Assignment Frenzy #1: Voting
- Thread starter Ravidge
- Start date
Anova: Sadly there just isn't enough here. Sharp cornered brushes, nodraws on displacements, sharp texture switches. I suggest to just keep on building: doing is the best way to learn!
DABP: Sideways rain! Nice sound! A dark corridor with blood splatters on the walls! Only a shame that there isn't much to look at from any other point of view then spawn, but the idea is great and executed very nicely!
Dark: A nice snowy checkpoint scene. Brushwork looks nice, but it has some sharp gashes en open spaces between supports on the wooden structure. The texture on the walkways is also not aligned. The 3D skybox's lighting and displacements do not fit the sides of the map, but at least there IS a 3D Skybox. No sound! The door has no collision, but the map is mostly for the scene itself which is nicely executed.
Dr. Wrench: This is quite big! The walkways are a bit small, and the yellow handrails seem out of place for their colour. Some props have no collision. I like the lights on the truck, nice attention to detail! There are some reflective 90% surfaces. Some textures are not aligned. It's quite big and there are things everywhere!
Godslayer57: Sound! The roofs are too thin, paper thin. The structure of wood up top is nice, but could use some variation in the placement of wood. Water in the desert? I like the continuity with the hatch and the gold in the truck below.
Grazr: Sound! The pit is nice, but the displacements for it seems awfully straight and rigid, especially the big pillar. It looks unnatural. I really like that the 3D Skybox fits perfectly with the rest of the level!
Jetti: A true mine level! The first screenshot is perfectly posed and taken, I really like it. On the map itself though, the corridors feel very small and I got stuck at one corner. It's a bit small. No sound! The tracks are laid down pretty well.
Locnlol: Not really a mine level, it looks more like a train yard. The textures and walls are bland. No sound! There isn't much to look at.
Mickanator: Prop roofs! It's a bit small, there isn't much to see. Not really clear if this is a mine theme or not. No sound!
Plipplop: Sound! Thematic lighting! Very nice brushwork! Good use of displacements and models! Only downside is that all but one texture is horizontal, it gets a bit repetitive.
Ritz: HOLY LOUDNESS! Sound! Nice waterfall! Idea is simple and well executed. Props, brushes and displacements are all very nicely done. Only the crystals seem a bit un-TF2y
Sergis: Very thematic! Great use of particles! The small space is used very well and the scene is portrayed nicely. Though it seems focused more on a winter cottage than on a mining theme. No sound!
Tomhoen: The pulley idea is nice. There is no ambient sound, only the pulley makes some. The fog is too near. The idea is okay, but the brushwork and props fall a bit short. Some things could also have been done with the lighting, it is very flat at the moment.
Tyker: Sound! The rope looks good in spectator but when I play the rope disappears? The roof is waaayy too thick. Nice idea with the mine shaft, but the brushwork is a bit stale. Mine cart madness looks fun! Repetitive models do not look fun! Brushwork is a bit stale all around. No 3d skybox! No particles!
YM: A lot of detail all over the place! Lighting is very bright and bland. It's obviously not made to be run around in, the shape to look at it is in a weird U. Nice particles on the roofs!
Zhan: Sound! Grass detail! Stairs look unnaturaly sharp and steep. Nice addition of a conveyor belt. It's a bit small and there isn't much detail though.
Nice job to everyone who participated! Making something at all is an achievement, now just learn more and make something even better next time!
DABP: Sideways rain! Nice sound! A dark corridor with blood splatters on the walls! Only a shame that there isn't much to look at from any other point of view then spawn, but the idea is great and executed very nicely!
Dark: A nice snowy checkpoint scene. Brushwork looks nice, but it has some sharp gashes en open spaces between supports on the wooden structure. The texture on the walkways is also not aligned. The 3D skybox's lighting and displacements do not fit the sides of the map, but at least there IS a 3D Skybox. No sound! The door has no collision, but the map is mostly for the scene itself which is nicely executed.
Dr. Wrench: This is quite big! The walkways are a bit small, and the yellow handrails seem out of place for their colour. Some props have no collision. I like the lights on the truck, nice attention to detail! There are some reflective 90% surfaces. Some textures are not aligned. It's quite big and there are things everywhere!
Godslayer57: Sound! The roofs are too thin, paper thin. The structure of wood up top is nice, but could use some variation in the placement of wood. Water in the desert? I like the continuity with the hatch and the gold in the truck below.
Grazr: Sound! The pit is nice, but the displacements for it seems awfully straight and rigid, especially the big pillar. It looks unnatural. I really like that the 3D Skybox fits perfectly with the rest of the level!
