"New year, new URE" - URE:E2 - E2M2 up!

[Zylinderkatze]

Apologies in advance..

 

Now that I am basically spending a lot of time during the day (when I would normally be working) mapping, there will likely be more "train of thoughts" kind of posts again. Like this one.

 

^{A little more "together": the exit of the tunnel and walking passage.}

 

The idea is that "normally" people would traverse this area by vehicle (or at least generally using the road) and come out through the tunnel.. but since the gate (between E2M3 and E2M4) was -and remains- closed, the player will have to use the walking passage (and emerge through that wooden door off to the right of that screenshot).

 

Regarding that door: I'm not sure whether it will stay that way.. it feels a little too "hellish" for the area (since it's supposedly more "city" than anything else).. I might make it a BIGDOORx instead but I'm still "feeling out" the whole area as I go.

[Zylinderkatze]

Times are a-changin'

 

I'm getting better at implying where things may be hidden ^^

 

^{One of these textures is not like the others}

 

^{Check your map sometimes!}

 

It's kind of a mean room that came to me last night.. though I think it was before I fell asleep ^^

 

No monsters in here yet though.

 

I am kind of vowing (to myself) to make monster encounters more (and more) fun / engaging. It's a slow process.

 

Because I'm a slow learner xD

Edited December 2, 2022 by Zylinderkatze

[Zylinderkatze]

I think I am almost done for today.

 

Not with editing / mapping.. but with posting. I feel like I'm flooding this thread.. I hope it's not bothering anyone >_<

 

So I just made this connecting room (it's the one leading up from the door on the left in this picture to the door on the right in the first picture of this post):

 

^{Too many different lamps..?}

 

I think I am overdoing the "blending". As in- adding nooks and crannies to create more fitting transitions between different textures.

 

I mean just check out the way the "BROWN96" in the upper left of the screenshot curves off into the wall only to then make way to the "step"-like edge of "COMP2" that runs along the ceiling to visually offset the ceiling's "TLITE6_5" (red lights on grey) and "CEIL5_2" (dark brown).

 

I mean I like the way it looks but I think I'll dial it back again because it feels a bit overdone to me.

 

Maybe this is a small preview of where a limit-removed map of mine would go xD

[Zylinderkatze]

Today was a break day!

 

And not because I broke stuff!

 

I tried "Satisfactory" for the first time and my "just a short session to check out how it plays" turned into about 5 hours ^^;

 

So I'm going to go to bed now to avoid messing up my sleep schedule thoroughly in an hour from now.

Edited November 29, 2022 by Zylinderkatze

[Zylinderkatze]

ZK sure likes his dark passages, huh

 

If you like them, too, you'll love this!

 

^{Kind of hard to see in this pic: another water channel! Yay? Sure.}

 

^{That's a view from the other side.}

 

And all this is (mainly) to show the player that there's a Yellow Key in this area. And to get a leg up on a later ambush, I guess.

 

So far, there's nothing rewarding here besides that. So I might have to put a weapon in here.

 

 

Speaking of weapons:

 

I made it kind of a pattern to "never" (with few exceptions) put more than one instance of a weapon in any one map.

 

I am kind of reconsidering that now. 

 

Some background info: Oftentimes I find myself organically coming up with more than one "after-weapon-pick-up"-encounter in a map that would be the most fun with one particular weapon (let's say Rocket Launcher, for example).. so why not put that weapon in both of those spots?

 

Currently I am- in a situation like that- either not putting all of those "scenes" (except one) in the map at all.. or I put a different weapon or other things in the other(s) just to avoid the duplicate.

 

Why would a place not have more than one Rocket Launcher lying around?

 

I must reflect upon this!

 

..while I keep on mapping E2M4 :D

[Zylinderkatze]

New secret name for E2M4 revealed!

 

This thing could really be called "one of these things is not like the others" by now..

 

^{And I'm not even making it less obvious as I go on}

 

What's wrong with me D:

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by Zylinderkatze

[Zylinderkatze]

This is why we can't have nice things!

 

So I was going to add this little bit of alternating ceiling lights for variety..

 

^{It's not even that many sectors  or different light- or height-levels.}

 

..but this time, the Visplane Explorer is the one who's a bit grumpy xD

 

^{Or maybe more than just a little grumpy.}

 

No ceiling lights, then.

[zokum]

1 hour ago, Zylinderkatze said:

This is why we can't have nice things!

 

So I was going to add this little bit of alternating ceiling lights for variety..

 

^{It's not even that many sectors  or different light- or height-levels.}

 

..but this time, the Visplane Explorer is the one who's a bit grumpy xD

 

^{Or maybe more than just a little grumpy.}

 

No ceiling lights, then.

You can achieve this effect IF you take the texture and edit in the light effect on it instead of doing it by sectors. The light might even look better since you can have a smoother gradient then. Your hall is narrow enough for a 64x62 texture to just not repeat itself, due to the small ledge. If the texture on the floor is an id texture, this would be a copyright problem, but if you make your own, this can be fixed.

