[wip]No Title Yet - Need some input, advice and help

[scar tissue]

I am in the middle of making an entirely new type human cruiser using parts from the Pillar of Autumn (from a10 and d40). This cruiser is going to have everything:

Hangars (4)
Multiple levels of corridors (2 so far)
Armory (none so far...working on it)
Warthog Lot (4)
Command Deck
Cafeteria (multiple, undecided on number)
Life Pod Decks (mayber...don't know if I want them)
Engine Room (maybe two)

As you can see, this map is going to have a lot it may be quite big but I feel it will be worth it when its done.

So far, I have the four Hangars, hangar exit corridors, warthog parking lots, stairwells and adjoining corridors modeled. Most of the modeling was taken apart from the Campaign, but some (hangars, certain corridors) have been drastically modified or created by me. Here is what I have:

(keep in mind, i haven't skinned yet and the ship does not have a hull. The hull will be designed once the ship is complete.)

My overall progress so far:
The four hangars and branching corridors. If you can see the little green dot in the very center, that is where the rest of the ship will start to branch off (there will be more corridors branching from the stairwells as well).


Corridor/Hanga setup:
Here you can see the corridor that leads from the hangar goes into the Warthog parking lot from d40 which then continues into corridors that lead to a stairwell. Down the stairwell and through another corridor you will meet another adjoining mirror of what was just described and another corridor which leads to the other two hangars and the rest of the ship.


Hangar:
Most of you have seen this in maps before. No different, except for that the two pairs of hangars are connected by the flight tunnels on the side, making flight travel from one hangar to the next, possible without leaving the ship or trying to fly through small corridors.



"Hangar to Lot" Corridor:
The corridor leading from the Hangar to the Warthog parking lot.


Warthog Parking:
From d40, leads into corridors (as you can see in the upper right corner).


"Lot to Staircase" Corridor:
Self explainitory.


Its coming along great considering I've been working on it on and off for a few days now.

Once I'm done designing the interior, I am going to need help with texturing, desiging the exterior hull, and importing into the game (because I suck at all three).

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Criticism?

[Patrickssj6]

That is really REALLY great...and time consuming

[llamaboy772]

looks like all you did was rip models

[FleetAdmiralBacon]

Indeed.
Even my BSP model rips are textured, where are the UVs?

[maca_§]

I suggest if your going to use chunks from the PoA, you improve on the parts you use.

For example, when your playing PoA and your near the end of the map and your doing the Warthog run.
In the corridors, remove the huge pillars that are in the middle and are one after the other. I'm not that good at explaining.
They are just annoying.

[Doctor]

So did you model any of that, or just rip it from d10 and d40?

[p0lar_bear]

Whoa. Too big. The map would probably be tons better without the hangars. Probably would be easier on the framerate if you took them out, too.

[scar tissue]

[quote="maca_

[FleetAdmiralBacon]

I suggest you scrap what you have and use the BSP exporter.
It will export texture coordinates and materials (if you use it correctly) and will even export the textures themselves.
Then you can start it back from the beginning and have a textured version to show us.

BTW, it isn't sealed the way you have it. Then again, you don't need it sealed. You can make a simple 'box' collision system. (box shaped hallways and such, just make a simple collisilon that excludes details)

oh, and another thing:
Each one of those hangers is about the width of the POA (remember that the POA isn't the right size for its interior)

[scar tissue]

I suggest you scrap what you have and use the BSP exporter.
It will export texture coordinates and materials (if you use it correctly) and will even export the textures themselves.
Then you can start it back from the beginning and have a textured version to show us.

BTW, it isn't sealed the way you have it. Then again, you don't need it sealed. You can make a simple 'box' collision system. (box shaped hallways and such, just make a simple collisilon that excludes details)

oh, and another thing:
Each one of those hangers is about the width of the POA (remember that the POA isn't the right size for its interior)

Okay, I'll try it out. Thanks!

And I knew the POA interior was too big for its exterior, but I was unaware of the Hangar size in relation so thanks for that input. Very helpful.

[rossmum]

Looks alright, you'll need some serious portalling to keep the framerate at least bearable...

[p0lar_bear]

Like I said above, this is my first. I'm not of knowledge of the constraints of the game when it comes to allowing certain things but I can say, yeah it will be big, but not much bigger than what is already there and if need, I can always take out one pair of hangars and excess tunneling.

I don't mean engine/hardware-related constraints. I'm talking about gameplay.

Take a look at your map. It's way too impractical, and wasteful. In a CTF match, there are only two teams, but you have four bases. If you've got the flag, and you're rushing to GTFO the enemy base, you can get lost, you'll end up going into an empty base, and subsequently you die and lose the flag.

Plus, the routes going to/from the bases and the central hub are too direct. There always needs to be more than one way in or out of a base, or the game will end in a stalemate, with someone always guarding the only route into the base. For other gametypes, it would cause camping into areas with certain weapons or objectives (hills, checkpoints, etc).

You also seem to be focusing on just using as many parts of existing BSPs as possible and calling it a map.

This cruiser is going to have everything:

Stop right there. If this was a single-player map, that's understandable. But, you cannot make a map that is playable by attempting to use every element of the existing BSPs. If you tried that, you'd most likely exceed the map filesize limit. And from a hardware performance point of view, my frame counter will eat a lag sandwich, as there will be a massive amount of polygons and shaders (the more materials/shaders you have, the more lag there will be). And in the end, you'd end up with a lame, half-assed novelty map, like the Pillar of Autumn Space, that only noobs obsessed with overpowered weapons/easter eggs will play.

And the hangars... it would make getting flags too damn hard to make the game fun. Not only do they have to dodge people in the passageways, but when they get into the hangar, they have no cover getting to the flag and back to the exit, making them wide open to people with sniper rifles and pistols. I'd recommend removing them altogether, and putting the little room next to the garage (where you get off the elevator) there as the base instead.

Also, add a little variety to the BSP's design. Nothing that would cause imbalance, but just something to step away from symmetrical boringness. At the very least, I would say make two light-emitting shaders that emit subtle red and blue light, to mark which end of the map you're on.

To sum up this post, make your map PRACTICAL, and not a novelty map made from random BSP pieces. ditch the hangars and replace them with the elevator room, add more ways in and out of bases, and put in a little variety, even if it's just light colors.