Well just like the title says.

Despite I only play strand only really, I do like to play a dark rainy, muddy, thundery map ;)
So I like to have lots of muddy terrain and dark sky and lots of rain, and try to work on some most realistic wet textures/skins.

I am working on some realistic rain/water that moves over a texture sorta speak.

For sample screenshots (call of duty 3) go here:
http://www.minatica.be/showthread.php?t=35642

I do think this is interresting and challenging for map makers and texture artists.

So let me know if you like to work on this.

Is it gonna be a alpha'd decal style or are you actually reanimating the base textures?

Is it gonna be a alpha'd decal style or are you actually reanimating the base textures?
Animated normalmaps, so just adding shader code.

For this map style I want to focus on a new way of making shaders/textures/skins.
You can achieve lots of realistic effects by refracting, animated normalmaps etc. and it hasn't really been done.

Like I said, I only play dod_strand map now for a long time and therefore I would even use customized skin especially for this map cause I only play this.
And don't bother seeing those skins in other (style) maps cause I don't play them.
And this idea of making special skins for this map might be a good idea, so I can make the clothes look wet, and even the face and weapons.

I also got some ideas on the feel that you really being in a rainy/wet environment by using custom player sounds.
But I'll try to explain more about this later on.

It all looks/sounds good on paper, but I'm betting it'll kill even the heartiest of machines. I'm not trying to discourage you, because I'd actually like to see what you come up with. It just doesn't sound practical.

EDIT:
If you got ideas for a location (beach/town, etc), ambient, custom models or whatever for this map, post it here.

It all looks/sounds good on paper, but I'm betting it'll kill even the heartiest of machines. I'm not trying to discourage you, because I'd actually like to see what you come up with. It just doesn't sound practical.
Let me tell you something.
This might be partially true, but imagine a world without people who tried doing/making the "impossible", they might not succeed in it but did get some more knowledge and other ideas that came from trial and error.

If I'd tell you that I was going to make a glove like I made by showing a photo of it and it would look just like it would in reallife, then you might tell me that it just wouldn't work cause we didn't knew much about phong and because it's so obviously a hand model and would see it on the glove in the end.

But that is not true.
Because I make what I have in mind without having the skills, I just tried and because of that willpower I learned modeling/animating/skinning/ etc. etc., by myself.

If I'd only make things I knew I could make I would be stuck at how to change a config file for a game.

And for this project some things might _look_ impossible, but there are a lots of possibilities of this engine.
It might not look 100% like you have in mind but we will get close, and I don't see a reason why map makers wouldn't have this challenge.

The only thing that might be an issue is the water/rain effect on some textures.
Using the shader on existing maps just doesn't look right, cause the way some textures are tiled, and with a new map in mind you can keep in mind not to do that.

It depends on the map but not all should have wet surfaces of effect of water.

In real life you don't see all surfaces reflect or have water running down from it.

So don't let this hold you back from making such map.
It would even look good without.

And for the rest if it's realistic to make, yes.
A dark map, that can be done, with "ease".
Adding rain/thunder ambient, that can be done.

If you'd use just those 2 factors you get the feel of a dark, rainy map.

So it's not as hard as you might think ;)

Oh no, I'm not saying it's not possible, I'm saying the performance hits might not be worth all the eye candy.

most dark maps have low light source and the environment and models look flat and dark. i think with more light source and more intense lighting in areas will improve the usual dark/thunder storm maps.

Oh no, I'm not saying it's not possible, I'm saying the performance hits might not be worth all the eye candy.
Which eye candy?
I think your're wrong there.
Dark lighting, other ambient sounds, and some normalmapping or refracting doesn't give that of a performance hit.

And I am sure that there are pc's which can handle this map with "ease".
Well ofcourse if you have a low end pc which can hardly run the default maps, but that should not be a realistic reason not to make this map.

This is something that I have wanted to do since DoD:S came out. I am still learning Hammer and have a couple of projects that I am working on.

I would like to re-create the original Donner in 1.3 because that is what this game is missing. Gloom and Doom. I will do something like this eventually.

This is something that I have wanted to do since DoD:S came out. I am still learning Hammer and have a couple of projects that I am working on.

I would like to re-create the original Donner in 1.3 because that is what this game is missing. Gloom and Doom. I will do something like this eventually.

Sorry to burst your bubble, but hasn't this been done? (dod_thunder)

Sorry to burst your bubble, but hasn't this been done? (dod_thunder)Um, no...Does that thunder look anything like the Donner from 1.3?

Correct me if I am mistaken, but the skybox is still sunny, there is absolutely no rain, and they half-assed made some routes "similar" to the original.

Have you actually played that version?

Um, no...Does that thunder look anything like the Donner from 1.3?

Correct me if I am mistaken, but the skybox is still sunny, there is absolutely no rain, and they half-assed made some routes "similar" to the original.

Have you actually played that version?

I've played Thunder, but not the original 1.3 version (cause I dont have 1.3), but I heard it was very similar. Also, the skybox on the thunder I played didnt seem to be sunny, and the map was fairly darker than donner, but yeah, there was no rain.

I've played Thunder, but not the original 1.3 version (cause I dont have 1.3), but I heard it was very similar. Also, the skybox on the thunder I played didnt seem to be sunny, and the map was fairly darker than donner, but yeah, there was no rain.I'll see if I can pull some screenshots or a demo or something of the 1.3 donner. That Thunder remake is a joke really, IMO. They didn't capture exactly what they were trying to achieve really.

