A Few Questions About The Design Process...

Reese

Ok, I know this isn't explicitly related to NS mapping, but I haven't found information about it anywhere else and this mod specifically is where this question is most important.

Right now i'm working on "blocking out" my map. Basically i'm laying down an outline of it using only one texture and placeholder light entities. Anyways, i'm not very far into it and already running out of steam. What i'm wondering is if I should go through and complete some sections before I finish laying out the whole map. In addition i'd like to know, for those of you who draw layouts of your maps beforehand, how much things change in the paper-to-screen transition. I seem to have a problem with accidentally placing a brush somewhere, then deciding that I like that placement and building areas in completley different orientations when compared to the paper drawing.

I'm also wondering if the 2000+ range figure is still accurate for siege cannons.

Lt_Gravity

blocking and exspecially using only one texture is something that people got wrong. when only using one texture in the map, you will soon be bored and cancel your work. instead try this: think wile you are mapping about some interessting architecture. and I mean ARCHITECTURE! you can add some details if you want but this can be left out till you are shure the map runs properly. thing is: if you use different textures and a relatively rough architecture, the ideas will follow automatically. "oh look the res is some units higher than the ground. oh lets place a border around it. and I could add some cool lightsource. hm a handrail would be nice..." know what I mean <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->

ChromeAngel

I wouldn't be too bothered about straying from the paper plan. When building you often find things in the plan that don't look right, so you change them, or as you said build something you didn't intend that looks cool. In my experience it's these happy accidents that make some of the neatest map features. When blocking in rooms i've taken to adding trim brushes as I go (floor edging, door/window frames etc), I found this makes it less daughting when it comes to adding details later.

The siege range in the QSG is still correct for 1.04. I haven't been able it test it for 1.1 yet as Flayra hasn't given out the server files yet.

Fam

What I like to do is to design the layout of the map as you are doing, but not all at once. In between that, I play around with different styles, textures and architecture in seperate little maps, just to get an idea of what I could make it like. That way you can finalise lighting and your texture set at the same time as doing the relatively boring layout.

DFA_Haplo

Uggh. I spent almost 6 months now blocking out my map and then alpha testing it for distances. It took 6 months cause I got VERY BORED with it. I used 3 textures walls, ceiling, and floor. Now that I have started to detail it I find myself working on it all the time and thinking about it when I can't. If I would have just took the time in the first place to do some more "detail" work my map would be complete by now. Instead it will probably take me a month before its ready to beta test.

As for the paper. Mine almost looks nothing like the orginal paper layout. Sometimes its good to just have and idea then let your imagination take it from there.

Reese

Yeah, looking back on it now it seems like I concentrate most of my "mapping time" to browsing the forums. Maybe I should go back and do some light architecture/lighting in it, just to give it a little more interest. I'm actually thinking about scratching it and starting over. The idea of redoing all of those one-texture rooms seems kind of daunting now. There are some details that I do like in the current version though.(nice set of half spiral stairs that I'm thinking about mirroring in a ship entrance type room). Overall I started without really having a feel for the scale I need to build on here, and the entire ship is too small. Looking at it in worldcraft really gives a false perspective on everything. So.... back to square one I guess. At least I still have my hand drawn overview.

KungFuDiscoMonkey

I probably take a more unique approach to mapping. For my map ns_altair I started with ideas for cool rooms that I sketched out on paper. I never could come out with a good layout on paper so I started building the individual rooms then pieced them together. I have maybe 1/3 of the map done. I would have made more progress but I had exams, trip to New York for a week, high school graduation, and now I'm stuck in Mappers block. Nice to be back to the NS forums.

DFA_Haplo

<!--QuoteBegin--Reese+Jun 5 2003, 03:16 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Reese @ Jun 5 2003, 03:16 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Overall I started without really having a feel for the scale I need to build on here, and the entire ship is too small. Looking at it in worldcraft really gives a false perspective on everything. So.... back to square one I guess. At least I still have my hand drawn overview. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
LMAO! I use QuArK and it's just the opposite for me. I make things WAY TOO BIG. And this even after I learned if you use and info_player_start as your scale (cause thats about the size of a player in game) I just drag and drop him around. Then I have that problem of losing him. I dont find him until the map is finished and some one spawns into a really strange location. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->