tho' they've been randomly dropped in.

2 - theres some underwater fences which i suppose are there to make it harder to get the gauss but they're a pain to nav tbh.

3 - RPG which you get at thru an underwater passage is a bit too much seeing as how theres already a gauss in this area.

4 - too empty.

5 - have to jump up to get onto the grating which is annoying.

Suggestion - ditch the RPG and the passage to it, make it so that you can get into the water from both ends of that grate walkway, place the gauss in the middle of the water and... have a button to electrify the water and zap anyone in it. Putting a button/control panel somewhere near 4 at the edge may work and be near enough the water to hear players in it.



1 - only 1 ladder will prolly be ok here.

2 - may look better if this wall was removed and replaced with sand terrain.



Its very dark in that vent. Could also knock out one of those platforms and ladders as it gets annoying having to get on/off ladders all the time.



1 - theres 2 ways up from the lower level but both are close to each other.

Come to think of it, this area may work better if there wasn't a drop down to the lower level, maybe put in a ramp round the edges or raise the lower level so the room is easier to nav around.

2 - thats one lonely window.

3 - ceilings too flat, needs a different tex or a couple of beams putting across it.



Theres nothing wrong with this bit, nice architecture and texturing, but it feels empty like a lot of the larger rooms. Putting in some simple brushwork - machinery, crates etc. may make some of these areas a bit more spiffy.

I could redo my whole section again if I had to, but I am not keen on radically changing parts of other authors' works. I'll see if I can address some of these comments. :wink:

DIETZ
1 I'll look into it, but I can't promise anything. There are similar constructions throughout this area, so at least they aren't unique.
2 Good point, I'll fix that one.
3 I was thinking that myself, but then I realized first that getting to it is a pain, as you have to start at one of the ends of the canal and get through some of the fences. The Gauss cannot be used underwater, so having it where it's at is no big deal, as a player has to traverse the whole length of the canal to get out and use it. In addition, anyone underwater is a sitting duck against anyone above, as players can shoot through that grated bridge. Also, players can't use two weapons at once, so having them both there isn't that big a deal as say having all the necessary ammo sitting around. I do agree that those two weapons pose a problem and I'll try to fix it during weapon replacement. Perhaps I'll throw some contact grenades in the water instead of the Gauss.
4 True, but given the surrounding detail and construction I think it's necessary.
5 I'll try to fix that

as for the big suggestion, that sounds good, and if it was my section I'd seriously consider it, but I don't want to change the gameplay goals Dietz had for the area as he obviously had a plan about how he wanted his section to play.

RENO
1 I'll think about it, but just as one ladder could work two couldn't hurt. It adds some symmetry and doesn't detract at all to me.
2 That wall is a visblocker from Dietz's area, I can't touch it. :sad:

GRIM
1 That was something I missed. The lighting will be fixed. As for the amount of ladders/platforms I'll look into simplifying it.

A_S
1 I'll move that ladder over to the other side. As for removing the lower section I'd like to avoid that as it adds detail and seems fine to me but if need be it'll happen.
2 It now has two friends along with it. :biggrin:
3 I'll see how it looks with the additional windows, if it still needs that little extra I'll throw it in.

YAKKY
I agree that the room is a little too cavernous, but given the fact that there are 6 entrances that all face the middle area I think it would flow better without obstructions there. No crates, though. I've gone this long without ever putting a crate in a released map and I'm not about to start. Plus to my knowledge none of the other areas have crates either and it'll look a little out of place. Sorta like I had run out of ideas and decided to resort to crates. :biggrin:

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate them! And don't worry about tearing down this map, I didn't even make 3/4 of it :smile:

I think you're a bit confused as a consequence of my original
confusion. I thought you also called your area bland modestly. I was
saying it's far from bland as it was copied from an exceptional map.

dust hands

Hope that cleared it up. :smile:

Alien_Sniper said:
I think you're a bit confused as a consequence of my original confusion. I thought you also called your area bland modestly. I was saying it's far from bland as it was copied from an exceptional map.

dust hands

Hope that cleared it up. :smile:

its a sensitive issue dave. i never see my stuff in any other light than dim.

i envy all the other members in this map.. i only remain in it, cause it was originally my idea.. if not for that, i would have deleted my section cause of its poor additional value to this map.. my area drags it down.

