[KH/DM/TDM] SpireControl5

[take_this_cup_of_poison]

https://cat2.optus.nu/nexuizserv/spirecontrol6.pk3

New verison has texture blending, 2 new buildings (churches), 1 new ruin, and supports DOM now.

So the request for more "town" was sorta satisfied and the texture blending / terrain blending is there too .

[torus]

The blending is a definite improvement. The terrain looks much more natural now, imo.

What else can be done? Well, here's a list:

• Trees. I know you don't want to hear it, but those trees are bad. Also, they are unrealistically spread out over the landscape, and they are too small to provide cover, so they are really useless. The trees that are larger (realistic sized compared to the player), and grouped in clusters which would direct movement and provide an element of cover (in the trees), and be very interesting.

I will procedurally generate and convert a nice birch tree model for this map, if you would use it.

• You should probably scale the grass texture up (it repeats a bit too often). This is very easy.

• The circles of column don't fit, imo. They feel copy/pasted from your other maps. I think you should replace one of them with a Stonehenge type structure, and the other with misc boulders.

• LIGHTING. You could do some really interesting things with sky lighting in this map, but as it is, it feels really flat. I know this is Scotland, but it's BORING. You could make the light more intense, have it come in at an angle (so there would be shadows and stuff on the ground). Alternatively, you could make it darker and stormy, and even use the Nexuiz rain to give a really dreary, desolate atmosphere.

• The damage on that tower works REALLY well. All I suggest on that front is to damage the church/smaller building as well . Damage is awesome, especially when done with skill.


I rarely go out of my way to give a map such detailed critique if it doesn't have the potential to be really interesting or unique. This one does, imo. Please continue working on it.


(As an aside, some of those mounds are ludicrously high . Not really a problem, but kind of funny).

[take_this_cup_of_poison]

I think I would use various trees if they were made (and gpl and such). I'd add them in here and there and such. I'd keep my pine trees in too, but also add the birchtrees in good bunches (10 maybe? More if cards can handle it)

It would be nice if once those trees and such were made that they were included in nexuiz so that (as with other games) good shrubery and foliage was used and avaiable for maps.

To my knowlege most games have level of detail for their foliage: up close in view a full model is rendered, further away a simpler one, far further a partial model + 2 brushes in an X (if you look from above), further away just 2 planes in an X, ultra far away an anchored sprite.

If this could be done for nexuiz and included (the foliage) in nexuiz... I think it would really increase the types of things mappers could efficently create (you could have a whole forested mountain due to LOD)

I only had a few hours to work on this map this week, thus I did just a little bit.
It also took 20 hrs to compile even though my tess size is low on the water etc.

Thank you for reviewing again.

The reason the lighting is not so detailed is because lighting segfaults on big maps for me (2GB of ram, and that's the max for my box (laptop)) so I must keep it simple.

It was hard to have the time to make even these changes so far to this map this week however, and that's how it's probably going to be... well for 3 more years probably .

The circle of columns, along with the rest of the buildings, were custom made for this map (you will notice they aren't patches in this one, to keep FPS up). They are to evoke stonehege but not copy it directly.

There is a ruined church inback of the tower (there are 2 other still-working churches elsewhere, the thing in the middle of the map is a defensive stronghold).

[torus]

Meh.

[take_this_cup_of_poison]

I'd like to make fairly large forests in maps, but that requires LOD (which can be done).
Maybe make foliage an entity that can be changed by the engine depending on how closely someone is looking at it?

And I'd happily put birchtrees in this map (time permitting).