I've been working on a map for a few months now (consistently) and I've reached a point where two things are left before weapons are plugged in:
a.) Lighting (not radiosity)
b.) Fixing a major blandness with the wall texture I currently have.

Here are some pics of the map in progress:



And here's a video:
http://www.xfire.com/video/48b821/

So what would you guys suggest as a good method for lighting the map up and a good wall texture that isn't bland/dark/boring?
Edited by DarkHalo003 on Jun 26, 2011 at 11:11 PM

looks like another attempt at a halo 3 map the first epitaph varient ive seen though xD

as much as i would like to say stay true to the feel of the map most ppl will enforce custom which i dont think is bad at all


Anyways i believe a sunny sky like on sandtrap but have a forerunner glow lights on the ceilings and walls inside with some mild lamps on the ground close to the walls like in truth and reconciliation A50

it took me until half the video to realize it was epitaph

It's inspired by Epitaph, but rest-assured it is NOT Epitaph. I just made it a lot simpler and a lot less complex for CE purposes.

I'll mess with light fixtures soon, which should really brighten the interior I hope, but I still easily think the walls are boring as all get out. Any suggestions there?

thus it is a varient in case you missed it i suggest you stay true to the feel of the original map whether its gameplay or design
" i believe a sunny sky like on sandtrap but have a forerunner glow lights on the ceilings and walls inside with some mild lamps on the ground close to the walls like in truth and reconciliation A50" this will give it a epitaph look
if you dont want a epitaph look then what other themes are you interested in?
over growth like guardian? delta halo ruins? unsc ship area? these are just some ideas
i think it should revolves around existing maps unless you have some other ideas related to something else

Looks good man, the design seems sound, just needs a little texture work, you could make it into a night map, add in a bunch of dynamic lighting and have something really cool :D But even as it is, I definitely like it. Keep up the good work sir!

For indoor things like that, I model lights into the bsp. If not, you can add light fixture to the map and run tool lightmaps. What's cool about these methods is that you can choose what colors to place where.

lol xD because it is even more confusing to not use a question mark so its rather more necessarily

i only use punctuation for school work
and if im starting a new point or statement ill usually make a new line so that its more organize in this manner
to me online discussion is no different from instant messaging
though its probably a good idea to practice some good habits
besides we should stay on topic

i like the idea of a night map

What I would do Dark, is add some kind of large skylight (a window, basically), with small fog planes coming off of it, like dust almost... Then also add lights around some areas, mb some circle ones and long ones around the areas of the map.

As for textures, go look at some of the stuff in B30's interior to get an idea.

Most of it is all from B30, but I do agree the wall should follow suit.

I don't plan on editing the model that massively though, mainly because it's a pain and also because the map is supposed to be lit from interior lighting and not natural lighting, like Epitaph even, but more rusted out. I don't want a dusky and misty setting though because I find it difficult to see enemies that way and I generally think that won't work too well with this map particularly.

I'll definitely work with Light Fixtures to add some lighting, but the wall textures have me stuck between a traditional B30 wall and the H3 Cold Storage Wall found in the Halo 3 texture pack on this site. Main reason why I like the Cold Storage texture is because it adds a bright, florescent blue to the map that nothing else I found has.

If anyone has any suggestions for wall textures besides b30's wall textures (because I'm already considering them, though they contain a LOT of brown), please say so. It'd make figuring this last part out a lot easier.

I quite like the idea of it being a bit rusty, almost like some sort of metal cathedral that's been forgotten. Are you going to do custom textures or are you wanting to stick to existing ones?

I think the biggest issue is that it's too dark mainly. I would also like more blue, but then again it might clash too much with everything else unfortunately.

I plugged in some light fixtures, but the map is still a little dark. I'll look into swapping out some of the light fixtures for brighter ones just to see if that affects the map's lighting at all.

you failed to realize what Higuy ment. he didnt mean b30s textures, he means look around it to see how they were used/placed. derp :P

lookin good so far!

Now with light Fixtures, though I still want more (non-b40_floodlight) light in the middle areas, not to mention some of the light fixtures don't even work. Still, I think it is improvement. Anyone have any recommended (not b40_foglights) light fixtures to use here?

hard to see, too dark in the room.

:facepalm:

Did you bother reading anything?

Yes. You are looking for crit on the map, yes?

Can't crit what I can't see. I like the lights though.

Try incorporating some lights on the floor. Make the floor luminescent.

i reckon the lights seen in this image of rev would light that whole area up and show off the work in it. i was thinking maybe add these to the extruded parts or your arch.



sorry but the image got darker when i uploaded it to imageshack, but you should get the idea.

Nice.
Yeah, I went and made custom lights with a power and radius large enough to light a whole room. You can place them in midair, then delete the light fixtures after you run lightmaps. Or give them no collision+invisible model.

I'm actually quite partial to the POA's floor lighting scheme (as embelished by one of CMTs' remakes), but that may require you to make a raised grated floor or something similar. And whats wrong with the floodlights from the levels prior to the Library? (they seemed to give it plenty of light along with the Jurassic Park feel) Or theres always the lighting scheme from the Control room which seems to be a bunch of luminescent circles in the pillars.

http://www.xfire.com/video/49707e/

Major progress in that video. Control panels and other devices brighten the level up really nicely. I think I'll throw some more on the level later. I'll also try that trick with throwing a massive illuminating object in there, run lightmaps, and then delete. I appreciate the help you guys!
Edited by DarkHalo003 on Jun 29, 2011 at 02:46 PM

http://www.xfire.com/video/49707e/
that right there is starting to look excellent.

)_)


-_-

And to top it all off:

http://www.xfire.com/video/49756b/

The middle still needs more light and I feel like I may have too much light on the level, though I've decided that this map (since it's so much like Epitaph) was once the original storage facility of informations and stuff before Epitaph, which given all of the panels and junk could make sense, but overall I'll need a second opinion before I make any final decisions, especially will all of the lights on the level.

Love the control panels and flood lights; the red and blue strobes however, need to be lessened a bit (fewer please ^_^ it looked like some sort of alien rave took place there). Umm as far as the middle goes; if i'm not mistaken, i saw a sort of raised round platform... take Cortanas pedistal light, scale it up and have it emit from that center point. That should brighten up the area perfectly and create a bit of a blind spot to prevent camping from either side. (and by light, i do mean the upwar flashlight effect and not the "ai" form itself. ^_^)

http://www.xfire.com/video/49764a/



The video has the entire level and the pic is just a quick pic. I send Conscars my regards. Such an awesome sky.

Just a question, how long did that lightmap take?

Also, I know you're kinda 'finished' with the bsp and onto lightmaps, but if you're interested in this modular-ish model set:

Edited by SlappyThePirate on Jun 29, 2011 at 11:09 PM

It took around 10+ minutes.

And even if I wanted to, I don't think I could model in those pieces; having to put everything in Sapien again would take way too long. Maybe in the future when I feel like fixing the map up (there are several architectural things I think need fixing) I'll keep them in mind though.