[color=#808080]rated 4.2/5 by 60 users

:rolleyes: You sure do suck at mapping Jon. :wink:

[/color]

Alien_Sniper said:

rated 4.2/5 by 60 users

:rolleyes: You sure do suck at mapping Jon. :wink:

thats not a representation of my mapping ability, no matter what lep thinks his system is, its not that..

i have a 4.2 alright, but i also have more 1's than anyone else as well :sad:

i see, only the 1's

Cheer up Orph, your section is good once I have my hand at retexturing some of it. :biggrin: It also serves as a connection point for three sections and does it well. Without it that corner of the map would be even more empty compared to the other side.

They're all because of your love of disagreeing with people though.

Alien_Sniper said:
They're all because of your love of disagreeing with people though.

i see, only the 1's

I hope my area was one of your favourites. I wouldn't fancy being rated lower than that red vent.

Yours was definitely the most horrible :wink:

beerman, you knock 4 of my favorite areas, and leave mine unscathed.. which is IMO the worse area of them all.. was this accidental on your part, or is the map just to big to critique all at once?

tbh i didn't take too much notice of who did which section and i found it hard to work out where each mappers section started/ended, theres a very consistent style throughout the map. The bits i picked out were the most obvious (to me anyway) that could be improved or had some problem that could be fixed pretty easily.

...if not for that, i would have deleted my section cause of its poor additional value to this map.. my area drags it down.

You're being too harsh, it doesn't look out of place with the other sections :smile:

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate them! And don't worry about tearing down this map, I didn't even make 3/4 of it

Thats why i was kind of hesitant about posting as i know how difficult it would be to change stuff by other peeps and keep to their original design. And i'll be disappointed if there's not at least 1 crate in there :biggrin:

beer hunter said:
tbh i didn't take too much notice of who did which section and i found it hard to work out where each mappers section started/ended, theres a very consistent style throughout the map.

each area has a name plate, and they begin/end at a doorway or arch..

you are being to modest yourself..

each area has a name plate, and they begin/end at a doorway or arch..

yeah, i sort of worked that one out :smile:

Which reminds me - the plates don't stand out much, could do with being lit up with a light_spot or using a light texture around the edges.

beer hunter said:

each area has a name plate, and they begin/end at a doorway or arch..

yeah, i sort of worked that one out :smile:

Which reminds me - the plates don't stand out much, could do with being lit up with a light_spot or using a light texture around the edges.

That would look pretty gd, anyone know how to do that? it would be gd if someone wrote a tut on how to do that..... /hint hint

I dunno. I thought about doing that, but then I thought it would look unprofessional. I think it'd be pretty arrogant of me to think that players really need or want to see my name in bright lights whenever they enter my areas. I'm certain most could care less. To me the signs just give an indication of where certain areas begin and if people are curious they can figure out who made what if they want.

i placed the signs, against my better judgment really, but the majority wanted them.

i see the signs as a sort of status symbol, and the map, although co-op, should not set one mapper above another.. i felt that the public should look at the map as a whole.. not its constituent parts.

lastly, i would be strongly apposed to a sign that was gaudy.. the signs in their current form are unobtrusive..

yes, my strong opposition to the signs stems from my belief that my section brings the map down.. and a sign just tells the world... i did it.

lastly, i would be strongly apposed to a sign that was gaudy.. the signs in their current form are unobtrusive..

I was thinking more along the lines of something very subtle like a faint yellow glow but seems like you and Yak aren't too keen on the idea so... don't do it :smile:

yes, my strong opposition to the signs stems from my belief that my section brings the map down.. and a sign just tells the world... i did it.

nah, its Alien_Snipers bit that drags the map down.

Only joking :smile:

IS the pit crew map going to be released for hl1? Also where can I get xcagey's compile tools?

