artpass_whark

[Whark]

Not sure if you're planning on this, but it might be cool if you added some doors and extra space behind a few of the stalls.

That's a good idea. The one of the left is by an 8 unit thick wall that separates this space from CP A. That one will be a problem. The one at the end could maybe gain some. Here's a shot with what is on the opposite sides right now.

 

[IrishTaxIDriver]

I think you should change that wooden wall. It looks wrong with an arch.

 

[Leminnes]

I think if one of the prop doors are not directly in view of the other, having a door that WOULD empty into an odd space isn't much of a problem as players don't really think into details like that if they are far enough away from each other... if you know what I mean.

 

[Whark]

Updated the back alley market by adding some space around stalls and some doors for the illusion of space.

 

[Chemical Alia]

I think if one of the prop doors are not directly in view of the other, having a door that WOULD empty into an odd space isn't much of a problem as players don't really think into details like that if they are far enough away from each other... if you know what I mean.

Yeah, and even from a "practical" standpoint, old places tend to have a lot of doors and walls that remain from older structures, that either lead to nowhere or have parts covered by new additions, etc. As long as it feels right, it can add to the "history" of the place, if you'd like to think of it that way.

 

[Whark]

Got a WIP arch from Chemical Alia (final textures pending)

Added a door behind the table to infer a bigger space than really exists.

Started experimenting with some more granular details in this interior space paying special attention to "weighting" prop placement for player flow.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Wow, that area is really turning out nicely! I really want to see how it'll look with some ad/poster/sign decals on some of the walls.

Here's one of the arch meshes I've been working on. I'll adjust the colors as necessary once I can see it in the level, it's always a fun surprise v: Diffuse texture is 1024, normal is 512.

 

[Whark]

Updated Shots of above arch in game. I'll toss some decals on the walls to get an idea of how it can look.

Crawling ever closer to CP C!

Note: what's in the room behind the arch is literally a pile of random shit. I usually make a huge mess then strip back what's not needed.

 

[Scotland Tom]

Love the progress, but I'm not sold on the arches. First, I think the Red/White and Blue/White textures are too high-contrast and naturally draw far too much attention to themselves. Second, the arches don't at all seem to match the style of the brushwork arches seen in the earlier screenshots like this one:

The arch on the left of that screen seems to far better fit the architectural style I think you're going for. The new archway models remind me more of renaissance Italy... or circus tents.

Overall it's still looking great though! How's the rest of the map beyond these hallways coming?

 

[Chemical Alia]

Love the progress, but I'm not sold on the arches. First, I think the Red/White and Blue/White textures are too high-contrast and naturally draw far too much attention to themselves. Second, the arches don't at all seem to match the style of the brushwork arches seen in the earlier screenshots like this one:

The arch on the left of that screen seems to far better fit the architectural style I think you're going for. The new archway models remind me more of renaissance Italy... or circus tents.

Overall it's still looking great though! How's the rest of the map beyond these hallways coming?

Well, striped arches like this are typical of the Umayyad Arabic architectural style and can be found in many countries (one of the most famous being the Great Mosque of Cordoba in Spain, pictured above. If anything, I think it could be argued that the style is more associated with northwest Africa than Egypt, but my art history classes only went so far and I'm by no means an expert on the subject.

I really do like the arches and I'd hate to lose the stripes (and even the intensity of them) unless there was a resounding consensus against them for gameplay reasons or general confusion of how they are read by the audience. Though I'm sure Sky will make the right decision with them.

 

[Freyja]

I'd quite like the arches more if the colour was faded slightly and matched the walls around them.

 

[Whark]

..the arches don't at all seem to match the style of the brushwork arches seen in the earlier screenshots like this one:

The arch on the left of that screen seems to far better fit the architectural style I think you're going for.

We do have plans for both a pointed arch and a horseshoe arch to go with the semicircular one.

Maybe the semiculuar one isn't reading correctly.

Overall it's still looking great though! How's the rest of the map beyond these hallways coming?

I have some progress in other areas. I usually shoot out and place some props or make some rough geometry outside in between polishing the areas that everyone has seen so many times. I have just started to start getting a first iteration of Red's hidden command center which has been set up at the end of the market.

