This is what i THINK the next standard of soldat maps should look like, with ambient lighting and sim-3D backgrounds. Done in polyworks, I hope that soon all maps will look as good as or hopefully, even better than this small shell. It's a work in progress and is still under heavy construction, it's also my first map, so please tell me what you honestly think.

OMG, teh sexiness:
[IMAGE]

actually, i decided this will be a map that can be for DM, CTF, TDM, PM, or RM. Inf is not really gonna work well with this map. :P

:O

How much of that is scenery?

it's pretty pretty

I love the 3D effects :D
I'm planning on writing some tutorials on how to achieve various effects using PolyWorks once I have some mapping experience :)

i always wanted dynamic alpha lighting effects...

likey likey, btw...

Wow. That looks amazing.

Wow, for your first map that looks very nice. You do plan on making the background a wee bit lighter, do you?

...holy crap...

..how the... I mean.. how.. just.. you.. I... him... *faints*

Really, how the hell is that even possible? And wouldn't it be unplayable for slower computers? That's amazing :O

This looks great, I'm really looking forward to seeing this map finished. It's good to know that the map won't have any random bouncy polygons since you're using PolyWorks, because on maps with level surfaces it would get really bad.
Really nice work on the sceneries. I suggest you check out Avarax's ctf_de_cbble if you run out of ideas with what to put in your map, he made some great looking features in the indoor areas.

Realy Nice Light effects.
BUt whats about fps ?

I did something similar when I was making a map for my Quake mod. I've never finished it, though. It looks great but the maps with big scenery backrounds are often distracting and unplayable. And PITA to download.

I avoided making 1 single huge scenerey, so I split it up nto chunks. Either way, these large sceneries don't cause much lag at all, like in ctf_chernobyl. MOstly, everything that you'd think logically can't be a polygon is a scenery. The backgrounds are actually made in polyworks with polygons. Then, I took a screenshot of it and turned them into scneries with paint.

Ctf_de_cbble did give me the idea of creating lighting like that, but i felt I could improve on the concept.:)

And, thanks for all the comments. I'll probabaly update this screen as often as I get something major completed.

i tried lighting once, didn't work. my comp crashed from a graphics card overload.

OFF TOPIC: is my sig illegal?

I can't wait to rape my RAM with that map :D

image is broken

off-topic: yes your sig is illegal. nobody would mind if it wasnt for the fact that your sig is longer than most of your posts

now image is OK :D

OT: Besides, you could fit the text in 300x125 GIF image and it would become legal. Learn to abuse stupid sig rules.

I know this map is awesome, but in some way i dont like they way it would fit Soldat...It's just a feeling but i personally dont lke the map beeing better then the GFX of Soldat...*cough* Explosion *cough...Anyway, very nice, looks like a screenshot of that awesome 3D games they make nowadays-...

It looks awesome. The architecture reminds me of a Roman style church. I prefer the name monastery, it already looks too big to be a chapel :P

I hope you plan on including some terrain outside of the building, although it could be difficult to make it look natural with a brick-like texture. Probably it could be done by stretching or compressing the texture.

unbelievable awesome! I hope it won't lag too much..

monastery, definitely. i've seen a couple chapel maps before.

You are quite right, actually. In future releases, all existing maps will have been upgraded to look as good as these.

WOW! Cool map!

Ummm..

if you want to make cool illumination effects, you can also use gimp!

Get your background picture all ready without lights... then in GIMP go to Filters>lighting Effects>Lighting effects..

place the little blue dot where you want tthe light... then tweak the settings, and OK... Repeat :)

Soon, I am going to make a map background in Blender, with nice HDRI lighting... I will use the same lighting on the Props i make also 8)

anyways, cool maps ... I gotta get back to work now 8)

what can i say, nice scenerz, what program did u use to create them?

BUT i think this shouldnt be soldat mapping future, soldat maps HAVE to be wild, not like this church with almost no slopes, my cs map dont match the style soldat maps should be like too, but they are for Realistic survival mode only. i think the style of original soldat maps is best, it's just familiar. chakapoko maker and MM do the best job at that in my oppinion.

Yes, this map is designed for RS in mind, with no more that 10 players total. I was mildly inspired by Avarax (ziggy boogie doo) with his CS-maps, since it reminded me of how cool the lighting in the source engine was. I wanted to bea able to tranfer that kind of realism to soldat.

The lighting effects ARE made in gimp, and are actually overlapping everything else in the game, so players and objects will be affected by light.

Poop, I realy hope that would happen ,I'm looking forward to mapping a lot more now that I have competent tools to work with. :P

1. This ain't mapmaker suggestions forum
2. Read the Map Maker Manual
3. Search Polyworks (and wait it's next release, it will be awesome) -> Developers Corner
4. Welcome to the forums ;)

i read the manual, but it doesnt cover alot of the probs

Heh!

I can spot GIMP lighting a mile a way :)

Greetings fellow GIMP user!

for other lighting effects I use GIMP and the gradiant tool... can make som verry neat auras ,corronas, and starlights with gimp 8)

is there some way to port the polys from polyworks to soldat mapper 1.2? TIA :)

what do you mean? i'm new to the level making of soldat, but understand very quickly.

Yes, just save map, and open it up with mapmaker. :P

When will you be done?

i have a little tip....if you hand make a bunker or building and want it to be brick like or what ever copy the textures over to the scenery.

Are you sure that inf won't work well? I think It'd be great with inf...

i LOVE inf maps and think that u should make it an inf...or make one w/ the same sweet lighting and stuff...hope it plays as well as it looks!

what are inf maps?

inf maps are infiltration maps, one of the game modes in soldat.

Nice map but it looks like some google image with a touch of blur from photoshop/paintshop and a background.

Nice one.. it looks kinda stupid when soldier is same color even in some logth places.. maybe this could be prevented my using transparent image for those lights...

Wow, thats awsome looking for your first map. Great use of sceneries n such. I look forward to trying it. It also has a nice castlevania look to it.

Ooo! Uber idea: Castlevania mod for Soldat if one isnt already made. Then again im not an expert with mods and making them so its a mere thought.

-Claw-, all lighting is done in tranparencies. That's the point of this map, to add realistic lighting effects to soldat. :)