My first map waht do you think?

[Jason]

Hello all i just started my first ever map. I have so far got 2 small room's done. taken me a while to do it. And geting it looking how i want it to look. I would also liek to know how they made the radiator stick to the wall and be phisic at same time if anyone can help anyway here are some screenie's and btw its single player:

(screenie's taken from lap top so very low spec)

Thats all for now ill post more updates when i get more done hope you like what i done so far.

 

[63]

Very good for a first map.

 

[GonzoBabbleshit]

It looks like a square room with 2 doors.

 

[Jason]

Well for a start it is a square room with 2 door's one leading to a bathroom >_< but like i said its my first map .. and i only did it for a day so far. Well here is the ziped version of the map files u need to play it.. so you can see what i have doen so far.

The rar has to be extracted to your half-life 2\hl2\maps.

http://www.warro.co.uk/roomie.rar

And the .VMF

http://www.warro.co.uk/roomie.zip

 

[GonzoBabbleshit]

There's nothing wrong with the map. It just seems like prop placement has completely taken over the idea of good brushwork with Source.

Try doing something interesting with it, not just square rooms littered with props.

For a first map, it's a decent effort though. Keep it up!

 

[Jason]

Yeh im restarting and doing it over.. and gonna take some idea's from hl2 it self to help me.. so i wont use so many props then.. but tbh im no pro by far! lol

 

[Something]

Good starter map, try adding columns and other thing to make it more interesting.

 

[Limpet]

Or make a whole apartment building.

Nice use or props I think.

 

[Kamikazie]

i like it, very nice

 

[Unarmed]

For a first map this is real good work.

Keep at it my man.

 

[Jason]

Heya all i had a free hour.. so i started on the new map here is a quck few screen shots ingame.. btw made it so it's raining out side.. but havnt got around to building the out side bit yet.. anyway enjoy

I got alot more to do to this room... just a quick start and tryed to use more brush work for detail e.g. the kitchen sides etc..

 

[Ennui]

Looking better. I like how you used two textures for the walls (the tiles)

 

[Kamikazie]

looking good my friend! way better than the first imo, less "shit" in the way of the room that you can actually see whats going on instead of trying to look at every prop

 

[Jason]

Started on the out side of the map the building it self.. its not all that good yet just really started it... been playing with the sun effect alot as well.. >_< here is a few pics..

 

[Crispy]

That's a pretty nice start. Inside I like the texturing and especially the way you've created a space for the radiator to allow it to sit flush against the wall, and also other sections of wall that would hide the structural supports. I'm not so hot on the tiled texture continuing to the windows, as you're not going to be preparing food or splashing water around so it doesn't need to be wipeclean or water-resistant. The other thing I don't like is the positioning of the sink, which seems to get in the way of the kitchen space more than anything else. If possible mount a sink into one of the kitchen units, if not move it somewhere close enough to the food preparation area but in such a position that it doesn't obstruct movement or get in the way of storage space.

Outside I like the incorporation of the guttering on the roof, even if brush-based it makes a big difference. I also like the way the building isn't just a flat box when viewed from the outside. The alcove with the tree neatly slotted into place is very pleasing to the eye. To make the base of the building more interesting, try adding a short hedgerow along the bottom, or a set of plant boxes (even if they're empty). It might also be an idea to bring out that path texture as a set of multilevel brushes to bring the floor textures to life. Finally another option available is to bring out the strip between the yellow and grey on the exterior walls. This will break up the flatness of the exterior, and is near enough to eye-level to merit the detail.

 

[Jason]

Thank you for them tips! I will be changing the tile texture from the windows because i see where u are coming from with that.. I was mainly aiming to make the map quite smetrical due to that is pleaseing for the player's eye. But i wasnt thinking about the pratical use in real life so thanks very much for pointing that out to me. The out side of the building is far from finshed and i had planed on adding alot more detail and fix the drain pipe's up alot more etc. ^^ But hopfully it will all look good soon and ill release a small version the the map for players to walk around and tell me what they think of it so far. But at the moment i cant do anything due to the sdk latest patch broke my hammer ed . AHh well soon as i can use hammer again! ill work on it more thanks from tips!

(P.s. Sorry 4 spelling in a rush)

 

[Jason]

Some small edits tell me what u think

 

[Kamikazie]

i likey really nice

 

[-Psy-]

Btw, have you used env_cubemaps yet? Looks sweet so far. Better then most people who start out mapping

 

[Jason]

havnt used env cubemaping yet :x havnt read up on how to do that yet :x.. got any good tutorials?

 

[-Psy-]

Heh, Trust me they are a god send

http://forum.interlopers.net/viewtopic.php?t=1965

You might be suprised how much they improve your map.

