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! 

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.

For me its a combination of relief and anxiety. It's cool to have it all in place, but seeing how much is left to go over with the prettiness paint is kinda scary :P 

you have some Unreal mapping experience? what maps? 

I made a deathmatch map for the 3D Buzz mapping competition a couple of years back, was called Dogs of War. Some shots of it if yer interested:
http://www.zealousquakefan.com/2010/10/a-ut3-level/
It's not really finished, and was a remake of something I'd made in ut2k3. I also built it more like a ut2k3 map, so it has an excess of BSP that needs stripping out really. The competition was very interesting cause I saw how the winners actually built stuff :)

I plan to go back to it and finish it, but I wanted to create something single player. Only ever really built multiplayer stuff that I played with friends, single player is vastly different :E 

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.

I can't wait until I reach that stage. As of now, it feels like there's an endless amount of brushwork left, I've already worked on the map for some time and I've only done about 15%!

At least I have specific ideas about most of the areas in terms of layout and setups from now on, though, coupled with a self-imposed deadline of the beginning of april, so hopefully that will help motivate me... 

http://www.quaketastic.com/upload/files/misc/BMFN.png

My actual website this time. A bit gratuitous but it seems to be the done thing, and its for my course.

Need to finish it soon, deadline coming this summer, and there's an exam after the final website(s) 

Reviews? You're own, or referenced reviews of your maps? 

Probably base maps :) Although I may extend it to just whichever maps I think are worth a review. 

...you really do have a thing for base maps then :p 

Ive only made 2 maps that weren't (3rd on the way, alongside another base map :) 

Hi guys, I've made a dm map, and here's first beta of it. I would appreciate any feedback.

Download q1shw1_b1

Image1
Image2
Image4
Image4

Now, I also have 2 issues with that map:
Weird lighting
Vis issue

I need some help with getting around those, any ideas?

ShadoW