First try at dark maps

[iFailify]

I started this project like 2 weeks ago, had no time to continue it, but today I just had nothing to do and decided to continue making this "never ending project"...

The whole project started from a simple sauna. Then it developed into a bathroom and a sauna. I used my real home as a base for the sauna and the bath (even though failed at the showers) and then I decided to make a some kind of a copy of my home. Well, darkened and modified of course. Then I filtered the textures to only decals... and I think you know the rest just by looking at the pictures. Overused decals, overused lights, overused effects anyway. I have finished (at the moment of post) only the first floor without the outside areas of the map. (I'm not sure if I even start the outside, because then I would need to fix a few bugs that I have found, one of them is the map visible through the skybox. Okay, end of story, critic is welcome, I know this map sucks, badly, but just give some ideas on how to continue.

Pictures:
http://img14.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=de ... a10008.jpg - newest pics


Mainly it's the non-bath finished area, just empty space + that ugly floodlight thing...


The little path that leads to the bath. Dark because pic taken when the lights we're off (flicker)

Old pictures:
http://img11.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=if ... se0016.jpg (1, 2 and 3 from the early stages)

So... just enjoy the 16 pictures and comment. I'm not yet sure to what am I going to put this into, but CS is kinda strong. Just a few extrapaths and it's gonna be a good map, if finished.

[Major Banter]

Right, I'm not going to comment on your fucking awful brushwork, I'll leave that to the pro's. Lighting's my forte.

1. White light is always hideous. I mean, really hideous. Colour it with pretty much anything, brown and grey for decrepitude, blue for cold, orange and yellow tints for warm and natural. I'd go with a sombre blue/grey theme here.

2. Your light sources are fucking shit. Unify them and make them consistent. Use those really boring ones, sorta like this;
http://img.alibaba.com/photo/50207987/Ceiling_Light_with_PIR_Sensor.jpg
Ensure the source never hangs down more than 25% of the room height, otherwise it'll look really weird. In rooms below 256 in height that should be less than 10%. Keep them close to the ceiling.

3. Lower the light levels but put plenty of ambient in. If you're going for scary the player needs to be able to see exactly where they are, but never be quite sure. High intense light levels are key to this; use light_spots and spotlight entities to create realistic lights that allow for little extra needed between them. It creates a very creepy mood.

4. Never, and I mean never, use the light entity without yanking down the brightness to about 50, usually lower, when indoors. And don't be afraid to use the inner/outer angles/cast functions, just click the gridded sphere in the toolbar and turn on 'helpers'. Bloody useful.

Anyway, your texture work is inconsistent, there's too much blood (it's just not subtle) and your geometry needs work.

And why is there a wooden ladder on the wall?

Aside from that, it's an excellent idea for a theme, and I think it would benefit from a very clean approach, using wood and plastics; remember to destroy your environments once you've built them, it makes it a lot easier.

[illcom]

i actually like your light sources, but go darker, you need black shadows

[Ottawagunner]

I think you should look at this tutorial, http://www.interlopers.net/tutorials/17779 this tutorial really helped me archive more accurate lighting and lighting effects.

[Echo51]

Too light for being dark, lower dat brightness

[iFailify]

@ Major Banter:
I know you like telling about the lights that aren't the best, but I'm not that familiar with lighting yet, just have started mapping again after a little break (before the "vacation" I was more shit than ever), so I can't be ubersuperhyperpro like you all.

"And why is there a wooden ladder on the wall?"
It's not wood. It's just a random model I put there to wait a some kind of a custom one.

"blah blah there's too much blood (it's just not subtle) and your geometry needs work."
I know that too. It's just there waiting for me to get something better looking on the wall, that I'm not doing yet... geometry, hmm... yeh well, I'll return to that later.

"blah blah fucking awful brushwork"
Not even gonna comment on this...

@ Echo51
"Too light for being dark, lower dat brightness."
Well... if you say so. Even though the only too light spots are the WC and the sauna, everything else is just dark enough. That's basically what I think.

@ illcom
"i actually like your light sources, but go darker, you need black shadows"
Black shadows? You don't see enough of them yet? Well... that's the point of the map anyway, to make a dark scary feeling (or just something dark) house.

I liked all the comments I got pretty quick (well... pretty normal for a busy big community). Even though I wanted all of the comments to be like, umm... kind. I didn't like the first comment that much. Even though it had a lot of useful information on it and hints, but too much naggynaggyblahblah-feeling on it. Comment more, and I will be fixing a few things on this, some of them are the things you "complained" about, some not.

Byebye seeya blabh blah. Sorry for this book I wrote here.

[Phott]

Uh yeah, this whole place makes no sense, first wooden wall, and suddenly tiles! I've never seen a building irl that looks like that.

[iFailify]

Uh yeah, this whole place makes no sense, first wooden wall, and suddenly tiles! I've never seen a building irl that looks like that.

Well... the map is not meant to be superultra realistic, but it's just hard to blend a bath / sauna themed area into a living room style place. More pictures are coming kinda soon. :/ (better lighting on the WC, a little update on the living room style room, and much more darker sauna and a stupid looking vent there)

[illcom]

to bad there isn't a nailboard decal for material changes, like when youre carpet reaches the linoleum in the kitchen

[Major Banter]

It was supposed to be advisory, but if you want to argue the point rather than take it on board, that's your lookout.

I could write a novel on how idiotic your return comment was but I won't bother. Arrogance won't get you far and the advice is solid. If the delivery doesn't make you happy go to FacePunch and have those idiots slaver over it. The map is poor. You will get constructive criticism here. It will seem harsh. If you take it on board, you improve. You will make it better. The guy who's been submitting CSS maps here, Keliester or something, he's taken everything I've said on board and he's improved. It really is that simple.

In any case thanks for totally glossing over the polite and kind points I've tried to put in there occasionally.

/rant

[MayheM]

to bad there isn't a nailboard decal for material changes, like when youre carpet reaches the linoleum in the kitchen

That would be easy enough to make...

[Phott]

Uh yeah, this whole place makes no sense, first wooden wall, and suddenly tiles! I've never seen a building irl that looks like that.

Well... the map is not meant to be superultra realistic, but it's just hard to blend a bath / sauna themed area into a living room style place. More pictures are coming kinda soon. :/ (better lighting on the WC, a little update on the living room style room, and much more darker sauna and a stupid looking vent there)

That's a bad excuse, even if you're not going for "super ultra realistic" you still have to make stuff make sense, you can't make a random shitty level and then defend yourself from crits by saying "it's not super ultra realistic".