ad hominem's Creative Blog

Arty shizzle

2008-09-02T14:36:00.003+01:00

Hammer has lain dormant for a little while now as I rediscover the wonders of drawing, both on physical paper and on my new graphics tablet. I'll post some of the drawings I've done on paper once I bother to scan them in, but for now I'll show what I'm working on with my graphics tablet:

This is nowhere near finished, as I've yet to detain the vast majority of it, as well as figure out the mystery of depth in pictures. Still, I feel I've made a good start so far and intend (how many times do I say that in this blog? It feels almost worthless now) to continue with it.

In other activities, I've been doing things with photos which are better explained with the photos themselves than my words. Look below.

TF2 Arena Project: Part 2 - Damned inevitable slowdown

2008-08-20T19:13:00.002+01:00

Well, the new game mode has been released for a day now, and I am still not able to play it yet. Having worked late last night and until 5pm today, I arrived home expecting to be wasting the rest of the evening and most of my day off tomorrow seeing how the new Arena mode worked. Alas, it seems that this is not to be, as Steam reckons that my games suddenly need to be defragmented.

I shall look into playing Arena as much as I can tomorrow, purely for research purposes, and see how the gameplay can be tailored to.

TF2 Arena Project: Part 1 - Analysing the new game mode

2008-08-19T10:45:00.004+01:00

Given the stupidly high amount of time my job takes up these days, I've found relatively little time to either play TF2 or map for it. However, the new update that Valve are planning has perked my interest up once again with yesterday's announcement of the Arena game mode.

In short, it appears that Valve are to release a game mode suited to smaller teams and shorter rounds where the emphasis of the game falls on the strategies used to kill the other team, rather than gain a specific area. It also aims to make the players think about their class choices and how best they can defeat the other team with the limited (from 3v3 to 12v12) players they have.

I think that this is a great idea, given how I was beginning to grow tired of the older game types. I also think that this could create some actual tension in TF2 - something that for me has been sorely lacking, and one of the reasons I've been replacing my TF2 gibbage for CoD4 in recent weeks.

Anyway, given the lack of activity on my part, and the apparent feverish goings on at Valve to make this all happen so quickly after the Pyro pack, I felt as if I should at least attempt to give something back, in the form of a map designed specifically for the Arena game mode.

The first step is to look at this new game mode and what we want to acheive from it. Here's what Valve have to say:
TF2 Arena keeps the class diversity of Team Fortress 2 while focusing goals around combat between two teams. Where other game modes lean towards a broad overall strategy for the team over a number of lives, Arena concentrates on the specific tactical choices the teams make in a single fight.

This immediately brings a few things to my mind:

Each 'Arena' has to accomodate each of the classes - this means wide open spaces as well as claustrophobic corridors and a multitude of levels that some classes (Scouts, Soldiers and Demomen, primarily) can reach while others cannot.
However, where before open areas could be charged into in the safe knowledge that if you meet heavy resistance you can respawn a few seconds later, this time you have to forego the 'trial and error' method of reconnaissance in favour of more careful movements with back-up, or getting a Scout of Spy to get a closer look and report back.
Corridors were previously only really used to create chokepoints where a well-placed sentry gun or Heavy and Medic combo could cause devestation - in the Arena game mode, on the other hand, such an action could spell disaster for one team as they are not only being held up, but their lives are at stake. Therefore, if they come across a corridor with a level 3 sentry placed at the end, they are more likely to try to find another way around than to take down the sentry head-on. This means more alternative routes might be a good idea,
Stalemates are obviously more likely in the Arena mode, with the ability to win without aggressively taking points leading to more reluctance to take risks, at least for the first minute before the capture point is unlocked. As a result, the maps have to be built with this in mind, and use other reasons for the players to move forwards. Examples of these might include more chances to allow the players to see the enemy movements from safety (from, say, behind bulletproof glass), and give them some incentive to chase after them.
While the game mode does have similarities to CSS (as many angry-internet-types have pointed out), I believe that the range of classes and the style of play already in TF2 will stop it from becoming all about the reflexes. For example - you can have the fastest reflexes in the world, but as a heavy you're still going to be vulnerable to a sneaky spy or fast moving scout with a bat, waiting to cave in your skull. The only way it will move more towards CSS in terms of gameplay is, I believe, the tension (which I have already mentioned) leading to slightly slower, more cautious movement.
The map should be well catered for this change in pace (something I'm not too sure the reworked Well, Granary and Badlands will do well) - as it is more likely to have more slow periods punctuated with intense action sequences in place of the more constant barrage of the other game modes. This means less visibility (so the teams aren't aware of the others' locations all the time) and more enclosed spaces interspersed with wider open areas with a limited number of levels around the edges to make the possibility of attack always present.

