So, what are you working on right now?

[refl3ks]

47 minutes ago, JackFarmer said:

Very good looking and great atmosphere! 

Did you include customized ambient tracks?

I recommend you to define efx as soon as possible cause it will definitely add to the mood and can become quite tiresome when added once everything has been finished.

Thank you. The EFX is fairly set, the two videos will be re-uploaded as one. Video was rushed and I forgot I had ReShade enabled.

Edit: Yes some tracks are customized. Most tracks and sfx are custom.

37 minutes ago, Amadeus said:

Ha, this sounds like my workflow! But looking good though! Keep up the great work

Best workflow for someone that has a plethora of other interests I guess haha.

Edited August 27, 2021 by refl3ks

[peter_spy]

13 hours ago, refl3ks said:

The Unwelcome Guest - Work in Progress Vid

That bloom and fog reminds me of Deadly Shadows a bit, good old mapping times

[Goldwell]

15 hours ago, refl3ks said:

It's been quite a while since I last posted. My work-flow is a bit sporadic.

• Map for 2 months straight
• Burn out
• Take a break for 6 months to a year
• Repeat

Anyways, here is an updated video on some of my progress. I'm roughly 35% finished. I plan on pacing myself somewhat better this time around (I keep saying that and I keep on lying..).

Short updated progress video below:

The Unwelcome Guest - Work in Progress Vid

Older video:

The Unwelcome Guest - 2020

 

This is looking awesome! Getting some strong Life of The Party vibes from this!

[refl3ks]

5 hours ago, Goldwell said:

 

This is looking awesome! Getting some strong Life of The Party vibes from this!

Im glad you are! The map is a hybrid of 'Life of The Party' and the Thief 2 Alpha Demo 'Unexpected Guest'.

The Alpha Demo was my introduction to the Thief series. I was bummed out when Life of The Party changed some key areas I loved, especially the Bell Tower location.

[SeriousToni]

6 hours ago, refl3ks said:

Im glad you are! The map is a hybrid of 'Life of The Party' and the Thief 2 Alpha Demo 'Unexpected Guest'.

That was my first thought when looking at the Screenshots. Great work so far!!

[refl3ks]

Just a quick comparison screenshot. Currently working on the clock tower.

Note: Fps should be 144 +- once I visportal properly.
I'm running this on an Alienware i9 32gb w/2080, so mileage may vary..

 

Edited August 31, 2021 by refl3ks
typo

[AluminumHaste]

Don't wait to visportal, might be to late

[refl3ks]

5 minutes ago, AluminumHaste said:

Don't wait to visportal, might be to late

I visportal by sections considering the map has some interesting layouts. I'm making sure there are large chunks of brushes behind all complex facades. All my other areas that I've finished are all visportaled and I get an average of 120-150 fps.

Edited August 31, 2021 by refl3ks

[refl3ks]

These area's are not fully finished with optimization, but they are running quite fine with just basic visportaling for now.

I've also adjusted the architecture to help with optimization. That way the the engine is not drawing anything past certain heavy areas with high density.

Edited August 31, 2021 by refl3ks

[thebigh]

Still chugging along on my mansion level. It's so easy to get disheartened because what you're building looks like poo, but it all looks so much worse in DarkRadiant than it does in game. Even a stark, empty room looks not so awful in the actual game.

[AluminumHaste]

Keep at it, don't bite off more than you can chew though!!!!

90% of all mission authors give up after a short time because the project seems insurmountable. It's why the A-Z guide focuses on such a small little mission, it's complete-able in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[joebarnin]

My personal experience matches what @AluminumHaste said. Eight years ago I tried to make my first mission a large one, got frustrated and gave up. Three years ago I tried again, but this time started small. I finished it, and have done a couple more since, with another in the works.

[AluminumHaste]

Yes exactly, getting that first completion is huge, it let's you know basically if this is something you want to continue doing.

Then you can start tackling larger missions.

[thebigh]

I generally prefer small to medium missions anyway. Give me an hour-long mansion heist any day of the week. They're the missions I like to play, so they're the ones I'll make

[thebigh]

I think I can show off a little bit.

One of the hallways in the mansion I'm working on. The panel textures at the bottom of the walls need to be aligned and there's still another door to go in, but this has been looking awful in DarkRadiant for so long that I'm feeling pretty pleased at how it's turning out.

This level is (tentatively) called "A House Call", and is about breaking into the mansion of a famous but corrupt physician in search of the recipe to an antidote he's hoarding and selling for exorbitant prices.

Edited September 10, 2021 by thebigh
expand with more info

[AluminumHaste]

Looking good keep it up!
And don't forget, that gameplay and story trumps graphics almost every time.

[thebigh]

1 hour ago, AluminumHaste said:

Looking good keep it up!
And don't forget, that gameplay and story trumps graphics almost every time.

Thanks! True, story and gameplay are paramount but a decent map layout helps with both obviously.

[thebigh]

More bragging!

 

 

This is the entry hall to the mansion. I'm pretty pleased with how it's turned out so far. Even on my potato computer and with multiple light sources the frame rate is still acceptable.

Now I've just got to build the second storey and then I can populate the level with people, and get the objectives done. With luck I might have something beta testable in a month or so. Maybe I'll get that 2021 release done after all!

[OrbWeaver]

14 hours ago, thebigh said:

This is the entry hall to the mansion. I'm pretty pleased with how it's turned out so far. Even on my potato computer and with multiple light sources the frame rate is still acceptable.

That's a very good start.

One thing I would suggest paying attention to is the alignment between textures and brush edges. Having a thin sliver of bricks along the top of a wall or above a door is quite unrealistic, because walls are not generally built like that — the builders would need to cut loads of bricks to the right height to fit them in, which would be extremely time-consuming.

Instead, you could use the "fit texture" controls in the Surface Inspector to ensure that an exact number of brick rows is fitted to the wall height, which is how it is typically done in real life.

[thebigh]

Heh, yeah, that kind of texture alignment stops registering with me after too long staring at the same scene. Odds are I'll have to do a careful inspection of the whole level's textures at the end just to make sure there's no ugly seams.

[JackFarmer]

tHe bLAck MaGE

If my recollection is correct, Grayman posted a few shots of this WIP (from the outside) back in 2017 or 2018.

I've added one larger and two smaller new areas and decorated the remaining rooms similar to Grayman's style (that is, I tried to do so). Here a few shots from the rooms/areas in question:

 

 

 

 

It took me ca. four weeks to finish all of this. Since most of the other essential tasks (efx, ambient sound) had already been set up by Grayman, I can already start with gameplay/puzzles, readables and dialogues. 

His text briefing will be translated (without changes!) into a briefing video with voice actors. Based on this introduction, I have created a number of (mostly manic) additional characters, all of which will appear in dialogues or via phonograms in the game.

This mission will not be a sad bow to Grayman. On the contrary, building on his story abstract, the entire mission shall become a humorous experience, not too difficult to play, as everyone should have the opportunity to complete one of his last creations.

 I can only hope Grayman would have liked it.

 

[AluminumHaste]

Is this a mission that Grayman was making with you?

[JackFarmer]

20 hours ago, AluminumHaste said:

Is this a mission that Grayman was making with you?

This is one of two stand-alone WIPs Grayman could not complete anymore. He asked his son to donate both WIPs to our Abandoned WIPs thread. Bikerdude is working on the other one called "Seeking Lady Leicester".

 

[AluminumHaste]

Ah got it.

[Geep]

Stolen Heart Release Candidate 2 is now available, now with much less disk space, and a bit more to wonder about, like this door here...