Jetti: A true mine level! The first screenshot is perfectly posed and taken, I really like it. On the map itself though, the corridors feel very small and I got stuck at one corner. It's a bit small. No sound! The tracks are laid down pretty well.
Locnlol: Not really a mine level, it looks more like a train yard. The textures and walls are bland. No sound! There isn't much to look at.
Mickanator: Prop roofs! It's a bit small, there isn't much to see. Not really clear if this is a mine theme or not. No sound!
Plipplop: Sound! Thematic lighting! Very nice brushwork! Good use of displacements and models! Only downside is that all but one texture is horizontal, it gets a bit repetitive.
Ritz: HOLY LOUDNESS! Sound! Nice waterfall! Idea is simple and well executed. Props, brushes and displacements are all very nicely done. Only the crystals seem a bit un-TF2y
Sergis: Very thematic! Great use of particles! The small space is used very well and the scene is portrayed nicely. Though it seems focused more on a winter cottage than on a mining theme. No sound!
Tomhoen: The pulley idea is nice. There is no ambient sound, only the pulley makes some. The fog is too near. The idea is okay, but the brushwork and props fall a bit short. Some things could also have been done with the lighting, it is very flat at the moment.
Tyker: Sound! The rope looks good in spectator but when I play the rope disappears? The roof is waaayy too thick. Nice idea with the mine shaft, but the brushwork is a bit stale. Mine cart madness looks fun! Repetitive models do not look fun! Brushwork is a bit stale all around. No 3d skybox! No particles!
YM: A lot of detail all over the place! Lighting is very bright and bland. It's obviously not made to be run around in, the shape to look at it is in a weird U. Nice particles on the roofs!
Zhan: Sound! Grass detail! Stairs look unnaturaly sharp and steep. Nice addition of a conveyor belt. It's a bit small and there isn't much detail though.
Nice job to everyone who participated! Making something at all is an achievement, now just learn more and make something even better next time!
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anova: This map has practically no props or attention to detail, it has no-draw'n displacements visible from the spectator cam and shadow/light bleeds at displacement seems. Geometry also has unaligned textures.
dabp: This map ticks many boxes in attention to finer details; including an observation point and scoundscapes. But lacks any attention to detail from perspectives other than where you spawn facing. The roof is bland geometry wise and the structure is solid brushwork when there could be further detail to explore within. When exploring the map beyond the observer point I found little of interest. Also the cliff texture on the floor looks out of place. As mentioned previously attention to finder details is excellent, however the scene was not made to be explored but for a single photo opportunity which was a bit disappointing.
dark: This map has gaps in geometry and displacements, it also has unaligned texture faces. Strange use of the security fence gate that clips into large boulders. The finer details seem to have been overlooked with the majority of props consisting of large rocks, trees and vehicles.
drwrench:This map is a hollow box with items “placed” within it. The details that litter the “walls” are chunky and with limited finder detail. Lighting is bland, often overly lit or under lit and with no real contrast. Props and textures are repetitive and the skybox cliff face is really dissonant.
Godslayer: This map is incredibly empty, two structures with no inner detail, no objects creating interesting shadows in the well lit outside area. Needs more detail than a puddle, a bush and some rocks.
Jetti: A unique approach to the contest criteria in that the entire map is set under ground. The cave systems are complex and usually interesting but suffers from corridors too narrow to include detail and displacements which frequently don't align. Also there are terrible shadows around certain locations.
Locnlol: Essentially mirrored there doesn't seem to be much work done here. The skybox is extremely limited in detail besides a couple skycards and bare geometry resembling a pair of buildings. No junk or detail in the map beyond some windows and train carts. The highly reflective windows also don't promote source's poor reflective capabilities; the single cubemap reflects too much too clearly and actually is quite ugly to look at directly.
Locutus:Although there appears to be the start of some displacement work it's unfortunately only just that, a start. Textures don't align on the cliffs and the are essentially the exact shape as the original brush. Textures also do not align on other geometry such as the roofs and the displacements on the ground cast shadow bleeds where they were not aligned at the seems. The beginnings of some finer detail which contrast against the bare flat cliff walls.
Mickanater: Ironicly this map hides it's greatest detail with a tiny hut with no entrance. The other structure is also accessible but beyond some truss work on the walls it remains remarkably empty. The large structure on the one flank opposite the cliff is remarkably bare, relying too much on the low resolution track prop to increase its aesthetics. If only there were more props outside such as increased displacement powers for finer alpha blend painting and increased use of “junk” props this map would have had a lot more potential.
Plipplop: Another map which ticked a lot of the “quality check” boxes. One of the few maps to sport soundscapes and an observer point. Good use of windows makes the structures feel alive though the inside lacks any real detail and the lighting tends to be overly uniform. As nice as the structure is the roofs could have used a lot more attention such as displacement work, since many of them are low enough to access/interact with.