These are just a few preliminary ideas I've come up with, and are by no means set in stone (or, indeed, right). But it gives me a focus to work from and build upon. The next part should have more firm ideas and possibly some sketches of what I'm beginning to have planned in my head.

Long time no blog...

2008-08-04T15:29:00.003+01:00

I feel I have a very good reason not to have been updating this website often - I've not been doing anything creative. Hammer has been left unopened for a month or so, and my pencil has a thick layer of dust coating it. However, today I opened up hammer and had a tinkering around with it, and then thought better of it and instead got out my pencil and my trusty pad and started drawing. Results below:

Fabulous Business Warrior!

2008-04-26T21:10:00.002+01:00

This is the title for a short map I'm currently designing after visiting The Video Game Name Generator. It will follow a high-power business executive as he breaks down and goes on a rampage through his own business. This is very much a secondary project to the Hobo SP thing I'm doing, but it has my creative cylinders firing like crazy. Pics could be up by the end of the week. I do have some now, but there isn't much to show at the moment.

Hobo SP Map Update #2

2008-04-25T18:46:00.003+01:00

Just another short update on lighting mainly. I've tweaked it a little more and, after deciding the that lighting was a little excessive on the last update, I have toned down the light a bit. Pics:

And another pic just to show that there will be other people to encounter in the sewer system...

And another pic showing the overview of the sewers that you have seen so far:

Hobo SP Map Update

2008-04-24T14:54:00.003+01:00

Just a small update on the map I showed the other day. I brightened it up, abd added a bit more detail to the area. Most of the new work is going on in the (as yet) unseen bits of the map. I may have some of them to show by early next week. Pics:

Other than this map, I've been revisiting the map I made for the Art Deco Map CHallenge on Interlopers (The first map I posted on this blog) and have been looking onto putting it into Ep2 to continue working on it for a different purpose.

New SP map chronicling the strife of a hobo

2008-04-19T17:07:00.003+01:00

Yes, you did read the delightfully informative title correctly, in the map I am currently creating, the player finally gets to control a dirty stinking bum. Not much else to tell as of yet (there's a story, but it shall not be revealed so soon), so let's skip to the (extremely) WIP pictures. Suffice to say, it's set in sewers at the beginning.

My first attempt at TF2 Mapping

2008-03-28T20:32:00.002Z

I'd wanted to map for TF2 since it got my hands on it, but I was stumped as to what I could build which would be in the least bit original and still inkeeping with the tone, and (more importantly) the textures. I eventually came up with the idea of a series of small islands separated by a number of gangplanks with a larger island in the middle, and to make it into a Point Capture map.

Another major problem I had been mulling over was the distinct style of architecture TF2 has. I wasn't sure I could create something which would fit into the game world for both teams. Nevertheless, I heroicly opened hammer and started mapping. This is what I had come up with by this time...

Happy Easter

2008-03-22T15:16:00.002Z

I know it's been quiet on here for a month or so, but that's simply because I haven't bothered to do much. School work really got on top of me, and I'm only now starting to make headway on it. Still, I did have time (i.e. 5 mins) to make a little Easter (well, sort of) related wallpaper which I thought I'd share. It's size is 1600 x 1200 because, well, that's what resolution my monitor is at. Unfortunately, photobucket seems to have limited it at 1024 x 768. In case it's worse that I thought, it's meant to be an Easter Island head with a microphone headset on. Inspired by 3 o'clock in the morning while under the influence.