 

[Whark]

I'd quite like the arches more if the colour was faded slightly and matched the walls around them.

Alia has you covered now Is this more toward the direction you mean?

I have another more desaturated version as well.

 

[Acumen]

that looks sooooo muuuuuuch better
i love how your stuff finally comes together. was kinda sceptic after the first round of updates but now you're at it ! but oh boy, you have an assload of work to do

what i was wondering. is only the red/white stripes of the arch a model and the bottom parts brushwork ? cause either it has weird shadows casting where the 2 parts connect. or it's stained texturework
either way, it look some shadow error, so i'd fix that anyways !
oh and there's this weird texture stretch on the left side of the arch, whereas the right side looks perfectly fine. Fix this

one thing that bugs me is the stuff you have going on on the upper part of the scenery. you've got that stuff at player height nailed wonderfully but as soon as my eyes move up it's like, messy, busy randomness
I'd rather have some more open view to the scenery behind it (some nifty skybox action) or if that's not what you're aiming for - less detail, it should more fade out and not be that dense in detail, e.g. not 6 different textures on the buildings but only 2-3. I think you get the point


edit: oh and, what is up with that weird moved sideways doublearch on this picture ?

http://www.skysilcox.com/dev-blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/market_backup20007.jpg

that can't be how people build their stuff in these years

 

[Freyja]

Indeed, that looks much better

 

[Whark]

what i was wondering. is only the red/white stripes of the arch a model and the bottom parts brushwork ? cause either it has weird shadows casting where the 2 parts connect. or it's stained texturework

It's definitely the texture. We'll have to adjust that.

one thing that bugs me is the stuff you have going on on the upper part of the scenery. you've got that stuff at player height nailed wonderfully but as soon as my eyes move up it's like, messy, busy randomness

I'd rather have some more open view to the scenery behind it (some nifty skybox action) or if that's not what you're aiming for - less detail, it should more fade out and not be that dense in detail, e.g. not 6 different textures on the buildings but only 2-3. I think you get the point

Gotcha. Makes sense. Looking at it now it is quite overboard. I felt something was wrong but couldn't nail it down. I think I've spend too much time focusing on that area and stopped being able to see it.

edit: oh and, what is up with that weird moved sideways doublearch on this picture ?

I see it now that you've pointed it out to me. Before when it was brushwork the arch fit inside the other (similar the shot above).

I actually got the idea from reference that I'd seen but putting the prop in pushed it over so it no longer fits. I'll just delete that outer one now. Thanks.

 

[tyler]

From the front, the wood border makes it look like it is inset or outset from the stone... I dunno. Look into that maybe?

 

[Scotland Tom]

Well, I stand corrected about the arches not fitting the architectural style. Glad to see you faded the texture though, the high contrast between the Red and White really drew a lot of attention.

Really cool stuff. Even if you don't win the contest I'd love to see another map with this theme.

 

[coagulated]

Wowww, this map is looking really nice. A serious contender fer shure. There's just one thing about the above pic that really bugs me, the haphazard placement of the log beams is kind of unsettling for some reason. Maybe it's because they seem too skewed towards the right, or maybe it's just the random placement in general. Either way I think you shouldn't allow for very much offset placement of architectural details, and instead let the architecture itself convey a sense of disorder.

Gotcha. Makes sense. Looking at it now it is quite overboard. I felt something was wrong but couldn't nail it down. I think I've spend too much time focusing on that area and stopped being able to see it.

Nooooooooooooooooo don't listen to this guy. Your amount of detail is nearly perfect right now, too little and your theme runs the risk of becoming too neutral. Like egypt.

I guess you do need some balance between upper detail and eye level detail though, but I'd strongly recommend more detailing at eye level rather than the alternative, your choice.

 

[Draco18s]

The more faded striped arches looks much better, although I still might say that you'd need to rough them up a bit so they aren't so clean.

The colored part also doesn't seem to match the base. Both the texture shadow and the wood border are working against you. I know its because of your source material (actual arches) but here it just looks bad.