FourthReaper wrote:
Looking good! I do feel like you could do more with the lighting, though. Most destroyed maps are warmer, with stark lighting. But I definitely like the rest.

Yeah, haven't found the proper settings yet. I'll fix the lighting once I'm finished with the details

Logic that looks really cool! I agree with FourthReaper though about the lighting, but you said you'd work on that so that isn't a concern anymore. In my opinion the shadows on that one really thick piece of foliage makes the room look odd. Disabling shadows may fix that, however if that's the way you want it I won't comlain.

Any thoughts on these screenshots? [1] [2] I'm not really sure if the lighting's working or is just too dingy.

It looks like an interesting chamber however the lighting seems off. I would suggest adding a skybox and a projected texture. The lighting does need some improvement in my opinion. I'm sure you'll get it to look great!

BEARD! wrote:
Any thoughts on these screenshots? [1] [2] I'm not really sure if the lighting's working or is just too dingy.

I recommend rotating the walls to make it look like the chamber caved in or collapsed.
And add more brighter vistas and more vines.

RubyCarbuncIe wrote:
Logic that looks really cool! I agree with FourthReaper though about the lighting, but you said you'd work on that so that isn't a concern anymore. In my opinion the shadows on that one really thick piece of foliage makes the room look odd. Disabling shadows may fix that, however if that's the way you want it I won't comlain.

Thanks. Yes, I'll fix the lighting later on, but that foliage does look a bit dark now when I think about it. Thanks for the feedback

I'm working on a 5-6 map map-pack that will mainly take place underground (About 1.5 of the maps will be above ground) Like the main campaign, some of the tests will involve navigating the broken tracks and damaged tests. The main point: You fall from a clean chamber into a deep hole, then your goal is to get back up. Which is why I plan to call it "The Ascension".

Here is a screenshot: The map isn't done yet, and the screenshot wasn't taken in high quality nor was the map compiled in full (Therefore the enrichment sphere looks oddly lit). Here it is anyway: http://steamcommunity.com/id/uscobra11/ ... tab=public

UsCobra11 wrote:
I'm working on a 5-6 map map-pack that will mainly take place underground (About 1.5 of the maps will be above ground) Like the main campaign, some of the tests will involve navigating the broken tracks and damaged tests. The main point: You fall from a clean chamber into a deep hole, then your goal is to get back up. Which is why I plan to call it "The Ascension".

Here is a screenshot: The map isn't done yet, and the screenshot wasn't taken in high quality nor was the map compiled in full (Therefore the enrichment sphere looks oddly lit). Here it is anyway: http://steamcommunity.com/id/uscobra11/ ... tab=public

Quote:
UsCobra11 has no screenshots available for your viewing.

Anyways I think it's a good idea to first publish at least one underground map. They require quite a different mapping style then clean and you've only released two maps so far. Then you can gather some feedback which you then can use for all your other maps!

lpfreaky90 wrote:
Anyways I think it's a good idea to first publish at least one underground map. They require quite a different mapping style then clean and you've only released two maps so far. Then you can gather some feedback which you then can use for all your other maps!

Bridgebounce was an underground map. Since that map was first released, I've become a much better mapper. I ended up releasing Power interference a little too early, I should have worked on it a little more. I have around 5 testers giving me feedback on the maps. I'm not sure if that quote from me was saying you couldn't view the screenshot? If you couldn't, just go here to my profile and then to my screenshot from today http://steamcommunity.com/id/uscobra11

But don't worry- I'm going to put maximum effort into this project.

UsCobra11 wrote:
Bridgebounce was an underground map.

stupid me is stupid!

Quote:
I'm not sure if that quote from me was saying you couldn't view the screenshot? If you couldn't, just go here to my profile and then to my screenshot from today http://steamcommunity.com/id/uscobra11

But don't worry- I'm going to put maximum effort into this project.

No, it was steam that was being mean
Anyways, looking good (though quite high supports ) I'd love to play more high quality maps! Keep up the good work!

I wanted to have a test where you have to get into an observation room and explore the offices, sort of like in portal 1. however, I also want it to have portal 2 stuff later on, but I also want to have a destroyed portal 1 themed test that you can see through a broken wall, and eventually through to to. Is the map too chaotic, or would somebody actually play it?

I've played a few maps where you can get into the observation rooms (normally through broken glass fronts), proceed through a behind the scenes/offices area to get to the next test... which may be one that you saw through the glass of a different observation room.

