Map Battle 30 - Christmas! (And other winter festivities!)

[TicTac]

Futerama and... something from a concentration camp?

You jew hater

[MELVIn]

That is a falsification sir. I got the idea from the music video for Pink Floyd's "Another brick in the wall (part 2)" from the movie "The Wall"

[vcool]

That is a falsification sir. I got the idea from the music video for Pink Floyd's "Another brick in the wall (part 2)" from the movie "The Wall"

I can has correct idea.

[Meotwister]

little snippet of mine. wippin it



I'm kinda building it as like a little playable map to walk around and enjoy the scenery.

coming soon! signs of Christmas in the map!

[jenkins_08]

Well after spending hours trying to fix a blog because of serious bugs (Too many for me to fix, Wordpress is the blog in question), i was in the middle of posting some WiP shots here when i lost the power for 3 and a half hours, which after that i went to post some screenshots of the storm in my blog, and i have many headaches with just that post alone....

Any who as i have to rewrite this, a steam conversation with a friend says all
(who i have replaced his name with Unnamed for privacy reasons)
Copy-Pasta because i'm currently pissed off with Wordpress and can't be bothered making a fancy WiP post...

1:19 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... /xmas1.png is when i started this morning
1:19 AM - UnNamed: Looks good
1:19 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: i mapped the fireplace off this image http://216.92.84.218/images2/fireplace-after.jpg
1:20 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: this was about 7 horus later, about 4pm this afternoon http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... /xmas2.png
1:20 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: hours*
1:20 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: lol but
1:20 AM - UnNamed: Looks good but needs improvement
1:20 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: this is what it looked like ingame when i first compiled it
1:20 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0000.jpg
1:20 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: as you say
1:20 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: lighting is ASDF
1:20 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς:
1:20 AM - UnNamed: LIGHTING ASDF
1:21 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: ok so then i revised it again
1:21 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... /xmas3.png
1:21 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: i also added an outside snow area to look inside
1:21 AM - UnNamed: It looks better as it goes... also Do all maps look fullbright while in hammer?
1:21 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: yup always fullbright in hammer :/
1:21 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: and yeah the competition is only 3 screenshots needed
1:22 AM - UnNamed: Photoshop it LOLOLOLOLOL
1:22 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: nah not allowed
1:22 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: also gmod is not allowed
1:22 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: umm anyway yeah i was thinking about 2 screens inside and one outside looking inside
1:23 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: so after i revised the lighting, and added the outside bit, it looks like this ingame now
1:23 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0003.jpg
1:23 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0005.jpg
1:23 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς:
1:23 AM - UnNamed: 0-0
1:24 AM - ĴēиҜiЙς: now i havnt touched it because of what i said in my blog post, as i was posting these WiP shots on interlopers, we had a huge storm and lost the power for 3 hours, so i havent loaded sdk again to revise and add more

The snow area has displacement snow aswell.

I might work on it some more for the next 30mins or so, but after losing 3 hours tonight to darkness mode in Real Life, i really can't be bothered doing much more tonight, or this morning, whatever it is now

Peace, Jenkins

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EDIT:
After spending 4 hours adding and tuning things, still havn't been to bed yet and its now 6am, anyways here are some more updates (Still WiP)

[Meotwister]

lookin good man, but what did you base the room itself off of.. all the furniture seems thrown into it and I think it's because the room seems to be pretty big and things dont look like they have their place y'know?

I like the tree hehe and the presents. Isnt there a fan model you could use though?

Also, that sucks about your blog/mother nature problems.

[Evil Scotsman]

Thats looking quite good although the grey/bland coloured props and textures make it seem like a prison or something, try using brighter textures, like that wood one you had on the wall at the start. That looked quite nice but it works best when used in combination with another texture, so like its that wood texture for one third up the wall and the rest is a different texture.

but yes, very good so far

[jenkins_08]

lookin good man, but what did you base the room itself off of.. all the furniture seems thrown into it and I think it's because the room seems to be pretty big and things dont look like they have their place y'know?

I like the tree hehe and the presents. Isnt there a fan model you could use though?

Also, that sucks about your blog/mother nature problems.

For me, realism is very difficult to simulate.
I wasn't using a reference picture for the whole room, just thinking about stereotypical christmas setting in a cabin with snow outside and a warm cosy inside setting.

I agree about the furniture being thrown in, but HL2 Furniture is all i really have, and that's meant for C17.
So i have to make do with what i have access to.

There's a fan model :O?
I looked for ages but only could create a mock style one with some brushwork.

Thats looking quite good although the grey/bland coloured props and textures make it seem like a prison or something, try using brighter textures, like that wood one you had on the wall at the start. That looked quite nice but it works best when used in combination with another texture, so like its that wood texture for one third up the wall and the rest is a different texture.

but yes, very good so far

Yeah once again, that's the C17-ness of the props shining through on a map where they don't really belong.

