[MAP] A City in the desert

[KILLTHIS]

Gentlemen.

I hope I won't get anyone angry by creating a whole thread for my map, but I wanted to make a thread in order to get my own ass up and do this - otherwise I probably will struggle and not complete it in any kind.

The basic idea behind this map is to actually see the possibilities of the Phoenix Engine and also the possible level of Detail I can shove into it without dealing with too big performance issues. While I am still aware of the Alpha-Status I yet can't wait for any major improvements, mainly because the Devs are busy enough and secondly to make my idea come to live.

While we have a great parcour-system and yet a very awesome fighting-system we still lack the availability of maps who are actually some eye-candy. (Doesn't meant that everything I've seen sucks or isn't any good - I just wanted to make something more "RPG"-Style) Saying so, I also want to test out how far I can go without the need of additional models to give my project, the city, credibility.

As there are no bigger scripts available it will probably be quite lifeless, but this is another issue which I think to be solved in the future - and maybe make my second idea of it possible. A run through the city with enemies in your back and in front to actually stop you - but I want to design it in a way to make it tense enough and varying, without changing the design of the map in a way to make the city become "Unbelievable".

With these words said, I will give you guys screenshots every now and then, of course I will try to make regular updates - and also give you guys the map at the end. (Maybe I'll release it sooner, but without any bigger work on it it's pretty much something everyone can do.)

[Korban3]

Yes, we've had a few eye-candy maps. Hale is probably one of the best mappers for Overgrowth, but last is very, very good too. But really great looking maps take time and are thus rare. Yours is starting out well. I like that you used the civilian rabbit with a tool. Adds some ambiance to the level that I haven't seen used yet.

[TauTitan]

Im very new to overgrowth (as is probably very obvius by my post count) and my credibitlity is zilch but hey why not through in my voice to say that I can't wait for a really really good eye candy maps Yes I know there have been some before which were awesome too, but hey why not add to that list?
Can't wait for those updates

[Silverfish]

Looking good so far. Things that felt a bit weird for me are that the worker rabbit seems to be doing work on a wall that has no damage. You could try adding a decal or something to the wall to make it seem like it's broken somehow.

The second thing I noticed is that that street is currently looking a bit boring, an easy way to add a bit of interesting aspects is to push in/pull out a few of the wall pieces.

I know it's a WIP but I thought you probably wouldn't post pictures if you didn't want feedback, looking forward to future updates!

[KILLTHIS]

Hey folks!

Thanks for the feedback even though there isn't much stuff yet. I didn't have so much time at the moment, so I couldn't make a big update. For now I've only added a few things and went on to actually getting somewhat of a city first before actually caring about the details. In order to do so, I focussed on a few hotspots.

@Korban3: I definitely respect Hale - he did a great job on his maps, even though they lag like hell for me :S Of Course it will take it's time, but that's always the price for something bigger. And thanks again for your compliment.

@TauTitan: I surely will try to get on that list. Thanks!

@Silverfish: First of all: Thanks! This really cheers me up and motivates me to go ahead with my map. The suggestion with the decal was good, didn't thought about it myself - even though details are bitches and stick to anything within their range. :S And thanks for this advice. I will take care of it once I get far enough to actually resemble at least a small district. For now it's good enough in order to get the idea of how the street will look like later, and of course the shadows are not cast yet, so things will definitely look better at the end. (I hope. )

And for the promised updates - yet simply, but you'll get the idea. The very first screenshots are meant for some kind of bazaar, which actually was placed inside of halls. Yet I don't have a good idea of creating a fitting rooftop, so for now it will have to work this way until I get the solution. I just wanted to add this hotspot in order to get some idea of the actual look the city will take.

The Second one was just... well... I wanted something funny.

Now with Decal!

GO AWAY ALTAIR, YOURE NOT EVEN AN ASSASSIN BUNNY

[last]

http://youtu.be/1vnRV-1S65I wach and learn how to mess with decals so they onley project onto that object that you want them to.
This is also a hint to Silverfish to add this into tutorials list - there are'nt so many map makers who knows about those features that are explaned in this video

[Anton]

yeah, the two-three important things to remember with decals is:
I - project onto ONLY the object your mouse is over
o - omit projecting onto the object your mouse is over
mouse wheel up and down to select different layers of decal


Also useful, if you change the ribbon at the top to "Edit" you can turn on and off which editors are open. So it may be convenient to turn off the "Object Editor Active" and only turn on "Decal Editor Active" when working with the decals. The first time I tried to select a decal, the decal editor was off, and I couldn't figure out why I couldn't select it. It is also useful when drag selecting objects/items (left + right mouse to drag select).

