Hello!
After popular demand, I will be iterating further on the map by adding a night version. This will be a separate addon. I would like to start on the night version once this map's kinks have been ironed out first.

The night version is now finished, and can be found here!!

Status update!!!!!!

So far, the baseline atmosphere and feel is nailed down, striking a nice balance between time of day and visibility, with city areas now ready for more flashy neon!
I intend to make the signs and add custom textures, to stay consistent to the map's art style. This is a really time consuming process, and I reckon it's the thing that will take the most time to do.

General progress table:
Tuning in the mood/atmosphere 100%
Adding lit-up windows: 50%
Adding more flashy lights and signage: 10%

A while ago I redesigned the nodegraph. This was updated in the original version about a week ago. This freed up 164 entities (nodes before: 1599, after: 1435)
I still believe this isnt enough of a reduction, as alot of new entities will be added in the form of more lights and signage. I will have to find ways to reduce the number further (i do have some "zero-compromise" ideas in mind)

Here are screenshots of the progress so far:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154615
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154586
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154564
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154535
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154507
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154491
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154472 https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154439 https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154423 https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2862154398
















Original post

I would like to see where more interiors would fit, and add interiors which further the gameplay experience whilst staying within reason and the limits of the engine.
Feel free to come up with suggestions!

Some updates to add before beginning on a night version:

• Another sign/billboard (they are important, i swear!!)
  
• Two more interiors
  
• Optimizing the nodegraph (paths that NPCs follow)

Nodey boys
The nodegraph (NPCs paths) was created rather hastily, to put it simply. Without too much technical jargon, the graph is satisfactory, but each one of the nodes that make up the paths that are used is unnecessarily intricate in certain areas. As each node is counted as an entity, this is unoptimal, as there is a limit to the amount of entities a map can have. If i get around to optimizing this, this will mean alot less entities on the map, which in turn means i can add stuff like lit-up windows (Lit-up windows require one entity for the window, and one entity for the light that the window emits, so two for each window)
Staying proactive like this will also allow me to add more fidelity to the map (interiors, signs, decor (within reason (performance optimizing takes time)))

Time taking stuff
As with alot of these types of projects, this will take time. I want to make sure the night version is up to the standards that people would have come to excpect, and that it works optimally as a night map (visibility and such)
It would take me 10 seconds to just set the environmental light entity to have a night configuration, but as previously stated, adding lit-up windows and signs will require more optimizing of the maps overall entity usage.

Also factoring in that i have a life outside of making maps aswell. I have jobs that need jobbing and friends that need friending, aswell as recreational activities, so there's not too much time in a day to do mapping stuff.

If you have any suggestions, whether its regarding the night version or this version, feel free to post them here!

Cheers!