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Gambit,
You've made a pretty damn good start here! Your use of shadows and mud textures is spot on, and if this is only a work in progress, then I look forward to the finished result!
My only qualm would be your territory placement. As much as I understand your preference on having the hills of the map being the strategic assets, you have VP's very close to each other on one side, and the vast majority of the resources on the other. While this may work, you have left the middle of the map very exposed and empty, leaving little reason to fight for it.
I would try to consider a work around, to lead opponents to strive for this more exposed lower-ground. |
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Hey Ookami!
This map looks great so far, but you've created a very clean project.
For something that's called Second Contact, I would expect far more destruction! Blast some walls apart, add some smoke and open up the options for flanking.
Also, as another side-note, I've noticed that you have some territory points very close to buildings - be careful of this! Please ensure that both teams have equal opportunity to use these buildings to their advantage (such as a route out of Line of Sight for infantry to sneak around into one of the buildings), otherwise it can be too easily locked down.
Otherwise, you've put a lot of detail in here! Good work! |
Hey Sait!
So, as you may have noticed, I've started my judging comments early, as I won't be here for the actual judging!
Everything that I post here is merely constructive criticisms to help you push your map into the final leg of the competition, and within the next few days, you should expect feedback from the other judges too!
So, to start with, you have made a decent layout of a map, but there are a few areas that I would address before anything else:
- To begin with, this map has no interactivity zone, and units will merely appear on the map, rather than run in from out of sight. Relic expects this to be on all of their maps, and I would recommend stamping your map onto a larger canvas, so that you can add an interactivity border around the entire map.
- Secondly, you have used a good selection of tiles, but have not blended them in many areas. It should not be possible to see a single texture on the map repeating itself. Areas in the open, such as near the rail yard, should be broken up be blending more tiles into the mix, or breaking them up with Splats and Splines. Trust me, this can make a massive difference to the appearance of your map!
- And finally, I would seriously reconsider the use of Blockers on small walls. Blockers should only be used to deny entire areas of a map to players, rather than in commonly used locations. For example, on the walls in the centre of your map, a tank could blindly run through the wall, and the blocker would remain. If you want to block the line of sight in this area, try using taller walls, or hedgerows!
Anyways, I hope that this is a step in the right direction!
Best of luck with the rest of the competition, and well done on your progress so far! |
Hey martijnhelweg!
Now this is the kind of map I like to see! You have a lot of unique ideas in here, but I have a few criticisms that should help you flesh out the map a little!
Comments from other judges will soon follow, but for this, I will be commenting entirely on the visuals of your map.
- Firstly, you've made good use of the light in this map, with the sun casting shadows on all of the textures you've used, but I would try to reduce the shadows cast by objects. Without unit opacity, it's impossible to see units that are hidden in shadows, and takes away from the visual effect in game.
- Although that first one isn't much of a problem, if you want to massively improve your visuals, I would highly invest in more Splats! You want to ensure that you maps has a decent coverage of grass, dirt and rubble Splats to add more detail to any bare areas.
- On that note, this map is far too clean for its own good. You have created something beautiful. Now destroy it. Add some craters and rubble Splats around the map to really show off the atmosphere that an Urban map can give! Also try tearing some buildings apart by Editing their State and adding Building Damage. Force players to choose which buildings are the safest to use!
Other than this, you have a good contender here!
Best of luck, and await the comments from the other judges! |
Hey Nebaka!
So, what we have here is an excellent map concept! I love the ideas that you have, but what I'll be leaving here are a few comments on how I would personally improve the visuals, in the hope that you can take them away and come back stronger for the finally judging period!
I should also tell you that I am commenting on your map now, early, as I will not be here when the actual judging commences. Expect comments from the other judges soon!
So, let's get to it:
- To begin with, you have made good use of the Snow Tiles and Splines, but your Splats are lacking. Wherever you have trees or objects in the snow, try to use Splats beneath them to snow that they are actually making an impression on the environment. For example, there are some exceptional snow_dirt splats that look great under Groves of trees, to look like brances have left holes in the snow, and such. Used sparingly and well, Splats can really add some serious depth to your map!
- Secondly, you have some objects that appear to be placed randomly, and stand out. Rocks, Groves and defences should have smaller objects attached or near them to make the scene appear realistic. For example, a grove of trees on its own seems out of place, so try adding some lone trees nearby, some scrub on the ground, and maybe tree stumps to add detail. Similarly, where you have walls of barbed wire, you could place sandbag piles near them, to make them look like old or collapsed defences.
- Finally, you have plenty of deep snow around the map, but the centre, where the map is open and exposed is almost clear of it. I would try adding pockets of deep snow where it would fall realistically in this area, such as around the tank traps, to add a tactical challenge!
Other than this, everything looks good! Try to work on a minimap image, and await the other judges comments!
Good luck! |
Hey Loreto!
So, as soon as I saw this map come up on the competition, it excited me, because I love the idea that you've gone for! However, I do have some comments that I hope will help you improve!
- Firstly, you need to work on the atmoshere settings to your map! You have a brilliant design, but the sunlight is letting it down. Have a look at how much the detail on your map changes if you rotate the sun and lower it in the sky! All of those grass and pebble textures should have shadows to add depth!