Lol i've retextured the walls about 9 times now and i still cant find any good wood/brick or stone cabin walls, i've tried plaster and even metal and tiles and still cannot find the perfect "Christmas Getaway Log Cabin Inside Wall Textures"

I'm also a little peeved at the present/gift gibs from TF2 being super bright HDR/Blurred Models when the rest are not. However my compiling may have something to do with it, as i'm using the -StaticPropLighting switch for VRAD (For the fan lights)

Thanks again for crits,
Peace, Jenkins

[oMeSSiaHo]

I would take the lights on the tree off the ropes. I did something similar and they do look better without the wires. Plus, how often do you really see the wires holding the lights? I would also chose something to be the center piece. When you look at most living rooms the furniture is usually oriented at something. I think that is what is creating the random look. There are a few things that would normally be center pieces; the tree, fireplace and tv. Since everything is facing the tree, it creates too big an open area. I dont think I can explain it well...

I agree that the room is pretty big. I would ditch the computer and tv (not very rustic cabiny) and make the room smaller. It help with the focus and make the room seem more cozy. I would also lower the fan light and have most of the light coming from the bulbs and fire. Its too bright to be cozy.

[Meotwister]

Update on mine.



Just can't bring myself to put in typical Christmas objects in this map.. maybe I'll make it winter solstice or something

[source-maps]

started building something small to
its very basic and heavy wip its going to be allot snowier and christmasier (if those are actual words)

Ill try to make a custom sky for this and some other custom textures,
the white wooden boards texture on the the church is custom to

fullscreen: http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/479/ ... 007kl3.jpg

[jenkins_08]

Some update screens of my WiP

I made some custom textures tonight including normal maps for them because i can
They are each separate textures and there are 2 variations of each letter, being M E R Y X A S which of course is Merry Xmas with using just those letters you get it anyway here are the screens;

I also removed the silly T.V and PC and Desk because i agree, does not belong there...

I'm still a little bit annoyed with the TF2 present props but i don't think i can do anything about that.

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0027.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0028.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0030.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0031.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0035.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0036.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0038.jpg
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee24 ... as0039.jpg

Another full day spent on this Cosy Christmas Cottage

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EDIT:

Spent another whole day today adding and changing more....
I re-arranged the layout of the room hopefully is more suited to it.
Most of today was spent on lighting, and i also changed the lightmap scale to 8 for all brush surfaces to up the quality.



i was going to make some of these the final images, but i can see some things that need fixing after investigating more, and as it takes 48mins to compile im not really going to bother and load it right now to change 1 or 2 things, it can wait until tomorrow

[source-maps]

hey jenkins_08 it looks very nice.
You really got the christmas feeling in your map, especially the ligthing inside the house.. it feels very warm and cosy

but I have 1 tip, the map you made feels like a cabin in the woods were people go on holidays to relax or something.. and the wood textures you are using feels like an old shed so it doesnt really fit in this scene

here are some more screens from my w.i.p. map
I made a skybox using vue6, its so eazy to use... I Photoshopped the moon in (not a big deal)
but I have a question, the sky is uber bright in game with HDR on... with a normal sky its no problem because it is supposed to be the sun... but this is a night sky.. so I wonder is there anyway to reduce this effect?
I always thought this effect was caused by this line in the vmf

Code: Select all

"$hdrbasetexture"

but I left it out and I stil see the bright hdr effect

consider that this map is stil heavy wip Im going to dip it in a bowl of christmas





Sky texture:

Uber bright sky ingame: (same position as the texture)

[jenkins_08]

hey jenkins_08 it looks very nice.
You really got the christmas feeling in your map, especially the ligthing inside the house.. it feels very warm and cosy

but I have 1 tip, the map you made feels like a cabin in the woods were people go on holidays to relax or something.. and the wood textures you are using feels like an old shed so it doesnt really fit in this scene

Thanks man
That is about the 40th different texture scheme i've tried for those walls, i think i've exausted all source wooden materials that are remotely suitable...
I've tried many different combinations, but those 2 slightly different ones from the White Forest Inn, (Vertical and Horizontal Wooden Grey/Brown textures) are the only 2 for me that match when im painting in hammer.

here are some more screens from my w.i.p. map
I made a skybox using vue6, its so eazy to use... I Photoshopped the moon in (not a big deal)
but I have a question, the sky is uber bright in game with HDR on... with a normal sky its no problem because it is supposed to be the sun... but this is a night sky.. so I wonder is there anyway to reduce this effect?

I also have a suggestion for this

I personally haven't tried it, but you could use the moon as the sun... use env_sun and change the overlay in properties to a alpha masked moon texture (Left 4 Dead has one, and i think TF2 does aswell, in Skybox folder )

Not sure if that would work but you would have much better control over the position of the moon instead of having it fixed in one position in the sky texture itself.

Nice job though i want the skybox already

Peace, Jenkins

[source-maps]

Thanks man
That is about the 40th different texture scheme i've tried for those walls, i think i've exausted all source wooden materials that are remotely suitable...
I've tried many different combinations, but those 2 slightly different ones from the White Forest Inn, (Vertical and Horizontal Wooden Grey/Brown textures) are the only 2 for me that match when im painting in hammer.

Why dont you make a custom texture?
I can help you out if you want? Im not pro but I can make decent textures

I also have a suggestion for this

I personally haven't tried it, but you could use the moon as the sun... use env_sun and change the overlay in properties to a alpha masked moon texture (Left 4 Dead has one, and i think TF2 does aswell, in Skybox folder )

Not sure if that would work but you would have much better control over the position of the moon instead of having it fixed in one position in the sky texture itself.

Nice job though i want the skybox already
Peace, Jenkins

thanks, I will try it... dont know if I can accomplish it