Photo Donations?

[killed]

Hey guys, I just found out about this mod tonight. Really excited about it, great idea, good engine choice, and the work so far looks incredible.

 

Anyway, some of you may recognize me from TTLG, since I recognize some of you. So I dunno if any of you know, but I do 3d modeling and level design. I know you don't need any more 3d modelers, (don't think I could compete with what's on the site anyway) but I made this HL2:DM map. I made a tiny map for Thievery (Country Abode) a while ago too and had another much larger, nicer, map coming, but got side tracked with college. It's too bad I don't know a thing about the Doom3 level editor or I would like to apply to help out with that.

 

Anyway, to get to the point of this thread, in my city (Portland) there are some old style gothic-ish looking churches that I've always noticed as having GREAT texture potential. I have access to this pretty nice digital camera that could take really high res photographs. If you guys want, I wouldn't mind waiting for a cloudy day (pretty much every day around here) and getting some photos to make into textures. Just from one specific church I have in mind, it has big stone walls with grout all between the stones (very old style, but suprisingly not worn out) beautiful windows and old oak doors, so it would fit perfect for this mod. I'm not that much of a photoshop master, but I had to ask, since I've been wanting to photograph these churches for a while.

Edited February 21, 2005 by killed

[sparhawk]

Concepts are always welcome, so if you can photograph them and put them up here that would be nice.

[oDDity]

Yes, that would be a great help. We're maing a catherdral type building, and good textures are not easy to attain.

Like I always say, nothing beats photo sourced textures.

(well alright, I don't always say that, it would be a foolish statement to include in the vast majority of conversations, but it seems appropriate here)

Thanks for the offer, every little helps)

[Renzatic]

Looking at your screenshots I think it'd be great if you could help us map, Radiant isn't vastly different from Hammer so you'd slide right into it.

 

But if you wanna take some texture shots, here's a good link to check out before you do...

 

http://66.70.170.53/Ryan/nrmphoto/nrmphoto.html

[Dram]

Hey Killed .

 

Man, I am modding for Thievery too as well as the Dark Mod (still have'nt finished my mod) and let me tell you, Country Abode is the map I use for testing purposes .

 

I friggin love it (small, quick loading, etc) - perfect for testing. I gotta say, I liked it's look. What do you think Renz?

 

--Dram

[New Horizon]

That would be awesome! Thanks for the offer.

[Guest Guest_killed]

Dram: Hah! I can't believe someone actually remembered that little map. Thing was with that map, I was just trying to learn how to make basic shapes, I didn't plan it out. So I wanted to make another map to show something more refined. I had this great castle going, set in winter time, with real time day and night and moving shadows (it was this cool little trick I figured out)...but I don't think that map is gonna come out any time soon. Maybe I can remake it for NightBlade some day.

 

Renzatic: Hey thanks for the link. I have a basic idea how to make textures, but that should help more. I don't think the multiple light source thing would work out too well on this particular time, but the rest looks informative. But probably what will end up happening is I'll just take a trip over there (whenever I can get some time) and fill up the memory stick with potential textures and see what your texture artist wants. That way I wont crop and fix a bunch of textures that don't have a use.

 

Also, about Radiant, not sure how fast I could learn it to be of any help since I'm getting a full time job here (quit college recently). I realize most of you are all having to this part time, so maybe I'll try and learn it and see what I can do. Thanks for the offer, and I'll get those photos as soon as I can!

[Fingernail]

It's weird. I was thinking about this recently, the similarities and differences between mod projects and real game projects by professional developers (that is people who get paid to make games). Not so much the difference in final product or quality, as method of working.

 

We're comprised of all part-time members who (most of whom) have work, school or college as a full-time profession.

 

In the process of making a commercial game, the company might go through three or more months of pre-production, where concept art is drawn, plots are drawn up, ideas formed and features locked and discussed by the designers. The type and goals of the game is set upon. It takes a long time.

 

When you consider that the Dark Mod has potentially as many assets to create as a commercial game that liscences the Doom 3 engine, you realise that we only spent perhaps a couple of weeks before work began. However, we had a pretty sure concept; we weren't creating something new.

 

Nevertheless, there have been lots of feature arguments, and we only locked down features just over a month ago. So whilst work was going on in all departments, core features of the game were in a state of 'almost decided', and still under discussion.

 

In some ways, this is a good thing, since it allowed us to be more dynamic than perhaps some game designs are; the game wasn't designed by any one designer, but rather contributed to by all through the medium of debate (Ok, argument in many cases :lol: ).

