Myth

I think the glows on those lights are too prominent personally, but otherwise looks like a nice start.

I agree with ReNo, tone down those glows. Not sure the purple works with the orange too well though (kind of clashes); maybe try substituting blue for purple instead? Looks good.

The purple on the right is fine. The purple sky however doesn't fit well, although it might just temporary considering it's only 30% done. Post more screens as soon as you can, it looks promising.

What are the adrenalin pills for anyway?

actually, purple and orange are complimentary colors, you are supposed to use them together.... ;p

Errrm, blue and orange are much more complimentary.

Map seemed like it turned out well, anyways. I hope we'll be seeing you for Half-Life 2?...

Here's my first effort for UT2004. It's pretty much finished, so I'm ready for feedback.

SuperCrazy said:
Here's my first effort for UT2004. It's pretty much finished, so I'm ready for feedback.

thats funny bud :biggrin:

will look at pics harder when i get up for the day, but right now, all that hits me hard is..

1) why is ceiling so flat?
2) some color variation in the textures.
3) lighting is universally the same.

i may need to reinstall the game, but i could critique it.. i leave for north dakota in morning, but could do it when i return if you remind me..

/me goes back to bed..

good job SC

I like a lot of the architecture but as Orph said, the ceilings are
awfully flat looking. I'll take an in game look later on and try and do
a full critique.

I don't much like the sprite you are using for those lights. it seems too dull to actually emit any light, making things look kind of weird.

Pic 1 - Add some supports for that ramp

pic 2 - As Orph and ReNo said. Flat ceilings... You should also look into more architectural detail in the walls and such.

pic 3 - Uber flat ceiling... But I really like those stairs, and the door frames look pretty cool.

Honestly, beyond slightly longer sight-lines, I don't see anything here that couldn't be achieved in HL. As disappointing as that is, I still say it looks damn nice overall.

New version uploaded. Most of the changes were from suggestions on another forum, but the uber flat ceiling in the third shot was taken care of, and the rest of the flat ceilings will be worked on later.

I agree that there's not much here that couldn't be done in HL, but pretty much everything is wood, stone, or brick, so there's not a lot of room within the theme for ultra high-tech flashy meshes with thousands of polygons.

you're one of our best SC, i have faith that you won't let snarkpit down :smile:

defend our honor on that other forum :biggrin:

I can't play through the map unfortunately, but from the screenshots, I'm going to attempt some (hopefully useful) feedback:

• I think the map needs more landmarks; the big, giant, majestic kind.

While the areas are somewhat unique and different from each other, I
don't think it's enough to distinguish them immediately while the
player is learning the layout. Maybe have a giant gaping hole in the
ceiling in one room, a giant tower in another, etc.

• The overall room layouts are quite boxy. If all/most of the static

meshes are stripped away, it's all quite boxy and rectangular. Some
rounded corners or slanted surfaces wouldn't do any harm, and might add
more interest and strategy. Also, I think lots of ancient civilizations
utilized slanted surfaces, so it should fit the theme well.

• What's the purpose of the blue-purple lights? If you haven't already,

I think you should attach some kind of context to them (e.g. red lights
are used for vents in Natural Selection). Maybe place weapons near
them, so the player will catch a glimpse of that color and immediately
run out to see what's there? Don't know. :smile:

Looks good though, but I have to agree that much of it could be done in
HL. However, I think your theme allows great flexibility for giant
setpieces. Statues, obelisks, ziggurats, pyramids, towers, etc. look
like they could fit in the level and serve as good landmarks. Good
luck! :smile:

I agree with all comments. I couldn't do half as decently on my first UT2k4 map, I'd also have to get the game to try too.

Last updated version of the night is ready. The ugly weapon bases have been changed and I've made a bunch of architectural changes as well. The uber flat ceilings are slowly being erradicated.

The first shot has some very minor changes, the second shot is from a different perspective so the ceiling looks better, and the third shot is from a completely different area.

Campaignjunkie said:

• I think the map needs more landmarks; the big, giant, majestic kind. While the areas are somewhat unique and different from each other, I don't think it's enough to distinguish them immediately while the player is learning the layout. Maybe have a giant gaping hole in the ceiling in one room, a giant tower in another, etc.

There are some landmarks/noteable areas - One room has a gate sort of thing hanging from the ceiling, there are a couple of skylights, one room has a completely open ceiling, and there's an outdoor area. I like the idea of a tower, statues, etc. but it's hard to just throw them into a mostly completed map and have them look good. I'll see what I can do though.

