COD4: "MP_Abandoned" WIP thread

Slybones

This thread will be for WIP of a COD4 map I just started working on. I'll be continually adding new stuff here as I create new content.

Here's an early start to get comfortable with the tools. Created a silo based off of a photo. This silo will be off in the skybox, so its low detail for that reason. I still need to add some decals and clean it up a little, but for the most part it's done since it's a just a skybox prop. About an hour of work so far

JZak

Very nice Slybones, I'm digging it. You really have to bang things out if you're only giving yourself 2 weeks to create a small map.
Good luck, I look forward to seeing more in this thread.

TWilson

That's cool I didnt know people were able to make COD4 maps. I've been playing it too much but only on the regular maps.

You should consider some strong lighting like in the photo too...I'm probably getting way ahead of the process though.

MoP

Pretty cool. Are the textures yours, or standard CoD4 textures?

Lee3dee

Slybones you artwork on Tabula Rasa is awesome! Is the cod4 editor completely bsp brushes?

Ott

Looks good...watch for the floating geometry near the bottom, and don't forget the black holes along the side...it would definitely help break up some of the repetitiveness.

Nice piece though...making background assets are fun

Slybones

Hey guys, thanks for the comments. I had a pretty bad crashing bug with COD editor which took me out of commision for the last 3 days. Finally ended up deleting the registries and reinstalling the editor which got it working again. So, I'm way off schedule now, but back to making stuff.

JZak: Thanks dude. Yeah, with the crash and the increase in scope looks like that done in 2 weeks plan is out the window.

TWilson: The PC version ships with an editor and there's a pretty decent sized community of mappers it seems. Yeah lighting in Radiant is a pain in the ass, so its definitely going to have to be a final pass kind of thing, until then it's ugly placeholder lighting.

MoP: Thanks. The textures are all standard COD. Doing alot of custom texturing is outside of the scope of the project I'm doing, but I imagine I'm going to have to do a handful of custom tex/models for the generators in the power station interior.

Lee3dee: Thanks man, really appreciate it. The cod4 editor is Radiant, so it's mostly BSP brushes with a handful of placed models. The decal/patch system is really really powerful and gives the level designer a ton of choices for texturing surfaces uniquely.

Ott: Thanks for the feedback, I'll definitely add those windows on the walkway.


Here's a building I'm currently working on. It's a coking plant for the skybox, as well. I'm working on the skybox first because I haven't used a BSP-heavy editor in awhile, so it's easier to make mistakes and get the workflow down on eye candy than it is to do so on playable space.

These shots were taken inside the editor, so it's not very close to finalized lighting at all, but gives a rough idea. Compiling lighting is really time consuming and I wanted to get some shots up here since it's been awhile since I've posted.





Another in-editor shot. This shows an idea I'm playing with with for the skybox. Going to have high walls on some sides of the level where you can see overgrown industrial stuff on the other side. The plants look screwy because it's in-editor. Foliage and crane are models, everything else is custom BSP. I placed the crane in to cover up a nasty seam in my skybox

Slybones

Some gameplay ideas I'm tossing around

erik!

I lol'd.

Zephir62

Something about the brick looks out of place when combined with the concrete frame

Slybones

I've broadened the scope of this map to include gameplay, not just a visual piece anymore. So, I've been spending some time working on the layout for the interior to the power station. This is the main choke point / gameplay space, where most of the action will go down. Lighting, texturing, and even geometry are all placeholder at this point, it's pretty much a glorified blockout to get scale down. So, gotta give the disclaimer: excuse the mess, under construction.

Here's some shots:

spanks

I see you've implemented your new gameplay idea in the 2nd screenshot, but you seem to have forgotten the hay pile...I think that will pose a problem on landing

looks really nice so far!

only thing that is really kinda bugging me is the railing. I don't really understand how it could have been damaged and bent up like that, let alone along its entire length.

Slybones

That railing is actually placeholder, its from a COD oil tanker map, was using it cause it had collision on it (to test out proper collision height, etc.) So, pretend that isn't there.

Slybones

Posting a couple more updated screens. I played around with lighting and learned how to add particle FX to the environment, so I was able to work on the mood some. I'm going for a cold, abandoned feel to the place, so I adjusted the lighting to have a more cyan feel to it. Still in blockout stage pretty much, but I added a few details here and there. The FX look great in game, lots of paper and dust floating around in the air and dropping from the ceiling.

Also added some big god rays of light, cause I'm cheesy like that. It's a dusty place, that's my excuse.




The top walkways will eventually be detailed out and better incorporated into the structure. Running under the shadows of these grated walkways looks really intense so I'm strategically positioning them over choke points to make them more dramatic. The generator is bullshit/placeholder. Just getting shapes and forms laid out at this point.




Some miscellaneous details:

j4polaris

It's coming along really well Slybones! My only suggestion is that you've got a lot of empty space in the ceiling area. It might be cool to fill in that area with some girders or something to add some interest.

Of course there's always the hay bale.

As an aside, do you know where some documentation/tuts on CoD4 map creation? Infinity Ward's own wiki is still pretty lean on details.

Slybones

Radiant has been around for a long time, so you can find a whole lot of Radiant tuts on earlier CoD game forums.

As far as the rest of it, yeah the documentation is really slim. The map is taking me alot longer than I would like because I have to learn alot of undocumented processes. Lighting and FX placement are particularly difficult until you figure out the right workflow.

If you have a particular question I can try and answer it, otherwise I'd say its just a process of trial and error.


As far as the roof, yeah currently its just big holes on a flat surface to let in some natural light. I'll be sure and get to it soon. Alot of work to do!

pior

That's some nice scenery!

About the nice cast shadows you have, is that something the engine does dynamically? Or is it some kind of smarter, sharp baked lightmap tech? Looking very good!

Slybones

Thats sunlight pouring in from the direct light in the sky. The direct light(sun) is a dynamic shadow casting infinite parallel light. It's a pretty great system for outdoor. Indoors are a little bit tougher because you can only have 1 dynamic light hitting a single surface, so have to pull alot of tricks to get indoor lighting to work well.

The primary lighting of the sky is dope though, dynamic shadow casting on geometry and players + a couple of radiosity bounces baked in during compile time.

vertexguy

I like the design of the level. The one thing that bothers me is how flat and desaturated everything is. The lighting doesn't due justice to the scene complexity. Your exterior render has more life to it than the interior, but even that could use some more contrast. If you inject more color and contrast between your objects I think this scene will really start to shine.

Slybones

Agree with you 100% Chris. At this point I'm playing it safe and getting everything where I want it before I fully commit to lighting. I did touch up the lighting a bit last night to get some more contrast, though. I had the ambient bounce light set way too high, turning that down helped get more lights and darks into the scene. Still needs work though. Thanks for the comments. That cathedral on your website kicks ass, by the way.

Here's an updated contrast shot

Sage

that looks great

alex

Kuba

This map looks stunning. Can't wait to play it.
BTW - how did you get that third person view on screenshots?

Slybones

Thanks so much for the nice comments.

Kuba: In dev mode you can type /cg_ThirdPerson 1 and it will throw you into 3rd person.


Here are some more WIP shots: