MAP06: Digi-Ota (Remastered)

[Xaser]

Since things have been idle of late, I figure I'd share something that Cage and I have been working on:




The area in the last shot is incomplete (working on the buildings n' such), but it shows off Cage's street textures pretty nicely. So no, Hacx ain't dead.

[Paul]

Ouhh this is sooo nice... I especially like the bottom-left screenie with those nice city textures.

Sooo motivating

[Xaser]

Working on this one a bit more. New entranceway:



Front facade is very unfinished and the inside is incomplete in terms of lighting, but the general structure is there. You'll start facing the new building instead of in that tiny little alcove, thus giving a much-needed sense of place. Digi-Ota is supposed to be a megacorporation. May as well make it look like it.

[Xaser]

Finally got 'round to doing the lighting in a few sections. Some hopefully-decent shadowing work here:



Also, downtown Hong Kong is shaping up! Cage has seriously worked his arse off to put this all together. No signs yet, but they'll be showcased soon enough.

[Cage]

That's plenty of awesome.

Lil' suggestion though: the wide centered signs (like hksgn13a for example) should work sticked out of wall (either left or right) too!

I'll proceed with doing some vertical signs too, for variety.

[Xaser]

Thanks sir

The city's really starting to come to life now!



Also, a WIP of a WIP:

[Cage]

From ZDoom forums:

Looks awesome! The new textures in HacX 2.0 are really fantastic. I do have to say that street looks a little narrow though; I wouldn't want to drive on it

I'm seriously thinking about ravamping the streets, they may be too narrow, even for HK Not a problem for me - I'd need to make the wider lane and crossing textures, but it could mess out the map layout and leave you with a lot of work.

[Xaser]

If you want to make wider versions, feel free -- just note that the actual texture width needs to be a power-of-two so if you go with something like 384-wide (which seems like it might be good), you'll need to pad out the other 128 with ASPHALT or something.

I'm not sure if I'm up for changing the map, though. I suppose the streets are narrow realistically, but it seems just the right size for gameplay -- any larger and it'd be too much to run around in without feeling dwarfed by the architecture.

If you make them, I'd definitely consider using the newer ones for, say, D.C. though.

[Gez]

If the streets aren't widened, could the corners at least be rounded? Cars are not generally expected to make instant 90° turns.

Especially when the buildings' corners are already rounded; just not the sidewalk.

[Enjay]

I agree that the narrowness of the streets detracts from the illusion of reality - to the point that I think it would be noticeable when playing. They are just too narrow to be 2 lane streets. However, if they are the right size for gameplay, then the markings on the road could be changed to make them feel like single track lanes between the buildings rather than 2 lane streets. There are plenty of narrow streets like that in real cities.

If there are one or two places where the road can be widened to a more realistic width, such roads could be the main roads and the narrower ones could be the small service lanes or whatever.

[Xaser]

If it's that off-putting, transforming them into one-way streets would be a doable alternative -- and a really easy texture edit to make. That'd make it a bit more real feeling without having to widen anything.

If the streets aren't widened, could the corners at least be rounded? Cars are not generally expected to make instant 90° turns.

Especially when the buildings' corners are already rounded; just not the sidewalk.

Not all buildings are actually rounded like that -- just one or two. Still, I gave it a try and rounded corners actually look pretty good on the whole, so I went with 'em around the main roadways.

[NeuralStunner]

Personally I'd vote for wider streets. Currently the screenshots look less "big city" and more "back alleys of big city". More open space could also be beneficial from a strategic standpoint. Gives more room to dodge, but less cover. (The courtyard of Map01, for instance.) Also a nice change from the close-quarters feeling of building interiors.

These may just be silly preferences of mine, I don't know.

[Cage]

Oh, and I think HRISE will work for some of the hk buildings too - some general skyscrapers, with a bit less of the HK flair.

Uploading road variants to dropbox.

[Xaser]

Not bad at all -- the road variants work great:




Funny you mention using HRISE for buildings, because I've done that in the surrounding areas:


It really helps give the place a "congested industrial district" look, which is kinda what I'm shooting for.


Also, maximum signage:

[Enjay]

Very nice. Very nice indeed.