Campaignjunkie said:

• The overall room layouts are quite boxy. If all/most of the static meshes are stripped away, it's all quite boxy and rectangular. Some rounded corners or slanted surfaces wouldn't do any harm, and might add more interest and strategy. Also, I think lots of ancient civilizations utilized slanted surfaces, so it should fit the theme well.

The boxy thing has always been something of a problem for me. I have some slanted/rounded surfaces now, but I'll look to see where I can add more.

Campaignjunkie said:

• What's the purpose of the blue-purple lights? If you haven't already, I think you should attach some kind of context to them (e.g. red lights are used for vents in Natural Selection). Maybe place weapons near them, so the player will catch a glimpse of that color and immediately run out to see what's there? Don't know.

I like this idea, but I also like how I have it currently. Hm...

It's looking cool SuperCrazy, and I don't have anything to add, as its all been said.

I've made one small DM map for UT2003 myself (A path problem I can't fix has meant it hasn't been released) and am currently working on one for UT2004, probably a capture node map, not quite sure yet. The reason I'm bringing this up is that I know it's a real bastard moving from HL mapping to UT mapping, as the systems are completely back to front, so to release something that looks this good is a real achievement. Nice one. :biggrin:

Obligatory Warning: I own UT2K4, but I have yet to play it, so I will be reserving my comments to mainly errors, construction, layout and lighting.. the item placements may need someone who knows the game better to judge, as they seemed heavy in spots and bare in others.. I honestly don't remember UnrealDM well enough to say tis good/bad.



These things just seem to jut out of the walls in order to give the appearance of holding the floor above. Somehow they look wrong. It may be nothing more than the way it actually bonds to the wall i dunno, but it just looks wrong.



cannot remember where i saw this exactly, but that piece seemed to glow



The only really major glitch I saw throughout the map.. I know unreals engine doesn't create holes, but they do have their equivalent of HOM effect, which resembles holes..



Another angle of the same error/glitch.



These light fixtures are some of the most original I have seen in a long time.. They most definitely fit the theme.. some of the blue ones were not really ugly, but no where near as nice as these ones are



Nice looong sight lines.. nothing wrong with this screen, or any of the others I will post like them, I just liked them so well I had to show the people who may not have this game.. Very nicely done SC



Very sweet design on these steps (and the others to of course)



Another extremely long sight line.. nice spots to catch the unwary or snickers to catch you as well.



If I had a wish, I would like to see more stuff like this throughout the map.. these chains set the mood of this area, but alas I saw them no where else.. (always the chance that since its my first run through, that I overlooked more placements).. this map lacked the finer touches these chains represented.



More of those things just jutting from the wall.. I think they need some sort of an anchor, or base if you will.



this lift... had me scratching my butt, what is wrong with it.. 1) it doesn't fit the theme. 2) if left, it needs some sound and 3) its bulky.. if it were I, I'd replace it, but since I don't know whats on the other side of those walls, it may not be possible to replace now..



One of my favorite additions to this map, these indentations are nothing special, but they truly perk up the looks. Very well done.



A tree, a very nice tree too.. the map could have used many more plants throughout.. maybe some sills looking out to the sky with some plants beyond.. maybe a bit of water, this map had many places that could have benefited from plants and water.



This hall, it has got to be one of the best I have seen in a long time.. The map could have used a couple more such, but at least it had this one.



Another long sight line.. nice ceiling too i might add, much better than the drab flat ones before.



IMO, these lights were underused.. the map could have benefited from a few more of them.. Also, i would have placed them closer to the floor..



This support beam, very well done.. it looks very nice, and doesn't clash at all.



Another long sight line, but this time you can see how odd those supports look from afar. the flat ceiling is about the only really ugly thing about this shot.



The vertical in this map is ever present.. This screen shows one of the better areas for a good top down ambush.. Nice depth.



I would like to have been able to get under a few of these ramps.. no big issue but it would have made for a nice ambush site.



Beautiful, just plain beautiful.. this would be a nice long sniper site.

Some may have noticed that I used a few weapons that Sc didn't place.. My reason was simple.. UT uses such large weapons that i couldn't take the screen shots without half the viewable area taken up by the weapon.. so i used a cheat and loaded them all so i could find one a bit less obstructive..

