I am discovering how much detail one has to put into making a Wheatley style map look good. I thought that the detail into my factory map was bad, but this is a lot of work. I think I just needed to make this post to vent out some frustration, as I am making this map.

Good for you... COUGH don't exceptionally care

protip: play some violent video game or rage irl. Makes you seem more professional.

Wheatley chambers can be tedious - especially if you are developing a bottomless pit that includes distant buildings, steel pillars, decals, lights, ect.

However, if you want to get into the details, underground and destroyed can be pretty chaotic, too.

And that's why I stick with Clean! Looks great, and is small and simple.

Same here. I honestly think the clean maps look the best. I do like the look of the destroyed chambers, but I think I can enjoy a puzzle a lot more when it's clean and orderly.

i pretty much agree with that too.
Wheatly maps/over-grown etc. "look" neat, if they are done right, and are great for "story-line"... but if all you're REALLY trying to do is make a good puzzle map, i have to say i prefer the clean map look. focus on the puzzle more than the display. THEN work on the display. which is easier on a clean map, because you don't have to rework a bunch of shit, just to make it look "ugly/destroyed" but still work without getting broked or glitched.

Heh. Guess I'll play odd-man out. My favorite styles are underground and wheatley destroyed. I also love destroyed theme. There's nothing wrong with clean, but after the original portal and the abundant masses of clean designers, I beg for new style mappers on this site.

Good underground and destroyed maps are hard to come by, but when they do, oh boy they are sweet.

The most recent map I released was a decayed theme map, and the visuals took me a long time. And then people mostly didn't care for the visuals anyway. Haha. So I am going to focus on clean for now, until I have the motivation to tackle a more visually intense theme again.

I am trying to make my current map look interesting within the clean theme, though, which is proving to be fun.

I am currently experimenting with a clean map filled with water (non-toxic). The player must swim to different areas in the test chamber.

My favorite types of maps are Wheatley destroyed and underground maps also. They are hard to pull off and take a ton of work, but I like to map to challenge myself. Every map I do, I implement something that I didn't do in the past, and that is the only way to improve your mapping skills. The gap between my first map Mind Lock, and the one I'm creating now I gigantic! And it has only been a few months since I started.

I like clean for style and ease, but my current map is halfway between Clean and Wheatley-clean, fitting my hypothetical story of a core building the best clean-style tests he can out of what he has available.

The difference between GLaDOS destroyed chambers and Wheatley destroyed chambers is that GLaDOS destruction was consequent of neglect and time (natural elements), and Wheatley destruction was consequent of his own inept management (explosion, crashing). The Wheatley destruction are acute, and artificial (or AI, rather). No natural elements are in the Wheatley destroyed chambers.

Don't forget the plumes of dust whenever there is an explosion with env_shake.