Nearing Completion *de_deadlock_css* UPDATED April, 12th

[MayheM]

Original post updated with some new screens...

[mookie]

The building in the first pic looks pretty nice. A few things stick out though.

The lighting on the second story seems off; even though it looks like the same brick texture it looks so much darker to almost be a different colour completely. I can't tell if it's the angle of the light, but probably it's because those columns and the windows are func_detail (or props). You can probably fix that just by splitting the brick brush into separate pieces where it's covered up (and maybe retexturing it there with nodraw). I think with at least the columns on the corners, you may as well move them to world and run a hint across the front of them, that way the windows on each side will be in a small leaf that won't be visible from around the corner.

The join between the tops of the columns and the same-textured brush right above is missing some definition. These faux-columns don't necessarily need a capital, but if they were recessed a few units, or a slightly wider brush were put just below the one they touch, it would probably make a noticeable difference there.

I didn't notice it at first, but it seems weird the way the brick under the window on the first story runs into the door. Maybe a narrow piece of brickwork separating the door from the windows would look better.

Recessing the first story a few units and putting columns just on the corners might strengthen the look of the building as a whole (then again it might not).

It looks like the door is flush to the sidewalk level. In the previous version most of the building façades had a little trim along the bottom of the texture. Either one will probably benefit from a separate brush for this which sticks out just a little (or a single step up off the sidewalk in the case of a door).

I'm not sure how close you are to being done with this building, but a decal on each awning or one in each window would probably do it.

It might be good to replace or redo the sidewalk texture. It's a little repetitive with cigarettes as you stand over it, and as you look down it one way the way it sways back and forth is repetitive also (never noticed this before since I didn't have AF on). One that's more irregular (like nearly random stones) or very neat would probably do better. Whatever you go with, you could make a clean version and a dirty version, and turn short pieces into displacement to blend between the two. Turning them all into displacements would be nice, but probably too expensive.

Looking at the third screenshot:

The ledge between the first and second stories seems very prominent. Probably the first story should be wider (or more wider) than the second, or maybe the ledge just doesn't need to be as wide. I can't quite tell what doesn't look right about it, maybe it's the particular angle of the screenshot. Back in the second screenshot, the very same ledge seems OK.

Also, with the top being only one story (instead of a second and third story), the way it's built up makes it look unnaturally tall compared to the first story. You could re-arrange it, but sinking the sidewalk here to make the first floor be several feet below street level might be an interesting option.

Now that this all looks to a single building, I'm not sure having three corners along the right side here works.

If it's still the same texture going all around, I noticed that the ladder is nearly invisible against it.

The apartment looks pretty nice, especially the green wall texture. Putting a small doorjamb in the doorway, and changing the textures around it would probably separate the two rooms a little better than just using the corner. Not sure if you're done yet, but having the wood floor run into the bathroom looks odd.

The lighting could be a lot stronger in the kitchen, and the fluorescent lights don't really seem to fit the ceiling. This area looks clean and nice generally, so that the dirty oven and fridge (I think that's a fridge) really stick out. The far wall, and maybe the right wall, would probably have some kind of cupboard or shelf. Also, it doesn't seem normal to have a fridge at the inside corner of a counter like that, since it cuts you off from the countertop in the corner.

I can't really tell from this angle, but the sign for la Boulangerie looks like it should be more separated/defined from the brick wall behind it. Not sure if it's stock or custom, but the Golden Oceans sign looks great.

On the front of the building in the middle with the apartment in it, it seems like the windows would be spread out more evenly so the space between them is similar to the space on each side. The top of this building seems excessively large and ornate.

The new look from T spawn looks nice. The building on the left there could use maybe a logo on the glass or something.

[Armageddon]

I WANT EET!

[nub]

That smoke looks a bit too thick, but I've never baked in a room of pot so I wouldn't know.

[MayheM]

Made some adjustments to the pillars on the building in the first screen... It brightened up the walls a bit.


I also added some stairs and took the sidewalk down towards a door near the ambulance. Mookie is this what you where thinking?


Last I toned down the trim on the top of the apartment outside, and changed the building right next to it a bit...

[RA7]

Like the new pic with new lightning very much......

[mookie]

When I looked at it yesterday I thought it looked weird because of the slope. Now it seems fine, although the corners look a little off since the first story is not sloping at all to match. It seems like at least some part of the brickwork around those windows should be catching direct light.

Yeah that's the general idea I was thinking of. That shadow under the fence may be a pain to get rid of though. I can't tell if that's deep enough to cover your head if you're crouching, if not a low wall coming up behind the curb/sidewalk might be a good gameplay feature.

I think what I was seeing before is that at the near end, the second story of this building is narrower than the first, but at the far end it isn't.

The new look of that building to the left is way off for me. The biggest thing it's missing is a stronger edge/floor/beamwork supporting the brickwork on top of the metal siding/columns. It doesn't need to be thick necessarily, but whatever it is needs to visibly run under the free-hanging brickwork. The near walls also look very bare, especially with two windows crowded over at the far corner. The colour of the brickwork (greenish) doesn't match with the top (warm grey) but that might be fine with a strong, contrasting edge separating them.

