[DWRZ]

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Well, this is what happens when someone falls in love with the Catacombs, but lives thousands of kilometers away:

I'll make my requests for help first, then my explanations... I'd also appreciate it if those who understand English+ speak French could forward this to those who only understand French.

1. Anybody who reads this, please send me links/e-mail me directly photos you have of the GRS. Specifically, I'm looking of photos of transitions from surface/Paris, to manhole/puit/ladders/stairs/PC-entrance hole, to Catacombs-- and vice-versa (from in the network to out). Also, photos from any parties are great!

2. If someone has photos of the walls + plaques/signs, and nothing else in the way, I would also really appreciate this. If anyone has the dimensions of any of the galleries, that would also be really great, as well as an elevation map (I'm not aware one exists...).

Ok, #1 is because I've managed to convince my professor of my Contemporary Urbanism class to do my final project on the Catacombs. However, I can't simply do whatever I want, and I think he wants me to focus on the transitions from City to Catacombs, "connection points". Otherwise, he says I can focus on the use of the galleries and the paths that people use for parties, so... any photos/stories/etc. on that would be great!

#2... I posted a while back about making a 3D Digital Map of the Catacombs. Well, I bought Half Life 2, I downloaded the Hammer Editor, I spent much time learning the basics of mapping...and I've started. I'm not that great, and so far I'm more concerned of getting the dimensions and scale and realism right than anything else. Still, I have to say, it is not bad, and comes out much better than I'd expected (I will post photos in a little bit). So far, I am working on the area around Rue Nasouty and the above-ground area of the Petite Ceinture.

I've made one demo where I bump-mapped the surfaces, added water, many props, and so on, and it was very impressive. Otherwise, so far I've mapped around 500+ meters of the network (very basic).

I also made one "gameplay" test-- even though I'm not that interested in that (I just want something to calm my nostalgia while I am away) since some people expressed interest. I put a fast zombie in the tunnel and started off the player without any weapons, having to run through the galleries before finding a pistol to kill the zombie. I have to say, it worked pretty well... so maybe there is a possibility to go in that direction.

In any case, I want to use some real-life textures versus the ones included in Hammer, but I don't have that many photos of just the walls, or the plaques (road signs, consolidations signs, etc.). So if anybody has these, I would really appreciate it...

Well, sorry for the long post... please help me out, I need my Cata-Fix and it's been too long...

-David

PS. Thanks to "maitre wahou" for approximate dimensions of the PC tunnel.
PPS. Photos will be up soon.

[Hérisson]

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There are hundred of websites and thousands of photos of the Paris catacombs on the Internet. Why don't you start exploring the cyberkata portal links? <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cyberkata.org/">http://www.cyberkata.org/</a><!-- m -->
I thinks the website authors would appreciate if you ask before using their pictures.

[Oxs]

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Hi David,

for #1 i don't have any curently, i'll try to make a little video next time

for #2 you can check Dim's site <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://14e.kta.free.fr/visite/index.html">http://14e.kta.free.fr/visite/index.html</a><!-- m --> but as already said you should ask him before use his pictures. Also i'll try to select some of mine and send them to you as soon as possible..

Cheers

Oxs

[celpif]

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Well, this is what happens when someone falls in love with the Catacombs (...)I bought Half Life 2, I downloaded the Hammer Editor, I spent much time learning the basics of mapping...
I've made one dem, and it was very impressive.

I also made one "gameplay" test.

Sounds good.
I was myself 3D artist in video games for a while. Maybe it can help in your project for modelling and mapping.
Keep in touch.

[E-ver]

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1. Anybody who reads this, please send me links/e-mail me directly photos you have of the GRS. Specifically, I'm looking of photos of transitions from surface/Paris, to manhole/puit/ladders/stairs/PC-entrance hole, to Catacombs-- and vice-versa (from in the network to out). Also, photos from any parties are great!

Hi there.
You'll easily find many photos of the catacombs on the websites advertised on this forum.
What will probably be harder though, considering what you want to do with them is find those "transition" pictures. People tend to crop pictures or make them unrecognizable on purpose. You'll note, that one of the conditions to participate in this forum is not to mention usable entrances/manholes explicitely.
It's not simply secrecy for the pleasure of feeling somehow special, it's just that it's a good way to have a manhole welded shut to show a picture of a recognizable manhole on the Internet.
As the saying says: better safe than sorry.

