sneak peak of new map - hole in the ground

[mf]

there we go
its still a work in progress, im still trying to make some new objects and i still need to add alot of the scenary.
let me kno wat u think of it feedback of any kind welcome.

thanks, mudda

[Dazzle]

I posted this a while back, just some tips on map creation.

You are obviously learning the ways of Torque and modding in general which is great and the actual map layout looks good but the overall production needs to be better, you need to pay attention to detail and finish the map properly by doing the following things:

1) Take you time, do not rush modding, remember a map is a piece of art!!! - only release when you are 100% happy with the map in terms of look, and set up.

2) When painting the terrain take your time, this is what will make your map look professional, at the moment the terrain looks like you just slapped the colors on with no attention to detail. The rock, sand and green textures are almost like painted lines and do not blend together. Dont just use the hard brush to paint the terrain, use the soft brush as well. By using the soft brush and going over it 3-4 times you can blend two textures together to make a smooth transition between the textures, blending takes time but its worth it so it has a realism in the look of the map. Look at Roo's maps he is a blending genius, see how the textures flow together you cannot see where one ends and the other starts. To me this is the most important part of making a map, its all in the paint job.

3) When you have finished making and painting the terrain tidy up the map!!! Get rid of all the odd pieces of terrain sticking up all over the place.

4) Finally set up the map for game play, these points are important for the map to run well. First adjust the mission area so that it is a tight as possible around the map, use the mission area editor to do this, do not leave the mission area at the default which is massive, get the area in tight to the map. Second bring down visible distance, reduce it so that the map only draws at its full length. By this i mean if you place the camera at one end of the map keep reducing down the visible distance setting until the end of the map is just visible , in most cases this will be somewhere around 600-800. This is extremely important as the lower the visible distance the better the map will play and will reduce server lag. Finally the fog, there are two fog things to set one is the fog distance, which should be less in value than the visible distance. Say the visible distance is 650 then I would set the fog at say 600, although you could have it less than that depending on the effect you are trying to create. And finally the fog height and color, these are the easiest to set and sometime overlooked in the great effects you can perform. See my tutorial on fog colour here: http://forums.planetthinktanks2.com/Thi ... ?f=4&t=842

The fog height settings might look something like this:

100 100 150
100 151 200
100 201 250

The fog can be managed in three layers, which is the three lines, each line has three sets of numbers. The first number (100) is the density of the fog, the second number (100) is the starting height of the fog, and the third number (150) is the finishing height of the fog. The starting height must be one number higher than the finishing height of the layer below.


If you follow the above tips you maps will take on a whole new look and feel, you obviously have some good ideas but you need to slow down and take your time. Some of the maps i have made have taken over 40 hours and 4 weeks to make - never rush, you will be amazed at the rise in quality of your work if you take your time.

I hope you understand what i have written and take onboard these tips on how to improve as a modder. I am so glad there are a few new modders on the block, but quality is the key, not speed. If you go to my website (click my sig) on the download page there is a guide to using TGE, it only takes an hour to read and you will learn so much, infact its an essential piece of reading if you want to be a great modder.

[mf]

thanks for the tips dazzle especially on the changing the fog values - i knew how to change them but i didnt kno wat they meant.

in regards to ur first tip i have actually spent a reasonable amount of time on my map (roughly 6-8 hours on it) and it is only around 30% completed hence the "sneak peak" title.

secondly it is quite hard to blend some of the terrain the way i want it it because the paintbrush doesnt paint by pixels it paints by blocks (if that made any sense).

ur third tip has a point i will fix up all the bits that stick out (i think u mean around the top of the crater).
and about the fog, i kno that the fog volume is out of proportion it wont look like that in game, i usually change the fog in modwizard in game according to the way i want it.

i will eventually read ur tut on TGE wen i get the time but for now im going to try things out for myself the "trial and error".
Also baring in mind i am still a noob experimenting with TGE and emitters n such so dont expect anything too great.

thanks for ur helpful hints dazzle im sure theyll come in handy soon.

mudda

[Dazzle]

When blending use a soft round brush (soft is the only brush to use for blending) and try different brush sizes and paint over the textures, you can even use just the single brush to paint small areas for added detail if needed. This way you will be able to get the effect you want.

These are a few screenies from my Pilferers Park map, the paint job came out fantastic after blending the textures especially the cracks in the dirt. These cracks are blended into the brown dirt texture - they are not part of the same terrain jpeg - its actually 2 different textures blended together.