Screens of my upcoming Assault map inside

[Wild Falkon]

Check here for the screenshots. (http://www.wildfalcon.iwarp.com/photo2.html)

I would love some feedback on the appearance, and any and all suggestions/peeves/raves are welcome. images/icons/smile.gif

P.S. Keep in mind that:

-The sky moves to give the impression of a rocking ship, hence the odd skyline angle.

-The sky was from DM-KGalleon, and is a placeholder while I whip up a better, prettier one.

EDIT: I've taken down all of the screens except one, and will post some new ones soon.

[ 08-24-2002, 07:22 PM: Message edited by: Wild Falcon ]

[smattbac]

No bad, not bad at all. images/icons/smile.gif

The ship looks really cool from the outside.
Maybe work on the indoor light a bit more..

Let us now when we can try it out. images/icons/smile.gif

[Kalki]

Cool! Do bots work well in it? Can't wait to try it. I've been looking for an excuse to fire up UT again. I'll be watching this space.

[Wild Falkon]

Thanks for the input, here's what another guy had to say...(my frind posted the link on a HL-editing forum.)

The map looks quite poor for what UT is capable of and that foggy room does look screwed up due to those props not being effected by the fog. I don't know why it's doing that but then again the unreal engine does use model map props alot so that might be the reason. The lighting is functional but again i see room for improvement since the maps feel very devoid of atmosphere. There's also alot of deadspace in that main hanger hold from what i can see. <font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">He makes some good points on it, and I assure you these will all be addressed. I'll tell you guys when it's being released, and thanks for the positive feedback! images/icons/smile.gif

[Wild Falkon]

I need help with the indoor lighting. Basically, I've run out of ideas to make the map's lighting look really pretty. I'm not making this necessari;y for looks, but gameplay, but of course I want it to look good as well.

If anyone has any lighting tips, such as colors, fixtures, etc. please share them. I want this map to be top-notch, and with your help it can happen.

Thanks.

[ 08-22-2002, 11:22 PM: Message edited by: Wild Falcon ]

[NutWrench]

Here's a light fixture (http://www.datazap.net/free/bobdobbs/fixture.jpg) you can use from a test map I made. It's basically two octagons nested inside one another. Here's the map itself (http://www.datazap.net/free/bobdobbs/ForceField.zip) if you want to fiddle with it. images/icons/smile.gif

[Wild Falkon]

Thanks, NutWrench. I now have some good ideas to improve the lighting.

I'm going to post some updated screenshots tomorrow to show the somewhat new look.

..and I assure you that the skybox will make your jaw drop. images/icons/grin.gif

[Xiu]

I find using a zoneinfo/ambience brightness
helps for generel balance; gets rid of those dark edges. Then try using a light actor to lighten some areas!

hope it helps images/icons/smile.gif

[Wild Falkon]

I'm using ZoneLighting in some areas to keep the lighting count low. such as the outside of the ship.

Word of warning: this ship does push a substantial amount of polys at a time. Even though I'm trying to optimize and get things running fast, this will be somewhat of a system hog.

As for the screenshots, it won't be for a few days yet, becuase I just want to finish the map before I concentrate on promoting it.

[JSB]

Yes. I agree with the zone lighting. You need that to have a minimal amount of ambient lighting.

Also, I have found that using spot lights really slows the frame rate. Try to not use those extensively. Use cylinder lighting as well as normal lights for over all lighting.

[Wild Falkon]

^Yep, yep, and yes.

I have taken all of these into effect, and many of the lights, where applicable, are cylinder lights.

Heck, in the screesnhot that's still there on the website, there's only 6 cylinder lights total in that room. However, that will change, and I will make it look more solid and believabe in the overall look.

[Wild Falkon]

Update: I've been, to put it lightly, slacking on my level. Now that school's around now, I'm concentratiing on my homework first.

But for a true update. I'm adding and optimizing the overall look of the level (adding a decoration brush here, killing off a few polys there, etc.) Before I continue, i just want to say a few things about the level.

-The architecture is rather 'square'. I felt that it better represents the ship's realistic qualities, so don't expect a whole lot of architectural curves and spirals.

-The geometry on the seperate levels of the ship is essentially the same, minus the detail work that goes in to make one level of the ship's architecture distinguishable from the rest. I've done this for easier navigation.

-The ending sequence really looks good so far.

Now, besides the tweaking, I'm working on the bot paths, and am making sure they work as expected.

One last note (really). The level file alone is around 6 megs, minus cunstom textures and decorations. I'll work on conserving the size, but this will be a beast of a level, memory-wise.