The skybox IS darker, but it's still not gloomy and doomy what I think that Berserker and myself are talking about. I just formatted so I will DL thunder and run around again to refresh my memory, in case I need to eat my foot. :p

Okay, don't read into this too much beserker. I love the stuff that you try, and the fact that you try it.

So far there has been no successful attempt to create a realistic rain. The "laser" rain didn't look good at all. And I honestly didn't even realize there was rain in that thunder remake, so obviously that's not the answer either.

I wasn't to thrilled with the normal-map water splashes from bullets - primarily because that would be GREAT for object falling in the water, but bullets hit violently and cause white fountains. Look is totally different.

However you idea *might* be workable for rain. The only way you're going to get a jury on it is to create a small test map so everyone can look at it in real-time. Screenshots won't do. Also, don't fall in love with an idea too much. Sprites may actually still be the answer, just done better than they have been in the past. Bottom line is whatever works best should be used. Right now we don't have anything that even comes close to "working". I encourage to really test this idea out and post a test map

I'm sure that we can have that test map figured out. I have something that would be perfect for a test. I just need to convert it to DoD:S.

Thanks for the support for those who gave it.
I did made a quick rough test on the aztec map from ccs.
Ill try to get that video uploaded.

EDIT:
Some videocaps of a quick rain "texture" test:
Clip 1 (http://files.filefront.com/raintest1aavi/;7545232;;/fileinfo.html)
Clip 2 (http://files.filefront.com/raintest1bavi/;7545234;/fileinfo.html)
Clip 3 (http://files.filefront.com/raintest1cavi/;7545244;;/fileinfo.html)
Clip 4 (http://files.filefront.com/raintest1davi/;7545252;/fileinfo.html)
Clip 5 (http://files.filefront.com/raintest1eavi/;7545263;/fileinfo.html)

To be honest, it's hard to see the texture, but.....in general I could tell what you were trying to do with it.

Only problem is with it is, that's a crap load of water. It would have to be the storm of the century for something like that. And....that would look decent on say....windows....instead of stone. Stone doesn't show water lines like that when it's wet.

If you did that for like say cs_office_07 (Badass map), and do it on the glass texture, that would be frickin sweet.

To be honest, it's hard to see the texture, but.....in general I could tell what you were trying to do with it.

Only problem is with it is, that's a crap load of water. It would have to be the storm of the century for something like that. And....that would look decent on say....windows....instead of stone. Stone doesn't show water lines like that when it's wet.

If you did that for like say cs_office_07 (Badass map), and do it on the glass texture, that would be frickin sweet.
For what you see on the video's, you are right.
But you don't just make a animated normalmap, and with the program I use to make it (which I tried for like 10 mins) I did a quick animation, just to "learn" the procedure to get the "rain texture" effect.

So, it was just a test and does not represents my view on how I want it to be.

Okay now I get it - the texture is for water running down walls.

Honestly, when I first saw the movies all I could think is how awesome this particular texture would look on windows from inside a building looking out (on a rain map)

You're really on to something here. It's an awesome idea.

One thing I noticed though, is that, once you find the best solution for creating this effect, you're going to end up having t a few of the same textures. I say this because, if you truly want a realistic effect you're going to have to determine how fast rain will slide at a particular area.

For example: A bare glass window would have water sliding down pretty quick in the rain. But a window underneath a small roof edge will still have rain sliding down, but at a slower pace, since it catches less water. Get what I'm saying.

Well, I may be getting ahead of myself, but this map could put even the best of rigs to their limits. This fact shouldn't stop you, though, from trying.

Okay now I get it - the texture is for water running down walls.

Honestly, when I first saw the movies all I could think is how awesome this particular texture would look on windows from inside a building looking out (on a rain map)

You are right and that is possible, I havn't thought of this and it is a good idea to keep in mind.

You're really on to something here. It's an awesome idea.

One thing I noticed though, is that, once you find the best solution for creating this effect, you're going to end up having t a few of the same textures. I say this because, if you truly want a realistic effect you're going to have to determine how fast rain will slide at a particular area.

For example: A bare glass window would have water sliding down pretty quick in the rain. But a window underneath a small roof edge will still have rain sliding down, but at a slower pace, since it catches less water. Get what I'm saying.

Well, I may be getting ahead of myself, but this map could put even the best of rigs to their limits. This fact shouldn't stop you, though, from trying.

I know about the fact that it will be seen on the same texture everywhere in the map.
This is something I have to look into together with the mapmaker.

And about the way how fast rain goes down a surface, well that
s not possible, I mean you can only have one "speed" for one texture polygon.

And I have studied this effect on gears of war and "pirates of the carribean: at worlds end", which has amazing rain effects.
But what I expected was true, the ground surface had "splashing" rain impact "animation" but that shader was also used on the walls and from not to close distance it looks just like water is coming down from it, but when you look closely you can see the drop impacts just like on the ground, and that is not possible in real life cause it doesn't rain horizontally if you know what i mean.
So that texture was used on most surfaces, floor, ground, rocks, etc.

This doesn't mean I give up on this and dont't got hope.
If you play "pirates of the carribean: at worlds end" then you don't even notice it, but because I was studying the effect I got a closer look and noticed it.
So even professionals "cheat" ;)

There are some things a game developer comes across that can't be done like it was originally planned so you have to "cheat".
And beleve me it happens a lot.

But thanks for your support, I appreciate it.

And about the way how fast rain goes down a surface, well that
s not possible, I mean you can only have one "speed" for one texture polygon.You mis-read him. He meant you'd have to make multiple textures at different speeds.

You mis-read him. He meant you'd have to make multiple textures at different speeds.
Ah ok.
I think that can be done.