My blogsite

Steve0

<div class="IPBDescription">for my map</div>Just thought id make a post about my blogsite for my map, i decided to make a blog for it as its easier to see when things get updated and stuff wont get lost as easliy if your hunting down screenshots/videos/info about it.

Anyway link here <a href="http://ns2lv17.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://ns2lv17.blogspot.com/</a>

Would appreciate any feedback about it in this thread <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />.

yoda

Looks good, do u have any fly through footage for it yet?

Steve0

<!--quoteo(post=1656971:date=Oct 21 2007, 03:49 AM:name=yoda)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yoda @ Oct 21 2007, 03:49 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1656971"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Looks good, do u have any fly through footage for it yet?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I had some early stuff, but i can do a flyby later on and upload it <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />

StixNStonz

I would suggest recompiling with -scale 1.2 to make everything 20% brighter. At LEAST. Looks like a good start though.

But really, run around NS maps and look at the visibility. Granted, most NS maps have next to no ambience, and thats a damn shame, but there's a happy medium between cool-feeling darkness and actual 'i want to play this' visibility.

Steve0

Well when i took the screens it was on medium , i know most people play on high gamma and its a decent light level then.

schkorpio

some nice ideas there <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />

- you should just brighten up the screenshots so its easier to see.
Also i'm worried that some of your brushes are overlapping - it seems they are anyway, especially where the round parts meet the square parts in many of the shots.

StixNStonz

I've had my fair share of problems with screenshots and incorrect gamma. I've now learned to use photoshop, and its really, really easy to fix em up.

But even if the gamma is messed, those shots still make it look like you need about another 20% brightness. Some of the shots are pitch black with tiny little lights sticking out.

Steve0

<!--quoteo(post=1657262:date=Oct 23 2007, 05:15 AM:name=StixNStonz)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(StixNStonz @ Oct 23 2007, 05:15 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1657262"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I've had my fair share of problems with screenshots and incorrect gamma. I've now learned to use photoshop, and its really, really easy to fix em up.

But even if the gamma is messed, those shots still make it look like you need about another 20% brightness. Some of the shots are pitch black with tiny little lights sticking out.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


yeh im good at photoshop ;P, i used it for the last 3-4years or so. But it will not work atm as Sp2 wont install <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />

Steve0

1st round of updates now live

<a href="http://ns2lv17.blogspot.com/2007/10/1st-update.html" target="_blank">http://ns2lv17.blogspot.com/2007/10/1st-update.html</a>

TychoCelchuuu

I guess it'll be really easy to tell which part of the map you're in. Everything will be one color.

Steve0

<!--quoteo(post=1657893:date=Oct 26 2007, 04:09 PM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TychoCelchuuu @ Oct 26 2007, 04:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1657893"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I guess it'll be really easy to tell which part of the map you're in. Everything will be one color.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I am sort of aiming for a colour coded approach, but in an indiscreet way. Like nearing towards marine spawn will be blue/shades ish , and towards the main hive like a sinister looking green/shades. So yeh <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" /> i suppose its a good idea as long as the blend is decent.

StixNStonz

I think you should chamfer your edges more.
(chamber means to take a 90-degree edge and cut it so it rounds it out more).

Admittedly, in space stations and even in real life, there aren't that many chamfered walls and such. But in videogames, straight edged walls (especially detailed walls) are <i>SO STRAIGHT</i> that they just look 'video-game-y'. Source is a very powerful engine; try chamfering a bunch of your straight corners, and i bet it'll look twice as good.

Just look at your screenshots and pick out the straight edges that stick out the most. Start with those.

Steve0

<!--quoteo(post=1657941:date=Oct 26 2007, 10:00 PM:name=StixNStonz)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(StixNStonz @ Oct 26 2007, 10:00 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1657941"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think you should chamfer your edges more.
(chamber means to take a 90-degree edge and cut it so it rounds it out more).

Admittedly, in space stations and even in real life, there aren't that many chamfered walls and such. But in videogames, straight edged walls (especially detailed walls) are <i>SO STRAIGHT</i> that they just look 'video-game-y'. Source is a very powerful engine; try chamfering a bunch of your straight corners, and i bet it'll look twice as good.

Just look at your screenshots and pick out the straight edges that stick out the most. Start with those.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Id have to agree there , but tryin to keep brush usage down atm , my map is not optimised and the fps is getting worse ingame now. I never optimised a map with area portals before so i got no clue how to do it, i read some tutorials and tried it out. Still no luck.

StixNStonz

I admit its been awhile since I've mapped on Source, but I did do it for about a year.

Area Portals manually block the player's view; they're like REAL doors.

An example of where you would use them is on doors in maps; these are 'fake' doors. The player can still 'see through them', because they're entities (since they move), and the engine is drawing what the player sees on the other side of the door.

So place an Area Portal in the doorway, make it open and close with the door, and bam.

There are other ways of using Area Portals, as well as other scenarios (not just in doorways), but realistically, these still aren't a very large part of optimization.

Optimization is mainly: good brushwork, hints, NULL'd faces, in that order. Good brushwork meaning that you understand how the engine draws things and make sure there are dividers in your level in terms of actual geometry (walls). Hints meaning that when useful, you place hints around corners and such to stop the engine from drawing TOO much more than the player sees. And then, NULL'ing faces that cant be seen.

Anything else is area-specific... if you have a house in a forest with a door, you'd definitely want to area portal that door. Read up on them. Oh, and for Hints, definitely check out the 'pyramid hints' tutorials.

Crispy

There's a great tutorial around for HL2 optimisation. It goes through all the stages bit by bit. One thing you could be doing is turning some brushes into func_details. The tutorial will help you decide which ones.