Messages

1

New Maps / Re: jump_eons

« on: June 22, 2013, 07:12:53 AM »

i like it

1 thing to notice, if you stand between the doors at the end - when they close, you're trapped... not the best thing to happen xD


keep it up, happy mapping, laters

2

Mapping Tutorials / Re: Leaks and Fullbright

« on: June 16, 2013, 08:43:15 PM »

Naaaah, you didnt do anything to your lights, and using too many skybox textures doesnt do jack squat do rad size, since its still just a box, thats placed behind every skybox texture - so no matter how many you use, you still only need 1 box to render all of em.

Drexen put it to the point, 1.6gigs are too much data for rad to handle, because of the 32bit system architecture it runs on, that limits it to something close to 1.5 gigs of max data, before it just stops doing stuff - or crashes.

Just listen to his advice, and your problem should be fixed.



happy mapping, laters :3

3

Mapping Tutorials / Re: Leaks and Fullbright

« on: June 15, 2013, 02:52:19 AM »

ok, 2 options here:

first: you didn't send us the full compile log

second: i found a part of your problem...

read the compile log, and found it ending like this:



Loading c:\users\fts\desktop\jump_torii.bsp
Setting up ray-trace acceleration structure... Done (0.41 seconds)
5770 faces
30135516 square feet [4339514368.00 square inches]
0 Displacements
0 Square Feet [0.00 Square Inches]
5770 patches before subdivision
343388 patches after subdivision
sun extent from map=0.000000
16 direct lights
BuildFacelights:     0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10 (19)
BuildVisLeafs:       0...1...2...3...4...
** Executing...
** Command: Copy File
** Parameters: "C:\Users\fts\Desktop\jump_torii.bsp" "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Team Fortress 2\tf\maps\jump_torii.bsp"



to put it bluntly:
it starts compiling rad *Setting up ray-trace acceleration structure... Done (0.41 seconds)*
builds face lights
and just abruptly stops on VisLeafs...

find out why it stops the compile there, and you have found the problem. . .

small explanations:
what are vis leafs? Vis leafs are boxes without anything to break line of sight on your map. those boxes together make up the visual base structure of your map, and enable *vis* on the second compile step to compile visibility in your map. So basically from which room you can look into which other room. So when ingame, it can use those informations to draw only the things you can actually see, so you don't have to render the whole map all the time.

rad (lighting calculation) also uses those informations, to see which lights reach what solids, so lights don't shine through walls and stuff (id guess in reality its a bit more complicated, but as far as i know, thats pretty much what that step does)


so, what can lead to our compile suddenly stopping there?
a lot of things can lead to that:
a) your processor is overheating (had that happen before... compiles stopped at totally random times, and i had no clue why)
b) your light information is too large for rad to compile (check windows performance monitor if rad hits over 1.2 gig of memory usage, thats about when it gets critical without a workaround)
c) something about your vis leafs is weird / broken

C is the option i would place my bet on, since when you compile with a leak, vis is pretty much ignored, breaking water rendering on the way... and your lighting compiles with a leak.

Try setting vis to "fast", or to "no", and see what happens with that. Does the problem still persist? If it doesn't we just got a step closer to finding your problem, if it does... well, that at least rules out something xD



another option to go for would be a)... even if it sounds stupid at first, because:


305320 patches after subdivision
16 direct lights
0...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...100...1...2...3..


this is how the first log ended, in midst of some compile step, and it was a different one than the second step!


So mb your hardware stops the compile from working properly (as in not enough memory accessable, or cpu overheating, or something like that)



id go for one of those 2 things, but you really don't give us much to work with here xD


for the second option to be ruled out:
can you post your appropriate specs? as in cpu model, ammount of physical memory (ram + virtual memory), and cpu temperature when compiling?

