[WIP] ctf_crackalley

[Reanimated]

Here are a pair of screenshots from my map ctf_crackalley, which hopefully will be ready for testing in the next week or so. I've slowly been working on it since December and am almost ready to let it out of the bag to get some feedback.

The screenshots are from the red side of the alley. These were taken a few days ago before the lighting was completely finished. Also it's worth noting that the collision models for some of the props I had to make aren't working yet so the shadows are really dark and blobby (ie the fire escapes). Eventually there will be a 3d skybox, but not for the first testing release.

This one shows part of the red base and its most prominent entrance.

The second shot depicts the two routes to the center of the map. The alley is on the left (although you can't see much) and to the right is a route around an apartment building.

 

[Ace]

Looks good although it would be nice to see a few screenshots with the lighting finished. At the moment, it looks a little too dark in some areas, and not being able to tell who it on what team is never a good thing.
Apart from that I can't complain, look forward to playing it.

 

[YM]

Its looking good but thats hellishly dark, even if you want it set at night you need ity to be brighter

 

[Scotland Tom]

Have you added an env_sunlight entity yet? It looks like all your lighting is from local lights within the map area. Even if you included some dim sunlight (like a sunset or something) it would help immensely. TF2 was created with well-lit environments in mind. That's why you don't see many very dark areas in the stock maps. It'll be tricky, but I'd like to see you pull of the darker atmosphere while still allowing players the visibility they need.

 

[Reanimated]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Obviously I'm going for a dark map, but your concerns about the lighting are noted. Keep in mind the darkest parts of the screenshot are because the fire escapes collision model is one big block at the moment so no light gets through. I'm hoping once I get them fixed it will seem more balanced.

Tom, yes there is a light_environment (I assume that's what you were referring to), although it is only using single digits for brightness on both the ambient and regular lighting. I have compiled 3 versions with different amounts of brightness on the light_environment. Personally I liked the darkest one the most myself, so I decided to post the screenshots from it. I don't feel like it is too dark, but I haven't done any testing on team visibility yet, which very well could change my mind. I think it is just annoying as everyone else when you can't see which team a player is on, so it will be carefully evaluated during the alpha stages.

Regardless I do plan on keeping some dark corners for people to hide inside in the map, although not in high traffic areas. After all it is an alley at night

 

[Scotland Tom]

Yep, light_environment is what I was referring to (I have no idea why I called it what I did.)

Something I've found on my map is that even areas that are somewhat well lit can hide a player almost entirely. There's still a spot on my current WIP that I have lit, but not fully. Snipers can stand there and rain hell down upon their enemies because it's almost impossible to see them. Again, that's in an area that already has some lighting.

I'll reiterate that TF2 was designed to be a well-lit game. I'd love to see some good nighttime/dark maps, but it'll be a real challenge to pull it off while still allowing players adequate visibility to see their enemies.