 

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say; just that perhaps having no set 'preproduction period' was an advantage, at least considering that we have no 'set' team who are salaried for the whole development process.

 

Time will tell

[sparhawk]

Also in commercial games often the games are not designed by "one designer' but all members of the team can contribute. Doing a free project is not SO different then doing a commercial one. The major differences are how you lead the team and what pressure you can excert on them and how. In a commercial team if somebody says I don't intend to do anything then he is fired. That has obviously no effect on a free member, so you must motivate and keep the members on track by other means. Of course if the members ar enot dedicated, at least the core memebers) then you can't do much about it.

[Fingernail]

Well, depends on the game. For instance, I expect that the actual team of a game like Medal of Honour or GTA have much say, even Half Life is probably pretty dictated to by the elite 'designers'.

 

Also I image Will Spector in that way, can't say exactly why...

[killed]

Just popping in to say I didn't forget. Normally I wouldn't post something like this and just disappear, but I'm in the middle of moving and don't have an internet connection where I'm staying. Pretty soon I'll be staying with someone else who has an internet connection and I'll get those photos to you guys.

 

I've been learning Doom3Edit when I have the time, it's actually not that different and pretty easy to use. Anyway, I'll post here again once I have the photos.

[Macsen]

Well alright, I don't always say that, it would be a foolish statement to include in the vast majority of conversations, but it seems appropriate here.

 

That's genius. :lol:

[Darkness_Falls]

you must motivate and keep the members on track by other means.

Fingernail - Would you be able to send us all chocolate chip cookies?? Or, if you're feeling really generous, maybe buy us all Lightwave or 3-D Studio Max. hehe, j/k

Edited March 11, 2005 by Darkness_Falls

[Fingernail]

How's PayPal?

[Darkness_Falls]

Hey, that would work very well for me; I'm not sure about the rest of the team, however. How do I sign up??

[John D.]

I recently uploaded an abandoned T2 work of mine at Flecha's site.

http://geocities.yahoo.com.br/flecha_das_sombras/

The level itself is small, but there are a couple of texture familes in there I created from images of Assyrian and Persian relief photos I found on the net. Crude but they might give you some more ideas.

[killed]

Just wanted to stop back by to say I'm usually not this flakey. I hate that I offered to do something and then just disappeared for so long, since I wouldn't expect that from someone else, and especially not myself. I'm kinda homeless at the moment and can only get on the net at my mom's house. But if I ever get some cash here I can take a ride up to Portland and get those photos since I really want to do it. Also, I would be very interested in joining the team doing smaller level design jobs (or larger ones) sometime in the future, if there is an opening and I prove good enough to join the team (standards look pretty high on this project). I would just have to get a place to live and the internet first so I can learn the engine better. Anyway, I WILL have those photos soon. I'm hoping I can pull some strings and get them this Friday. Ok, see ya guys.

[Renzatic]

Hey, no hurry. As long as you're able to deliver something good I'm willing to wait. Just get everything in order and come back when you're ready.

[Dram]

Yeah, good luck man

[NeonsStyle]

ok since you wanted concept stuff... here is a map concept I did for RTCW:

 

3 floor mansion plus roof, plus basement, plus dungeon access through secret areas, exited thru a well to surface, ballroom, utilities, church, crpty (both accessed secretly through tunnels (sewer)). Here are some pics of it... would love to see it turned into a thief level.

 

Pic 1

 

Pic 2

 

Pic 3

 

Pic

 

Hope you find something you can use or variation of.

 

One the main goals I had with this, was to make it free for the player to choose how he wanted to do it. Definitely didn't want it to be a maze run.

 

Venus

[Fingernail]

That would be seriously awesome to port to Darkmod - the .map files can't be THAT different for basic geometry.

[Dram]

err....actually Finger, I was whipped by Renz when my map had *too much* brushes (cos apparently patches are *so much better*).

 

He forced me to understand why. I see his point now too, I used to make arches from brushes (as i did in UT) but they looked too *fake*. Now that I use the patches in D3 they look *real*.

 

My point: Yeah, you could easily port it to D3 but you would have to re-do most of the map for it to look up to Renz's standard's. I still have that whip mark....

[Dram]

Oh, and very nice map btw

[BlackThief]

wow that map looks definitely pretty damn good and also the interior textures look very thiefy. are they from RtCW or are they custom ones?

[sparhawk]

That map looks pretty good. You want to join as a mapper?