I can only hope that someone who plays UT2K4 can comment and fill any gaps I may have inadvertently omitted..

Very well made map SC.. My compliments.

er can't you click "hide weapon" in the menu and it wont show the weapon at all, just the hud?

Crono said:
er can't you click "hide weapon" in the menu and it wont show the weapon at all, just the hud?

dunno, can you?

besides, there are 20 screens in that critique, is that the best you could do :heee:

Wow, that's a ton of very useful feedback. Thanks a lot!

These things just seem to jut out of the walls in order to give the appearance of holding the floor above. Somehow they look wrong. It may be nothing more than the way it actually bonds to the wall i dunno, but it just looks wrong.

You're right, I think adding bases to these would make them look better.

cannot remember where i saw this exactly, but that piece seemed to glow

This is a problem throughout the map, actually. Nearly every time I use that mesh it gets lit really badly. Not much I can do about it though, short of finding/making a new one and hoping it works better.

The only really major glitch I saw throughout the map.. I know unreals engine doesn't create holes, but they do have their equivalent of HOM effect, which resembles holes..

Agh. This has been popping up off and on throughout the map's development. I thought I had it taken care of for good but apparently not.

These light fixtures are some of the most original I have seen in a long time.. They most definitely fit the theme.. some of the blue ones were not really ugly, but no where near as nice as these ones are

I was getting some complaints about these fixtures because they don't look bright enough to be giving off light. I like them though, and I'm glad to hear someone else does too :smile:

If I had a wish, I would like to see more stuff like this throughout the map.. these chains set the mood of this area, but alas I saw them no where else.. (always the chance that since its my first run through, that I overlooked more placements).. this map lacked the finer touches these chains represented.

I'll see if I can find any other appropriate places for them.

this lift... had me scratching my butt, what is wrong with it.. 1) it doesn't fit the theme. 2) if left, it needs some sound and 3) its bulky.. if it were I, I'd replace it, but since I don't know whats on the other side of those walls, it may not be possible to replace now..

I try not to use lifts often, but I had absolutely no room here for anything else. Sounds will be added, and I'll see if I can find a less bulky mesh or make one on my own.

One of my favorite additions to this map, these indentations are nothing special, but they truly perk up the looks. Very well done.

I was getting complaints about how ugly the weapon spawns were (I had used the normal weapon base but retextured them to be the same as the doorways/trim/etc), so I was looking through random mesh packs for something to use when I found this. It was actually an ice-covered ceiling dome originally, but I flipped it over, shrank it, and retextured it. I love how versatile working with meshes is.

A tree, a very nice tree too.. the map could have used many more plants throughout.. maybe some sills looking out to the sky with some plants beyond.. maybe a bit of water, this map had many places that could have benefited from plants and water.

I can definitely add some plants, but I'm not sure if there's room for much water in the existing partial outdoor areas.

IMO, these lights were underused.. the map could have benefited from a few more of them.. Also, i would have placed them closer to the floor..

I like how they add a bit of contrast too, I can probably find a few more places to use them.

I would like to have been able to get under a few of these ramps.. no big issue but it would have made for a nice ambush site.

You used to be able to get underneath the platform with the shock rifle, but I made it solid so I could have the indented weapon base instead of the plain wooden circle on top.

Very well made map SC.. My compliments.

Thank you. :smile:

SuperCrazy said:
Wow, that's a ton of very useful feedback. Thanks a lot!

you, are very welcome.

Very sweet map, was a rare pleasure to critique this one..
http://www.snarkpit.com/forums.php?forum=2&topic=2197&chap=1&start=10

well done Master SC.

Orpheus said:

Crono said:
er can't you click "hide weapon" in the menu and it wont show the weapon at all, just the hud?

dunno, can you?

besides, there are 20 screens in that critique, is that the best you could do :heee:

Yep, you can. :smile:

/edit: Yep you can, as in, yes you can hide your weapon :smile:

Myth has been released! You can download it here. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback.

Looking very good ! :smile:

LOL, your text files are the smallest i have ever seen :smile:

pats SC on back

well done.

In stark contrast with the collosal text files I used to include with my HL releases :smile:

I hated UT2K4, they screwed with it too much and made it too hard. I was used to having bots on a certain setting but now I have to have them on a really low setting... I kick peoples asses but the bots seem to be able to kill me 'cus of thier style.