It's hard to tell without walking around, but this area (in the last screenshot) seems like a much deader area now in terms of good cover at the ground level, without the deeper corner where the peep show sign was. You have a few right-angle corners to hide behind, but anywhere you do that you have pretty much no cover from the A side.

[skoften]

awesome :_)

[MayheM]

Ok next round of screenshots... I redid the one building next to the apartment and opened the area in between up again. I am glad you (mookie) said something about that because I like this version the most.

A bit smaller but I think far better...

A closer look at the area between

Still reworking the store fronts

Redid the church inside a bit

Messing with the lighting in the arcade, still needs a little work

[mookie]

The new building looks nice; it's got an interesting shape. It seems weird though the way the brick keeps going up behind the concrete trim that runs just over the awnings. It's probably a realistic height, but somehow the wall/parapet around the first floor roof seems unnaturally high.

The corner of the building seems very stark; this might be a good place to try some kind of vertical sign that hangs out perpendicular to the wall, or anything else that will break up this long vertical edge.

The walls look nice inside the church but the ceiling probably needs to change. The edges of the top of the walls disappear up there. Maybe a considerably darker wood would work; plain white just a few shades paler than the walls definitely would. Or maybe some kind of carved wood paneling. It seems like the walls would definitely benefit from a trim along the bottom. The red carpet doesn't seem to go well with the off-white walls and wood, something in a blue, green, brown, or beige would probably do better, or maybe wood or a very plain tile.

I didn't even realize this area was part of a church. One or two religious icons of some sort, or gilded etching on some of the doors, or a few flyers would probably give some more character to this area. If you do a Google image search for "year of the priest" you'll find some logos and posters, plus the websites of most dioceses will have some copy for this and that (sometimes very high-resolution full posters).

You might be able to make the arcade a little more interesting in terms of gameplay. IIRC it's mostly two rooms in a row, with three exits, and a small hallway that can be hid in (bathrooms). A lot of arcades will have walls (sometimes not full-height) that come off the main walls and just have arcade games pushed up against each side, and free-standing wall sections out in the middle of a room for the same. Really they're almost like irregular cubicles that have one and a half walls instead of three and a half. You could probably create one or two more hiding places in this way. The pool tables are nice, but they're not really playable; they block an area from being walked through, but don't give any meaningful cover from bullets.

Also, I haven't been to an arcade in a while, but I think an air-hockey table might be more typical and be more unusual/interesting than a pool table in CSS. If you keep the pool tables, the feet are sticking out like a sore thumb (maybe just a cubemap issue, but maybe they're just white).

I don't remember if there's a change/token machine in there, but if not that should be an easy one to add for a little variety. I think all the machines in here are the stand-up type; one sit-down (racing) type model with two or three skins would probably add a ton of variety to the room. One skin could probably do double-duty since a lot of racing games get installed as a set of two or four next to each other.

I'm not sure if you need the flat panels in here; it doesn't seem like they're adding anything except to take up some wallspace. Maybe it'd be better to lose the angled walls and put whatever you like there.

From what I can see, the wall and ceiling textures look nice. I'm not sure if the trim along the top of the walls helps or not. To my eye it's creating the impression of a gap between the wall and the ceiling everywhere except by the bathrooms. Since the light is so low in here, it probably makes sense to go with a less saturated color. A paler ceiling especially would be good if you decide to cast a weak light off each of the machines like what you did with the television.

If those half-dome lights aren't working out, maybe some kind of box light would do better. Three brushes could cast a sharp cone-box of light on the ceiling and the floor, and would hide the harshest of the overbrightness.

[MayheM]

There is an offset to the wall above the trim. It is like a half wall where someone could in theory go out onto the roof from those windows. In game you will be able to see it better, I can see how it would seem odd from those screens. A sign is a given as well. I am in the process of finding some good references for signs and window decals for all of the shops. Since they are more uniform and generic now, it will be the signs that make them stand apart from each other.

Inside the church, I am totally with you on the bottom trim. In fact I was already planning on doing that. As for the carpet, I will play with some other colors. I think green would work well. The ceiling I like, but I am willing to test some other things out to see if I can improve upon the look. I was looking at that screenshot yesterday and was thinking it needs some ornamentation. Candles and crosses and stuff like that. I will play with some ideas this week.

As for the arcade, the one good thing is it is at the edge of the map, so for the most part I am not limited by space. I can actually drastically change the layout with little trouble. So I will look at doing that some. I think using some ref pics would server me well. As for the varying models, If I could make my own props I would be all on that. I just installed XSI in order to learn, so maybe that will be my first attempt at making a prop. A sit down racing game would be AWESOME; I agree. I will also play with the lighting fixtures a bit. It never dawned on my not to use those models. I am sure I can find some good ones around that will work better.

Thanks again for the feedback.