Ritz: Again, a map which supports ambient sound and the waterfall creates a level of dynamism which is lacking in other entries. The water is not stretched enough to look right for TF2 (many official maps using 0.5 or 1 as opposed to the default 0.25). The crystals should have been used more up the cliff and the cliff should have had more detail considering how much space it took up on the screen. Also, where is this water going exactly?
Sergis: I can't tell whether there's an observer point or simply that you spawn at 0 0 0 but it's a good introduction to the map. There are many signs of finer details but I can't help but feel many of the mini “scenario's” are only made possible because of the atrociously low lighting conditions that also send weird coloured shadows through the forest. The smoke is strangely thick and floats of at an oddly acute and straight angle. This map could really have done with soundscapes to compliment the dynamic presence of particle effects.
tomhoen: This map does have an observer point which is an important first impression back lacks soundscapes which reduces the maps atmosphere. The map seems to have been abruptly finished as there appears to be the beginnings of some very nice detail but it doesn't really materialise beyond the many texture misalignments, missing roof segments and bad shadows/sloppy dispalcement work. The map is also “mining” in a very loose sense of the term, there are tracks but a payload is present instead of mine carts and the hole isn't really depicted as a man made feature, the map is more genericly desert than mining.
Tyker: The moving carts was a funny detail but the shaft kind of felt separate to the rest of the map, there was sound which was great but much of the detail felt obviously copy-pasted. Bad use of multiple skins on junk props and oddly thick roof brushes and misaligned textures kind of ruined a promising building design. The map could have also done with a 3dskybox to make it stand apart.
Ym: For someone with so much experience with shadows and light, this map really doesn't show off those skills/experiences. The lightmaps are horribly bog standard and look bad on the flat red texture utilised on the “main” structure and the rock models shadows aren't controlled any better. There's a surprising lack of attention to finer detail though the execution of windows and chimneys is better than most, the majority of the map seems very much a mess of rocks and unaligned displacements with shadow bleeds; and the 3dskybox doesn't look that nice either.
Zhan: This is a really nicely executed map, neatly made, soundscapes, seems to have an observer point, not too much clutter but reasonable attention to finer details. A shame the roofs could have been executed a little better but this is just a nit pick at an otherwise pleasant map.
dabp: This map ticks many boxes in attention to finer details; including an observation point and scoundscapes. But lacks any attention to detail from perspectives other than where you spawn facing. The roof is bland geometry wise and the structure is solid brushwork when there could be further detail to explore within. When exploring the map beyond the observer point I found little of interest. Also the cliff texture on the floor looks out of place. As mentioned previously attention to finder details is excellent, however the scene was not made to be explored but for a single photo opportunity which was a bit disappointing.
dark: This map has gaps in geometry and displacements, it also has unaligned texture faces. Strange use of the security fence gate that clips into large boulders. The finer details seem to have been overlooked with the majority of props consisting of large rocks, trees and vehicles.
drwrench:This map is a hollow box with items “placed” within it. The details that litter the “walls” are chunky and with limited finder detail. Lighting is bland, often overly lit or under lit and with no real contrast. Props and textures are repetitive and the skybox cliff face is really dissonant.
Godslayer: This map is incredibly empty, two structures with no inner detail, no objects creating interesting shadows in the well lit outside area. Needs more detail than a puddle, a bush and some rocks.
Jetti: A unique approach to the contest criteria in that the entire map is set under ground. The cave systems are complex and usually interesting but suffers from corridors too narrow to include detail and displacements which frequently don't align. Also there are terrible shadows around certain locations.
Locnlol: Essentially mirrored there doesn't seem to be much work done here. The skybox is extremely limited in detail besides a couple skycards and bare geometry resembling a pair of buildings. No junk or detail in the map beyond some windows and train carts. The highly reflective windows also don't promote source's poor reflective capabilities; the single cubemap reflects too much too clearly and actually is quite ugly to look at directly.
Locutus:Although there appears to be the start of some displacement work it's unfortunately only just that, a start. Textures don't align on the cliffs and the are essentially the exact shape as the original brush. Textures also do not align on other geometry such as the roofs and the displacements on the ground cast shadow bleeds where they were not aligned at the seems. The beginnings of some finer detail which contrast against the bare flat cliff walls.
Mickanater: Ironicly this map hides it's greatest detail with a tiny hut with no entrance. The other structure is also accessible but beyond some truss work on the walls it remains remarkably empty. The large structure on the one flank opposite the cliff is remarkably bare, relying too much on the low resolution track prop to increase its aesthetics. If only there were more props outside such as increased displacement powers for finer alpha blend painting and increased use of “junk” props this map would have had a lot more potential.
