The Mayann Project

Yrr

An Actual Deer
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Sep 20, 2015
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I'd rather see a bunch of maps with identical lighting than a bunch that just do it completely wrong tbh
 

Zed

Certified Most Crunk™
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Aug 7, 2014
1,241
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I feel like it would be worthwhile to add something along the lines of (Content Pack Out!) to the title just in case people who want to use it haven't seen it yet.
 

YM

LVL100 YM
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Dec 5, 2007
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In the event that someone isn't really good at lighting, there are two processes:
  1. They copy mine
  2. It looks ok but not great
  3. No one really notices and says anything because it doesn't look bad
  4. Nothing is learnt
  1. They do it from scratch
  2. It looks wrong
  3. Someone notices and points it out because in certain areas it looks bad
  4. Maybe someone offers advice on how to get it right
  5. They make changes
  6. Something is learnt
I've chosen which of these I'd like to happen.

If you see anybody getting it wrong, help them out.
 

fubarFX

The "raw" in "nodraw"
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Jun 1, 2009
1,720
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I'd rather see a bunch of maps with identical lighting than a bunch that just do it completely wrong tbh
goes without saying that if your map is just "yet an other mayan map", it has no future or purpose. no one wants that. I encourage people to find something that makes their map special instead of relying on the pack to make their map relevant. Lighting is a good place to start.
 

YM

LVL100 YM
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Dec 5, 2007
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I feel like it would be worthwhile to add something along the lines of (Content Pack Out!) to the title just in case people who want to use it haven't seen it yet.
I did make this:
packthumb.JPG

To go down here:
contentpacks.JPG

I asked who could help and was pointed to geit, I pinged relevant staff in a post too but none responded.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2126504/mayann-pack-tf2m.psd
 

Void

Local Man Unable To Map, Sources Say
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Sep 14, 2008
1,865
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However it should still be an available resource for people that are new to it if they choose to go with it. Sure, they can change their own lighting at a later date, but it really helps to have a decent starting point, and that's something that should be provided to the community. Otherwise they have nothing to work off of, no angles, no reference, nothing. And if someone needs help with stuff like that, I suggest that you help them instead of letting them figure it out for themselves, its why things like AceGikmo's environment gallery are so helpful.
 

Geit

💜 I probably broke it 💜
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May 28, 2009
598
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YM

LVL100 YM
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Dec 5, 2007
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Otherwise they have nothing to work off of, no angles, no reference, nothing.
Except they have as exactly much reference in choosing their sun angle and light values as I had when I chose them, so that's nonsense. getpos when aiming where you want the sun gives an angle, and a colour picker tool from any graphics program can give the colours.

Anyway, it's a pretty moot point since by the time pack v2 is out everyone will have had to choose something already

Here are the colours from the skybox texture: https://coolors.co/app/e8e0c8-75779d-88838d-c0b4a8-000000 (From left to right: brightest, zenith, darkest, horizon opposite sun angle)

The sun will work in the rough range from [0 115 0] to [0 145 0] with a pitch from -20 to -45

@Geit Just disable the layer mask in that PSD and you've got the background image.
 

ics

http://ics-base.net
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Jun 17, 2010
841
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Is there a reason why that tree stump and it's top leaves are not prop_static and need to be like, prop_dynamic instead?

Error loading studio model "models/props_temple/jungletree_trunk1.mdl"!
Error! To use model "models/props_temple/jungletree_leaftop1.mdl"
with prop_static, it must be compiled with $staticprop!
 

YM

LVL100 YM
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Dec 5, 2007
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Never noticed. I'm not using them myself. Will have that addressed by pack v2
 

Fantaboi

Gone and one day forgotten
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Mar 11, 2013
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Except they have as exactly much reference in choosing their sun angle and light values as I had when I chose them.

Kinda defeats the purpose of a content pack if you want people to still do work that you've already done. You should at least chuck in a prefab with multiple setups
 

Woozlez

L3: Member
Jul 28, 2010
129
287
I have taken some of the textures and altered them so that they fit the purpose I need them to in my map.

I saw that the current grass texture being used on the cliff/grass transition is a 1024 texture but the cliff is 2048, so the grass is scaled up double. Additionally, it is the dry mountainlab grass that seems more alpine than tropical. I have fixed this by making the grass more green, and making a 2048 version for the cliff transition, and a 1024 version for ground transition.

Additionally, I took the half brick and ground textures and reduced their contrast by 25%, in order to use them as floor textures. The floor texture had too much contrast for my liking, and I wanted more than one floor type so I went with the altered half brick.

Finally, I took the two aztec_skinny_wall textures in the cp_mayan folder, and reduced their noise significantly, and matched their color with the main brick textures. These two textures have already come in very handy, both for columns and for the support behind ornamental trims.

If you would like these textures, here they are. I think that they will come in very handy.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3GKNCEr72suaFExOUJlY05rRkE/view?usp=sharing

Please let me know if you want to see any other minor alterations.

Once we have enough textures and assets like this that aren't included in the original pack, we can create a mayan_zoo_2.vmf. That way we can provide a variety of helpful extra textures, as well as perhaps prefabs and pre-set lighting that work in the mayan theme.

I think it's good for YM to focus on finishing the predetermined props for the pack extension first, instead of worrying about providing us these extra features. Just share whatever lighting you're using and how it is working out for you, and we can go from there.
 

Joshenkstone

L5: Dapper Member
Oct 24, 2015
208
184
there is no "tf2maps.net presents" thingy on the page of the prop pack. :eek:
 

LeSwordfish

semi-trained quasi-professional
aa
Aug 8, 2010
4,102
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Except they have as exactly much reference in choosing their sun angle and light values as I had when I chose them, so that's nonsense. getpos when aiming where you want the sun gives an angle, and a colour picker tool from any graphics program can give the colours.

"You don't know how hard I had it! We had to pick our own sun angles, uphill each way."

You've done the work. What harm is it to share it with other people? There's lots of new mappers working with the pack: providing a .txt file with the settings - or a prefab setup - would help them a lot.
 

fubarFX

The "raw" in "nodraw"
aa
Jun 1, 2009
1,720
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spoonfeeding =/= helping

The problem with lighting is that people are assuming the skybox texture should dictate the light settings. which is completely false. Lighting is part of a large set of design decisions that are specific to your map. going to go out on a limb and say that skipping on design decisions is usually bad. Going through your env_light is an important step in any map and providing one for people is hardly helping. Have faith in newer members that they can figure out what's best for their map, they'll only end up with a stronger product.
 

Yrr

An Actual Deer
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Sep 20, 2015
1,308
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idk providing a baseline to work from doesnt seem like spoonfeeding to me

if they wanna make it better suited to their map they can tweak the colour, angle, spread etc. but it's nice to have a starting point they can use