I rather like maps which do that, it shows the facility is way way bigger then the area you normally move through... It all depends on how it is delivered, make it the next logical step and people won't even notice they are going "off-course" and through the back...

Sounds good to me!

I was thinking that a test could malfunction, causing a piston to slam into the roof, blocking the exit and shattering an observation window.

I'm still working on a map for my new project. I tried to provide some better lighting to the room. I suck at lighting... Is this bad/ok/good? It has some dark spots and I'm not really sure how to get rid of them :/

Logic wrote:
I'm still working on a map for my new project. I tried to provide some better lighting to the room. I suck at lighting... Is this bad/ok/good? It has some dark spots and I'm not really sure how to get rid of them :/

I have two suggestions:

-- I'm not sure if this is intentional, but it's quite dark. Plants usually need a lot more sun to grow to the amount in your chamber. Brighten the skylight up a bit so it sticks out a bit more.

-- this one is more of a nitpick, but I think the light should be more yellow-tanish so it looks more like sunlight. Currently it's not saturated enough.

Groxkiller585 wrote:
I have two suggestions:

-- I'm not sure if this is intentional, but it's quite dark. Plants usually need a lot more sun to grow to the amount in your chamber. Brighten the skylight up a bit so it sticks out a bit more.

-- this one is more of a nitpick, but I think the light should be more yellow-tanish so it looks more like sunlight. Currently it's not saturated enough.

Thanks for the feedback. I can't seem to get this right. I use a env_projectettexture and a light_spot with a slight hint of orange/beige. It looks very "orangie" if I try and change this to something more saturated. I actually just copied the lights from the map sp_a1_intro2 and change the properties slightly. Damn, lighting is a pain...

Logic wrote:
Damn, lighting is a pain...

But important! Lighting can change the mood of a chamber just like typography can change a meaning of a poster.

Logic wrote:
Thanks for the feedback. I can't seem to get this right. I use a env_projectettexture and a light_spot with a slight hint of orange/beige. It looks very "orangie" if I try and change this to something more saturated. I actually just copied the lights from the map sp_a1_intro2 and change the properties slightly. Damn, lighting is a pain...

You should try to set the brightness scale of your env_proj_tex a little bit higher, you'll notice the difference. But anyway, as Groxkiller said, try those plants to receive a little bit more of lighting, open more tiles in the ceiling for letting the sun in.

I'm not sure about howare you implementing the skybox, if 2D or 3D, but you could use at least a light_environment (altogether with an env_sun and a shadow_control you'll get better results) and apply some settings of the VDC for example:

https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Sky_List

Logic wrote:
Groxkiller585 wrote:

I have two suggestions:

-- I'm not sure if this is intentional, but it's quite dark. Plants usually need a lot more sun to grow to the amount in your chamber. Brighten the skylight up a bit so it sticks out a bit more.

-- this one is more of a nitpick, but I think the light should be more yellow-tanish so it looks more like sunlight. Currently it's not saturated enough.

Thanks for the feedback. I can't seem to get this right. I use a env_projectettexture and a light_spot with a slight hint of orange/beige. It looks very "orangie" if I try and change this to something more saturated. I actually just copied the lights from the map sp_a1_intro2 and change the properties slightly. Damn, lighting is a pain...

Often copy-paste won't work, most lighting needs to be altered to the space. The two exceptions are observation rooms (you can just preset the correct amount) and inset lights. (ditto)

If it's too orange, go more towards yellow. Like I said your looking for a saturated tan color.

if, btw, brightening the static light causes it to be hard to see the dynamic bit, what you can do it raise dynamic more than the static, while keeping static within a brightness so that the portal gun isn't dim in bright dynamic sunlight. You might get overbrightness; if you do, lower both until the dynamic light is not overpowered.

EDIT: if it helps, here's what I used in one map:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18219413/Screenshots/lighting.png

Notice how the static light is named; I did this because of weird issues. To prevent a ton of problems, MAKE SURE ALL STATIC LIGHTS DONE IN THIS MANNER ARE ALL NAMED THE SAME. (in my case I added a _4 instead of _1 but they ALL have that name) This is hugely important because if you don't, your filesize will not only explode, but you'll get lighting errors when you use alot of them close together.

Another thing to note is the dynamic light is a darker shade of tan than the static light. This prevents the dynamic light from overpowering the static light as easily.

The result:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18219413/Screenshots/Portal%202/2011-05-27_00004.jpg

Here are some screens of the upcoming pack.

Forgot to turn up my Portal 2 quality so they look a little pixelish, but it's looking good so far.