Plipplop: Another map which ticked a lot of the “quality check” boxes. One of the few maps to sport soundscapes and an observer point. Good use of windows makes the structures feel alive though the inside lacks any real detail and the lighting tends to be overly uniform. As nice as the structure is the roofs could have used a lot more attention such as displacement work, since many of them are low enough to access/interact with.
Ritz: Again, a map which supports ambient sound and the waterfall creates a level of dynamism which is lacking in other entries. The water is not stretched enough to look right for TF2 (many official maps using 0.5 or 1 as opposed to the default 0.25). The crystals should have been used more up the cliff and the cliff should have had more detail considering how much space it took up on the screen. Also, where is this water going exactly?
Sergis: I can't tell whether there's an observer point or simply that you spawn at 0 0 0 but it's a good introduction to the map. There are many signs of finer details but I can't help but feel many of the mini “scenario's” are only made possible because of the atrociously low lighting conditions that also send weird coloured shadows through the forest. The smoke is strangely thick and floats of at an oddly acute and straight angle. This map could really have done with soundscapes to compliment the dynamic presence of particle effects.
tomhoen: This map does have an observer point which is an important first impression back lacks soundscapes which reduces the maps atmosphere. The map seems to have been abruptly finished as there appears to be the beginnings of some very nice detail but it doesn't really materialise beyond the many texture misalignments, missing roof segments and bad shadows/sloppy dispalcement work. The map is also “mining” in a very loose sense of the term, there are tracks but a payload is present instead of mine carts and the hole isn't really depicted as a man made feature, the map is more genericly desert than mining.
Tyker: The moving carts was a funny detail but the shaft kind of felt separate to the rest of the map, there was sound which was great but much of the detail felt obviously copy-pasted. Bad use of multiple skins on junk props and oddly thick roof brushes and misaligned textures kind of ruined a promising building design. The map could have also done with a 3dskybox to make it stand apart.
Ym: For someone with so much experience with shadows and light, this map really doesn't show off those skills/experiences. The lightmaps are horribly bog standard and look bad on the flat red texture utilised on the “main” structure and the rock models shadows aren't controlled any better. There's a surprising lack of attention to finer detail though the execution of windows and chimneys is better than most, the majority of the map seems very much a mess of rocks and unaligned displacements with shadow bleeds; and the 3dskybox doesn't look that nice either.
Zhan: This is a really nicely executed map, neatly made, soundscapes, seems to have an observer point, not too much clutter but reasonable attention to finer details. A shame the roofs could have been executed a little better but this is just a nit pick at an otherwise pleasant map.
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I requested my map be viewed with mat_bumpmap 0. My reasoning is earlier in this thread.
No it isn't and I explained why, it's only a small contest so I'm not going to do full model recompiles, and a simple texture edit may have screwed up someone esles entry if it was loaded afterwards.
Forgetting cubemaps is a newbie sin. Not having the time to remove a dozen normal maps for a weekend contest is perfectly acceptable.
And yes normally I'd agree with you that maps should work right out of the box but for a small contest, does it really matter that one map out of 20 needs an extra command?
I'm going to have to go with grazr on this. It should've worked out of the box. Even though its 1 out of 20 entries, no one wants to have to do a command for 1 map just because it'll look "better".
Doing a texture edit would not have messed with anyone's other entries if you recompiled it properly and with a new name. And I'm pretty sure you should know that. Forgetting cubemaps is a newbie sin, but hopefully the newbie learned from it, and knows how to fix them. Hopefully you learned its worth recompiling or just plan out using other textures.
Its too late to do anything about it now, so I don't see why this arguement needs to go on any longer.
I'm wondering whether you couldn't have just used an info_lighting or were adament on using expert vrad compile despite the fact a full custom vrad compile would actually make your map look worse. If it was a normal vrad compile then an info_lighting would have resolved your issue.
But i guess what's done is done. Your map had visible problems and i couldn't just ignore it when reviewing it when everyone else managed to avoid it.
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wouldn't have looked it's best with info_lighting. The rocks would have had just as bad lighting because any that were partially lit, were also partially in shade, so swapping their lighting origin from light to dark, or dark to light would have only inverted the problem; only the small bouldery ones might have been better.
The thing that made it look worse is Valve's shit shaders why should a prop ignore vertex lighting just because it has a normal map? Answer: it shouldn't but source is like that.
The thing that made it look worse is Valve's shit shaders why should a prop ignore vertex lighting just because it has a normal map? Answer: it shouldn't but source is like that.
Everybody else worked around that.