jdm2 by Dervish (AKA: "First" Quake mapping attempt)

[dervish]

*Edit* Fourth post is start of map talk.

So I'm starting work on my first kinda serious mapping project. Thanks to cityy I'm aiming into quake live with this. I want to put up my map so I can get some feedback from you guys but first I need some knowledge on making a pk3 because I'm fairly certain you don't want to deal with the loose files. So if someone can link me a good tutorial I'll continue the post on this thread and hopefully get some feedback. Thanks!

[cityy]

Hey, I outlined the process in this post: http://www.quakelive.com/forum/showthre ... post256942
Good luck! If you got any questions feel free to ask.

[dervish]

Thanks cityy, I'll probably have time to get it all ready later tonight and let whomever take a crack at it.

[dervish]

jdm2 by Dervish

Quick Summary:
So I've been working on this a few days and all of my main focus has been to create a duel/1-4 player map that wasn't constrained with tight hallways and some good vertical play. At this point in time I'm looking for feedback on pretty much basic map layout... and item placement to a lesser extent... Remember I'm pretty damn new at this, so let me have all that criticism and whether or not it's total crap! haha, enjoy. Keep in mind this is being developed for Quake Live.

Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?5w2j0s3ih78dui3

Note:
I'm not sure if it affects others but its using all basic Quake Live textures, so I didn't stick them in the PK3 assuming that users already have them in their directory. If not, I don't think it will be too much of an issue seeing as I haven't reached the latter texturing phase of creating a map.

[cityy]

Just had a good 30 minutes run on the map and here is my conclusions:
- looks like a very decent first attempt for making a duel map, I like the geometry and the item setup in general
- RG might be very difficult to get a hold of for the out of control player because there is only one connection to the top level of the map (RA jumppad) which is also very easy to keep an eye on for the in control player and because there is a long line of sight from the high YA to RG allowing the in control player to potentially do damage on the out of control player trying to get the rail from the other side of the map
- try to create some more vertical connections, dont rely only on jumppads - you can also use teleporters or stairs -- especially the LG room needs an upwards connection
- MH low level is a dead end because there is no upwards connection here either. The back part of the MH room is wasted on the low level because players never have a reason to go there
- you might want to make some space between the MH and the RA room to make that direct low connection a bit longer and prevent the line of sight from low RA to MH (something like the furious heights plasma gun corridor between RA and MH room maybe, it is the shortest connection between MH and red but also the most vulnerable as the corridor is long and tight which makes you an easy target for rockets)
- I think you should remove on set of shards, preferably the one in the MH room as that will most likely be a safe pickup for the in control player
- clip the grates at the high YA

Hope this helps, looking forward to the next version!

[dervish]

I respect the time you put into helping out. I'm going to spend the next few days(when I find free time) to tackle some of those rough edges. All of your advice is a pretty sound outlook so I'm probably going to use most of it. Thanks!

[cityy]

By the way, I think you should also get your map posted on the QL Mapping Forum for some additional feedback.

[dervish]

good call! I'll look into it after work

[dervish]

So I attempted to add an .aas file and it didn't seem to work... I tried fixing leaks with my amateur knowledge and was still unsuccessful... here's the log if it helps anyone help me with my problem!

---
BSPC version 2.1h, Oct 7 2012 15:47:47
bsp2aas: C:\Users\Jon\Desktop\QLMapping\WolfCam\wolfcamql9.9\baseq3\maps\jdm2.bsp to C:\Users\Jon\Desktop\QLMapping\WolfCam\wolfcamql9.9\baseq3\maps\jdm2.aas
-- Q3_LoadMapFromBSP --
Loading map from C:\Users\Jon\Desktop\QLMapping\WolfCam\wolfcamql9.9\baseq3\maps\jdm2.bsp...
900 triangles
0 patch tris
creating planar surface planes...
searching visible brush sides...
0 brush sides84 brush sides textured out of 865
-------- Brush CSG ---------
255 original brushes
255 output brushes
-------- Brush BSP ---------
255 brushes
160 visible faces
0 nonvisible faces
1636 total sides
Win32 multi-threading
1 threads max
depth first bsp building
241 splits
372 KB of peak total bsp memory
BSP tree created in 0 seconds
------- Prune Nodes --------
240 pruned nodes
---- Node Portalization ----
1 nodes portalized
0 tiny portals
0 KB of portal memory
164 KB of winding memory
------ FloodEntities -------
WARNING: no entities inside
**** leaked ****

---

[tehSandwich]

I'm looking at this blind but if I found that there's a leak in my level, I would load the point file, filter out the detail brushes if there is any and follow the line from outside.

[GONNAFISTYA]

I'm pretty sure the compiler won't create a .aas file if there's a leak.

Focus on fixing the leaks first. For that, I'd recommend ensuring "Snap to Grid" is enabled.

[obsidian]

Besides a physical leak with a brush that doesn't seal the playable space from the void, there are a few other things to check that may also cause leaks:

• Patches without sealing structural caulk brushes behind them used as the hull of your map.
• Tiny physical leaks if objects are not snapping to grid, or objects created with CSG_subtract or hollow.
• If your map has no spawn points.
• Shaders with surfaceparm nonsolid used on the hull of the map.
• Entities with origins buried in structural walls (model origin points, for instance).

[dervish]

I haven't chalked any brushes and always had snapped grid on, I'll get to work on caulking now lol

[dervish]

Will duplicate planes affect this?

[obsidian]

Very possibly. Duplicate planes are often causes of numerous different types of problems.

[dONKEY]

Actually, that depends. A duplicate plane error in the map compile stage is a problem. GTK 1.5 actively prevents the creation of bad brushes. That is one of its best features imo.
BSPC spits out all sorts of error or warning messages though, duplicate plane messages here, to quote ydnar, can be safely ignored.