Some screenshots from me.

[Zacker]

Sow_Entombed - Started ~10 months ago
Max w_poly is 700, but usually around 300-550.










Sow_Hangar - Started ~5 months ago
Max w_poly is 600, but usually around 300-450.









Sow_Khefren - Started yesterday, first compile therefore the brightness needs to be adjusted.
Max w_poly is 125

[>BKA< T Wrecks]

Wow, Sow_entombed looks impressive... especially those camel & horse models. Did you make them yourself? But also the rest of the map... great stuff! Now if only I knew what "sow" stands for...? (Excuse my ignorance)
Just a few tiny things: In the 2nd screen, that long wall looks a bit "cut off" on top, and in the 5th screen, that building with the round window / ornament looks too two-dimensional... it's quite visible that it's just a wall and nothing behind. However, I doubt if these details will be noticeable in game.
Btw, I like the name "entombed", hehe...

Sow_hangar - is the outside area finished? It could use some details to spice it up a little. The village, however, looks pretty damn awesome! What's with that cable sprite (is it a sprite?) in the 2nd screenie... it looks like a section is cut off & missing? Just a minor glitch, though.
And what's that sniper rifle? That must be one of the ugliest weapon models I have ever seen. It looks totally unskinned, and the scope mount is blockier than a Borg spaceship...

Well, the khefren screenie is really too dark to reveal much... but if it's up to the standard of the other two, it must be good!

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

I really like your way to map interior environments, Zacker. It looks awesome and VERY credible. Strictly nothing to say.

However I'm less a fan of the way you map outdoors... I don't know... it's the style. No offense... Somehow I think it misses notions of architecture. If I had the time to I'd edit and annotate your pics with mspaint and circle in red the parts that I believe need a bit of work. Maybe I'll do that... but later

But as I said the indoors is really neat

[Thirdeye]

solid brush work man!

the only thing i kinda noticed was that in pic #6 some rock textures looked kinda stretched... but aside from that little thing nice work dude keep on mapping

[Zacker]

Thanks for the comments.

SoW is short for Sands-of-War, a HL mod I am leading.

I cant take credit for any of the models, nor the textures.

In the 2nd screen, that long wall looks a bit "cut off" on top

You mean like it need a roof?

in the 5th screen, that building with the round window / ornament looks too two-dimensional... it's quite visible that it's just a wall and nothing behind.

It was not really supposed to be a building, just a higher wall. I probably looks 2d because of my too agressive nulling.

Sow_hangar - is the outside area finished?

Not totally. In the back of the pic you see a little palm tree, there are supposed to be a lot more of them. For some reason only one of the models showed up...

hat's with that cable sprite (is it a sprite?) in the 2nd screenie... it looks like a section is cut off & missing?

Its brush based, but I got to fix that error.

The sniper rifle model is ok, but the skin is far from decent, we know that We dont have many good skinners on the SoW team.

[SoUlFaThEr]

compared to your famous Prixun.........this shit rocks!

so.....i agree on the outside areas but for one main reason:
the ground work is too "pointy"...hard example is the fourth pic down on Hangar

but it all looks alright man, you have definately left mapper-n00bdom behind you keep it up

[>BKA< T Wrecks]

Originally Posted by Zacker

Thanks for the comments.
SoW is short for Sands-of-War, a HL mod I am leading.

Ah... another mod! Tell me more about it... what are the main differences to other mods like CS, TS etc.?

Originally Posted by Zacker

You mean like it need a roof?

Well, IMHO, such a loooong wall looks way better if there is something like a roof, a little tower or even merlons or something... you know, if the upper end is just a horizontal line running parallel to the ground, it looks a bit artificial. That's what I meant with "cut off". If there are some details that hide the fact that the level is ending there, it just looks more credible. Otherwise it can look like you just put a lid on it.

Originally Posted by Zacker

It was not really supposed to be a building, just a higher wall. I probably looks 2d because of my too agressive nulling.

Do you remember those "buildings" at the map edges in de_dust? They added more than just the front wall to them to make them look 3-dimensional... I really liked that.

Originally Posted by Zacker

The sniper rifle model is ok, but the skin is far from decent, we know that We dont have many good skinners on the SoW team.

Yeah, the rifle itself is quite ok. Isn't it possible to convert FA or CS weapons to Sow? I mean, there are some really awesome CS custom weapon models around...

[Pierre-Marie Baty]

Here are my few $.02 over these screenshots, for what they're worth

Like I said most of them deal with exterior issues. I have little to say about the interior, it's almost perfect.