2. If someone has photos of the walls + plaques/signs, and nothing else in the way, I would also really appreciate this. If anyone has the dimensions of any of the galleries, that would also be really great, as well as an elevation map (I'm not aware one exists...).

You might want to contact Nexus from <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.explographies.com">www.explographies.com</a><!-- w --> he'll probably have a lot of data you'll find useful on his many websites. He can be found on this forum too.

I also made one "gameplay" test-- even though I'm not that interested in that (I just want something to calm my nostalgia while I am away) since some people expressed interest. I put a fast zombie in the tunnel and started off the player without any weapons, having to run through the galleries before finding a pistol to kill the zombie. I have to say, it worked pretty well... so maybe there is a possibility to go in that direction.

It's been a dream ever since I went to the catacombs with tourists to find a spawn point for huge hideous monsters with green tentacles. No luck so far.
I'd settle for a zombie under the cemetary though
Start with a team, tweak down the AI for your team mates and it'll be just like in real life!

[DWRZ]

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Here are a few photos from the project so far:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://dwrz.net/Gallery/HL2MapCataGRS">http://dwrz.net/Gallery/HL2MapCataGRS</a><!-- m -->

Like I said, it is very, very minimal. So far I think only the length of most of the galleries is correct. The length of the water is correct only as according to how long it is there in the explographies map. The height of the galleries, the texture and shape of the walls, and many other things are all incorrect... for now. It is very hard to get this right being so far away and being such a new mapper, but maybe in some time it will start to look better and better- at the very least the distance of the entire GRS network will be there...

Thanks Hérisson and Oxs (I will get in touch with you after I post) for the really good websites. I will take a look through and take what I can (after asking, of course), but if anybody has any individual or really well taken (at least for this purpose) photos, please send! They would really help.

Celpif-- help would actually be great, if you're really interested and have the time... there are many things large and small that one could help with. I'll PM you, I guess.

[E-ver]

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Here are a few photos from the project so far:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://dwrz.net/Gallery/HL2MapCataGRS">http://dwrz.net/Gallery/HL2MapCataGRS</a><!-- m -->

Gamma correction: you should turn it up a bit.
Unless you're trying to make it look as dark as it is of course

Edit: Really impressed by the water. Dont remember it being so realistic even in the game.

[lamer]

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Really god djob , i want play !!!! :p :p

Say to us when its finish, sorry but i cant help you i speak english very bad

THX :mrgreen:

[Caracal]

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hock: Nice !!

I need to buy a new computer and half life 2 now :?

[DWRZ]

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Thank you everyone for the supportive and helpful comments!

Gamma- I will definitely check it out and play around with it next time I'm mapping. The ideal for me isn't really to make it look "dark", or anything, I want it to look as much like the real thing as possible... it's been a while since I've been in the Catas, and of course camera's distort the lighting quite a bit, but I'll see what I can do. Merci!

I'll make sure to update as work progresses... and if anybody can help with photos in the meantime, that'd be great.

EDIT:

E-ver, for some reason I missed out on your first post. Sorry for my blindness, and thanks for the support. Transitioning will definitely be the hardest thing, and it's exactly why I'm having trouble with the photos I even took. Not many images make for good textures... flash and highlights just make things worse. If I were in Paris I'd just go out and take some photos, but I'm kind of stuck. I'll definitely check out the stuff online, and worst comes to worst, I'll stick to standard textures until I get back to the Catas... Hehe, and thanks for the ideas too... I'll see what I can do by the next update (map first, then gameplay).

While I doubt it would be possible, it would be great to have this thing run online, with people exploring the vast map and either surviving hordes of zombies (setting up traps, taking advantage of the map, or just plain old ass kickin') or maybe Cataflics (this might be a bad way to turn for PR purposes though )... ah well...

[XmartinX]

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that's awesome!
there are just no tags, but it's maybe better like this

[nellok]

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great idea,

check your mp, i gave you a link that can help you


take care

[moize]

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Well, this is what happens when someone falls in love with the Catacombs...

Thanks. We long needed a replacement for ckzone.