Ombrenuit on 29/4/2005 at 01:40
The missions were good, I was impressed with the Cemetary. However, the Clocktower mission matched what I've always envisioned the City as, and did it with beauty. The atmosphere was dreary, foreboding, damp, and I think amazingly inspiring. If I ever wanted to give someone the best glimpse at the City, this mission serves that purpose perfectly. Especially the effect of the lightning lighting up the stained glass of the clockface was particularly enchanting. However, it was the textures and the colors that really just set me with a nostalgia that gave me the urge to just say "You know what? This just suits the City perfectly". I couldn't help my enthusiasm. I'm very impressed. Thank you all who worked so hard to make this contest a success, it was very fun to grade your efforts in turn. Adieu.
Nameless_Voice on 29/4/2005 at 23:25
I was reading (
http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1157416) this thread where Alexius was talking about his 'holy sky' and was thinking that it would be impossible to have moving clouds with that method of sky creation. (Alexius later pointed out that you can simply make the sky objects semi-transparent, so the clouds behind them are visible, but that's not important.)
So I was thinking of ways to make a 'cloud plane' object. I realised that it would never look good unless I used a .tga alpha map, so I went about making one. As I just wanted a flat plane, I used a bitmap effect rather than creating a custom object. I placed this 'sky plane' near the top of a test area to see what it would look like. Of course, since bitmaps are only rendered on one side, and I hadn't turned the object upside-down, I didn't see anything. So I lowered it down to ground level so I could see it from above...
Strangely enough, despite spending quite a bit of time trying to make a good fog texture, the original 'Photoshop rendered sky' which I created in a couple of seconds to test the effect looked better than everything else, so I stuck with that.
Having created this spectacular fog effect, I had to think of somewhere to use it. I remembered that the graveyards in Gothic II had wispy fog around them, so perhaps that's where I got the idea. Regardless, I never actually did anything with the fog for quite some time, and it remained in a 32x32x16 cube in a test mission. Then NeKoeNMa announced the Beauty Contest, and I thought about the fog and how it could be used. I considered saving it for a full FM, but I had no real place for it, so I decided to build Hazelshade Cemetery (the name was of course the last thing I invented, after the whole mission was built...)
A few other odd bits of information:
Grid size used: 16 (Yes, honestly. I never went below 16!)
Number of original Thief 2 terrain textures used: 0
(Although I did use one as an object texture for a window...)
Number of original Thief 1 terrain textures used: 2
Oh, and I would like to thank NeKoeNMa for organising this contest, and everyone whose textures I used in Hazelshade Cemetery, especially Vigil, not only for his excellent light shafts but also for the great textures that made The Clocktower that much more beautiful.
- NV
Ibsen's Ghost on 1/5/2005 at 14:20
Gah! Okay, so I'm a little biased, but I thought Alexius' mission fulfilled the simple criteria of 'beauty' better than the others. Those new 'cowled figure' portraits are typical Alexius but stuff like the lone tree and the winged dark angel (ahem, breasts :) ) are gorgeous and it was a nice touch with the story, too.
Perhaps because I've seen the lightning effect used in Richard Cull's excellent (and under-rated) missions, like 'A Smugglers Request', The Clocktower didn't interest me as much as it did others. Hazelshade's fog, of course, was amazing, but isn't there a secret area beneath the mausoleum that I haven't been able to get to yet?
BTW, I'd rate Requiem higher, only the beauty of this mission lies in its idea. Although the cathedral looks like a nice morning location, it makes me think we should have a contest entry based on great gimmicks.
Ottoj55 on 1/5/2005 at 14:34
i don't think there's anything under the floor, other than an upside down copy of the room to complete the polished floor effect. i felt that alexius' had a nice looking mission, but i see lots of little things that could be improved, things like floor texturing in some halls was too simple, didn't match the walls, but overall i'm impressed, if the imperium looks that good it will be a treat.
Fingernail on 1/5/2005 at 15:32
The majority of the Imperium is superior to that already anyhow, being more varied and less hurriedly put together - IMO the contest entry isn't really a fair display of Alexius' aesthetic. Also the Imperium is not ALL made by Alexius.
Ombrenuit on 2/5/2005 at 00:48
Honestly, beauty is also about presentation. The tower was a more interesting design and more unique (the beauty was the view!), but even though the imperium mission was beautiful, it was only two hallways branching from a room essentially. It didn't strike me as quite unique or anything I hadn't seen before, while it was beautiful I wasn't awed by it. It wasn't fun to explore. (my opinion) Now, as for gimmicks...what do you expect from the general public? We look at the superficial layer, and we are awed.
Renault on 2/5/2005 at 01:15
Quote Posted by Ombrenuit
Honestly, beauty is also about presentation. The tower was a more interesting design and more unique.
Agreed. If this was a "Beautiful Textures" contest, Alexius would have won hands down. But beatuty in dromed is more about interesting structures and environments. I thought all the hallways in Lazarius all looked the same, all the color schemes were the same, and the whole mission was on one level (no stairs or even a window to see areas above or below). After you get over the initial "wow" factor on the textures, the level is surprisingly dull.
Fingernail on 2/5/2005 at 09:14
That's why I think he let himself down slightly. It was based on an old multibrush or something...
Tumbleweed on 2/5/2005 at 12:20
I imagine Alexius' entry failed to place higher because those who played it were struck blind by the sheer gauche spectacle of it and were consequently unable to find the correct button on the poll.
Musopticon? on 2/5/2005 at 13:42
It was because of the tits, I tell ya :p
Good effort everyone!
