(Jailbreak) KOTH_Shrinehold

[Guessmyname]

A map I've been working on for... well, four days. First beta is out, just looking for advice, tips, criticism etc. It's a Jailbreak map, incidentally, and I've tried to include some sneaky routes to get onto the hill without taking the obvious bridge routes. You can also shell the hill with grenades from the protected walkways. Really needs a 3d skybox, I know, but I was pushing to get it out in time for Jailbreak's Custom Map Testing Night. Any thoughts?

[Pwnd_Ja]

A 3D skybox would be nice IMO.

[Haaska]

So far so good, yet there is alot to add.

Buildings in the first pic needs more height differences. Add some same kind of window-arch-walls raising from behind those walls, maybe even a chimney somewhere, whatever suits the setting.

The doorway thing entrance waypointwhatever looks a bit odd. If the game is for multiplayer, you should make it a bit wider. Also a nice trim around it and different trim-ish texture for the steps would work much better than the same texture as on the walls.

That dark corridor could use more contrast from outdoor light into darkness. Sharper lightmap and maybe a 'fake' light_spot pointing inside from the sun's angle to shade the other wall. Also, the girder/metal bar looks a bit odd. Also also, the displacement floor looks too spiky for my tastes.

Otherwise I like it alot, especially the a bit cartoon-ish cloud levels. Maybe lower the ambient light a bit/give it more color? Colour correction too? Oh, it's kinda rare for me to write this long posts

[MáØ]

The general "feel" of the level is off I think, it looks like it should be a "city in the clouds" of sorts, but it feels almost enclosed somehow. I think to start with you should do away with the cliffs, replace with stone/concrete what have you. They look out of place and detract from what you have. The sky is too dark for a "cloud city", look at examples in recent games:

World Of Warcraft: Cataclysm


The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess


Both of these follow a very similar visual design, smooth, white, clean. Your map is using the generic HL2 textures that were designed for a dark, Orwellian city in Europe.

What the map needs I think is a lighter sky, something that makes the player feel like they are literally walking on air (they are!) and can hopefully knock the darker, almost dingy textures of HL2 into looking lighter without actually being different textures. Good cubemaps, HDR and a "warmer" fog if that makes any sense.

Good example:

Portfolio piece from one of our own here at Interlopers, forget who, sorry ;p


That is all stock L4D, with a CSS skybox. You just need to learn to use what you have right at your finger-tips right for the style you're going for.

Good luck with the map, you got a good base there but it needs work if you want to get the environment to "that level"

Hope this helped

[Guessmyname]

The idea was less 'city in the clouds' and more 'floating mountain (with a city on it) in the clouds'. I think the 'enclosed' feeling is twofold: firstly, lack of a 3d skybox, secondly, the fog comes up too close. And the skybox, which I need to change anyway (there's a seam in it). Thank you for the advice regardless! (That portfolio shot is AWESOME!). I initially added the fog because I thought it would be necessary to hide the bottom, but I can do that through a custom skybox anyway (as it's looking like I'll have to make one... *sigh*), and by blending the cliff faces at the bottom to white - which I've actually already done, but between the stock skybox and the fact that the lighting still affects it, it looks a bit odd. Need to find a fix for that. Anyway, I'm going to 'de-fog' the map to a greater extent, get a sunnier skybox - and up the lighting accordingly - and then pepper the skybox with a load of other little floaty-platform-thingies. Probably just stick them on cards or something, save for the really close ones. And, of course, add more buildings on the playing platform, again in the skybox.