[WIP] ctf_coldsteel

[[Hoolie]DrHouse]

So...this is my first ever Source Engine mapping project, and I have virtually no experience at all with all of Source.

This map's theme is to be an industrial sort of map, with elements of snow and..."cold" seen throughout.

I've been working for about two days on the central part of the map, just getting a feel for the editor and all that jazz. Hopefully it's not too awful.

Screenshots:

Feedback would be MUCH appreciated, and criticism is very welcome, as I need all the help I can get to learn the ropes.

Lighting is nowhere near done (yeah, it's dark)...will be working on that tonight, most likely, and will post more screenshots then.

 

[ikem]

do u have the light_env set to what goes with the skybox?

other wise u said in chat thats it ur first source map nj so far

 

[Ida]

I like the looks of this. The snow is nice.

Your trims are very elaborate and thick. You should avoid having too much of those. Even though it's important to have different colour palettes for each team's area, try some slightly more neutral colours than you have on those trims.

 

[Randdalf]

Vilepickle inspired?

 

[[Hoolie]DrHouse]

I probably do need to thin the trims down a bit, yeah... I do like the contrast with the metal/concrete though.

Also, yeah...I would say I probably drew inspiration from vilepickle.

As for the light_env, I couldn't find the "correct" settings for this skybox...it seems that this skybox is the ONLY one that didn't have settings listed in the dev wiki's "sky list" page... I'll have to google around.

 

[StoneFrog]

That's the night sky utilized in "Meet the Engineer", right?

Yeah, there are no official settings for that since TF2 obviously does not include a map that uses it. However, here are some settings that work pretty well (courtesy of this):

Angle: 0 108 0
Pitch: -35
Brightness: 66 73 100 175
Ambience: 66 73 100 175
HDR Brightness: -1 -1 -1 1
HDR Ambience: -1 -1 -1 1

For your very first Source map it's coming along quite nicely, although you should definitely find some better cliff textures than the ones that come with TF2, or at least get a good color_correction set up to make the cliffs a bit less warm.

Put some more lighting contrasts in the map, such as some flourescent spotlights outside. Keep giving the interiors warm lighting. This was done in many TFC maps (like cz2) and it works amazingly well in giving atmosphere to nighttime maps.

Keep it up!

 

[[Hoolie]DrHouse]

Woo, thanks for the info on the environment lights, I just found that too via Google, just fixed the env lighting. =D

I thought about the cliffs today, actually. The snow atop them is the same as what's on the ground, but I was hoping to find something more...alpine...to form the actual rock wall itself.

As for Muffin's remarks regarding the trims...I'm not sure what I should do exactly to "neutralize" them, so anyone who could point me in the right direction, and possibly cite some sort of example or specific thing to do right offhand to get me started, it would be greatly appreciated.

I do realize I have quite a lot to learn regarding this whole Source mapping thing, but...I think once I get all the basics, I should learn pretty fast.

 

[StoneFrog]

Did you originally hail from Goldsrc mapping? Or is this your first situation mapping for a Valve game, ever?

If the former, you're in the same boat as me. It's not that bad, if anything, the worst part is that I find Source maps require a bit more planning and are broken down into far more phases (due to things such as props and other new immersive techniques).

 

[TMP]

When looking for textures, it's best to either look here or ask one of us in the chat. A good number of us, including me, can make our own textures.

 

[[Hoolie]DrHouse]

I did a little bit of Goldsrc mapping, but I never really did anything of any mention, just fiddled around making hallways and little stuff like that to amuse myself.

I guess it was enough of a background to get me started with Source.

 

[[Hoolie]DrHouse]

New and improved courtyard, now with correct environmental light settings and more neutral trim. It does look a bit better.

Now, I get to do some more lighting, and work on the battlements some...then start doing a layout for the actual bases!

 

[StoneFrog]

When looking for textures, it's best to either look here or ask one of us in the chat. A good number of us, including me, can make our own textures.

In this guy's case something as simple as going Ctrl+U in Photoshop and dulling out the color in his current cliffs could work...

 

[ProfFiendish]

Though of course it's nice to have night maps for a change, make sure it isn't dark. The courtyard at this point looks way too dark to see. Just add more lamps and I'm sure it'll look fine.

 

[[Hoolie]DrHouse]

Of course. I was going to add a decent amount of lamps and lights to this area, I just wanted to get some basic geometry down before I started working on lighting.

Working on lighting right now, actually. =)