New map - The lost Tiberius base

Started by Gingis Khan, 25 August 2014, 02:46:14

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Gingis Khan

I made short map which present my new improved skills that i got from advices from most people here told me and i am thankful to them. This map is short but i think it have almost everything that reminds of good old original levels and good 1990s map from that time. Now i really take on shaded rooms, lots of good details, because i learnt, better short good detailed map than long unshaded, unskilled random room maps. Yes i know i only spend time for few days but download please, even if it is a short map i really worked to make it at least Almost good. So please give me feedback and your thoughts. Also i scaled celling height to normal, so it's doesn't look unbalanced anymore :) Only thing i found sucky about this map is last room, but if i more work my skills will improve in future :)


CGS - review / download

Micky C

It does a lot of things a lot better but it still has some issues:

1: Adjacent walls need to have their shade a bit different, this makes the map look less flat.
2: I don't remember seeing any slopes. Slopes are good whether for layout or details.
3: There is very little height variation in the layout or in terms of decoration for the rooms.
4: Some of those computer terminals are really deep into the wall for no reason.

So a big improvement (just a quick look in mapster, I don't have much time for duke at the moment), however not quite up to the standards of 3DR's maps just yet. It's getting close, however mainly due to the lack of height variation and slopes which are really holding it back. The layout doesn't look quite as interesting as 3DR's maps either. Can't say much about the combat naturally, but if I had to guess it'd probably be fairly standard stuff that we've all seen before based on the layout.

I think the big difference between this map and the 3DR maps is a concept called "conceptual grandness". A 'bad' map that is conceptually grand is usually better than a 'good' map that is not, just to give you an idea of how important it is. Although if you can make a good conceptually grand map then you'll have a real winner. I'd take the time to research the concept.
Wall whore.

Forge

#2
Looks alot better, but still needs a bit more tweaking.

Oversizing - like the vending machines that go from floor to ceiling. You made one or two that were the proper height, but then the rest you got lazy on.

flat floors and ceilings - flat floors aren't that big of a concern at this point, flat ceilings can give an overall impression of everything else being flat. Like the very first room - it could have used a couple of either recessed or protruding light fixtures. the next room had a sky light, so again it looked like you just got lazy about giving every room the same amount of attention.

seems almost all your architecture and detailing are reserved for the walls of the rooms - there's not much in the way of computer consoles, machinery, or furniture in the middle of the rooms - so it still makes them look pretty square and boxy.

Now that you're on the right track with the aesthetics, you should work on making a larger map with extended game play. Unlocking a door to go one room deep (if that) to grab a key, just to basically turn around and use that key isn't that entertaining.

kudos on the scuba/spacewalk though

edit: you do need to figure out how to work with slopes (i.e. ramps - or at least stairs) and swinging doors or you're basically going to get trapped into making the same horizontal map over and over with the only difference being changes in textures and details.

Quote from: Micky C on  25 August 2014, 15:32:57
1: Adjacent walls need to have their shade a bit different, this makes the map look less flat.
a good rule is to have walls that are at 90 degree angels 4 shades different
a well lit four wall room can have two opposing walls at 0 and the other two walls at 4
darker rooms can have two walls at 6 and the other two walls at 10
etc. as the atmosphere gets lighter or gloomier

same with the floors and ceiling with strongly contrasting sector shading (shadows)
i personally like the differences between the lit and dark areas to be a bit stronger (e.g. an area under a ceiling light to be 0 and the surrounding floor at 10 or 12 - i usually graduate it out with smaller shadow sectors though 0,4,8,12 if i have the resources to do it)
Take it down to the beach with a hammer and pound sand up your ass

Gingis Khan

OK guys, thanks for feedback. I will try to make new map from scratch and use methods of four shaded level while 2 have darker light while other two have even more darker light :)