One last time...

Sorry to bug you lot. I'll just make this one last time before release...

Download: http://rustbucket.hlgaming.com/exhausted/dm_exhaustedb5.zip

Screens:












Still to do:
Teleporter sounds
A couple of unnoticed texture misalignments
Background sounds which suddenly stopped working
Fix the X-Ray effect in the sky at one place

Already done:
Most of the stuff suggested the last time.

As always, all comments welcome/required :dorky: .

tbh, I think you just need to work on weapon placement, & possibly those rocks. Thats about it though.

I promise to look at this when I have some free time over the weekend :smile:

I loved the map fraggard, the texture's, lighting, and flow were all a 5 :smile: .

My only 2 beefs:

1) It seem the Assualt rifle was overly used in a lot of area's

2)This is pretty self explanitory

Otherwise, 4/5.

Yeah, I know about that damn X-Ray thing. I've tried fixing it by Hint brushes and suchlike. None of it seems to work. I think maybe the @ prefixed textures which block VIS are required. /me tries again.

fraggard said:
Sorry to bug you lot. I'll just make this one last time before release...

its sad when i read words like this coming from a veteran snarkpitter.

i thought our reputation precluded having to apologize :sad:

i for one, would be happy to give it one last looksee.

With regard to the sky X-Ray effect, I'm afraid there is no good solution :sad: You can't stop the game from drawing it by interposing brushes of any kind whatsoever. Generally the only thing that works is to put a ceiling in the way so that players can't see it.

Note that I say all this without having seen the particular problem yet.

Orpheus said:

fraggard said:
Sorry to bug you lot. I'll just make this one last time before release...

its sad when i read words like this coming from a veteran snarkpitter.

i thought our reputation precluded having to apologize :sad:

i for one, would be happy to give it one last looksee.

Well bah. I was just being civil. Next time, I'll call you names, and then ask for critiques :heee:

Gollum said:
With regard to the sky X-Ray effect, I'm afraid there is no good solution :sad: You can't stop the game from drawing it by interposing brushes of any kind whatsoever. Generally the only thing that works is to put a ceiling in the way so that players can't see it.

I was afraid of that :sad: . Thanks.

Gollum said:
With regard to the sky X-Ray effect, I'm afraid there is no good solution :sad: You can't stop the game from drawing it by interposing brushes of any kind whatsoever. Generally the only thing that works is to put a ceiling in the way so that players can't see it.

Note that I say all this without having seen the particular problem yet.

i have had some success with doing a "FULL" vis compile.. all you lose is time.. try it.

This was a -full compile. I tried it again, but nothing changed. I'll post this in Editing help and see if someone comes up with something

fraggard said:
This was a -full compile. I tried it again, but nothing changed. I'll post this in Editing help and see if someone comes up with something

says this slowly so no mis-understanding..

you have to put the parameter -full in vis, or it wont work.. the default setting takes over..(check the compile log, if it doesnt say "FULL- yes" you are not doing one

no insult intended, i just want to clarify.. many think they are doing a full when they are only doing a default compile..

i will post images in a few, but i need to point out, your read me text on installation is wrong, i know how the files go, so i had no trouble installing the files, but many might not..

BRB

I just have to mention this, the newest JPG optimizer from Xat, is even more amazing than the old version i had promoted so long around here.. the screenshots i used to take were all between 50 and 70k on average, but this new Xat, it reduces them to the 15 to 25k range and still retain the quality necessary for screenshot critiques.. i must therefore promote the Xat proggy even more often.. check it out guys, its f**king amazing..

OK fragman, on with the critique, you do realize at this stage of the map its more nitpicking and opinion than actual errors, so use this info with a grain of salt, but remember nothing i say is meant poorly.



train roofs seldom fair very well when they meet the tunnel tops, make the tunnel higher, and clip it off.



put a clip brush here, a step if you will to prevent all that un-necessary hopping, DM maps suck when you have to hop so often



TRAIN TRACKS, gimme train tracks :biggrin: .. there are some wonderful track textures out there, find one you prefer.



train is backed up to the cliff face, was this intended?



