I have noticed the releases have slowed especially from some of the really good custom mappers. Are they all waiting on the new content to come out?

Maps take time...and that's exactly what most of them are doing at the moment, working on them. join dod federation if you wanna get in on playtests.

Still working on mine - taking forever cos I suck and keep making mistakes, but we all live'n'learn.

Where the hell are you playing these days?

My latest map (dod_push) is 90% complete, coming soon. My unnamed snow forest map is on hold atm (waiting for a decent snow entity). So, possibly 2 maps within the next month from me.

:)

same here, dod_stammlager is a huge project...

i also have 2 on the go
1 is nearly ready and im waiting on stuff for the other
and take a look at progress there http://wickit.dod-federation.com

probably havn't been as many releases due to the fact that DOD:S has raised the bar much higher in terms of quality. I'm sure all the other old-school DOD players recall the days of 15 terrible custom maps being released a week, and not a one every being played on :P I've started mapping in source and i have a nearly releasable version of a map, but it's still months away because i have to add props, sounds, 3d skybox, etc... people expect to be immersed in a map now. Maos with great gameplay, but not so great visuals (dod_hobofire anyone?) are sadly a thing of the past.

My new map should be tested for gameplay this week. If gameplay is considered good as is, then I can go full speed on adding details, which shouldn't take long because a) it's easy and b) it's what I prefer :)

Got a map I'm working on (currently has no name). I'm not sure it will ever see the light of day with the commitments I have at the moment.

I'd actually prefer less maps and more time put into each. I don't like that I can count descent customs on one hand. I might even have some extra fingers.

After abandoning my first map attempt (after learning about vis and all that), I've been working on a new layout and trying to avoid going on detail frenzies. In less than a month I'll make a work-in-progess thread and have a playable version ready for doing a private beta.

Originally posted by nave
I'd actually prefer less maps and more time put into each. I don't like that I can count descent customs on one hand. I might even have some extra fingers.

After abandoning my first map attempt (after learning about vis and all that), I've been working on a new layout and trying to avoid going on detail frenzies. In less than a month I'll make a work-in-progess thread and have a playable version ready for doing a private beta.

good post^^
a while back there were wayyyy to many "first try"maps being released. If you take time and put alot of effort into your maps, they will be recognized and played on many servers. I can't even remeber how many 1.3 maps i played online that didn't have full VIS or were built inside one giant empty box. A good rule is "DO NOT RELEASE YOUR FIRST MAP!"

Wow I didn't expect that big of a response. Nice to know what furyo, wickit, and ultranew_b are up to. It sounds like we will be seeing your projects right along side the new content coming out.
I can't wait new maps from some good custom mappers.

Greebo I have been playing on iGO, and the sunlit servers because they play so many custom maps. I am enjoying FF servers more, and more, and am using the Panzershrek almost religously now. After my last round on the ville with no admins, and tons of voice spamming cursing little punks I had enough.

Maps take time...and that's exactly what most of them are doing at the moment

I too am working on a new map which I am hoping to playtest within a month. Im also working on the new version of dod_claviers which will be ready soon.

I'm still working on optimization for Harvest but I already have 2 maps on the backburner ready to go this summer... one of which is very... different. Mark my words on that one.

Originally posted by PyROZen
A good rule is "DO NOT RELEASE YOUR FIRST MAP!"

Well MadMilo and I are trying hard to break that rule with our first map ever ... dod_ludendorff. We have learned alot in the past half year. If we knew what we know now about VIS and optimization etc. we would never have started creating such a large open map.

We are current working on optimization and eye-candy. The next beta-release will properly be within the next couple of weeks.

Originally posted by THe hAXis
I have noticed the releases have slowed especially from some of the really good custom mappers. Are they all waiting on the new content to come out?

For me its part waiting for the objective code so I can finish my 2 maps and part cos ive been all over the world recently, I work in motorsport so I spend most of March - Sept away from home.

Bit of a shame ive not had much time to relax and map a little but I dont like leaving things unfinished and will complete the maps when the code is added.

dod_longbow is advancing. Probably have 80% of the raw stuff done. But definitly waiting to see what will be in the next DODS update (new game mode) before releasing anything. It will be a huge map with objectives. My other map is on the shelve for now.

My map dod_battlebridge is nearing completion and should be ready for release within the next couple of weeks just waiting for another stick of RAM as the map is that big Hammer has started to struggle a bit :D

You can see some screenshots of it at http://dirtyharry.dod-federation.com/

Originally posted by [SAS]==Dirty_Harry
My map dod_battlebridge

You can see some screenshots of it at http://dirtyharry.dod-federation.com/

I could be wrong but some of those buildings look like they are from dod_sora, with different textures (some not). I see you like the screenshot logo I made as well. (in the bottom right of your ss).

:)

Originally posted by ultranew_b
I could be wrong but some of those buildings look like they are from dod_sora, with different textures (some not). I see you like the screenshot logo I made as well. (in the bottom right of your ss).

:)



lol did you say buildings or bridge???

I've just been busy with school, lately. Mapping takes alot of energy out of me. I do have alot of projects on the table - but no time to really spend on them at the moment.