The tower on the left has eyes painted on it that may be here to recall the architecturial style of aztec/maya constructions. If this is the case, there's a double impossibility. First because all the precolumbian architecture is made of cementless walls of large blocks of stone, which weight a lot. It is impossible to have them in such a tower where the 4 pillars would be utterly insufficient to support the weight. Second because this type of tower simply does not exist in precolumbian architecture. The exact same thing applies for middle-east architecture in case I understood wrong.
That very dodgy ground indicates a strong influence of winds to move sands around in dunes. In this case it is impossible for a palm to stand in such an environment. Palms are found in oasises only, and/or on solid ground. Never on sand.


That type of canopy always supports a candle or a brasero. It has no other use in ancient architecture. Eventually for a shelf, or supporting a statue, but in this case it would be much closer to the ground.


That big structure in the background looks 2D somehow...
And these sort of roofs are an absolute impossibility as well. Bent roofs have only one purpose: it is to allow the rain to evacuate quickly, and the most bent ones are so that the weight of the snow deploys on the whole construction. You only find these types of roofs in mountain environments where the winters are cold and icy. Even in temperate environments (west europe for example) the roofs are not that bent. But in sunny and warm (tropical and equatorial) environments, all roofs are FLAT. Always. They also often support a platform where people can stand on evenings when the sun is not high in the sky. They don't need to be bent because the precipitations (rain and snow) are almost inexistent and would they fall they wouldn't be a problem for the stability of the building. In cold mountains on the other hand, the weight of the snow on top of the roofs can average the ton, it is there MANDATORY for the roofs to be bent to ease the evacuation and dispatch the weight better over the building structures. And where there is sand there can't be snow. What you have here is an impossibility.


Who transported this pile of grass here ? The farmer who did this must be very stupid: it's on an exterior platform very exposed to wind ; he can be sure that by tomorrow nothing will remain of his nice pile
In farms these sort of piles are stocked either against a wall, or better in a corner, and almost always indoors. When it is stocked outdoors, it is for drying the grass (hence not suitable for feeding animals) in the middle of a yard surrounded by walls so that the wind has little effect on the pile. But as is, it's unrealistic.


An advice to mappers: never put trees that close to walls. In real life you hardly ever find trees that are close to buildings. The reason is simple: the roots of the tree always explode the walls with time while growing. Come back 10 years later and there is a large crack in your wall. Come back 20 years later and the wall is down.


Same remark about the roof as before: if this map takes place in a warm (tropical or equatorial) environment, roofs CANNOT be bent but flat. Simple. On the other hand, if this map takes place in a temperate environment, then why is the top of the roof flat while the most of it is bent ? How can the rain flow down at the top ?
I circled in second the texture that is on top of the entrance. What sort of texture is this ? It looks like ceramic. Why put ceramic here ?
Now there's also something about the windows: they are WAY too close to each other. Plus there seems to be windows on 4 sides of the building, which makes us 8 windows for a... 20m² room !!! I mean, wtf ? There's nothing like this in real life


There are structural oddities here. First, the pillars are not wide enough. They oughta be of square section at least (its structure is way too weak elseway). Then, the wooden beams just cannot be standing on top of the pillars but have to be carved inside. It's way too weak too. Any shock, or even the erodion combined with the wind and precipitations, can make the beam fall in a few years time. There is also an oddity where the beam just touches a convex corner at 90°. It just looks like as if the beam was "pasted" there with some miraculous glu. Nope: in all architecture walls are hollowed to support wood structures.


What's the purpose of these structures in triangle on the left ? The only thing I could see would be if it was for a temple, and where they would have a spiritual meaning. But they are not evenly placed, not symetrical to anything, and as far as I can see the wall that supports them has no decoration, no painting, just a plain dull wall. If these structures are part of a temple or something of spiritual interest, insist on the decoration nearby (sculptures, statues, etc.)
Also, there is a lack of space at the top of the tower between the window and the roof. Yet another note about these roofs: if you REALLY want to make bent roofs, don't forget their purpose: it is to evacuate rain. Hence these roofs must ALWAYS overlap the wall a bit (so that the rain cannot flow against the wall and make it dirty).


The purpose of such towers in "Y" is to provide a large field of view to the observator inside thanks to a wide glass bay. All these towers are completely circled with glass windows, on all their width. I don't see the point of the "Y" structure with the windows you have.


A texture problem here ? My apologies if not


IMO the orange background color around the neon tubes doesn't fit here...

that's all I can think of so far.

Good work on all the rest, especially the interior.

[Zacker]

Better late than never, sorry for the delay.