Remember, it's not the amount of sectors, it is the amount of sub sectors that matter, and when you have angles that are more than 180 degrees (outer side of the light linedefs) you will get a lot of sub sectors.

[Zylinderkatze]

1 hour ago, zokum said:

it is the amount of sub sectors that matter

 

I really appreciate this kind of insight and information, a lot. This is not sarcasm- thank you so much for taking the time to.. (here I was going to say "enlighten" but that felt like a bad pun) ..offer a solution.

 

Sadly, making my own textures is (currently, with the mindset I am in) not an option for the "URE project" because I try to keep it "AVAP" (as vanilla as possible). The only texture I replace is the sky, by now more out of sentimentalism (or "for the concept", perhaps) than for an actual logical reason.

 

I am still curious what my next projects will be.. limit removing? Trying different engines? Diving into texture packs? All of the above?

 

Making light gradient FLATs is an awesome idea that I (being caught in my current box) wouldn't have thought of myself. I always do everything with sectors ^^;

 

So again, thanks!

[Zylinderkatze]

It happened again. I got carried away D:

 

It's almost 2am so here's just one last view of a small experiment I did in an outside area with some different structures and textures..

 

^{You might want to crank up the brightness..}

 

That "STONE2" will likely not stay there (though I am using it in a different part of the outside area).. but I thought I'd try a different approach at how it's held up and the way its "underside" (the ceiling) is handled.

 

I am almost certain this whole segment will be removed again but it's the last thing I looked at before going to bed so now you get to look at it too xD

 

Goodnight!

["JL" was too short]

On 11/28/2022 at 1:29 PM, Zylinderkatze said:

I think I am almost done for today.

 I feel like I'm flooding this thread.. I hope it's not bothering anyone >_<

This thread is basically here to give us as much URE porn as you can crank out.  If it was bothering anyone why would they be reading the thread in the first place?

[Zylinderkatze]

13 hours ago, jerrysheppy said:

This thread is basically here to give us as much URE porn as you can crank out.  If it was bothering anyone why would they be reading the thread in the first place?

 

Don't you DARE user logic on me!

 

It's super effective >_>

 

Okay I'll just keep posting then x3

[Bucket]

God forbid someone post regular updates for their Doom project on the primary hub for the Doom community.

[Zylinderkatze]

Pants = Fire

 

I'd be lying if I said that this console was all that I just made during my short(?) twitch stream

^{btw thanks for watching, @Omniarch :3}

 

^{Ooo.. shiny!}

 

..but it wouldn't be too far off the truth, either xD

 

I'm about to head out to a friend's birthday party event.. but I might upload the video later~

 

Bye for now!

[Zylinderkatze]

On 12/2/2022 at 6:18 PM, Zylinderkatze said:

later

 

Now is "later", right? It's on my channel now!

 

If you can call it a channel ^^;

 

https://www.twitch.tv/zylinderkatze

 

You might also be able to tell now why my maps take so long to get done.. and if you're really unlucky, you might even hear me talk through a crappy headset mic. So if you like to make yourself suffer through audio-visual means, feel free to check it out!

[Zylinderkatze]

34 minutes ago, Zylinderkatze said:

make yourself suffer

 

If I ever do end up choosing to add comment intentionally (this time it was basically an accident at first), I'll make sure to use a better mic. I listened to it and the second time I add comments is almost impossible to make out.

 

Optimistic outlook: It can only get better!

[Zylinderkatze]

And then it was 1:20am.

 

But I am not going to leave without a little (literally.. tiny) show and tell:

 

^{Hmm.. peculiar.}

 

I wanted a ceiling light that wasn't TLITE6_5 and thought "something blue!". But then I realized that this room was exactly 32 by 32 units off of the natural tiling of FLAT22.

 

However, instead of.. disgruntledly reverting to a texture that works better, I started a bit of detailing.

 

I think it looks kind of cool and I'll leave it in the map while I sleep on it.. but what do you think?

 

I mean- ultimately, it'll be my decision and this place is still very much in flux anyways..

 

But still I wanted to share this, since it's the only "show worthy" result of today.

 

Bye for now!

Edited December 5, 2022 by Zylinderkatze

["JL" was too short]

I like it.

[Zylinderkatze]

On 12/5/2022 at 7:12 AM, jerrysheppy said:

I like it.

 

Then you might like that someone else in there seems to not have liked the console in that room D:

 

^{And who's going to clean that up? Huh? Did you think about that?}

 

It's actually a trigger to open a secret room from which you get to open another secret room. 

 

Nothing exciting though. Just some fluff and a Blue Armor ^^

 

The actual reward might still change. Also, it has to do with a Baron of Hell (or two) and it's close quarters.. nobody likes fighing "BoH"es in close quarters >_<

 

So it might still all change, as always.