Stop, Hammer time.

2008-02-29T17:05:00.004Z

I know Hammer shots are hardly comparable to what things can look like in game, but it looks like this map is never going to see the other side of a compile, so I thought I'd just bang it out here for people to have a look at. As you may be able to see from the pics, it's a train station, but a rural one, such as you might have seen if the train at the end of Episode 1 had reached it's destination.

New textures for noir_institute

2008-02-22T14:30:00.002Z

Just a quick update showing different textures in the map (using stairs textures for the pillars wasn't a great idea). The ceiling now has a texture as well, as does other areas of the map which I have yet to show. Anyway, enjoy...

noir_institute texture test...

2008-02-18T13:26:00.004Z

Just a couple of shots to show the kind of textures I'm going for in my nour_institute map. One of the great benifits of a black and white colour correction applied to a map is that textures which might not have gone too well together in colour are able to be combined.

Alien Tower

2008-02-17T21:06:00.002Z

Another failed Interlopers.net map challenge, This one was to create an alien structure. Upon hearing about the competition, I promptly opened Hammer and created this. However, after doing so I wasn't sure where to go, so I didn't. Thought I;d share them with you people though.

Dilapidated Church Pics

2008-02-17T20:58:00.005Z

Almost forgot about these... The map was originally started for an Interlopers.net mapping challenge, but I ran out of steam after the initial structure was done. As a result, I recently opened the map and textured it up and added some lighting, and grabbed these screenshots. Enjoy.

noir_institute - updated!

2008-02-17T20:48:00.003Z

Well, here they are. The new, updated pictures of the new, updated version of noir_institute. Now I've bothered putting it into the new engine, I may continue mapping it, as it inspires me more than any of the other maps I'm doing at the moment. Anyway, without further ado, here are the new pics (still untextured I'm afraid):

Been Mapping Some Things...

2008-02-17T20:28:00.005Z

OK, so my regular update idea hasn't really panned out all that well. However, that's not to say I haven't been mapping much recently. I therefore present to you non-existant readers, this afternoon's creation (not compiled I'm afraid, so you're stuck with these hammer shots):

A fortress entrance.

An untextured shot of one side of the gate.

The other side of the gate, having been textured.

Having been textured, the completed gate section

I have also reworked my old noir_institute map to work in ep2, so I'll be posting those pics in a log in a few minutes...

Been away for a while...

2008-01-11T19:25:00.000Z

Not that anyone reads this, but I apologise for the lack of updates recently. My work on the source engine has ground to a halt since the new year, although I did have a decent map to compile which I haven't got round to yet. Otherwise, I've been enlisted by a friend to work on some concept art/game art for an RPG game he's creating with a small team. The website is cyclogames.org, which has a blog that you can check regularly for updates on that game. Information is quite close-to-chest at the moment, so you'll have to get your information on that from there.

As a result of my recruitment to that I've gotten back into sketching, a habit I had successfully broken some time ago now. I'm getting back into the swing of things now, and as I found that my scanner does work after all I thought I'd share some non-Cyclo Games related stuff. Don't read too much into these sketches, as even I didn't know what I was drawing most of the time...

I should be updating here more often, but I'm not promising anything. Until next time then, goodbye.

Book Fair: The Movie Part 2 - Scarface Wallpaper

2007-09-16T18:24:00.000+01:00

Well, here's the wallpaper I was working on. Not finished by a long shot, but a quick mock up of what it should look like in the end.

Then compare that to the original poster...

And you'll see why I say I'm nowhere near finished.

