My WIPs

[antie]

These are all the maps I'm currently working on. I started mapping a year ago, at maximum.

anti-scribbler

This was originally intended to be finished for a Halloween deadline. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to meet that, but I will finish it, none the less. All the textures, except for glass textures, were drawn by hand (well, scribbled by hand) and scanned in. It was exhausting... there's still plenty to do. I sort of gave up on it for a while, working on my other project, below, just because of the huge amount of time it took to get the textures in.

Uprising

Uprising is a SP mod / mappack I've been busy semi-working on for the past few months. What's really great about this project is the results I'm getting![/sarcasm] After several months of hard-work, I was unhappy So I started again, all over. I'm not sure whether being able to do that is a good thing or a bad thing... But I'm glad I did it. Although... I think that excellence comes with growth, not perfection. Or... something along those lines. So I have a mixed stance, I'm a hypocrite or I'm confused.

Currently, I have four maps made for uprising. The citadel (which I may just replace with a newer simplistic design), the first background map, and uprising_1, what's been done so far of the first level of the campaign!(Also, up_ch1_01, the original first level that didn't make much sense, and I didn't really like).

Uprising will be a linear (not too linear) mod in city 73, following the Protagonist, Anton Egorov. The dude who supplies the "Steerable Rocket-Launchers" to the rebels? Yeah, Odessa wasn't making them, he was just the middleman selling off ounces for a profit. I have the basic story rooted in my head but I need to get the specifics down soon. I need to get some voice actors for this, I've tried recruiting one for a single character, which was a success, but he became more distant with me as I spent more time on creating a level, re-iterating it, rinse, repeat.

IMAGES

http://s490.photobucket.com/albums/rr26 ... s/Mapping/

Please tell me what you think. Constructive or destructive criticism. I've kept all of these maps to myself and 2 other people, and they don't really tell me what to improve or whether the map is any good. I have had to rely on my own intuition.

[Mighty Monk]

Okay, well just a quick glance over, you need to change your roads a little. You should notice where you live that roads seldom turn left or right at a sharp 90 angle. You'll need to use a curved brush to create a bend

[Major Banter]

Hideously blocky, but I love the way you've stuck at it! Damn fine work getting that much done! Most mappers churn out quality stuff with little to play, but yours, with some good gameplay, could be perfectly fine. However, that's no real excuse - study some buildings and make them a little more...interesting

I love scribble. Fantastic idea, if a little badly lit.

[antie]

Okay, well just a quick glance over, you need to change your roads a little. You should notice where you live that roads seldom turn left or right at a sharp 90 angle. You'll need to use a curved brush to create a bend

You're right, I'll need to change that. As well as the width of the roads, and the textures, actually. Thanks for the tip

Hideously blocky, but I love the way you've stuck at it! Damn fine work getting that much done! Most mappers churn out quality stuff with little to play, but yours, with some good gameplay, could be perfectly fine. However, that's no real excuse - study some buildings and make them a little more...interesting

I love scribble. Fantastic idea, if a little badly lit.

Now that you mention it, I think that blockiness has been bothering me forever, perhaps it's time to fully understand and utilize curves and such, and make my cuboids less thick in some areas. I never really bothered learning how. And, a lot of the buildings are just squares which needs to be corrected. I guess I was working with right angles for so long I forgot about curves. Thanks for the advice, man!

[Mighty Monk]

I guess I was working with right angles for so long I forgot about curves.

And at the same time, don't forget that there is such thing as a square building! Don't over do the curves and angled edges

[AlexCrafter]

That scribble map is brilliant, some of the textures could do with a bit more refining though, less random scribbling more sketching.

[srredfire]

Your scribble map has potential, you have a lot to work with, but you have in no way utilized the assets you have. You could do so much cool stuff with that, but you seem to be restricting yourself with 90 degree angles and just tons of block work and poor lighting. You could make quite fun stuff, like a pop-up book, or inside a painting, or anything really. You should expand a lot more if you decide to continue it.

As for your mod/thing, take a look at more reference pictures for rural areas and streets in general. See how intersections are broken up, and how districts work. Take a look at it from a realistic sense and ask yourself, "Okay, if I was driving here, would this make sense?". A lot of the time you'll find it doesn't. Werid curbs, odd lanes, strangely sized things, no driveways or parking areas. There's more to it than just sidewalk + road. Try looking at some sky views in Google maps to get a feel for the flow of roads.

As for your indoor areas, you seem to have spaced out a lot of objects in the rooms. Not a bad thing, but the last image for example, there is WAY too much negative space if you ask me. The amount of furniture is pretty bleak, and it seems the room is too big for it's own good, or just too bare. The other ones are better, but I still see some of the issue. Once again just look around you, look in your house, look at rooms. There aren't too many places where a room looks like that.

[Lobstar]

That first level reminds me of Monas Hideout in May Payne 2. Really nice work Would love to see some moore detail there though. Moore custom models maybe?