 

[Crispy]

Being a bit more critical, I'm not quite convinced on the guttering. It doesn't work well so close to the first floor window and the guttering could also be used to make the facade more interesting by breaking up the wall into sections (reducing the repetitiveness of the texture). [Edit] Actually this can just be improved by shifting the texture to centre the first floor window above the doorway. Also the doorway doesn't look nice against the shadows of the texture its set into. I think you need to bring the texture out somehow.

The pathway is looking better but still feels like a cube with a texture on it. Maybe think about putting the curbstones at a slightly raised level?

Inside the textures work well together, but I'd probably want to see you control the lighting so there's more of a contrast between the interior light at the doorway (where the lack of door allows natural light to flood the entrance and brighten the area) and further into the building where artificial light might be running on a lower power supply to create a minimal level of light. This depends on what type of building it is (derelict vs. affluent), but at the moment it looks like you're going for a run-down look.

Keep us posted

 

[Jason]

Ok i have added the ENV_CUBE Maps stuff like i was asked to ^^ Enjoy..

Front of building:

Behind to show im not a nub and use nodraw :x!

Some funny angel !

Close up

 

[-Psy-]

oh btw, for the cubemaps to work, you have to type buildcubemaps in the console. Not sure if that was in the tut Looking good

 

[Kamikazie]

i have never seen this much production for a noob mapper...kind of makes me think that you have done this before, or a really fast learner


which ever, keep up the good work :thumbs:

 

[Jason]

first time mate.. just read alot of tutorials and trail and error alot.. just added rain etc.. to it gonna complile now and see how it looks ^^

(edit)

Looks good see for your self

(ow yeh and i did do buildcubemaps just i got a old lap top that doesnt render that well... ill add the bmp so you can have a look your self..

(BMP)

http://www.warro.co.uk/build01.rar

(Edit) New stuff ^^

 

[Unarmed]

hella good... but fix your roofs, they look strange, too square-blocky sort of. For the air its worse then from the ground.

 

[Pajari]

Very nice work. You're already light-years ahead of me.

 

[crackhead]

excellent

 

[Jason]

thanks.. Just done some more on the inside.. did some of the hall way.. stair's going up and a small closet in the hall way ^^;

 

[Hazar]

arrgh, NEED ANTIALIASING

looking good other than that

 

[Jason]

Whats ANTIALIASING

 

[-Psy-]

Try making a Nighttime map. They are always good to improve your lighting skills

 

[Crispy]

Carpets are out of character with that wall texture. The wall texture's also out of character for the interior of an appartment. It works well for an old school or for the interior corridors of an appartment block, but it's not homely enough for an appartment. Even if the funding for the appartment block was too minimal to allow a homely environment for its residents, they certainly wouldn't be splashing out on carpet!

I like the shape of the second building. Without using many brushes at all you're already capturing a level of authenticity that others using double the 'detail' don't even come close to. Any newbie mappers would do well to think about just how effective bold structural statements and authentic generic detail are to the look of an environment.

By beginning with this amount of characterisation a trend is set for the rest of the brushwork to follow. By thinking about using strong, basic shapes you leave yourself room for adding detail later if your economy can afford it and if it will make a notable contribution to the overall playing experience.

 

[Jason]

^^ DAMN CRISPY IS ONE SMART MOFO! Thanks mate! I really do need to improve on my textureing skillz im still very limited find it hard to match textures my self! I wish there we a site.. that just said what texture's go well together hehe

 

[Jason]

What can i add to this area?

 

[The Mullinator]

All I can say is that the first few maps you have created are significantly better than the first few maps I created.

I wish I could get back into mapping but the damn university is just keeping me too busy.

 

[Limpet]

A sidewalk to the door that guard is at. Some bushes with a little trim around it near the side walk. Light posts.

 

[Jason]

Thanks ^^! I couldnt think of anythin lol ^^

 

[Crispy]

I was gonna say something about having a light over the door to make it look more like a door was supposed to be there. I'm thinking like a concrete/metal box (fiddle around with the dimensions, see if it works as a wedge) with a light texture on the bottom edge to lighten the doorway. On the other hand, if that's a back entrance it's less likely to need lighting.

Only put the lights (as in physical lights - light fixtures, lamps, streetlamps, etc.) where they'd be worth installing. You don't need a light in the corner of a room unless there's a reason for people to be there and need more light (reading chair, table, computer desk, writing desk, bookshelf). The streetlamps Limpet suggested are a good idea, but be sparing with them as (A) the council wouldn't want to spend too much on lighting and (B) areas of shadow and light make for pretty maps.

It might be nice to put in something to break up that open grass, maybe some sort of partition, like a 'broken line' of hedgerows/plant boxes with benches backed onto them, facing the path.

Why is the grass on one side of the path 'muddy rained-on autumn green' whilst the other side is 'scorched in summer sun grey'? I think the fallen leaves work better against a green backdrop. (there was something about those leaves and that ground texture that was bugging me but I couldn't put my finger on it!)