ambitious map, cant say I like it though.

I think my major issue is the brushwork/architecture. It looks too incoherent overall. There are some nice bits and cool detailing but everything just doesnt gel together. For example the many ramps in the level just look completely out of place. I think Shambler mentioned something similar in the screenshot thread.

Layout/gameplay wise it seemed quite fun but I really didnt play it long enough. 

I always find your opinion valuable. Sorry you don't like the map in this case; you're not alone--see the trainwreck of a thread over at Map-Center. :)

I'm not sure what you mean by incoherent--could it be the level of relative simplicity to the brushwork (barring the rocks)? Lack of detail contributes (at least to some extent) to lack of theme.

I was very restricted re: the level of detail I could add to this map, since it was so open. I tried for a compromise by using my detail on the rocks, and a few select bits of the rest. Add to this the fact that the map was very literally built around the gameplay (e.g. layout, movement possibilities), with aesthetics/texturing being secondary, and I can understand the mix of reactions I'm getting . . . 

(Before I start, the map-center thread to which I refer is found; http://www.map-center.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=4884&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc )

I would have posted this in the map-center thread, but I have no map-center account, and no desire to get one (As I don't want to 'Learn from the (self declared) BEST!!' :)

However, while KillZone may have acted like a cock, he did raise a valid point (as did Kell with his accusations of sycophantism, but I digress). The texturing (and to a lesser extent the lighting and some of the, interior especially, brushwork) is bland, repeatitive and overly simple.

I like the style you seemed to be going for in this map, but I think you could have done so much more with the texturing, and the brushwork probably could have been improved without hitting the performance significantly (certainly on the 'inside' areas of the level).

I find that it just makes the map feel unfinished and rushed.


(All this of course is entirely separate from the gameplay, which I do like a lot :) 

Judging by that thread, map-center suffers from the same OMG syndrome as Q3W and D3W boards. No matter what you post, it's OMG COOL. I proved that on Q3W boards year ago or so with excessively horrible screenshots that got positive comments.

Speaking of screenshots, I like how the colors seem burned in those pics. Does it look like that in game too? Geometry is somewhat bland, Q3 can push more tris than that these days. 

Well, it's no huge surprise that MC continues the Q3W trends given that MC is just the Q3W community, but with egos ;) 

Wasn't Map-Center established by Astro precisely to get away from Q3W's egos?
Ironic perhaps. 

"trainwreck of a thread" is pretty much spot on!!

P.S. Kell, I didn't know you were a chief map center ho?! 

by incoherent I mean that some areas are detailed nicely (rocks and some walls) but others are downright flat and square and this shouldnt really be the case in a coherent design. Sure, some areas will always be more detailed than others but here the inconsistency is too apparaent.

the ramps and interior sections are the most obvious example, virtaully being very undetailed and ususally leading in or out to a more detailed section.

The lighting and texturing dont help either. Minimalist texture scehemes can work to highlight complex or flowing geometry but there really is none of that sort of brushwork here for the bland textures to accentuate. As for the lighting, there's nothing really wrong with the current setup but again it does no real enhancing of the design.

Anyway, it's interesting to see a well-playing map be criticsed for its looks rather than vice-versa. 

...some areas will always be more detailed than others but here the inconsistency is too apparaent(sic).

Took me 3 years to actually get to the point where this statement is valuable... now that I'm here I understand how valuable the notion behind the statement is.

vale Nitin. 

Nitin, I appreciate the clarification, and, like I said in the Map-Center thread, I even agree to some extent. Maybe I was just a little too tired of working on it and ready to move on...*shrug* 

no problem. 

give me the ejaculatory control needed to master the male mulitple orgasm? 

I was wondering if anyone would grok the title (or care enough to figure it out). Like I said in my site update:

"The cremaster muscle is responsible for the cremaster reflex which occurs in males of the species when they are startled or afraid (like when you're about to be shot, or fall to your death, or get shot while falling to your death). This reflex causes your testicles to be drawn up as high as possible (sometimes actually into the body), and out of harm's way."

And, so, um, yeah. Yes, as a matter of fact, playing this map will not only give you precise control of your spoogical muscles, but will, in fact, enlarge your already-way-too-big penis.

Uh-huh. Yep. 

...has been mastered by several races through history. None the least of which is the Japanese Samurai whose total body musculatory control was such that the guys were able to sit around before a fight and "suck" their testes up out of harm's way before getting amongst it.

Just another piece of useless know from the house of dis =) 

http://www.cremaster.net/ 

That is some crazy-wierd lookin stuff. I kinda wanna see it, for the cinematography if nothing else. 

Awesome.
The more you know . . . 

pope linked it when we were talking about movies one time -- I figured that's where pjw got the name from :D 

Finally got a chance to poke around at that site a little, and . . . wow . . . okay.

Just reading the synopses was pretty interesting (#2 sounds especially cool--I've always been a Houdini fan), but yeah, those films *seem* to be a bit too far into the "deep and meaningful" camp for me to really enjoy them. I might be wrong.

But the name of the map just came about when a buddy and I were joking about trying to make various short-cuts to the RA, and the absurd body English that we would find ourselves using in RL while trying to make the last few units to safety. At one point one of us made a comment re: "really pulled my balls up on that one".

I figured there was a specific muscle responsible for that and utilized the wonders of google to arrive at the map name.