Here's a look at a map I've been working on now and then for upwards of a year. A showcase thread has been active for a while on Map Review (http://www.map-review.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=16981#16981), you may have seen shots there. In any case, the Bloodmine is a large capture-the-flag map designed around a vertical mine shaft, with the red flag base on the lowest level and the blue flag base on the top.

First, some older shots to tantalize you and establish things, before I showcase the most recent (ie, done today) work:

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0138_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0138.jpg) http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0134_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0134.jpg) http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0143_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0143.jpg) http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0145_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0145.jpg) http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0151_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0151.jpg) http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0157_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0157.jpg) http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0193_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0193.jpg)

Now on to the new stuff:
___

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0208_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0208.jpg)
The latest shot from the bottom of the main shaft. I've added distance fog for a dirtier, hazier look.

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0209_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0209.jpg)
Latest shot from the top of the main shaft. You can see some added machinery, which moves around and can alter the playing field to a limited extent.

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0210_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0210.jpg)
A piece of the aforementioned machinery, which tracks back and forth across the shaft.

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0211_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0211.jpg)
Moving upwards from the bare-rock areas, we have a control room with an experiment in fan-shadow-faking.

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0213_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0213.jpg)
A better look at Lasse's favorite passageway.

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0214_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0214.jpg)
A secondary control room on the topmost level of the mine complex. The glass panel in the foreground is an accurate map of the whole mine, collected from Radiant screenshots. I've yet to decide if the map will convey any useful CTF information...

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0215_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0215.jpg)
The control center/blue flag base. The flag will stand on the podium to the left, under which runs a passage connecting the cargo holding bay and the docking bay. More control panels and displays still to be added, along with cieling lights.

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0216_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0216.jpg)
The (rudimentary so far) docking bay, with cargo transport at the ready. I'm gonna add clutter to the floor.
___

Okay...that's about all for now. Enjoy the shots, my friends, please comment on them, and await the release of the map! I am hoping beyond hope to get it finished by the end of January. This map has been slowly eating at me for so long...and I expect it will be my Jedi Academy finale--but who knows, with this gone, I might be able to recover my mapping mood long enough to produce some small duels or something. (Probably not, but you never know.)

Anyways...comments on the shots would be appreciated!

Jolly good work. The corridor shows real architectural genius :p

Maybe you could allow some scripted (or just entity based) control of some of the machinery. Thus, a cunning player could wait near the controls and when a gullible player walks down the path, the wily player could doom him to a deus ex machina death.

its so smal i can't see it so good O_O
you got your resoluition on 20 X 21 or something?

Originally posted by Nokill
its so smal i can't see it so good O_O
you got your resoluition on 20 X 21 or something?
have you tryed clicing over the screenshots?

wedge, you never fail to amaze and humiliate me :P

great work

ah i have to lose the _small and then there big =|
why not yust the big one's like that?
but ok it looks good :)

They're thumbnails, you can click on them. It's called "saving bandwidth".

I don't know, the lighting seems to be pretty random in some places, and the rock texture seems out of place, mabye try adding some architecture there like rocky walls or something. Good Job though. :D

Which areas are you thinking of, Mongo?

I'm talking about the first couple of shots where there is a rock texture that looks plain and is going in a circular way which is totally unrealistic and is out of place as well as random lighting.

Well, you know, Mongo, mine shafts do tend to be rather circular. It's not a natural cave, it's been drilled. Note the boring marks on the rock texture... The lights in the central shaft are also regularly spaced on beams and struts, how much less random could I get?

More shots:

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0221_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0221.jpg) Some holding tanks

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0223_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0223.jpg) Ore processing and packaging

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0225_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0225.jpg) Air circulation and ventilation

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0226_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0226.jpg) A small control room

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0227_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0227.jpg) The cargo bay, now complete with cargo!

http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0230_small.jpg) (http://wso.williams.edu/~jshoer/images/screenshots/shot0230.jpg) The hangar bay, now more developed

Looks good, but the rock part, I find it very odd for it to be perfectly smooth and circular and have depth in the texture when it is perfectly circular. Just add more architecture to it to make it look realistic.

Yea looks good, cant wait to see this map released!

Minor update: I just placed powerups and spawn points, the map is about to enter beta testing. Expect a release soon.

Before you release I strongly suggest that you start map construction threads on these two boards:

www.firetrill.com/forums)
www.chopshopservers.com/forums)

>95% of the knowledgeable, experienced JA CTF players go to one or both of those boards. Mappers from within the CTF community have greatly benefited from the suggestions, criticisms, and testing that their maps have received. If you want input from players who play hard-core CTF and really understand issues like speed routes, bottlenecks, weapon spawn points, amount of health\shields\ammo on the map, etc. those are the places to go.

Just be forewarned that they are a somewhat opinionated and rude bunch. You will have to have a thick skin. Be prepared for some "your map looks nice, but gameplay sucks" to just plain "this map sucks" comments. But then they will tell you how to make it better, and the feedback is invaluable.

Woah, wedge released a map--!

http://www.pcgamemods.com/10328/)

Go download and enjoy!

Amidala, I appreciate the sentiment, but at this point I'm more interested in just getting the thing outta my hair - it's been sitting on my HD for over a year now and it's WAY beyond the point where new WIP threads could possibly be helpful to me. Unfortunately, you posted jsut after I started my closed beta. Hopefully, the map's good enough for many CTFers.

Wedge, this is outstanding. The time you took with this map obviously paid off well, because you have a beautiful product now.

ANYONE READING THIS SHOULD GO AND DOWNLOAD THIS. IT'S AWESOME! no joke.

omg i love it i''m getting this on my clans server if i have to walk all the way to yell at our server guy

Can anyone say BEST.MAP.EVER?

This is defintley a keeper, thanks! :D

Why, thank you. :D

realy inpressive :D
i like the map a lot make more :p