Originally posted by Hintzmann
Well MadMilo and I are trying hard to break that rule with our first map ever ... dod_ludendorff. We have learned alot in the past half year. If we knew what we know now about VIS and optimization etc. we would never have started creating such a large open map.

We are current working on optimization and eye-candy. The next beta-release will properly be within the next couple of weeks.

well, there are always exceptions to every rule :p i can recall the first maps i made for TFC lol, those things were VIS nightmares. Even if it is your first map, patience always pays off huge in the end.

Originally posted by ultranew_b
I could be wrong but some of those buildings look like they are from dod_sora, with different textures (some not). I see you like the screenshot logo I made as well. (in the bottom right of your ss).

:)

I could be wrong, but is it just common courtesy to give a shout out to all the mappers you have ripped stuff from, or is it just something nice mappers do?

Originally posted by THe hAXis
I could be wrong, but is it just common courtesy to give a shout out to all the mappers you have ripped stuff from, or is it just something nice mappers do?

?

This day and age you could find yourself in court for ripping off someone's electronic works whether it's art or programming.



ROLL
THE
DICE


--Ozz

I was not referring to the bridge at all (ozman said that). I was referring to some buildings, I can be specific if you want.

The screenshot logo is definetly ripped.

What's funny is, all you had to do is ask.

Ripping off custom mapper stuff is not cool, but what can be done? nothing so...it's just a courtesy thing really.


your welcome

Originally posted by ultranew_b
I was not referring to the bridge at all (ozman said that). I was referring to some buildings, I can be specific if you want.

The screenshot logo is definetly ripped.

What's funny is, all you had to do is ask.

Ripping off custom mapper stuff is not cool, but what can be done? nothing so...it's just a courtesy thing really.


your welcome

Thats kinda what I was asking new_b sorry if that one post was confusing, but I think it is proper for people to at least give a list of where they got their textures, and from who.

You can actually protect your bsp file by adding certain things in it. I did that for Dijon and it can't be decompiled with vmex.

Yes I noticed that when I tried to decompile it to look at the church. Not to steal it :-/ just to see how you arranged the light streams and how you build the brushes, I find it interesting. I was dissapointed not to be able to see :P

By the way, do you care on sharing exactly how you protected it?

quote taken from the vmex website:

http://www.geocities.com/cofrdrbob/faq.html

"Q. I'm a map author. How do I stop someone decompiling my map with VMEX?

A. There are several ways (in order of increasing security):
Add a property key "no_decomp" with value "1" to any entity. (You will need to turn off smart edit to do this).

Use a texture called "tools/locked" on any non-culled face in the map. (This is not a real texture, so you will have to make a custom one.) You may hide the texture in a sealed room, but it can't be on any culled face on the map (facing towards the void).

Use this small prefab: protector.zip. Add it anywhere in the map, but don't rotate or scale it. If you retexture it, make sure all faces and all brushes have the same texture. Don't use the texture "tools/toolsinvisible", but "tools/toolsnodraw" is fine.

If VMEX detects any or all of these present in a map, it will refuse to decompile it. Note that a sufficiently wiley user can fairly easily alter your .bsp file to remove the first two methods (and thus allow the map to be decompiled), but they would need extensive knowledge of the .bsp format to remove the third, so this is the most secure.

The third is both the most secure and the easiest (since Rof provides the prefab) and that's the one I used.

All my maps will have that.

Let me also add that I've always been supportive of the community. That's the reason I founded dod-federation with so many others, and we're all working towards providing custom mappers a bottom less pit of mapping knowledge on our site.

I can explain how I did things in tutorials, per request. But I won't give any chunk of any maps I made, just so it can be copied without learning how to make it.

Is a custom texture you made considered intellectual property?
Because legally you would think it is?

I guess Furyo made a good point about we rather help you out so you can build all you need then working with taking things from others. For example we started a zoo file back then to make some building public and they are hosted on dod-federation along with all models made public with the author name. Those are made to be used and usually just a mention in the read me file to mention it.

But the reality is that mapping for HL2 engine is not a game of puting lego block togheter. It's creating a 3d environement that come out from your mind.

If you can create a new map, can be creative and can optimise it it's become a part of you.

This is what ownership right are. Any artist that can make his creation come alive, created a piece of art.

Me also, I am more for helping one mapper, so he can make his own creation and enjoy it like all other mapper who trim hard to get more then decent map out there.

I guess many first time mapper tend to take shortcut. But we all learn and need to be able to all get along. The Valve wiki article say one thing that was along the line. If someone rip your map you must be darn good at it ;)

In all case, asking a mapper is the best way and if we colaborate more then we will just get more great map out there. I am building a map where not just my name will be on the board and colaboration make you learn faster.

We have a TeamSpeak server on dod-f where mapper can exchange and I use it with other mappers, we often walk each other maps together and we can exchange how we do things.

Yeah,

The quality of maps available is a huge bummer. Too many people work on releasing 2, 3 or 5 horrible maps. Some maps have interesting concepts, but its obvious little time is put into details or optimizing. The good maps are probably out there being worked on, not getting screenshots posted every time a new tree models put in. I know that working on my map gets it a lot closer to being done than posting screens of it.

You will probly notice that since dod went retail the community is less close nit and not many source servers even run custom maps

At least not like they useto back in the pre retail days