enjoy
q4axca2 [beta]my new beta q4 dm ca map
q4axca2 [beta]my new beta q4 dm ca map
Last edited by axbaby on Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
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First screenshot : that texture doesn't quite work for floors imo.
In a few places you've got some lights that magically come from nowhere : light fixtures !
Lightcount is too harsh in many places, unfortunately.
You should try to add a bit of color to some lights, including the ambient light (that would need the least saturation of all the lights you're going to color).
Portalling in/near the big outdoor room doesn't quite work right.
Rocketjumping up in this big outdoor room and you'll see the floor extend past the curved wall.
Will have to test gameplay with actual opponents..
In a few places you've got some lights that magically come from nowhere : light fixtures !
Lightcount is too harsh in many places, unfortunately.
You should try to add a bit of color to some lights, including the ambient light (that would need the least saturation of all the lights you're going to color).
Portalling in/near the big outdoor room doesn't quite work right.
Rocketjumping up in this big outdoor room and you'll see the floor extend past the curved wall.
Will have to test gameplay with actual opponents..
Observations/Suggestions:
I agree with some of hemostick's comments. Yeah, light fixtures are good.
The lightcount is high in spots, but it looks like nearly all of them are non-shadow-casting, which is why performance doesn't suffer. I really think you could do much better on the lighting with a bit more work and fussing-with. More color would probably help, but I think a bit less evenness and more shadows would too. Easier said than done, I know, especially with a map that's large and interconnected. For the love of God, please do something with the shadow-casting light directly under the RA/RL room (on the lowest level) somehow, or make a fixture for it, or something. The player's shadow is really obvious there, due to the placement of the center, and the lack of fixture/source makes it really bleh.
Your portals are busticated on one side of the giant curved hallway o' doom with nothing in it. One of the V-shaped combos doesn't touch the wall at the point of the V...
Layout. Many areas feel really big and open. And plain. You could make some of these (like the aforementioned big curvy corridor) a lot more interesting by throwing in some pillars or level variation or wall variation or something to break them up a bit more. Doesn't have to be super high detail stuff--just some simple square pillars with a nice texture on them would work. I really like the level-over-level stuff in the RA/RL room--this combined with numerous bouncepads will make for some fun gameplay in that room.
Dead ends suck. Even nice dark ones where you can camp. That one, the one with GL, and the two weird drop-down shafts to nowhere from RL/RA area all need to be either done away with, or connected to something, somehow. I also strongly think that that RL/RA area needs another connection of some kind with the rest of the map. I didn't find it for quite a while, and then took a few seconds to figure out how to get back out, while jumping down dead-end shafts and cursing. How about a jumppad that shoots you up and over the whole map through a tube or something and drops you down on the bridge in front of LG? Or just another tele, if that sounds too crazy.
This is a good start, but needs more lovin', IMO, especially lighting/detailing.
Edit: Damn. Looking at this has me in a Q4-y mood again. Maybe I'll start working on something...
I agree with some of hemostick's comments. Yeah, light fixtures are good.
The lightcount is high in spots, but it looks like nearly all of them are non-shadow-casting, which is why performance doesn't suffer. I really think you could do much better on the lighting with a bit more work and fussing-with. More color would probably help, but I think a bit less evenness and more shadows would too. Easier said than done, I know, especially with a map that's large and interconnected. For the love of God, please do something with the shadow-casting light directly under the RA/RL room (on the lowest level) somehow, or make a fixture for it, or something. The player's shadow is really obvious there, due to the placement of the center, and the lack of fixture/source makes it really bleh.Your portals are busticated on one side of the giant curved hallway o' doom with nothing in it. One of the V-shaped combos doesn't touch the wall at the point of the V...
Layout. Many areas feel really big and open. And plain. You could make some of these (like the aforementioned big curvy corridor) a lot more interesting by throwing in some pillars or level variation or wall variation or something to break them up a bit more. Doesn't have to be super high detail stuff--just some simple square pillars with a nice texture on them would work. I really like the level-over-level stuff in the RA/RL room--this combined with numerous bouncepads will make for some fun gameplay in that room.
Dead ends suck. Even nice dark ones where you can camp.
That one, the one with GL, and the two weird drop-down shafts to nowhere from RL/RA area all need to be either done away with, or connected to something, somehow. I also strongly think that that RL/RA area needs another connection of some kind with the rest of the map. I didn't find it for quite a while, and then took a few seconds to figure out how to get back out, while jumping down dead-end shafts and cursing. How about a jumppad that shoots you up and over the whole map through a tube or something and drops you down on the bridge in front of LG? Or just another tele, if that sounds too crazy.This is a good start, but needs more lovin', IMO, especially lighting/detailing.
Edit: Damn. Looking at this has me in a Q4-y mood again. Maybe I'll start working on something...
I beat the internet; the end guy is hard.
awesome that you guys replied.
i had mentioned in the readme.txt that i have parts i have not merged yet therefore you see jumpads going nowhere and rooms not fully connected "in one area i'm waiting for insiration or an idea like you have just given
ya .. i got the q4 mapping bug after a long break .. you can really make some really nice multiplayer unplayable maps .. i tried to balance both using nicer textures and a bit more curves etc..
i would like to add more detail but i worry about framerates .. i think that's why most maps seem to use no curves ??
more comments .. i have 5 days left to finish the map then i'm gone for 6 months
i had mentioned in the readme.txt that i have parts i have not merged yet therefore you see jumpads going nowhere and rooms not fully connected "in one area i'm waiting for insiration or an idea like you have just given
ya .. i got the q4 mapping bug after a long break .. you can really make some really nice multiplayer unplayable maps .. i tried to balance both using nicer textures and a bit more curves etc..
i would like to add more detail but i worry about framerates .. i think that's why most maps seem to use no curves ??
more comments .. i have 5 days left to finish the map then i'm gone for 6 months
[color=#FF0000][WYD][/color]
Whoops. I didn't even look at it. Beta generally means that everything is sorta in place and complete (although subject to change), so I got confused...axbaby wrote:the readme.txt
Yeah, it can be tricky to balance at times. Lots of curves + shadow-casters can get you in trouble quickly. For lighting, you might consider opening up some of the official maps and seeing the approaches that were taken; that's the cool thing about the .map files being included.axbaby wrote:i tried to balance both using nicer textures and a bit more curves etc..
i would like to add more detail but i worry about framerates .. i think that's why most maps seem to use no curves ??
this is my final version of this map .. hope you like it.
http://www.nexcaf.com/xenovex/q4base/q4axca2.pk4
http://www.nexcaf.com/xenovex/q4base/q4axca2.pk4
Last edited by axbaby on Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Heh. Yeah, I guess I could have qualified that a bit more.hemostick wrote:"the lights are non shadow casting so the performance doesn't suffer"
/me slaps pjw with his fx 5600 :P
axbaby, the final on this certainly seems more solid than the beta. The lighting seems to have improved some (although there's still various unsourced bits, etc.), and the detail and general level of polish feels better too.
I understand you have other commitments, but I really wish you could have taken another week or two on it. I'm sad that the big curvy corridor went away, and I think you could have done better with the layout/connectivity than just adding teles. :icon26: And there's still no way out of the big bouncy room that doesn't involve taking damage...
Anyway, it's a nice achievement for something that you whipped out in just a few weeks, and I'm sure people will have fun playing it. I look forward to seeing more maps from you when you have more time to spend.