de_lochs some Source mappin'

Mark Dygert · Jan 2005

So.., I started building a Counter Strike Source, sewer map. After a few days of working on the "sewer map" I decided to cut off the lid and make it an outdoors map. Then after a few more days it turned into what it is now, de_lochs. I still have some work to do on it before I can release it for public testing. I hope to have it wrapped up by midnight Saturday so I can submit it to the HL2 DeathMatch contest valve is putting on. I am sure I will get smoked by some 7 year old, but with a prize of 5-large for 1st and 3-large for 2nd and 3rd. It never hurts to toss my hat in the ring.

Check out the screen shots, if you have any suggestions or feedback I would love to hear it. IF you want to play it as it is right now, or help playtest it (when it is ready) drop me a line at mdygert (at) atari.com

Dock
Inside maintenace hallway
Pump control room, bombsite A
Pump room
Overview
Lighthouse...

Lupey · Jan 2005

You do realize the contest is for Half Life 2 DeathMatch and not Counter Strike Source?

Steakhouse · Jan 2005

oh sweet are you basing this loosly on the actual Lochs? If so have you made use of any reference material or gotten some on-sight photos for textures?

Mark Dygert · Jan 2005

I realize that, and it works for both DM and CS with a few minor modifications. I was careful with the textures I used because CS can use HL2 textures but HL2DM can't use CS textures. Because people can have HL2 and not have CS-S. There are a few CS props, but they can easily be switched out for HL2 props. I did make two of my own props (static meshes) which are just pipes.

I would like to base it on the ballard lochs but I didn't take the nessary field trip before I got to this point, too lazy I guess. I think the ballard lochs might be a bit too open and big to make a good map. I did do a google search for cannals, lochs, locks, and other words I could think of and it came up pretty dry each time. So I pretty much just few by the seat of my pants. If I decide to recreate the map from scratch I might swing down into ballard and check a few things out

Every time I thought I would have to make a texture I found something close enough in the stock textures. I might still have to do a few more custom props and maybe 5-6 custom decals. But I need to keep the file size down because it is already at 25mb, which people don't like because that is time they can be playing.

I did get the idea for the fish ladder viewing area (bombsite b, the dark un-detailed part of the map) on the Ballard lochs fish ladder. but that is all it has in common, idea.

JKMakowka · Jan 2005

Some of the corners could greatly benefit from 'trim' textures, exspecially those grey 'towers' (at the top).
And the shipping containers shouldn't look all the same (if there are different textures).

[Rant]Not really directed at your map, but also at the original ones from HL2 and every custom map I have seen so far (except/to a lesser extent for the one from 3d-mike from this contest), don't really look like 'next gen' levels at all (except for the fancy water texture everyone and their mothers are using edit: sorry 'shader'... that is what HL2 really is: HL1 with DX9 shaders, great facial animations and a 3rd party physics system ). Hell, even the UT2k3/4 maps look a lot better than any HL2 maps I have seen so far (and some custom Q3 also). I don't even want to talk about Doom3.
Everytime I see a HL2 screenshot I think, wow those are quite high resolution textures for HL1 (!compared to HL1; compared to other games they are horribly low resolution!), but then I notice the water texture

Scott Ruggels · Jan 2005

I think the pilings are inverted. the Barnacles would be close to the water, and the creosote, without barnavcles would be on top. Not to bad looking but do they have light houses deep in the harmor? You may want to change that to a Harbormaster's observaton tower. The maps mneed some other random little details, like Bollards, Trach cans, and seagull shit over everything.

Scott

JKMakowka · Jan 2005

[ QUOTE ]
and seagull shit over everything.

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol, yeah that is really needed... and a random seagull cry now and then (I made a map similar to yours back in the days when I was mapping for a Q3mod, that had exactly that sound effect, but I must have lost the sound file... but it was royality free from the internet if I remember corectly

)

adam · Jan 2005

I have yet to actually see the map play, but from the ss's alone I'd say add some variation in the cargo holders/truck backs/big red boxes. I think HL2 has different textures for that object (changes its variables in the entity modifier).

Mark Dygert · Jan 2005

What you see in the screen shots is wood texture. The barnicles are below the water line, because this part of the loch is full.

The cargo boxes where just tossed in, that entire side of the dock is not done. There will be a set of buidlings that go over there, as well as a control room for the loch.

Seagul sounds, love it. I have yet to do any sound passes still working on detail and textures, but its an really good idea

I might have to make a seagul crap decal, hahahaha.

Steakhouse · Jan 2005

Hey as long as there was some inspiration. I mainly just wanted the fish ladder anyway

Joshua Stubbles · Jan 2005

It also looks like your ground textures are over-stretched. The texture scale for CS:S is 0.25. The texture on the ground looks like it's stretched to 0.50 or something.

Also, the lighting is a bit drab. It might benefit from some contrast here and there. The hanging light in the maintenance hall for example, doesn't look to be casting light on the ground. Pump up the value to 700 or so, that should give you a nice pool of light in there.

Mark Dygert · Jan 2005

Map Name: de_lochsBETA
Release Date: 1/20/05 (final version TBA)

Info (if applicable):
Standard defuse map, two bombsites, supports 32 players. Bombsite B is the Fish ladder viewing area, bombsite A is the control room. This map is in the public testing phase and this is not considered the final version. There are many little tweaks and changes that need to be made, but it always helps to have more eyes looking for things

flaagan · Jan 2005

Vig.. very cool lookin.. that dark tunnel in 050017 got me thinking "finally, a map with an area for nightvision goggles"..
if you want, i can offer up an anon login to my 'ftp server' running off my home pc..

Mark Dygert · Jan 2005

PAF (Punk Ass Fraggers) is hosting the file and has it up in thier server rotation. It would rock if you wanted to host it also. Post the link when you can and I will add it to the steam thread.

Server:
paf2.nuclearfallout.net:27015
Site:
http://www.punkassfraggers.com

New version out tho, no nav file. I have to spend a few days playing with the nav_edit command to get it working right so the bots will go places they should and not get stuck, so I left it out.

List of changes:
- Deleted two water chanels (skate park half pipes), which shrunk the distance you have to run across the map in half. Much easier to make a full loop around the map in a bomb cycle now.
- Added some details here and there. I also placed a vent (which takes some skill to get into) going into bombsiteA.
- Shortened the A bomb route for the CT's (thru the office) they now should arive at a more competitive time to defend bombsite A.
- Fixed some of the floor textures and env_cubes.
- Ran buildcubemaps so reflective surfaces work on dx7-8 video cards.
- Optimized a few area that could be causing lag, so fps should improve slightly. I average about 40fps on a P4 2.8Ghz, 512mb Geforce4 4600ti. If you run into low FPS let me know your specs and the area you where running slowing and what direction you where facing. A screen shot would be nice, but not nessesary.

I think everyone will enjoy the improvements

http://downloads.punkassfraggers.com/index.p....%20maps

http://www.vigville.com/de_lochs/de_lochs_BETA3.zip

de_lochs some Source mappin'

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