LORCH maps

Started by Sanek, 22 May 2013, 17:26:33

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Sanek

Another shot from the map. From the place where you have to start (that WSYC building).



Progress goes very steady, I'm already over 250 kbs. Add some little bits to these large map every day, and I'm hope I can do all what I want before I go up to the editor's limit. :)

BTW, post it on duke4, please. ::)

ck3D

#16
Quote from: Merlijn on  01 September 2013, 16:01:53
I'd suggest to add some wall shading to the buildings (especially the WSYC building on the right), and maybe add some variety in the shapes of those buildings. Right now, it looks blocky.

Other then that, it looks very good! It's always nice to have some good background scenery, adds a lot more depth to a map.

that's exactly what i wanted to say. i have been experimenting with stronger wall shading lately (using increments of 3, 6 or sometimes 8 or 9, depending on the surrounding lighting context) and such contrasts definitely make for a whole world of difference. i used to be a little shy on the wall shading and only used increments of 2 which would make my maps look a lot flatter than nowadays.

the background scenery just screams early 2000's and notably reminds me of older maps by merlijn, maarten and myself (especially amc pleaser), betacity too, i wouldn't build it like that anymore nowadays but i think it works in your map and i like it. you've been making a lot of progress lately. that last screenshot looks pretty nice as well even if we don't get to see much, it looks tidy and polished, even though it is lacking wall shading and contrast once again (do you need any further explanation on the theory of wall shading or do you already know what it means ? just asking because people have been telling you about it for years. i don't know if you really understand what they are talking about, or if you just don't bother implementing it). anyway keep it up !

Sanek

#17
Hi bros!
I don't have new screenshots now, but in other news:

Besides me, another mapper is working on LORCH 3! I will not reveal his name now (I hope you read this!), but you folks will know when the time comes. ;)


Micky C

Will you tell us if it's someone well known or a new guy?
Wall whore.

Sanek

Quote from: Micky C on  17 November 2013, 09:55:37
Will you tell us if it's someone well known or a new guy?
Well, you know him. ;)

Sanek

What do you think about this little office?  :)

Forge

the construction is fine for the most part -nitpicky about the over stretched texture on the left and the weird offset ceiling lamps facing two different directions
-without lighting/shading there's no depth or atmosphere and it looks sterile
Take it down to the beach with a hammer and pound sand up your ass

ck3D

the construction is good but some of the flat sprites are shaded differently from the sector-based elements on the desk which looks a bit odd. give them the same shade value then press N (noshade) on them in 3D mode in order to make them look similar if that is your intention.

also yes, fix those stretched wall textures (they look odd) and add some wall shading (when adjacent walls are lighter / darker than one another). wall shading has been absent in your maps forever, which is a shame because it takes two seconds to implement, quickly becomes a reflex, and makes everything look so much nicer.

Sanek

LORCH 3 is about 80% ready. The current size is 728 kb and only section of the map is not done yet.
And also I want to add some new stuff, which needs new art tiles, but there's nobody who can help me with it. It drags release of a map a lot.

High Treason

So you never got the art thing fixed?

What do you want adding exactly? Does it have to be a .art file or is using a .def and storing the files externally fine?

I got some spare time and whilst my computers capacity is limited these days I should be able to help. I can also alter images to be compatible with the Duke 3D palette.

One thing to keep in mind is that less people tend to play maps that include custom assets.
[glow=black,2,300]sprite[].sectnum -1[/glow]

Sanek

Quote from: High Treason on  01 July 2014, 17:08:08
What do you want adding exactly? Does it have to be a .art file or is using a .def and storing the files externally fine?

I got some spare time and whilst my computers capacity is limited these days I should be able to help. I can also alter images to be compatible with the Duke 3D palette.

.art file
I'll send you PM btw.


Quote from: High Treason on  01 July 2014, 17:08:08
One thing to keep in mind is that less people tend to play maps that include custom assets.
Why? I thought that people want to after AMC TC, DNF 2013 and so on.


Micky C

Those mods alter gameplay as well, and generally heavily rely on on the new art. Plus they're generally installed in their own separate folders.

With user maps on the other hand, they're generally the same old stuff, with a slight twist/freshness brought with the new art. However the thing is having all those extra files just to play a single map is very messy compared to say just dropping in the map file.
Wall whore.

methy

#27
To avoid these issues regarding art files, you can do installation like we did for dukehard (eduke32 built this feature and we might as well use it since it's very convenient and avoid those issues):

-make a folder "LORCH3" inside your eduke32 folder
-put the map and the art file in it (and any other necessary file)
-when launching eduke32, in the startup window under "custom game content directory" choose "lorch3"
-launch the game; select the map and you'll be playing with the art file

This avoids the art file (or any file) bothering other mods/maps since it's in hits own seperate directory; and this way you can have as many maps-with-custom-files/mods installed in your eduke32 folder at least as long as they stay in their own seperate directory.

Since you're using a seperate folder, you might also as well put a game.con file. Like this, you can create a 5th 'episode' in the episode list called 'LORCH3' which will launch the map directly rather than having to select it in the usermap menu. This also means you easily add anything to your map without bothering anything (new effects in con, new sounds, a title screen, a new title music, an intro/outro video, etc), this might sound like too much for a single map, but tons of Doom wads do have a new title screen even for single maps which I like a lot, good presentation can never hurt.

Basically, make that folder, and turn the folder into a rar/zip; so that all the player has to do is uncompress that zip/rar and launch eduke32 selecting 'LORCH3' in custom directories.

IMO everybody should use this feature so players (and mappers/modders) get use to it. This should become the equivalent of Doom's "drag .wad into sourceport.exe".
In this day&age it's very silly to ask people to install/delete the files; or have several eduke32 folders; every time they want to play a map with different art/con files. Batch files are also obsolete and shouldn't be used anymore.

Edit : you could even add Lorch1 and 2 to it as a 'bonus'; like a seperate episode per map. Then it depends how many maps you want to make and eventually add using this system, I don't know how many 'episodes' eduke32 supports (maybe as many as you want though? especially since now they've remade menus and you can go up/down within menus)
http://thisshitaintscary.blogspot.com/ - The only Blog solely dedicated to Horror video games

Micky C

I'm not sure how many episodes either, but I'm guessing the number is arbitrary and could be increased if necessary.

I have to say I was notably impressed with the cleanliness of the Duke Hard installation.
Wall whore.

Sanek

LORCH 3. Coming soon. 8)