Zombine Building Alpha V6 - Need Feedback/Work in Progress

[Savage Spartan]

This is a Half Life 2 Episode One Single Player Map that I am working. I was inspired by Episode 1 with the Hospital level/part and the Lowlife chapter. Anyway I am trying to make this a well designed zombie map or a huge mod if possible.

I am new at hammer and whatever this map has is what I have taught myself within a few days and not to get cocky but I think I am good for a beginner. Lighting was the hardest part but I am sure its not perfect either, my main problem is what I actually want...

I don't how big my rooms should be, how they should be played, what should these rooms contain, and how to make it interesting and I don't have a layout for the map itself either. I just go along with whatever in my head when I build it.

Anyway here are 13 screens of
Zombine Building Alpha V6

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Please give me feedback, I would like to know what you think needs to be added/removed on this map, and what you would like to see in the next room. Tell me what you think of the texture and lighting also thank you!

 

[Rapstah]

Details. Wall decals. Cover. Fast zombies. Physics items. Physics trap for the player to trigger (might be a bit hard if you're a beginner with Hammer). Doors that are prop_door_rotating instead of func_door_rotating. Func_dustmotes under the lights. Vents.

 

[Crispy]

- Add more contrast to the light intensity; create shadows.
- Add more contrast to the light colouring; play different coloured lights off of eachother.
- Add door trims, search Interlopers to see what I mean
- Add floor trims at the edges
- More props: decorate
- Texture variation; split your walls into 2 or three sections and use different but complimentary textures for the top and bottom.
- Vary the space; atm all your ceilings are the same height and your rooms are the same distance across - give them each their own character. Some rooms should be small and claustrophobic, some corridors should snake back on themselves.
- Don't use the same texture for the ceiling and floor; choose a different ceiling texture.
- Create inaccessible areas to help fill in the blanks and enrichen the surroundings. If it were set outside a skybox would show you where you are. As it's inside you could have skylights, windows looking into other rooms, etc. (take a look at TF2 for how this can be done really well).

- Find image references!!! If you're making a hospital, get some images of hospitals to give you ideas.
- Work on one section at a time. When you've finished show it to friends and improve it based on their feedback, make sure they're honest.

 

[Calhoun]

Align the materials used on the walls properly, and split the wall into two sections, with an upper and lower section, for two separate materials if you're going to add variety or additional detail. Ensure that all of the walls are at least eight units thick, especially doorways between rooms, or more (but generally, stick to eight units, for doorways), and add some variety to the architecture design of the level. I'd also recommend stains and blood, where applicable, to make it look more lively.

As for the lighting, remove a majority of the lights, with just a few in the rooms on the ceilings, to light it all. A larger prop for the light would be an improvement, too, since it would look more realistic for the amount of light generated from it. Closing off the areas where those fences are at, above them, and having prison interior fences (found in props_wasteland) might look better, too. Try something interesting for the lighting, too, such as larger fluorescent lights above on the ceiling, and at the darker edges near the walls, every 256 units or so, a cage light which is blue and casts limited light onto the wall, and floor near it.

 

[Savage Spartan]

Align the materials used on the walls properly, and split the wall into two sections, with an upper and lower section, for two separate materials if you're going to add variety or additional detail. Ensure that all of the walls are at least eight units thick, especially doorways between rooms, or more (but generally, stick to eight units, for doorways), and add some variety to the architecture design of the level. I'd also recommend stains and blood, where applicable, to make it look more lively.

As for the lighting, remove a majority of the lights, with just a few in the rooms on the ceilings, to light it all. A larger prop for the light would be an improvement, too, since it would look more realistic for the amount of light generated from it. Closing off the areas where those fences are at, above them, and having prison interior fences (found in props_wasteland) might look better, too. Try something interesting for the lighting, too, such as larger fluorescent lights above on the ceiling, and at the darker edges near the walls, every 256 units or so, a cage light which is blue and casts limited light onto the wall, and floor near it.

um...larger prop for light? What entity is that and what do you exactly mean? How big is 256 units?

How do I add contrast to light intensity what option is that?

 

[Calhoun]

um...larger prop for light? What entity is that and what do you exactly mean? How big is 256 units?

How do I add contrast to light intensity what option is that?

I mean a larger model to be used in the prop_static. A florescent light, dome light, or another kind of light which is larger would make it look more realistic. Such a large amount of light coming out of a small cage light isn't very realistic. To alter the intensity of the light, you must do this under Brightness. There should be four numbers which, using an entirely white colored light, would be 255 255 255 200. Change the last number, 200, higher or lower for intensity. Changing the color does not change the intensity of the light.

A wall should be created precisely to the grid. The grid can have it's size adjusted, but it should generally be set at eight or sixteen units. You may go higher or lower if it's necessary for something you're trying to accomplish. When you create a wall, it should have dimensions of 128x128x8 to start. Length Height Width. You can use sixteen in place of eight, for thicker walls, or smaller units such as four for thinner walls. You can go lower than eight for more precise walls. For example, if you had a wall at the dimensions of 512x128x8, and wished to make it 508x128x8, you would need to set the grid size down to four. Treat floors similar. 128x128x8 to start with. Length Width Height, this time. Floors, too, can be sixteen units thick, and as long as you want (512x128x8, 384x768x16, etc).

On a final note, don't carve anything, ever, for any reason.

 

[Crispy]

To add contract take out some of the lights. Begin by only using soft lights from the light fixtures. Then maybe add a few more light sources equidistant from the floor and ceiling (don't need a prop), just to bring the ambient light intensity up. If you do this you'll have shadows in the corners and light in the centre (as you'd expect).

You can have some fun by hiding zombies in areas of shadow that the player has to pass close to.

 

[Savage Spartan]

To add contract take out some of the lights. Begin by only using soft lights from the light fixtures. Then maybe add a few more light sources equidistant from the floor and ceiling (don't need a prop), just to bring the ambient light intensity up. If you do this you'll have shadows in the corners and light in the centre (as you'd expect).

You can have some fun by hiding zombies in areas of shadow that the player has to pass close to.

ack...sounds kind of complicated I might need some step by step help on this, but I have to learn this I am not sure what you mean by using "soft lights from the light fixtures" and how do I bring up ambient light intensity up?

 

[Crispy]

Light fixtures = light fittings (anything you tell the player is a light source by making a light bulb or a strip light, etc.)

What I'm saying is use low intensity light entities (50-100), put these not right next to the wall, but slightly away from the wall. Compile your map and take a look: it will probably be too dark.

Now, make some new, brighter light entities (100-300) but place these midway between the ceiling and the floor, directly under the other light entities. Tweak this second batch of entities to get the right amount of ambient light in your room (i.e. average light strength/colour).

The key to good lighting is using lots of low intensity light sources, this way you have maximum control over your map and can make one section of a room dark without affecting the other side. It also means if you use different colours, say red lights at one end and blue at the other, the colours won't be so strong they bleed into eachother and mix to form a purple: because they are low intensity the colour will stay in a local area.

Hope that's more clear. I'm no expert at lighting, but I think the best way to learn is trial and error.

[Edit] This could be useful for you: http://www.halfwit-2.com/?page=tutorials&category=1