It's something that just occurred to me to be honest. It's totally cool if you want to forgo detail, props and aesthetic density in favor of a simple and clean look. My personal Forging style is very macro and based around geometric shapes and color moreso than detail. But lighting and color grading is still important for a finalized product. You can play a completely black and white map with absolutely no detail on it and still find your way around if it's properly lit and shaded.
Yeah idk how to do that That's why I go for clean and simple, it would be a waste of my time to attempt art.
Yo, Check out Academy! I just completed the map and uploaded it. Having some camera issues but they'll be fixed. This thread is damn old but whatever. Check it out!
This. Even if you don't go for detailed aesthetics, you can still create an important aesthetic. Like an atmosphere.
After multiple playtests I am happy with how it is playing, but it could be better. I notice grenade launcher area is a little too segmented from the middle of the map. I wanted this though for players who come out of blue receiver being at the highest point of the map. You either win your fight at top blue receiver, or drop off to bottom nade launcher and cycle back. You can also traverse through shotgun if careful when falling. You can also drop towards the middle of the map which is the worst idea because players will have the advantage 9 times out of 10. I also noticed a lack of incentive to use green sender the more games I play. Green sender takes you directly above to get sightlines you cant see when in the slit window. Green receiver is very exposed as well because of how much power you have at green sender. You can watch camo without dealing with pressure from high points on the map. You have multiple options at green sender area which is why its exit is shut down from high blue and top BR. I think there is also lack of incentive because even when you go through green it seems like you cant maintain map control. For example if there is a player top BR and you go through sender and they run you cant get a sightline or cut them off unless you make the jump to high blue which even then it is hard to coordinate with your teammate to pinch that guy. HOWEVER, i think i have a solution that solves all my problems. Adding this area above BR allows players that go through green sender to jump and watch BR and nade launcher effectivwely. It is a way to give incentive to use green sender and it also gives more interaction to nade launcher and top BR. Players will be able to see people going through orange sender (which was always a mystery) and act accordingly since they are in point of map control. Going through green sender is the only really counter to the postion since you have the sightline (ABOVE^) and players have to drop off to nade launcher or BR if weak, which means that player takes over that power position and make things more aggressive which I like, and still keeps players dropping throughout the match and cycling which was my goal the whole time. More screenshots of new area. I think this area will help a lot and give more interesting pistol battles
You don't know how to change the color and texture of walls and put point lights in different areas? Box pls
It doesnt look right to me when I do it GET ON GOAT, i wanna know your thoughts on this change as you're one of the few to play the map
I actually drew up a layout completely before forging it! If anyone has played Assassin's Creed: Revelations, you'll recognize this concept art. Gonna try to base the aesthetic off of this underground city you play through in the game.
Ok but all I care for is pure gameplay. I appreciate good art, but it is time consuming and it isnt a strength of mine. Its just not worth it to me, especially with how bad framerate has gotten. I just like a clean simple look. Good nade predictability, not getting caught on clutter. Also not having to worry about if geometry will fit a theme. I just mold **** together. I will experiment with point lights and textures but I could care less about anything past that.
Having different textures for floors, walls and ceilings will go a long way with making it more interesting to look at. I imagine this can be pretty annoying though if you use the same block for a section of wall and floor or whatever.
Look at what goes into the development of a map: A team designs a map Another team models the map Another team tests the map Another team arts the map Another team lights the map Another team markets the map That's 6 different teams and at least two dozen people working on one map...for 6 months. Some of you laugh at the Forgers who spend months on one map, but when you're donig 24 people's jobs by yourself and you ain't even getting paid to do it, it's going to take much longer than that to produce a quality product. So I think there's nothing wrong with soliciting help from "other departments" to polish a product. I agree that framerate is kicking everyone's ass right now, and gameplay is the main focus for some. But art and design have always complimented each other, and ignoring one is going to lead to orientation and depth perception problems that will impact gameplay. This is why the whole cult following of Halo 3 Forgers perplexes me. They were literally working with one skillset back then, and Forge has since been in games that are much more difficult to design for.
This is EXACTLY how I feel too lately. Usually once people have a blockout they have to start making geometry changes to build a theme and then start adding all the clutter like pipes, plants, etc. Fortunately your 'blockout' already has a geometrical theme going that i think you'll be able to stick to without adding the clutter. Somewhat like overdoziz is saying, if you can find a way to incorporate a couple textures and a few different colors throughout the map + goats lighting theory in a way that compliments the windows and playspaces then you'll find something that will be more than adequate for people playing your map. In the end if you cant sell an aesthetic to yourself then forget what other people want. I personally never move on until i say to myself, "yeah this is ****ing dope." Its perfectly reasonable to look for help and work on a map for an extended amount of time especially if youre stoked about the layout.
Between Art and Design I don't think Halo 3 Forgers were doing much with the former. But I'd be curious to see what was considered an artistic map back then.