2 chargers, so close together, are not usually acceptable placement.. perhaps remove one, or make it hazardous to use them both



check your lights rad file, the amount of light emanating from the fixture above is out of proportion, also out of color scale to i think..



other than the advantage of height, there is no real reason, or incentive to scale these rooftops.. put some of the overstocked items from the lower level up here



its just way to dark in this hall..



ugg, what are those?

actually bud, my only real grip, is the overstock of items, the map is just to small for that amount, it looked like a GA style map, and i use the term GA style as a reference because everyone knows the term and requires no further explanation, i did NOT use it as a slur against GA itself. the amount of items ruins the map, sorry but thats how i see it..

let others comment and lets see how the majority goes.. it wont be the first time i am wrong :biggrin:

nice map, you did well..

? posted by <a href=""http://www.snarkpit.com/users.php?name=Orpheus"">Orpheus</a>
actually bud, my only real grip, is the overstock of items, the map is just to small for that amount, it looked like a GA style map, and i use the term GA style as a reference because everyone knows the term and requires no further explanation, i did NOT use it as a slur against GA itself. the amount of items ruins the map, sorry but thats how i see it..

I don't want to take away from fraggard's thunder here, and I certainly don't want a flame war, but I think calling any map with too many items a "GA map" isn't right. Not every map ever released to GA had too many items or is a n00bish map (which Orph meant, to those who didn't know). Perhaps it should have been simply stated that you didn't appreciate the over-abundance of items in the map. It would have been a nicer way to say it IMO.

You could have simply said:
actually bud, my only real grip, is the overstock of items, the map is just to small for that amount

DocRock said:
You could have simply said:
actually bud, my only real grip, is the overstock of items, the map is just to small for that amount

yes i could have, but it would not have clearly defined my comment.. whether you agree or not is not really very important, if you do in fact disagree, then post a proper critique and leave mine the f**k alone.

now doc, i do not want you on my bad side again, but i ask you this, do not try to explain away my words, in favor of ones i did not intend, just to appease your sense of values.

the way i see it, you had to speak up not in GA's defense, but because you in fact release overstocked maps.. GA didn't play into it at all..

my comment stands as is, it does NOT need altered.. either ignore my words hence forth, or pose a proper critique, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, preferably just as benign as mine.

fragman, this map is great, but i meant my words EXACTLY how i wrote them.. no definition was required.

Was just stating my opinion. Not wanting a fight or a lecture. :smile:

I have not had the chance to go though the map, and being a CS player more than a HL player, I am not sure I am one to critique it... But I am anyways.. heh heh..



This Picture posted by Orph, is one I wanted to add a comment or two on. I believe there are HEV suit chargers and Health Chargers, if that is the case, just make one a Health Charger, and leave the other the HEV suit charger. Problem solved.



This also bugs me, the chain link looks way to big to me, and it is not tied to anything on either end. Maybe frame it in there, as well, as bring the scale way down. Also the lights look dark, they need a glow texture, so it looks like the lights are on.

If I get a chance to get the map and run around in it, Ill post more comments. The lack of Train Tracks is also one of the problems I see from the many images above.

But from what I have seen it looks like a great map, that needs some minor detail and work.

($)

Darn, I'll have to take a look at this soon. I can't stay online long enough to download it right now. (I ordered DSL finally, though, so in a week or so I'll be back in force!!)

As I said before, I'd like to see an Action HL version of this, and I would be willing to convert it for you (do the AHL gun/item spawns & extra text files). Let me know if you are interested, Fraggard. I'm a webmaster at the AHL Map Depot, and I'd be sure to give it a review and some attention there if we could get an AHL version :biggrin:

edit: oh, you might also add a subtle env_glow to those lights as well as do what Moneyshot said

Jinx said:
Darn, I'll have to take a look at this soon. I can't stay online long enough to download it right now. (I ordered DSL finally, though, so in a week or so I'll be back in force!!)

As I said before, I'd like to see an Action HL version of this, and I would be willing to convert it for you (do the AHL gun/item spawns & extra text files). Let me know if you are interested, Fraggard. I'm a webmaster at the AHL Map Depot, and I'd be sure to give it a review and some attention there if we could get an AHL version :biggrin:

edit: oh, you might also add a subtle env_glow to those lights as well as do what Moneyshot said

I'd be very interested in converting it into an AHL version. I'll try and get everything fixed now and then take you up on that offer. Mucho thanks-o Jinxy( or something-o)

So empty.