4

Mapping Tutorials / Re: Jump map video tutorial

« on: June 15, 2013, 02:13:07 AM »

ok, first of all: FINALLY SOMEONE DID THIS...

i dont agree on a few of your techniques though:

first thing: when blocking out the basics of your map, pleeeeeeeaaaaase use a larger grid size... pretty pls?

has several pros:
1. its a lot easier to align blocks to each other
2. its easier to keep an overview, when everything aligns nicely and has a basic... size...
3. textures auto-align as long as grid size is a multiple of the scaled textures size

so to all you new mappers out there: USE A LARGER GRID SIZE.... its like painting a painting, you dont start zoomed in with a small brush, you get a large brush and outline basic shapes first, its the same when mapping.


second: i totally do not agree with the: 3 blocks, make hollow, carve - thingie...
making the outlining blocks yourself gives you far more control about optimization, as well as saving blocks.
you couldve just outlined the jump with 9-11 blocks and gotten the same result, with a much cleaner grid - and tbh... placing 11 blocks on a large grid size is probably about the same speed as placing 3 and carving them up on a small one, and you get to think about how you want the outlines to look, instead of just getting generic connected boxes...

also your compile time will thank you for keeping geometry clean - no not-on-grid vertices, overlapping faces and stuff... those things can make the compile go ham, if you have too many.

And last but not least: if you have to change your outlining geometry later, like for detailing purposes (for example to set texture lights into it *cough, cough, bad experiences, cough*), clean brushwork will speed that up tremendously, and make it a ton easier.

rest is pretty basic, but probably really useful for new mappers to have in video form, so thanks for making that, looking forward to your last room, and the finished work :3

keep it up, laters

5

New Maps / Re: Hide what's behind a Skybox Brush?

« on: June 15, 2013, 12:44:47 AM »

map your map, so you don't have stuff behind skyboxes... thats pretty much the only good and valid fix.

for the example pic you posted: dont put a flat skybox on top, make it a bit higher, model the outlines of the area you see into the skybox, and put the sky around it.

makes the map look a lot more convincing, too... as its a bit weird to walk through a door and suddenly see a room thats bigger, than it looked before entering...


gg, happy mapping :3

6

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: May 23, 2013, 03:10:34 PM »

its there for a bit of detailing - idk, i liked the way it looked... just like all the useless unaccessable rooms to the sides, like the ones that can be seen on the bridge of D7... i doubt its confusing even in the slightest little bit for people who dont know the versions where this was open... so i didnt take it out.


@nightin:
where is the WHAT?
go to a room that is open, like for example the D7 beginning, or the end of Purple, mb you'd like the open space at the end of oranges surf better? If you find that, look at the huge flying blocks in midst of the grey fog. if you don't see those, try glasses, new eyes, or turn off your fps config and enable rendering of 3d skyboxes




laters

7

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: May 14, 2013, 03:49:55 PM »

well, the glass thing is kinda okay, since i disagree with dx8, too

we are what? 3 generations farther by now? dx8 graphics adapters aren't being produced any more since what? 10 years? DX 9.0 was introduced in what? late 2k2 or something?
Dx8 is one of those: Chose this setting and be prepared for the game to look... very different - things.
In my whole gamer career i've heard 1 single person say: eeeh, i don't like tf2 with dx9, it's too shiney for me - EVER!

So yea, since DX8 is by now 10 Years out of business, and i really dont see a reason to put high quality shaders in it, AND: i have no idea how to fix that - i will leave it like that, and honestly don't bother.

If people really play DX8 for performance, then i guess they shouldn't be able to see the glass shaders anyway.

A see though grey texture would be better there, mb, but in the end it wont matter for them THAT much.


The trivial things with the ramps:
They are still red, because they look better in red. The human brain can produce nausea and similar things, when being set into a weird green lighting environment, so i tried not putting to many green blocks in a singular room, that you have to see over a longer period of time. Thats why green is the lowest contrast course, too.
So, for me the alternative to the red ramps, would've been white ramps, not green ones, and  then the whole room would've lost a lot of its feel.
Also, not EVERYTHING else is green, the Gate on the water one for example is still red, too, to set accents. Its all to keep the color balance up a bit. Every rule has to be broken, somewhen - the important thing is to know when.

The end of the map? there is an end?
Every course has an end, and i tried setting em into scene differently, so people would think: this looks nice, i can rest a bit here, and just look around in the room - to give this: i just accomplished something feeling.

I have no idea if this worked or not, but overall, that was the goal on the course ends (from the start, btw, blue end didn't really change a lot since i made the first draft of the map).

