In January I spent a couple weeks making visual upgrades to Complex. Lo-fi did a great job when he first made the map about a decade ago, but obviously the standards of game art change. I decided to make some upgrades.
First, the wall textures were redone at double the resolution. In 2006 it was standard to use 512x512 pixel textures for walls. I redid them at 1024x1024 pixels using Substance Designer.
![](http://i.imgur.com/tXJdCJI.jpg)
This is the Substance Designer graph. Basically I did one base texture, then changed the stripe pattern a few times to get the rest of the textures.
![](http://i.imgur.com/AhwdgTo.jpg)
Another element I redid were the cylindrical brush-based details lining walls throughout the map. Those were replaced with models, which gives them a smoother look. Here's a comparison between a wall in 4.2 and 5.0. The difference in texture resolution is most noticeable when you're up close to the wall.
![](http://i.imgur.com/rtTkjl9.jpg)
![](http://i.imgur.com/mEwUrIw.jpg)
I had actually already worked on Complex a bit before for the 4.2 release. One of those 4.2 changes was to make the vent grates with the light behind them. I decided to replace the solid color light with a light asset I made for Aztec. After all, the original GE64 Complex was created from reused Aztec assets.
![](http://i.imgur.com/ztFcHl1.jpg)
![](http://i.imgur.com/IYuqDEE.jpg)
The red armor wall was also changed. We felt it was too easy to abuse the glass wall in 4.2 to camp the armor, so the space was modified.
![](http://i.imgur.com/kFP97B8.jpg)
![](http://i.imgur.com/Ukm2KBG.jpg)
I reworked the vent ducts a bit, creating a new texture just for them.
![](http://i.imgur.com/YOK1krO.jpg)
![](http://i.imgur.com/EfaTvjU.jpg)
Finally, the map had used a low resolution sky from Half Life 2. I made a new skybox texture with Cinema 4D and also added moving clouds.
![](http://i.imgur.com/6mwtKTA.jpg)
![](http://i.imgur.com/Hs8YIjF.jpg)
Hope you all like the changes. If not, tell me why. Or feel free to suggest more changes for the next release!