[antie]

Your scribble map has potential, you have a lot to work with, but you have in no way utilized the assets you have. You could do so much cool stuff with that, but you seem to be restricting yourself with 90 degree angles and just tons of block work and poor lighting. You could make quite fun stuff, like a pop-up book, or inside a painting, or anything really. You should expand a lot more if you decide to continue it.

As for your mod/thing, take a look at more reference pictures for rural areas and streets in general. See how intersections are broken up, and how districts work. Take a look at it from a realistic sense and ask yourself, "Okay, if I was driving here, would this make sense?". A lot of the time you'll find it doesn't. Werid curbs, odd lanes, strangely sized things, no driveways or parking areas. There's more to it than just sidewalk + road. Try looking at some sky views in Google maps to get a feel for the flow of roads.

As for your indoor areas, you seem to have spaced out a lot of objects in the rooms. Not a bad thing, but the last image for example, there is WAY too much negative space if you ask me. The amount of furniture is pretty bleak, and it seems the room is too big for it's own good, or just too bare. The other ones are better, but I still see some of the issue. Once again just look around you, look in your house, look at rooms. There aren't too many places where a room looks like that.

I'm going to work on making these maps less blocky, I think that's always been subconsciously annoying me. Thanks again for pointed that out, guys.

The lighting in scribbler isn't that good, I agree, but I was having problems with light settings so I decided to use the default light_spot and light settings and only change the brightness. I will have a go at changing the lighting again. In a map like scribbler, the lighting would affect the whole mood overall.

The next step in scribbler for me would be to create a really nice environment. Not through amazing mapping, nor great gameplay, just a nice-looking mappella that will give out some ambient vibes and will seem like a nice trip . The flip-book and painting suggestions were really good ideas, I never really thought of doing something that trippy, but I will consider something akin to that now.

I tend to make the not-so-important buildings for Uprising there and then, in Hammer. Reference photographs would be a good idea, I will try to get Google streetview or something similar of a dilapidated Soviet city, and make something based on that. One of the biggest problems with the original 1st Uprising level was that it made no sense, so I will go back over it now and try to make it sensible. You just get so used to your map after working on it for weeks that you take it for granted, and don't question it's validity, I guess.

Yeah, there is a lot of negative space in the room in the very last picture (and the room that's above it, with the writing on the wall saying "Use side entrance"), but I can honestly say that was intended to give it an unwholesome, dilapidated, temporary... improvised feeling. It's only a once or twice off meeting place, in the actual game, and one person's living quarters. IDK, I will have a go at filling it up and see if it works with my intentions.

That first level reminds me of Monas Hideout in May Payne 2. Really nice work Would love to see some moore detail there though. Moore custom models maybe?

Heh, actually, some of the sounds I'll be putting in that map are going to be influenced from Max Payne. The actual level design wasn't intended to be that similar, but perhaps subconsciously I made it that way. Although, tbh that would be difficult as I've only seen gameplay videos of MP, haven't played it. Also, I tried modelling, never got the grasp of it. I am, in the long run, planning on getting my head around Blender, though.

Thanks for all the responses! I'm loving Interlopers

[static07]

What bothers me the most is that Uprising looks like a HL1 mod, and a lowly detailed one. It's not just blocky, adding curves won't change that fact. It's not about polygons but about giving your map a realistic touch, make it look like a real city. You don't have to look at 'reference pictures', merely envisioning what you'll see walking around in your town should get you a long way. For the most part, cities are pretty boring, but all cities have their POI's (points of interest). And so should your levels.

The first thing u see when getting outdoors in HL2 is this:


It isn't exactly high poly, but it isn't so blocky, it has a square with a statuethingy, fences, shops, chimneys, telephone and lightpoles etc...

[Major Banter]

It gives an illusion of 'lack of blockiness' because it looks real, and is extremely well made.

[antie]

I think I need to spend a lot more time designing things before I rush into making them, so that they will work. Like that HL2 scene, a huge amount of preparation was put into that. Probably sketches, plans, and I know that the HL2 team took thousands of "reference pictures".

I may start over again, to get it right. The maps I've made for Uprising are only alpha/beta, and I don't mind having to start over again to improve it. Part of the learning experience, I suppose.

The main difference I can see from my mod, and HL2 (now, I know I shouldn't even consider comparing them, since my maps are so inferior, however I will do so anyway) is just that mine is too unnaturally square. The HL2 scene seems to be more organic, that's the best way I can describe it ATM.

I am now going to do something I should have done a long time ago... put all of my semi-formed ideas (plots and levels) onto paper, make sure they are decent, THEN build it with hammer. I will probably put in a lot more custom textures, and who knows, I may get some basic models or at lest reskins done.

Thanks for the response

[Mighty Monk]

Look up some articles and such on basic architecture. I think there's even a tutorial on this website that's not too desimilar. That could help!

[antie]

Look up some articles and such on basic architecture. I think there's even a tutorial on this website that's not too desimilar. That could help!

I'll have a look at that, and search the web, perhaps my library for some info on that. It would have to be Eastern architecture, though.

[Lobstar]

I love original ideas for maps keep working on it and it will look great.