[Zylinderkatze]

Suspicious texture?

 

What suspicious texture?

 

In the name of love, please stop.

 

That texture on the wall is really only a little test of how to combine / blend stuff to make the upper part appear continuous and the lower part segmented off. 

 

I don't really like the way it "feels", though- also, because that part is not really a dangerous area (but rather an exit from a secret area).. so- as always- subject to change ^^;

 

This internal area is really coming together though.

[Zylinderkatze]

Mooooom! It changed again! D:

 

I think this version is something I can be satisfied with for now.

 

^{Seeing isn't having.}

 

Obviously, this isn't the side from which you get to it.

 

Also, this isn't the secret I mentioned before (the Blue Armor one).

 

So currently there's a whole 's worth of player buffing in this area..

 

I will have to do a bunch of test-playing here when it's done, to make sure there's ample punishment to balance out all those gifts :3

Edited December 7, 2022 by Zylinderkatze

[Zylinderkatze]

Time for bed~

 

Here's a last look at an "around the corner" continued structure.. or more precisely "edge of the map looking like buildings":

 

^{Too many different textures, though.. I think.}

 

I haven't even checked the Drawsegs yet.. it's probably near fatal by now, which is why I started closing this part of the map at all, in the first place.

 

So this is subject to change.

 

How surprising ^^;

[Zylinderkatze]

It's a mood.

 

So I might be doing a lot of stuff on twitch now (let's see how long that lasts xD) but I figured I'd also keep the update(s) coming on here, since this is basically my base camp :3

 

^{Dark AND bright? But how?}

 

It's not much but somehow I really like how the lighting came out in this one.

 

It's a two-parter.. the way that you're looknig into this building is the "regular" way of access. The computer screen on the left is one you can only get to if you find a secret access to it. Not really all that secret (and it doesn't do anything yet ^^;) but a good first step.

 

More later (today.. or much later)!

Edited December 7, 2022 by Zylinderkatze

[Zylinderkatze]

Everything the sun touches..

^{..is hot.}

 

Sadly, you'll never see the map from this position:

 

^{Even though it could almost pass for a.. passable angle.}

 

The reason is that.. well..

 

^{The camera position is right in the middle of that "hot mess".}

 

In a way I don't really want to know what I'd do without vanilla limits.. I might not know when / where to stop.

 

As it stands now, this is my logical hard limit. Engine says no.

 

 

Even some simple (high)light effects had to go:

 

 > 

^{I might as well remove the lamp itself, too, at this point.}

 

So this is it, the point at which I need to go back and see if I can simplify or push around some existing stuff in order to free up some resources.

 

Wish me luck ^^;

[Zylinderkatze]

CAPTAIN! We need to reduce the nodes!

 

The ship can't handle all these lines!

 

So.. I think this may be common knowledge.. or at least it's probably logical / sensical.. but I was today years old when I learned: That every additional vertex which creates more lines at different angles (i.e. "a curve") is another coal on the fire of Drawsegs heat¹

 

That's especially true when the map already has a bunch of them because -to put it in my own words- they affect each other. (see @Cacodemon187's reply for details)

 

On screen!

 

Okay.. so while looking for sensible ways to reduce the heat, I ran into this one bend in the road. Not figuratively.

 

Here's a comparison: Going from this..

 

 

..to this..

 

 

..already makes a ton of difference.

 

 

This is both good and also bad to see, because I really liked those curves ._.

 

At least now I had a "direct-cause-and-effect" moment realization and feel a little more confident about finding solutions!

 

___

^{1: I suspect that this also goes for vertexes / vertices that just further split a straight line but the verdict is still out on that.}

Edited December 7, 2022 by Zylinderkatze

[Zylinderkatze]

11 minutes ago, Zylinderkatze said:

the verdict is still out on that

 

Simple test, simple results!

 

So I just drew some lines..

 

^{(the square in the right half of the screenshot)}

 

..and just "split" them a whole buncha times..

 

^{Oh.. ouch.}

 

So.. yeah. Every vertex counts! :o

[Cacodemon187]

Segs is just what the engine calls linedefs. A drawseg overflow happens when there's too many linedefs on screen. Vertices split linedefs, multiplying the number of them on screen. The more you know!

[Zylinderkatze]

4 minutes ago, Cacodemon187 said:

Segs is just what the engine calls linedefs.

 

These are the 8 words I wish I had been more directly, acutely aware of, much earlier in my mapping journey xD

 

Just goes to show that using the correct words to describe a thing- or context- is paramount.

 

It makes almost too much sense, though. You should be ashamed! This is a no-sense zone.

 

 

No but seriously.. thank you!

[Cacodemon187]

You're welcome! I'll hand myself over to sense jail now.

[Gez]

More precisely, segs are mere segments. In a way, a seg is to a linedef what a subsector is to a sector.