http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/sham_dw_bizbazbishbashboshfinallyfinal.zip

Not least in awkward file names ;).

The layout is great, exploring around, especially coming back from the SK. Could be a few more buildings to go into.

The gameplay is fun and well balanced. Could be a few more monsters in the outdoor areas. The end arena is pretty cool, enough room to move.

The theme is neat.

BUT....

The lighting is b0rked, pitch black in far too many areas.

The design is very boxy and undetailed. It could do with a lot more variety, interesting structures, room details, skyline features, trims, etc etc.

This map does show a lot of potential and the layout would need little change, but the architecture could be more interesting. 

Someone else play this u dickrots. 

Good stuff for a first release.

Gameplay was reasonably solid considering how open many of the areas were. I felt that you were maybe a bit generous with the weapons, if I get the rocket launcher that early, I'm either going to a: expect a massive horde of enemies or b: break the map by rocket jumping somewhere I shouldn't be :)

You picked a very difficult theme to map for, so well done. One thing quake doesn't do well is real-world objects. It tends to do better for abstract stuff. So for you to try and make a real-worldish place for a first map release is brave. Actually, as an aside the map reminded me a little of an old cs map I used to play, cs_italy.

Regarding the visuals, it felt like there was a final detail parse missing over the entire map. As this was previously mentioned I won't harp on too much about it, but consider splitting brushes and varying textures. This is especially important around doors and windows, and making exterior surfaces different textures from interior ones. This was probably the biggest weakness in your map.

One thing that I thought you did quite well was your brushwork. Well done doing those caverns, they aren't easy to do. Also the bits and pieces of bazaar were also quite good, particularly in the final area. Next time maybe spend a little more time on the tree leaves =P

I also noticed that some of the detail you put in was lost in the darkness. If you aren't going to use fill lights, then use ericw's light tool (https://github.com/ericwa/ericw-tools) and add bounce lighting, it will give the map a more "natural" feel.
You should remove fullbright pixels from those windows. You can use texmex to do this. Alternatively run your wad file through this: https://github.com/ericwa/defullbright

Now having said all this, well done on releasing your first map. You'll get a lot of blunt criticism here, most of it constructive, make sure to not let this disenfranchise you. I look forward to your next release. 

https://www.twitch.tv/ionous

Starts in an hour. 

Ok so I got a demo here, not sure if this author even uses func...

http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/redfield_bizbaz.zip

So I liked the layout and especially moving through the caves and smashed walls to get back to the silver door. The combat was also okay and it definitely felt like an old school id map. The textures overall provided a good atmosphere.

What I would work on for next is this:
-There were no ambushes/spawning enemies. The enemies are all sitting in the distance (final battle especially) and this kills tension. There could have been some spawning scrags or vores to add serious excitement. In id1 you need to build teleport boxes outside the map with monsters in them and add a teleport destination and triggers, etc.

-The map was too dark in many places. Test with ingame brightness/contrast at 0 and reduce your monitor brightness. Then tweak the lighting.

-Some of the Hexen textures had fullbright pixesl(the windows) which makes these pixels stick out in the darkness. These need to be edited in with auto-tools (texmex has one) or manually repainted with the Quake palette. Also the map loads with a few textures missing. You have brushes in trenchbroom that do not have a texture applied.

Overall it was a neat little map with a solid layout. Cheers. 

Didn't get to your map this time; I'll try again later in the week. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xaRZ5bOf0A

Played through this one recently for the show and it's really impressive for a first release! I was really into the variety of places you go and things you can climb in this map for how small it is. Nice work!

There are 3 things I mention in the video that may need to be looked at for help with your 2nd map. The first is what everyone already mentioned and that's the darkness. It's way too dark in some areas and some more torches and lighting would be great

The 2nd would be that you could probably make the enemies a bit more numerous in certain areas. The courtyard comes to mind, as you're usually fighting one dude at a time. Feel free to add a couple more in.

The 3rd and final has to do with the final room encounter. If you watch my playthrough, I speak to it more, but the big open room with lots of monsters is a little passe at this point and it might be a good idea to look into how authors are doing big room/horde fights now with waves. This one could be optional depending on the payer though. ;)

Great work overall though, awesome first map! 

I had a lot of fun making this, but (obviously) still have a lot to learn. I really appreciate the feedback, and I definitely intend on putting it to use in my next map.

onetruepurple:
Thank you for posting this. I'm not very quick to jump into communities, so this was greatly appreciated.

Shambler:
Yeah, I had a feeling I was gonna get called on lighting and I'm putting more detailing effort into my next map. Thx!

Shamblernaut:
It's funny you should mention abstract and realism. I can't wrap my head around abstract (yet), so all I know how to pursue is realism. lol

Also I'm all for blunt feedback. I just want to get better. Thank you. :)

ionous:
I look forward to seeing your playthrough!

Redfield:
Ah, I was wondering what I could do about those Hexen textures. I kept hoping no one would notice. lol

ArrrCee:
I actually just saw the episode. I got really excited, and your input was greatly valued. Thanks for reviewing it! 

not the best visuals, fun gameplay, original theme, good layout