So yea... what else do you mean by the end of the map? The hidden secret thingie? That one is the reward in itself. If you are able to get there, you should easily be able to do it, and have a bit of fun with it - it's not super tryhard, and tbh i thought it would be enough to make people happy, with the little deathmatch area to shoot each other until the timer runs out.


So yea, have my thoughts at this....

Fact: it never even occured to me to check if the refract material rendered in dx8, thats how off this suggestion feels for me... yea...


Hmm... other than that, thanks for testing, i take it the packing of the textures worked, if you guys could play the map and not have pink checkered eye cancer everywhere.


I guess if the DX8 white glass is the only texture problem present, and i wont be fixing this, the map should be good to go live, time for them uploads :3

8

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: May 14, 2013, 03:50:19 AM »

okay, forget what i wrote earlier, here is the link:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ts48fwha221ehlf/jump_4starters.zip

no use in waiting, eh? ;P

sooo, before someone uploads this, can somebody download this and try it out, if the textures are all there, and stuff? don't want my final name to be something like: 4starters_fixed_causeimstupid or anything like that

if everything is there, you have my OK for whatever you'd like to do with it, because I AM FINISHED WITH IT :3
SO: get it on jumpit, jujumpit and chillout, so we finally have the same version on all the servers, and get timers done, i wanna see some records broken :3



thanks to everyone who helped on this, it literally took me forever, but i leaned soooooo much with this project

thanks to Drexen for always being there when i had a question
thanks to tophatwaffle for his amazing youtube tutorials
thanks to Huh and Quba for putting up with me through night after night, and to Stars RJ vids for introducing me to jumping back then
thanks to Raiin for being ... well... Raiin
thanks to everybody who tested (YES, I MEAN YOU!) and to everybody who put up with my mood changes (YES, YOU AGAIN!!!)
and thanks to everybody who likes the map, and to the entire jumping community - in the end this is for you guys, and seriously, the thought that there are people out there who in fact really like what i do kept me going



I don't know yet if or when ill start on the next map, i have a few ideas, but those are more design wise, and less interesting jump wise...
On this map the uninteresting jumps worked, as i started it as a beginner map, and basically collected stuff i liked on other maps under one roof - but if i start working again, i need a few great ideas, not just this basic stuff... so yea... don't know yet...


For now i'm out, laters <3

9

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: May 14, 2013, 02:34:29 AM »

NOTE TO SELF: I AM DOOOOOONE

holy hell, this took literally forever, last compiles were like... half an hour, and considering i ran into a weird lighting problem, that didn't occur when i compiled only parts of the map, i had to do several of em.

So, what happened this time:
I fixed the 3D skybox up, so you may see the outer parts in all their near intended glory now
I put A-F in front of the courses again, to help people out a bit
I exchanged the stupid looking old cs 1.0 like glass with a but-kicking new shader :3
I fixed some of the cheats that were mentioned before, that i deemed worthy
I put in the nobuild zones over the teleport_destinations, should prevent people from stucking there because of trolls, while at the same time not hindering engi-jumpers toooo much... i hope...

Last few things that i don't like about it:
I had only a limited brush amount for the 3D skybox... so it looks kinda crude and simple, but should still do here.
Further more there are some minor graphical glitches with the skyboxes, when you stand or noclip in weird positions (because they are in weird positions, i wont be fixing those).
I really liked 5/8ths suggestion of the lines on the ground, but again, i have literally 8 brushes left before the map stops compiling - i don't really have the ressources to do more than the decals, and even if i don't like it as much, they will probably do.


But i am gonna completely ignore those things right now, and just do my final compile, and hopefully be able to upload the new version on mediafire tomorrow, as right now packrat messed up royally, and i gotta recompile once again and really dont want to... fml...