Yes.

http://www.xpcagey.com

Thanks MazeMaster. I am looking forwerd to seeing the map you all are making. I am working on a huge map myself but am having dificulties compiling. Specifically in the leaks department. The X-Cagey tools are a lot better. At least now CSG doesn't crash when I test for leeks. About pitcrew how big is the map now? Can anyone work on it?

whiteLegion said:
. I am working on a huge map myself but am having dificulties compiling. Specifically in the leaks department. The X-Cagey tools are a lot better. At least now CSG doesn't crash when I test for leeks.

maps don't crash due to leaks.. i am betting there is a much bigger problem than a hole in your map.

and no, anyone cannot anylonger.. all the slots are full.. sorry.

You'd be surprised. A tiny leak smaller than a unit caused me to get a max_map_faces error, which of course crashed the compile. Also, when a map has a ton of brushes it's nigh impossible to get it to load if there is a leak and no compiling, as it'll just overload HL and cause a crash. At least in my experience that is.

/me reminds yak, i compiled this monster, successfully, before you received it... with the same error messages you have had to deal with mind you :razz:

the leak didn't cause any error, that wasn't already present.. it just became an issue because you cannot find the leak, without fixing the error .. and with the error, it wouldn't generate a prt file, so... one involved the other, but neither one caused the other..

hope that made sense..

heh, right you are

It crashed while using zoners. Now when the leaked map is compiled I get the MAX_MAP_FACES so when I run halflife to debug in-game it crahes halflife. This map is huge that may be a factor. Can the pitcrew map be downloaded by anyone?

You're going to have to go leak hunting in the editor. It's not that hard, honestly. I found two different leaks in a map that wasn't even built by me (but I caused the leaks :biggrin: ), so it's possible to find em. If you fix the leaks you won't get max_map_faces.

As for the map, there's a beta link somewhere in this thread, and you can find a link in my profile news if need be.

Thank you. Yak. I have already found six leaks. I still have more. Oh I though I was so carefull in construction. I really want to release this map. I am trying the box technique with my map but it isn't that practical because the map is so big. Any cool gimmicks in the pitcrew map?

whiteLegion said:
Any cool gimmicks in the pitcrew map?

yeah, there is..

we managed to pulloff 6 different mapping styles into one awesome map.. if that ain't a gimmick, i dunno what is.. :biggrin:

the link, is in the news, as well as yaks profile..

whiteLegion said:
Thank you. Yak. I have already found six leaks. I still have more. Oh I though I was so carefull in construction. I really want to release this map. I am trying the box technique with my map but it isn't that practical because the map is so big. Any cool gimmicks in the pitcrew map?

I found the easiest way for me to find leaks was to set the 3d camera to flat texturing and to just fly around the map looking in every nook and cranny, detailed areas, and angled areas. Be sure to check any sections where you clipped through brushes that seperate the level from the void, as occasionally you can make tiny gaps between pieces.

Another small tip...change the background colour in the 3D window to something that really stands out :smile:

Thanks. This next leaf is elusive. I have opened another map as a place to compile each area. Hopefully this way I will find it easier. ha a LEAK cordon tool...

The pointfile ingame is so much easier for me to use than the one in the editor. This leak was less than a unit in heighth. I had two brushes sheared but they were different lengths. Blast. Thanks all... back to talking about pitcrew...

I agree with you about using the pointfile in-game.

hey, i know you guys dont really know me, i lurked the forums for a long time, from the old snarkpit to now, and i was wondering if it was too late to add something to the map? im sorta confused though ;P

yeah, sorry, you're about 2 years too late :wink:

Ok I bring my problem here because you guys are creating a huge map. the problem id bsp crashes when I compile. After hull 0 when it is whriting the .prt file it crashes. What the heck is it? I don't know if the is related but when I cordon off an area for quick compiles I get several errors that say I have brushes outside of the world. I got to those brushes but the editor says they don't exist?! IF anyone can help me I would be appreciative. Thanks

-WL

Hey so whats the word on the map right now?

Well, I'm not going to lie to you all. bye now!

er... I'll stop working on my own crap and get a new version finished and uploaded by Tuesday.

and whitelegion, post a compile log in your editing forum post and we can go from there

Here's Beta 7 of the snarkpitcrewmap. I f**ked up some of the lighting I changed, so unfortunately there still needs to be another beta before I can work exclusively on the sounds and weapons.

http://yak_fighter.tripod.com/spc_beta7.zip

(you'll probably have to copy and paste it in a new window)

No-one said it had got to the beta stage! Can't wait to play it.