Was just stating my opinion. Not wanting a fight or a lecture.

That is the single most spiteful and bitchy comment I have seen in ages. I'm sure you have a million reasons why it is completely innocent, but I know, and Orph knows, and others know, that you deliberately say things to annoy people round here and wind them up. Do what Orph says, post your own critique, or shut up. I will say in advance that I am not going to make another response in this thread.

Cassius said:
So empty.

if it is similar to the last beta, it could use a bit more cover. crates, anyone?

Jinx said:

Cassius said:
So empty.

if it is similar to the last beta, it could use a bit more cover. crates, anyone?

If Cassius does mean the cover, he's wrong. I played around on a LAN a couple of times, and the pillars gave a whole lot of cover when needed.

Care to be more specific Cass?

Not bad at all, Fraggard :smile: Here are the issues I found:

• Lighting

It's too dark in the shadows. Even at dusk, the real world has softer ambient lighting than this. Also, the lighting on the whole just seems boring and "flat". You either have spotlights with no "area" lighting, or "area" lighting with no spotlights. The result is lighting that is either totally flat or very high contrast. Maybe a compromise would help?

• Connectivity

I'm afraid I just don't like the map's connectivity much :sad: I don't think you can easily fix this. It seems to me that the map is awkward to move around - at least in the train area. Clipping the track sides so they can be walked up rather than jumped up might help a little.

• Sounds

There aren't any. I like the machinery that you made in one spot, but give the pistons and steam some sound.

---

I liked your teleports (though again, they need sounds).

Overall, it feels like it hasn't been "polished" yet. I think this is mainly due to the lighting and lack of sounds. With some tweaks, I think this could make a good (though not a great) DM map.

EDIT

Looking at your screenshots, it seems that the main reason the map looks dark to me is that you are running much higher gamma than I am :/

scary_jeff said:

Was just stating my opinion. Not wanting a fight or a lecture.

That is the single most spiteful and bitchy comment I have seen in ages. I'm sure you have a million reasons why it is completely innocent, but I know, and Orph knows, and others know, that you deliberately say things to annoy people round here and wind them up. Do what Orph says, post your own critique, or shut up. I will say in advance that I am not going to make another response in this thread.

Good for you! I however have no idea what you're talking about.

Oh yeah, what the hell is a GA map anyway?

First off, sorry I didn't reply earlier. It's been a bad week.

Gollum said:
Not bad at all, Fraggard :smile: Here are the issues I found:

• Lighting

It's too dark in the shadows. Even at dusk, the real world has softer ambient lighting than this. Also, the lighting on the whole just seems boring and "flat". You either have spotlights with no "area" lighting, or "area" lighting with no spotlights. The result is lighting that is either totally flat or very high contrast. Maybe a compromise would help?

In many places, I deliberately went for the high contrast. My pathetic attempt at making the map look "old". but in some cases it seems to have gone wrong. I'll try and fix those areas.

• Connectivity

I'm afraid I just don't like the map's connectivity much :sad: I don't think you can easily fix this. It seems to me that the map is awkward to move around - at least in the train area. Clipping the track sides so they can be walked up rather than jumped up might help a little.

I'll see what I can do. The track sides could be fixable without too much change

• Sounds

There aren't any. I like the machinery that you made in one spot, but give the pistons and steam some sound.

Done.

Thanks for the comments :smile:

Hornpipe2 said:

scary_jeff said:

[size=13]Was just stating my opinion. Not wanting a fight or a lecture.

That is the single most spiteful and bitchy comment I have seen in ages. I'm sure you have a million reasons why it is completely innocent, but I know, and Orph knows, and others know, that you deliberately say things to annoy people round here and wind them up. Do what Orph says, post your own critique, or shut up. I will say in advance that I am not going to make another response in this thread.

Good for you! I however have no idea what you're talking about.

Oh yeah, what the hell is a GA map anyway?

Don't ask Horn, you don't want to know.[/size]

The map looks very good Fragman. I'll be happy to see it's release. I'm always loking for fresh stuff for a good LAN game.