So, anticipate my final release of this map to impact this forums like... tomorrow...
Won't be changing anything else after this, so if people want to make timers, YOU HAVE MY BLESSINGS

This version will be called jump_4starters
no _a42, no _rc3, nothing, just... 4starters... :3

What am i forgetting? OOOH, RIIIIGHT, THE BRIGHTNESS:
I AM NOT GONNA CHANGE THE BRIGHTNESS OF THIS, NO WAY!!!!
I got my monitor setup pretty perfectly, gamma wise, and some rooms are a bit too bright, like for example C2 (only in the unreleased version) or the start of E3 (the surf one), mb even D8 (the pogo down the platforms -> ramp slide), but i dont feel like its too much, so its staying this bright.
The rest of the map has pretty much the optimum brightness on my already darker-than-normal setup, so there is no way ill up the brightness levels, sry about that.
If you have trouble seeing stuff in this pretty much ALL WHITE MAP, then try setting your gamma curve up a notch.
Alternative sollution: DONT EVER EVER EVER PLAY THIS IN WINDOWED MODE, it makes the whole game darker by like 50% on most setups, and unless you know how to circumvent this, you shouldn't do it.

Thanks for reading, talk to you guys later, when i get the final compile done <3

10

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: April 22, 2013, 06:55:22 PM »

I have to mention D4 the Botton light is really too bright. you cant see where the Plattform is. my sugesstion would be changing the Position so that the Player doesnt have to directly see it.

hmmmm, figured something like that...
idk - it didn't bother me THAT much, but yea, its pretty annoying... i think i could just completely take it out, and try living from the upper one, and the ambience... i'll have to see about that...

but yea, sure, i'll change that if it bothers

ty for replying,
laters

11

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: April 21, 2013, 02:20:02 PM »

hmmmm, yea, most of those i wont have to fix, tbh...

D7 shouldnt matter, as there should still be the nogrenade there, so even if you can stand there, you shouldnt be able to cheat it, and even if you are, if you get that high, its highly probable that you wouldve gotten all the way up, there is a really small window of rocket timing, where that cheat is actually relevant.

the first on purple i will probably fix, that one might actually bother me a bit, as you can reload when you got there, but: to get there youll have to reach the light in 4 rockets again... so you probably couldve gone through directly, too... hmmmm... mb i wont fix it... no idea yet, ill see i guess...

on second purple should be nogrenade, too, no? also the light is about the same hight as the ledge is, so its probably as easy to reach as just doing the jump... with that... doesnt matter again...

White 3 shouldn't matter as well, tbh...

the one on orange i left in - i thought about putting a secret there, but thought, that having to get the edgebug/lucky bounce speedshot on the platforms was too random to be able to consistently get there. I left it because: if people get there, all they need to do is fall down, and it happens once every green moon, so whatever.

to last: that actually annoyed me when i first saw it, and i immediately clipped that - i really like that jumps design, and the fact you can cheat it is stupid...

ty for the comment

keep em coming, if you find em, laters

12

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: April 19, 2013, 12:09:19 PM »

A few more things to note with more screenshots.


- No teles under those pads after A11 and before the tele back to spawn, this probably doesn't even matter.
- The button on C8 no longer lights up when you shoot it, so there's no way of knowing whether it's on or off.

- This jump needs teleports possibly on the floor of the water similar to the one later on.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

- This jump is quite vague and way more open than it needs to be, teleporter zones are a bit far away.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

- This ledge is far too close making the jump more awkward than it should be.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

- A glass wall or a clip should/could be put here to block telesyncing or miracle pogo skips.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

- This door should have a teleporter like D11 does, and the clipping on the ledges in the rest of the jump are strange (Final jump on purple).

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Also there's a nasty issue with the lights on walls since almost all of them can be shot and stood on (the small ledges). I have more screenshots of that but don't want to cram tons of stuff into one post.

After all that crap here's a video of the purple bonus jump .
Purple Bonus

ooookay, lets just work this out from start to finish:

1st: A11 is intended, its kinda silly to have a teleporter after the course has officially ended
2nd: C8 was a byproduct of me removing all the light entities, i'll have this one fixed next version, i agree here, its kinda bogus not to see when you're able to jump and when not
3rd: (first picture) I could put a tele on the floor there, but that might have secondary effects (wink wink, nudge nudge), and i thought the fact that you could just float back to spawn, and start from the water was enough not to need one there - you lose like... 5 seconds or so, going back instead of sinking to the bottom
4th: you're not the first telling me this, and probably not the last, so here is my reasoning: The first thing you are pointed at, after porting the first time, is the back wall, with the huge glowing white square on it - that should make people think: hey, i should use that, its so in my face! Then comes the question of where to go? since you obviously have to double, and the walls swallow rockets, up is pretty much the only way. Once you are up there your attention should get to the orange platform, since its right in front of you - from there its only: aaaaaw, i fell - oh, i don't have to do everything anew? thats nice O_O... and figuring out a double speedshot is the way to go there, that is left.
5th: the ledge being too close can be fixed reeeaaaally easily - start farther back. Since this is purple, and the jump to get into the course is really awkwardly spaced on purpose, i expected people to not just: go to the ledge and complain when it feels weird... In case you already jump from the far back wall: congratulations, you jump about 2 times as far as i do, and might make the double catch without the middle platform.
6th: This one i really really really need to fix. This is 2 ways of cheating that i didn't think of earlier. I started fixing it already, by making the ground teleporter a lot higher, but i still haven't thought of the double on my own... kinda silly after making orange... derp...
7ths and last: Yup, i've had that problem, too - i experimented with it like... a ton... and the jump got a lot more awkward when i put the teleporter on the door, since it reacts immediately, while the door has move speed... i'd have to put in to a different activation time to work, i think... the clipping i wont change, its either this, or walking beneath it will feel weird, because of the way the bridge thing is designed.
The thing that really botheres me about this one is that you can cheat it by jumping from the bridge, firing the button, and just boosting on over the slope, and tbh... i have no idea how i could fix that - i'd probably have to make the jump longer, and put another skip in, so you can't possibly get to the door any other way, than with the speedshot... but putting another skip in will 100% feel awkward, since speedshots are inconsistent in their hight... mb a ramp to make it longer might help...
I also forgot to include a way back on this one... will have to write that down...


Okay, lots to think about, thanks everybody for replying... again...
Keep the problems and ideas coming, i'd like to potentially have everything ironed out in the next version, and make that the final one - no more gameplay changes incoming, besides fixing some jumps. It will only be the new skybox and the bugfixing before i remove the tag behind the mapname, don't have the ressources to keep working anyways... yea...

So, gg, keep jumping, laters :3

13

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: April 17, 2013, 01:57:26 PM »

oooh, those are interesting 5/8..

the line is from the decal, its not really clean - only way to make it vanish would be by stretching it across the whole wall...

D5 and D bonus should have ports there, something for me to notice for the next version


The "Exit" porters are ment for jumps where its close to impossible to backtrack, they take you to the start of the jump


I really like the idea with the colored lines, mb ill put that in, idk :3


Thanks to everyone for replying in this amount, i feel like i am generating traffic here ^_^



P.S.
has anyone found the supersecret hidden secret yet?

14

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: April 16, 2013, 05:28:09 PM »

first: thanks for testing

second: how would nobuild zones on every tele exit screw speedruns? i dont get that... at all O_O

15

New Maps / Re: Me Made a Map

« on: April 16, 2013, 04:34:28 PM »

okay, i am literally missing one thing, and that is the 3d skybox, but right now I DONT CARE (it doesn't change gameplay, so whatever)

for now i am done, and i need testers, so its finally time for Jump 4 Starters RC 1

Grim, i finally put it in - i have no idea if you still even think about jumping atm, but i made a promise to you, and i kept it, now you have to find it :3


To everyone else:

- I completely re-lit every course, and overhauled texturing a bit, so it will look.... lets call it different - better or worse is on you to decide - I like it this way

- I added 2 completely new courses

- I added a new secret, to unlock it, you have to find the hidden rooms with their switches, and visit them in pairs - shoot both switches at the same time, and a pink light will confirm your success - find all and a hidden path will open SOMEWHERE (and i hope you'll be able to enter it... couldn't check that on myself, but the setup should work out, so i'm not worried)

-I changed a few jumps up a bit, and made minor adjustments to others (like making D5 easier)

so, yea, without further hesitation, here comes the link:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/s6asew1wgfasyis/jump_4starters_rc1.zip

have fun with it and stuff :3
laters


Edit: to all the lethal zoners and other admins who noticed Trolling Potential - i haven't blocked the teleports yet, will do that in the next version, but i need to find out how many brushes i have at my disposal for that, mb i need to rework geometry first to not hit the limit, so to stop the trolls, you probably have to stop engi picks on this map for now, or wait for the next version