Compilation of my work - Lots of Screenshots!

[Niitaayis]

Hey!

I'm new to the forums.
I know you guys are all about Half Life and the Source Engine, and I'm interested.

You see, I'm a level designer, I've been tinkering with Source since Half Life 2 came out, and I want to show you guys what I've got; as an introduction.

The pictures are quite a wall of photos and are in no particular order.

I really hope to start and finish many projects with you guys.















Some videos too, 'cause sometimes pictures just don't do justice

[Gambini]

Some cool work there. Ever released something?

And... Welcome aboard!

[Niitaayis]

Some cool work there. Ever released something?

And... Welcome aboard!

Well, not publicly
if there's a VMF someone wants to use or a .bsp someone wants to play with, I'll let them use it.

[PaulH]

If you ever want to go into level design as something other than a hobby you should take the time to create something substantial that you can release. Use whatever you've learned so far to help you but take on the challenge of a small level of some kind and actually finish it. Don't give up at compile problems (I read your Facepunch thread about long compile times leading to you abandoning that loft project - you could just compile without lighting whilst you block it all out you know, assuming that's what causing the slowdown).

The level you create won't be perfect and don't expect it to be but the only way to learn the processes is by doing them. A portfolio with lots of 'bits and pieces' is no good really if it's not backed up by any complete work. Anyway welcome to the boards, you should be able to find a lot of help here

[Niitaayis]

If you ever want to go into level design as something other than a hobby you should take the time to create something substantial that you can release. Use whatever you've learned so far to help you but take on the challenge of a small level of some kind and actually finish it. Don't give up at compile problems (I read your Facepunch thread about long compile times leading to you abandoning that loft project - you could just compile without lighting whilst you block it all out you know, assuming that's what causing the slowdown).

The level you create won't be perfect and don't expect it to be but the only way to learn the processes is by doing them. A portfolio with lots of 'bits and pieces' is no good really if it's not backed up by any complete work. Anyway welcome to the boards, you should be able to find a lot of help here

Thanks for the kind advice;
The compilation problems are part of this current system only. It's my grandma's computer that I'm stuck with.

I do have some projects in the works, it's just the matter of when I can work on them and where.

I have a city-plan all laid out and ready to be finished on my main computer.

Once I get back to it, I'll host live streams and continue to update progress in these forums.

It's going to be a complete remake from the ground up of an older existing map; rp_citylife

Here's some screenshots




The plan was it have it half life 2 based, have every building enter-able and have some decent lighting for a medium-large sized map.

I know it's balls ugly right now, but that's the point of a work in progress, no?

These are older now, 3-5 months I'd say.

I wish I could show you guys more work on it, but I don't have the resources to compile nor do I have access to the file itself.

But this work; work started on this and the layout are all intact on my main computer.

Something I can show you, however is that the Asylum project was pretty hefty.

It was meant to be fully playable, had ambient atmospheres and had a few scripted events, but I've since lost the files due to corruption. Lesson learned; Backup. Everything!

I managed to nab a screenshot of the entire thing before it died, however;

[joe_rogers_11155]

Those brush-based interior arches are very impressive. Could you release the vmf or bsp for those so I can study them and maybe learn how to do it myself?

[Niitaayis]

Joe, I'd absolutely love to
But I don't have access to the VMF files just yet.

Last year I moved out of my parents and I've been on my own since.
Couldn't carry a 50 pound computer with me everywhere i went so I left it in my home city.
which I plan on returning to in three weeks.

I can do my best to explain how I've achieved the effect;

It was my plan to begin work with modular pieces, so I hatched together this rough archway, copied it twice and created a ... lets call them 'cells'

I did my best to create a brush-based curved ceiling, but it didn't do justice and was very difficult to work with. Then it struck me; I'll just use displacements!



The texture work was tricky, I had to find textures that all complimented eachother,
It had to be the same material type, had to have similar shades, shapes and tones.
Doesn't hurt to add contrast, so I made the pillars dark.

I did my best to keep it simplistic, so I only used 16 faces for the pillars, copied the initial archway, created a sharper archway and rotated it 45 degrees. From then on it was just copy+paste and dealing with Hammer with it's man restrictions.

Some people were surprised that I managed to use the default dev brick texture effectively (the floor texture).

Once I get ahold of the main files, I'll send them your way.

For now, anyone interested in my work, feel free to add me to your friends' list on Steam.

I'm going to start a WIP thread here on Interlopers.
A walkthrough from start to finish on a small pet-project of mine.

You know, something small to keep me motivated.

It's here if you're interested;
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36583

[Niitaayis]

-snip-

no automerge

[PaulH]

I have a city-plan all laid out and ready to be finished on my main computer

Just an extra tip, I'd recommend making something small and not too ambitious...a city sounds...ambitious

[Niitaayis]

I have a city-plan all laid out and ready to be finished on my main computer

Just an extra tip, I'd recommend making something small and not too ambitious...a city sounds...ambitious

I've been doing this awhile and I feel like I've got what it takes right now.

I've done lots and lots of small things and I'm ready to move on.

[Hollow]

Doing lots of small scenes which have never been released, doesn't really amount to having the chops to create an entire, believable coherent city. Especially on the Source Engine. The best advice to take is to focus on creating a small project, that you release to the community. It could be even set IN a city, just pull back the scope a good 10 notches first.

And for the love of god try and not make it a combine city/HL2 related project if you want to stand out a bit more.

[PaulH]

Yup agreed with Hollow, it's common to gain an understanding of an editor and then jump into a large project in it. It seems quick enough to create when you think about it but then you realise as time goes on that to polish it to a certain level and to get everything to a good standard is going to take a lot longer than you thought. If there's one thing i've learnt about myself it's that at times my ambition gets the better of me when it comes to level design

Of course you are free to make what you like, i'd just recommend you make something small and polish and make it to the absolute best of your ability. Then make something else until you start filling your portfolio with nice finished projects.