Edit: Also, there's a decal not in the spawner called "Crete_impact" that would work really well for a broken wall look.

[KILLTHIS]

Hey Last and hey Anton!

Thanks for the advice. Worked out good so far. Looks way better, even though I may have to work on the decal. But I'll save it for later. For now it's good to see that the decals won't stick to the items anymore.

I just made a small progression. Added a few Houses and buildings, but things will definitely change later. Just have to look up for some real life comparisons in order to get a fitting building style.

Still, I have to work on the market / bazaar thing and will add a few more hotspots.

-Barracks / Prison
-Temple
-Gardens (Will see if it's possible in some way)
-Well

Here are some new pictures.

[KILLTHIS]

Allright, a small update for today. I decided to add a few details instead of making the City itself bigger. I started to make a small marketplace and added a few items as well as citizens. Surprisingly the performance-impact isn't that big, so it wasn't any problem to actually add a few more of them.

Then I went off to create a somewhat "destroyed" second level for one of the buildings. I thought it may be collapsed or is still under construction - dunno, but you could figure it out what you actually think what happened. It's all a matter of imagination.

I added a ladder as well, to actually make the damaged building and the repairs more credible.

At last I started to create a well. Since I'm building it out of single blocks it takes quite a lot of time to create. I have put a NPC Bunny next to it to compare the size. It still needs to get bigger, but I am working on that as well.

[KILLTHIS]

Alright;

I didn't had much of time today, so I couldn't really work on the map at all. For instead, I'll give you the map, by now it's still called "Test_City", but I guess that's okay. There isn't much to discover yet, but you'll figure it out by the screens I've send ya.

I will work on this tomorrow, when I'm not that sleepy anymore. I'll call this Version 0.1.

Version 0.1

Test_City.xml

(116.67 KiB) Downloaded 180 times

[Gogg.B1]

a lot of nice touches in this map, keep up the good work. oh and that well must have taken quite a bit of time looks good

[Korban3]

Yeah, that well looks really good. I bet that'll look good once the ambient occlusion and shadow maps are generated. If you'd rather save some time and performance, you could create your own model and texture it yourself, starting with a well shape from the beginning. Might not look quite so detailed, but it's an option. Good work so far. This is really good looking so far. I really like the screenshots of the blocks with the boards between them, gives it a really cool feel. Once you have the walls offset a bit and made more interesting, that would be a cool scene to be running through.

[KILLTHIS]

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Allright, this is a small update for now - I tried to imagine what a temple might look like. Yet it's one hell of a b...rick to place, since all the small blocks just won't be stuck together in a similar way so they don't just get into odd distance. But it's a mere proof of concept, just to make sure if this would work out at all.

@Gogg.B1: Thanks for your feedback. Yes, it has taken quite some time, but not as much as someone may think - the editor is easy to handle and very powerful, which makes it pretty easy to work out the map.

@Korban3: Thanks! I think it will, yes. But first of all I need to add more details, complete the map and stuff - so I won't render it just yet until I'm done.If I was able to create my own models and textures I'd love to make my own models - but I suck at it, so I better stick to what I can get.

Test_City.xml

Version 0.2

(166.47 KiB) Downloaded 178 times

[Korban3]

Yeah, it can be hard to line up objects properly. the game doesn't have a global grid to snap to, so it can be tough.

[Anton]

I like the progress you've been making on this level! It's fun to play in too... it reminds me of some cool middle eastern town or something, and I can't wait to see it when it's finished!

I made a little tutorial based off something I saw in your map, although, I'm not trying to say you need to fix it... it's just something I think people will find useful.



Also, I realized I didn't tell you/show you where that decal was that I was talking about, so while I was making that video, I also changed the decal to the one I was talking about:

You get this decal by clicking on the Load External Object icon, then go into decals.

And here's what it would look like on your building:

Keep up the great work!

I'm planning on adding this map into the Menu Mod, I hope that's cool... and as you update, I'll update the file.