Here is an Updated version of my first map
any suggestions ?

Golden Khemet Part 1

http://youtu.be/6-2y8XY30_4


Golden Khemet Part 2

http://youtu.be/BZZQaODgOKM



Here is a full Video (youtube put limits on my upload)

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByIGYWkUeiE2Z1Q2UTNvQUpCcEE/edit?usp=sharing

The map it's excelent, but the textures are a sh**...

is it because they are flat and smooth, or is it the bitmap choices ?

For a first map, this is very good (my maps still kinda suck). But there is still work to be done.

Max
1. I assume you still have the max file for the bsp. You might want to fix some of the materials on the map (like, some seem a bit out of place).
2. Add a bit more detail to the environment. It seems very boxy right now. A good place to start adding detail is in the tunnel that looks like it has a crystalline texture. Warp the faces in there to give it a more natural look (unless that's not what you are going for, totally up to you).

Textures
There are a couple problems with the textures at this point.
1. Yes, they do seem flat. Try adding in some appropriate bump maps in those shaders since you are using the flashlight so much.
2. For the scale that you are using some of the textures at, they are incredibly low res. Especially the ground bitmaps, which clashes with the higher res temple(?) bitmaps (sorry if I mislabeled them, hopefully you know what I mean though).
3. Bordering textures that don't match. I noticed this on the temples(?) mostly. One side would be one texture, and the next side would be a different one. And that's fine, except that the textures were very different, so they looked strange next to each other. An example from the original campaign of what I mean is on TSC.

This isn't as big of a deal to some, but it bugs me to no end. Notice how there is no texture blend at the intersection (blue) between texture 1 (red) and texture 2 (green)? That abrupt change has always stuck out to me. Again, some people might not care too much, but it's always good to remove as many of these instances as possible.

Other things
I noticed that the player gets attacked by the flood almost instantly. You can fix this in a few ways.
1. Move the spawn point to a place that isn't shared with flood spawns.
2. Using scripts, delay the initial flood respawn by 5-10 seconds.

There is probably more to be said, but these were just my first thoughts.

edited for formating
Edited by SAS on Oct 24, 2013 at 01:47 PM

thanks for pointing these things out to me. there is still allot that i don't recognize. i haven't used bump maps yet. I don't know what it is or does. warping the faces ...i don't know what that is either.
I'm looking forward to getting some new lessons soon. Most of the tutorials that i have watched are not clear in their explanations of what to do, and they are not around to answer questions...or they don't want to answer.

Bump maps are used to give a texture depth. You can't really see them that well (or at all) on their own. But when using a flashlight, they really show up a lot more. And warping was probably not the right term, I meant just move the faces around a little in order to give the cave a more natural feel.

i think i know what you meant by warping now.
i did try to make a cave map where i put it on editable meshs vertices, tessellated the area a few times, then moved a few points inward and outward to give it a bumpy/rocky type texture to the walls. Kept getting errors in tool though. Over lapping surfaces and things.

I'm no bsp modeller, so I can't speak for everyone, but I usually move triangles instead of vertices since sometimes there are multiple verts in the same spot.

Nice but it needs more texture on it.