So I wasn't planning on posting anything from my map until it was near completion, but I feel like I'm gonna drive myself insane soon... thing is, I'm never really satisfied with areas I work on. I always think I have to add more and more details, even though they might look fine. I've come to a halt so many times already because of this, I just can't stick with something, and progress is veeery slow as a result. Anyway, what I want to know from you all, is if these following shots look ok to you??

This is the starting area, I didn't want to make this overly detailed seeing as the player will never return here anyway:

http://img707.imageshack.us/f/tmpquark000027.jpg/

A minor hallway, I've got this feeling that the walls are too bland/flat, true or not?

http://img560.imageshack.us/i/tmpquark000030.jpg/

http://img97.imageshack.us/i/tmpquark000029.jpg/

On the other hand, I try to give more detail to more "major" areas or areas that will be revisited, such as this "hub" that connects a few areas:

http://img502.imageshack.us/i/tmpquark000028.jpg/

And yes, it's fullbright. I haven't gotten to the lighting stage yet, I'm still only working on architecture and have a ton of stuff left, that's why I need to know if these areas look fine so I won't drive myself crazy with detailing every little nook and cranny!

Help me out here guys! 

..indoor corridors are not my cup of tea but still your pics look pretty fair and competently done. 

B:I think that looks pretty good! I guess you might be able to spruce up the ceiling in the corridors if you wanted to, but imo it looks pretty good.

ZQF: I want to play that.

Metl: my pants are slightly tighter. 

Just some quick links to the full pics ...

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6526/tmpquark000027.jpg

http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/1539/tmpquark000030.jpg

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/6876/tmpquark000029.jpg

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/8775/tmpquark000028.jpg

I think it's shaping up quite nicely, as for blandness it doesn't look too bland but not as detailed as some maps are nowadays. Don't let that discourage you though, it really does look very tasty. 

i think those shots are absolutely fine.
as for lower detailed areas like hallways, don't forget you can use lighting to your advantage.
shroud boring areas in shadows but use spotlights to keep the floor and eye-level walls illuminated.
you can also use trim more aggressively. you're already doing that on the walls, but you can trim along the floors too. idbase and ikbase have excellent trim textures. 

oh my oh my

2010 will be a awesome Quake year :)

even in fullbright they look awesome... nice ceelings!

I really need to start making something :( since tdl.bsp I made so many few brushes :( one speedmap and a map that I start that have like 50 brushes... 

shots 2-4 look absolutely fine, although like necros suggested, spotlights would work a treat on those flat beige walls

with shot 1, i'm not really a fan of the top of the building being completely level. height variation is a good thing.. although since i can't put into words exactly what i'd do i threw a quick example together in worldcraft, perhaps adding a little light fixture on the top of each one afterwards. i know you said the player only passes through once, but it's still an entrance, and entrances should be at least a little bit pretty ;) 

I think you'll be surprised by the difference in feel you get when you light the level Berntsen :) 

I thought you were posting pics of your map...


...which, BTW, you need to be working on :) 

Working on style stuff so I can start prettying up rooms and whatnot soon, while continuing to balance gameplay/layout in the main map. Probably won't be able to work on it until after New Years though, so no updates for a while. 

Thanks for the feedback everyone! It's exactly what was needed for me to get motivated to kick-start my ass into some serious mapping again.

I'm already thinking of using light and shadows effectively, but I'll take into account your advice to conceal dull areas, necros. :)

I'll also see what I can do with trimming and some more interesting level/height differences in architecture.

Cheers! 

Nice shots, got a nice clean look going there. I don't think you should worry too much about adding lots of detail since less can be more. I'm sure once you've got some lighting in there, that'll give it a nice touch of depth. Keep it up. 

Thanks. Yeah, I think I'm gonna go with the level of detail I already have throughout the entire map, then light it and see if anything else should be added. 

I'm posting another:

I noticed that I was finishing a lot of my layouts with the player in lifts, and thought it was pretty boring ending every map in the same way, but I do like the idea of moving from one area to another, so I decided to add a train yard :E

Only blocked out so far though... 

You can do some angled crates (misaligned crates) which are still nicely on grid. You just offset each of the corners so that each side has an angle of 1 in 4. If see what I mean. I could post an image somewhere........

Massive base maps get my juices flowing ;) 

when do we get starkmon2? ^_~ 

I want some non-base Ricky maps for a change. 

I just heard you could set alpha on a func_wall a few days ago, so I had to try building a glass walkway:
http://img264.imageshack.us/img264/3992/glasswalkway1.jpg

also, an exploding slipgate:
http://img600.imageshack.us/img600/749/slipgate.jpg

The recent posts look great.. should be an exciting new year for maps :-) 

First shot is really good: it reminds me a spatial base in Doom2 (I don't remember the exact title).. Good use of glasses here ! 

Not really happy with it right now, it takes so much tweaking to get rotating stuff moving right :E

http://www.zealousquakefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zqftest03_construction30.jpg

http://www.zealousquakefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zqftest03_construction31.jpg

Hard to get across in screenshots really... :p 

Well I've almost finished connecting it all up, so it at least won't grow any more.

http://www.zealousquakefan.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/zqftest03_construction38.jpg

Should really have kept it small for a first map :E 

Well I've almost finished connecting it all up, so it at least won't grow any more.

that is one of the best feelings for me.

when you put down that last brush that seals up the map and you realize you can now run from start to finish without having to noclip around or whatever. 

sexy. 

ZealousQuakeFan for as first msp id pretty easy to say that you hasve talent!

keep good work!