Book Fair: The Movie - DVD cover and Wallpaper

2007-09-16T14:03:00.001+01:00

After giving up on my Film Noir map for the moment (texturing can be very tedious), I decided to open up Photoshop and have a bit of a go at creating a DVD cover and poster/desktop wallpaper for a short film my friend had made as a kind of mockumentary. Anyway, after a little while, I had the following:

I'm also working on making a series of posters based on famous films. I'm halfway through a Scarface poster at the moment, and I'm looking at starting a star wars one soon.

1940s Level Design Part 4

2007-09-04T13:11:00.000+01:00

Just another short update, as I haven't had much time on this project for the last couple of days, with school work needing finishing and unexpected family issues. I have got a pretty final layout built, and I've adjusted the arches. Pictures below:

I'm not sure if I like the arches better like this, or not. I think it looks cleaner rather than the grooves just ending when they meet the base. You can see I also added a basic groove on the base. I'm not sure if I'm going to add to that either. Only time shall tell.

The pictures below are in the very early stages of building. The top one will become the restaurant which will be on the floor above the staircase/arces bit. It will be accessed by going past the elevator bank, which will be what the second picture ends up as. I'm trying to make the map as symmetrical as possible, so there is 2 entrances to the restaurant, reached by going to either the right or left of the elevators.

I'm now going to finish the architecture this week and move onto texturing. I have started this, with some glass texures I created. Pictures are below:

The pictures are not based in the level I'm making, but a small sample level made for those particular textures.

1940s Level Design Part 3

2007-08-31T15:28:00.000+01:00

Just a couple of new shots showing the detail I'm adding to the arches I mentioned last time. The arches are nowhere near finished yet, but these pictures show the kind of style I'm going for. When done, the bases will also have similar patterns on them.

1940s Level Design Part 2

2007-08-30T13:39:00.000+01:00

After creating the first part of the hotel, I decided to create a basic colour correction so that I could continue mapping with some idea of what it would look like in the end. After that had been done, I went on to make the main staircase to the floor above. However, to make it more interesting, I made numerous curved parts to the stairs and the upper floor. Then, after optimising the stairs, I started detailing the upper landing with a kind of half archway, half wall, structure which I had never seen in a 1940s building before, but that I felt would look like it belonged there. However, all this area is still in the very basic stages of the architecture, and I intend to make it look a lot more ornate before I move onto texturing it. The new shots are shown below:

I particuarly like the shape of the staircase, but as you can see from the first image, the arched paneless window parts need a lot more detail added to them. However, I like the way the map is developing so far. By the way, the lighting will be changed completely, I've only put it there at the moment so I can see what's happening in game.

1940s Level Design Part 1

2007-08-30T12:24:00.000+01:00

Well, to start off the blog, I've decided to document what I'm doing in the Interlopers mapping competition. It's the first time I've entered it, and I have no preconceptions of winning, I'm just doing it to see what I can come up with in the time limit. The theme for this map battle is Film Noir. So immediately I'm thinking of scenes from Film Noir films, and rummaging through my PC games to try and find anything with that kind of feel to it. Unfortunately, the nearest things I have to Film Noir style games are Grim Fandango and the Bioshock demo.

After giving up on inspiration from that source, I decided to open Hammer and see what happened. The rules of the competition meant that I would need to colour correct my map so that it had a black and white Film Noir feel to it, but that wouldn't be much help unless I had something to colour correct. After trying a few different ideas out, I settled on making a fancy hotel made out in the art deco style that was popular at the time. After about 10 minutes, I had come up with these shots of the foyer/lobby area:

Seeing as the time limit for this competition is just over 3 weeks, I'm going to set out my plans farly evenly, with one week each for architecture, texturing and lighting. Lighting is particuarly important in this circumstance because Film Noir always relied on the lighting and camera shots to create the right atmosphere.

Errm... Hi...

2007-08-27T13:53:00.000+01:00

Hi, I'm not sure who will be reading this, but I set up this blog as a kind of online diary (which is basically what a blog is) which will chronicle my many failings at attempting to create various projects that are too ambitious for my limited skills. This will include Level Design (in the source engine), various expeditions through Photoshop, Live action filming and possibly some other stuff. Enjoy.