[WIP] Optimism

[jngrow]

Well, I've never seen a flood-themed map. So this. Military base zone+flood. Not-little-but-not-a-lot-of pics. I'm not amazing at renders, so it looks kinda shitty. It's better when moving it around, trust me :/.

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2433/optimismbluebaseundetai.png
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/1219/optimismdoorwaytrans.png
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/1879/optimismmidbridge.png
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/9449/optimismpessimistchambe.png
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/1639/optimismpiperoom.png
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3627/optimismpiperoom2.png
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/5067/optimismtop.png

My first attempt at a real texture also!
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7015/flood2wrongaspectcolor.png
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2985/optmismwireframe1.png
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8049/optimismwireframe2.png
(ignore bad floor geometry, I'm fully aware of it.)


Lots of scenery/details are needed for the military/industrial theme. I also have a lot of gross flood pod/bulb-type-things. I'm planning on making one or two more flood textures, like the hard surface, "calcium-based" thing.

My first texture, I know it's basic, it's not amazing, but it serves it's purpose for now. Any suggestions for it are welcome.

So, suggestions for any details/other things I can add? I know I have a lot of plain walls. Interesting textures will help. And pipes. I'm not too confident for making some regular wall/tech/industrial textures. The stock ones in Halo are pretty limited, too.

[Sel]

Very nice. Not too many flood maps out there, and this looks pretty nicely done.

You might want to use aether to light your level, indoor levels are a real pain to light with halo's lightmapping :S

[L0d3x]

Looks very interesting, your texture looks decent as well.

[Con]

http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/2433/optimismbluebaseundetai.png

did anything else instantly think of the floodgate bridge room in Death Toll?

[sevlag]

did anything else instantly think of the floodgate bridge room in Death Toll?
not till just now...it sorta does

anyways great map, and yes not alot of flood-esque maps out thar

also, for a first texture it isn't that bad, it DOES infact capture the essence of a flood growth to some extent

[p0lar_bear]

did anything else instantly think of the floodgate bridge room in Death Toll?

Since I never played L4d (:() I thought of the section of Floodgate (Halo 3) where the Elites come down in drop pods.

[itszutak]

The general layout reminds me of another flood-based covenant map that somebody was working on a long time ago (Snafubar? Conscars? Not sure).

Especially the central area that's entirely flood-covered.

[p0lar_bear]

I think that was Lightning's Gravemind multiplayer port for CE.

[Lateksi]

I think that was Lightning's Gravemind multiplayer port for CE.
Are we speakin of some never finished project?

Great looking map but flood style is more effective in small corridors in which battles feel more disturbing.

[n00b1n8R]

floodmadfloodmadfloodmadfloodmadfloodmadfloodmadfl oodmadfloodmadfloodmad

PS: for a first proper texture, I think it looks damn good.

[Inferno]

Very cool looking. I love original maps that aren't set in forerunner canyons and this looks very well done so far. I think the flood texture should be a little darker though. Flood is usually a more brownish color.

[rossmum]

Normal the veins so they look as if they're bulging, and add a really sickly shine to the whole texture. Right now it just looks like some kind of albino sand monster. Not bad otherwise.

[sevlag]

albino sand monster.

wonder what THAT would look like?

[legionaire45]

Darken the texture up a bit, it looks a bit too light to be flood. Also make it a little bit more orange. Perhaps make the texture look a bit flakier and like skins cells with some organ-type bits thrown in.
http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/user/1/1411-109285-hcpelicanjpg-468x.jpg

If you haven't already read through this (http://www.bungie.net//images/Inside/publications/presentations/%21Halo3_Flood_Alien_Level_Autopsy.zip), I'd recommend you do so.

[Higuy]

Not half bad, but from the first picture, it looks like some stuff could be added?

[jngrow]

Thanks guys, and yeah I know it's pale. Thanks for the tip on the veins, but whenever I look at them in Halo (the veins might just by imagination, they might not even be there) They looks like they are under a layer of membrane, and they don't really bulge. However I like your idea more, I think giving them some bulge would be awesome and gross :P. Also, should the shine be totally done in the specular?

And great resource legion, reading it right now.

e: yeah higuy, a lot of scenery that I'm gonna put in that room. Really bare bones.
e2:gah perfectly good flood textures in the ppt... so tempting to use.
e3: holy fuck "Cortana" was 8 BSPs AFTER they shortened it like 75%. (or that might be floodgate, not sure)

[jngrow]

Well, I'm trying to make some progress in the flood texture. Thing is I suck with Halo's shaders. Here's a max render for now.


http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9352/optimismfloodprogress1.png

diffuse:
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/2870/flood3.png

[Mythril]

UV it smaller, the texture is too large.

[Advancebo]

To plain.

[Heathen]

Too plain.
its a wip

[teh lag]

IMO the best thing to do would be to UV that to a single texture that would function as more of a "ground" bitmap, and have your flood texture as a detail map. That way you can get more color variation and have another detail map to blend in/out (as there's both the dry/hard flood and the soft/wet/squishy flood).

I really think you could use some more variation there too. I know a lot can be added with scenery (crates - giant ones like in The Storm - and such half-absorbed into the biomass would be <3, also those pulsating blobs), but I think you could stand to have some more.... stuff there to break up the dullness. Large bits of machinery, panels, anything like that.

Also tentacles.

Add some tentacles from the ceiling.

[paladin]

Looks like a very nice start!

[jngrow]

IMO the best thing to do would be to UV that to a single texture that would function as more of a "ground" bitmap, and have your flood texture as a detail map. That way you can get more color variation and have another detail map to blend in/out (as there's both the dry/hard flood and the soft/wet/squishy flood).

I really think you could use some more variation there too. I know a lot can be added with scenery (crates - giant ones like in The Storm - and such half-absorbed into the biomass would be <3, also those pulsating blobs), but I think you could stand to have some more.... stuff there to break up the dullness. Large bits of machinery, panels, anything like that.

Also tentacles.

Add some tentacles from the ceiling.

Already had the tentacles in mind :P. Thanks, I was thinking about that exact idea for the ground bitmap thing. One question: Can terrain mapping in Halo CE have more than two textures? Like is there a way to do more than just use a black and white alpha map?

[Rentafence]

also those pulsating blobs

If I remember correctly Killer made some really nice ones. You could probably borrow those from him.

[jngrow]

Hey, I was trying to use V-ray to bake some lightmaps, also using Aether. After I render the maps using V-ray, the image always saves as black. While it's rendering it shows up fine. After it's all done, I have a bunch of identical black files. Also, V-ray seems to force 2-sided polies in renders, which is kind of annoying and I'm not sure if this affects my lightmaps or not (seems like it would). Any tips?