ProjectX on 13/1/2006 at 20:03
In the outdoor shots I reckon you should turn down the cloud colour and add some ambient blue moonlight. Black looks ugly in anything bar Doom3
Komag on 13/1/2006 at 21:45
I actually find the black/grey rather refreshing, but I agree about the overly bright cloud deck
Caseus on 13/1/2006 at 22:19
Hehe, yes.. the cloud deck is by no means permanent on any of the above, I just slapped together a simple skybox to light up the outside for editing purposes. Would you believe I have 4 in progress?
Eventually a much better skybox will be in place. If you like dark, just wait till you see whats going on inside! A little radical perhaps but im aiming for something different. Im not afraid of dark as I often play in a dark room (somthing I don't do with Doom3/Quake4).
Im exploring what might be left of the mechanist order after the events in The Metal Age and really was trying to capture the feel of looking upon Angel Watch for the first time.
Lastly I just want to say I apreciate any tips you all may have and a special thanks to you Komag for an excellent Tutorial which is squarely to blame for all of my creations. I haven't stoped since I read it through and Its certainly helped a ton in becoming proficient with T3Ed.
Which reminds me.. When you all start an FM... do you start inside? or outside? I usually start by fleshing out the interiour space, normally what my main focal point or idea for the story, then I work out from there. Seems to work for me but I do get quite a kick out of seeing how others accomplish certain tasks and the general design and implementation of how they map.
ProjectX on 14/1/2006 at 10:42
my point was that the engine doesn't handle "black" lighting well, colours are poor, and aesthetically it can lack interest too. Black often looks good in small, sharp shadow patches, however, like indoors. So have lots of them and it'll be just as dark, but more aesthetially pleasing.
STiFU on 14/1/2006 at 11:53
I started with the outside, which was totally the wrong way in my oppinion, because you get a better feeling for it if you do it the other way round. I am such a guy who starts working directly and now i am sitting there with a totally wrong planned level... :erg: I cannot add zoneportals in a big openair area, which hits Performance very much. i'll have to do something. but anyway: Your screens look delicious!!
GlasWolf on 14/1/2006 at 13:39
The only advice I'd offer is to give yourself space, as it's easier to hide space than to squeeze things in when you realise you can't quite fit what you planned. I suppose that suggests building outwards as STiFU suggests.
Caseus on 14/1/2006 at 18:41
Good points all..
I do start on the inside myself as it tends to be easier to go back and fix those un planned design changes. On the first shot of the Manor House I had actually started using Komag's tut, then leapt off to flesh out the front of the building. Bit off a bit more than I could chew aparently as I have deleted and rebuilt that front section sveral dozen times to get the BSP to work properly.
Definetly a lesson well learned..
And as promised I grabed an Interior shot of the place, have a look.
(
http://img191.imageshack.us/my.php?image=insidecathedral9ea.jpg)
Inline Image:
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/640/insidecathedral9ea.th.jpgI'm happy with the look so far, as I tweak and tune it a bit here and there. I'm really just concentrating on the BSP and i'll go back and tweak the lighting a bit later on.
Ziemanskye on 14/1/2006 at 18:54
Nice, but those lights aren't casting shadows right - personally I'd say just make them OmniNoShadows and leave it at that, the scene looks okay with the wonky shadows so having no shadows wont hurt it much, if at all (and it'll improve performance!)
Caseus on 14/1/2006 at 19:12
They are indeed Shadowcasting but I have been thinking that they really don't need to be, with the patrols runnign round the area it would be that last place anyone would want to be :D .
The rest of the lighting (Blue Ambiant) are Omni_noshodow at various levels. Fraps is reporting 20-30 FPS averages depending on which direction you are looking. The big Gears actually move and cause a bit of a hit but its still in the very playable realm of framerate. My machine is by no means a powerhouse and performance is on par with Hammerintro1. I also did a bit of snooping on the aforementioned map and zoned it in a similar fashion. Actually even before zoning anything the whole map played quite well until I started fleshing out the large outside areas. But I am presuming that once I start scritping and adding AI the performance may drop a bit so changing those to Omni_Noshadow may be the ticket.
ProjectX on 16/1/2006 at 07:50
that shot is beautiful