Ah... another mod! Tell me more about it... what are the main differences to other mods like CS, TS etc.?

Not really a lot The gameplay is about controlling points in the maps. Each map has 4-6 flags which you need to capture all of in order to get any points.
Overall the mod is far from unique. If you know CS, HL, ToD, DoD, Q3, UT or any other fps you will feel comfortable.

Well, IMHO, such a loooong wall looks way better if there is something like a roof, a little tower or even merlons or something...

You cant see it from that angle, but there is actually a 2k-3k units high pyramid behind it.

Isn't it possible to convert FA or CS weapons to Sow? I mean, there are some really awesome CS custom weapon models around...

SoW already share way too many things with other mods


Prrrhrhhr PMB, that will take me hours to reply to, thanks!

The tower on the left has eyes painted on it that may be here to recall the architecturial style of aztec/maya constructions.

Its supposed to be egyptian, or at least middle east. The eyes are taken from an egypt texture pack.

First because all the precolumbian architecture is made of cementless walls of large blocks of stone, which weight a lot. It is impossible to have them in such a tower where the 4 pillars would be utterly insufficient to support the weight.

The stone is hallowed out. Originally it was built as a wath tower, hence the eyes on the sides. You could climb up inside it and have a good view over great distances through the eyes.
Its long time ago, so the ladder is gone

Second because this type of tower simply does not exist in precolumbian architecture. The exact same thing applies for middle-east architecture in case I understood wrong.

I dont think many gamers care if it existed or not? Then they could also start whining about catucs` not existing in the middle east.

That very dodgy ground indicates a strong influence of winds to move sands around in dunes. In this case it is impossible for a palm to stand in such an environment. Palms are found in oasises only, and/or on solid ground. Never on sand.

The appearence of cliffs and buildings neaby protects it from the wind.

That type of canopy always supports a candle or a brasero. It has no other use in ancient architecture. Eventually for a shelf, or supporting a statue, but in this case it would be much closer to the ground.

Yeah, I should add something above it.

You only find these types of roofs in mountain environments where the winters are cold and icy.

I live in Denmark and all roofs are bent here. The highest mountain in my country is 250 meters and there might be a bit of snow in winters
Bent roofs are primary used to prevent the rain from going in the houses here. Rooms beneath flat roofs are really hard to keep dry. My dad is a carpenter

But in sunny and warm (tropical and equatorial) environments, all roofs are FLAT. Always. They also often support a platform where people can stand on evenings when the sun is not high in the sky.

Flat roofs look very boring and dont block VIS as much. Many people complained about it needed more roofs during the first versions.

Who transported this pile of grass here ? The farmer who did this must be very stupid: it's on an exterior platform very exposed to wind ; he can be sure that by tomorrow nothing will remain of his nice pile
In farms these sort of piles are stocked either against a wall, or better in a corner, and almost always indoors. When it is stocked outdoors, it is for drying the grass (hence not suitable for feeding animals) in the middle of a yard surrounded by walls so that the wind has little effect on the pile. But as is, it's unrealistic.

I thought of making some kind of fence around it, but r_speeds are already high enough in this area.

An advice to mappers: never put trees that close to walls.

Thanks for the advice, but that tree is staying there. I cant rip out all my details

Same remark about the roof as before: if this map takes place in a warm (tropical or equatorial) environment, roofs CANNOT be bent but flat. Simple.

Flat roofs look very boring and n00bish. They are used to identify n00b mappers and early versions of maps

I circled in second the texture that is on top of the entrance. What sort of texture is this ? It looks like ceramic. Why put ceramic here ?

Yeah, thoose people there are quite wierd Honestly, I have no idea besides they wanted it to look nice.

First, the pillars are not wide enough.

They are the width of the woodbeams, they look most natural.

Then, the wooden beams just cannot be standing on top of the pillars but have to be carved inside.

Fear the r_speeds.

What's the purpose of these structures in triangle on the left ? The only thing I could see would be if it was for a temple, and where they would have a spiritual meaning.

Simple detail, nothing besides that. It prevents the wall from looking cut-off, as >BKA< T Wrecks warned me off.

Also, there is a lack of space at the top of the tower between the window and the roof. Yet another note about these roofs: if you REALLY want to make bent roofs, don't forget their purpose: it is to evacuate rain. Hence these roofs must ALWAYS overlap the wall a bit (so that the rain cannot flow against the wall and make it dirty).

R_speeds

A texture problem here ? My apologies if not

I actually dont think there is, I will check it out though.

Thanks for the comments!