- Secondly, I see some problems with your territory points. While the detail you've added to the areas is good, it's a major balance concern if they're too cluttered. In essence, if a 250 Halftrack can't enter a territory's capture area from all sides, you have an unbalanced point. What I would recommend is to move all of the defences outside of the capture circle, so that territory is easy to take from defenders, but hard to defend from attackers.
- And thirdly you have some very bare areas. Remember, you have 8 textures to work with in the Tile tool. On the Tile Tool, select Layer Counts and Chunks, just to see how many of the 8 you have used per chunk. If you have any less than 5, find some more to add! But please make sure that the map overall does not have too many different types of tiles. You want an average of 10 map-wide, and no more than 8 per chunk.
In all, you've made a great first step to creating a fantastic map!
Keep up the good work! |
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Hey again, Tigerfels!
What you have here is a very similar map to Tigreslov, in terms of visuals, but I much prefer this one!
However, many of the same issues from the first map are also present here. While the appearance of yellow grass looks great, you have swamped the map in the same Splat texture, and should try to use Tiles instead, where possible.
Additionally, the only major issue I can see is the fog on your map. It's pea-soup green. If you want fog on a forest map, I would recommend sticking to light brown or yellow tones, to accentuate the colour of the grass you have used.
Have a little experiment with it, and see what you can do! |
Hey Sylver!
I am leaving my comments for the upcoming judging, as I will be away when the actual judging occurs. So, you'll get my feedback now, and the rest of the judges will comment soon!
It's good to see a revival from the Eastern Front, and well done on making such a smooth transition. I see the makings of a strong contender here!
However, I do have some constructive criticisms:
- You have no soft map edge, and units will suddenly spawn on-map without one. If you get the chance, please try to stamp your map onto a larger canvas, and add some interactivity around the borders. Relic will be expecting this in all their maps!
- Secondly, your map is exceptionally flat, and while there are a few areas with slight cliffs, they are hardly significant. To that end, you have also ensured that there are blockers on each rise in the ground to ensure that units cannot climb it, but from a visual perspective, these "cliffs" do not seem tall or steep enough to be impassible. I would recommend adding either ditches or rocks to your "cliffs" to show players that they are impassible.
- And finally, you have used grass well across the entire map, but most of it is the maximum length that it can be. Try using the subtraction tool on the grass editor to shrink any isolated chunks of grass, or any grass that is on an exposed edge. You want it to give off the appearance that areas which are never used (near bushes or trees) are taller, and areas more frequently trodden (near roadsides) are flatter.
All in all, however, you've made a great map better! Keep up the good work! |
Hey Tigerfels!
So, as I will be away over the next week, I will be dropping you my comments for the judging early, and the comments of the other judges will follow.
Firsly, please ensure that your WB link is working! At the moment, it's redirecting to Mediafire's main page, rather than your file.
As for the map, I have a few pointers for you, but in all, I see a very well-made map that only needs tweaks.
- Firstly, you have focussed heavily on Splats to show off your visuals, but with the change in Tile counts, you need not rely on. If you do not have 8 tiles on your map, use them! 8 different textures can go a long way. The main Splat that you've used to show off the Yellow Grass is very noticable, and doesn't blend the way that Splats should. What I would recommend is to look for a Hay-based Tile and to use that alongside some of your Splats.
- Additionally, some of the Splats that you have used are expanded beyond their optimal size, which dramatically drops their resolution and detail. If you must have these larger Splats, reduce their opacity to make their flaws blend in more. Ideally, I would remove the larger Splats and replace them with Tiles.
- Finally, make sure that your atmosphere settings and Sunlight colour match. You have a dark sky with a very bright map, which confuses the eye a little. I wouldn't change the sunlight at all, so make sure to choose a sky texture that matches it!
All in all, you've made a swell map, and I look forward to seeing it in the second round of judging! |
Hey Qvazar!
Seeing as I will be away over the course of the first judging round, I will be leaving you some comments early. Note that these are only intended as constructive criticisms, in the hope that with a few select changes, you will be shortlisted in the final stage of judging.
You have made a soundly designed map, with a decent territory layout, but as visuals are my area, I will offer you a few points:
- Please try to adapt your lighting. While you have created a decent night-time atmosphere, the light over the ice is blindingly bright, and could be adapted. I would certainly keep the "blue" colour to everything, as it certainly adds a chill to the map, but the moonlight is too strong.
- Additionally, the atmosphere seems to be lacking wind. I would try to add a few fx markers around with smoke, or better yet, add some very light snow to the weather, to give more depth to the cold atmposphere you've created.
- Another item that stood out for me is the grass in your map. If you are aiming for a map with shallow snow, I can't argue with snow being present. But if your intention is for the map to have deep snow, remove the grass, or keep it on the edges of larger objects, such as buildings and hedges, but remove it in the open. Also please try to smooth any grass you keep down. By subtracting areas of it, you can blend the sizes of each blade of grass, rather than them seemingly being the same size.
- And finally, you have some areas of roadways where tracks seem to suddenly stop and disappear into the snow. Either increase the opacity of the ends, so that it looks as though the tracks have been covered in snow, or blend them with more tracks.
Anyways, you've made good progress so far!
Good luck, and await the comments of the other judges! |
United Kingdom
Relic Entertainment
cblanco ★ 
보드카 중대 
VonManteuffel 
Heartless Jäger 
