UnrealWarrior wrote: ↑Tue Jan 04, 2022 1:12 am
... I seems to lack ideas...Like ideas about how these temples/bases/places look like, I don't what resources I should use/take a look to get more ideas
Have you tried looking at and playing other single player maps and campaigns? There are a lot of good ones out there, both in terms of design and 'gameplay'. Of course, you can look at maps other than SP to get ideas on the design and layout of specific forms of buildings and places. Look at some RL buildings as well in the flesh and in photos/videos.
Have you looked through all the texture packages you have for ideas on different textures to use?
UnrealWarrior wrote: ↑Tue Jan 04, 2022 1:12 am
You see, Whenever I wanna build something, I need a theme for the map, then a "vision" of a section and then I go from there. Most of the time, then, the map quickly gets out of hand and becomes massive, and I have to go back and remove a lot of it just to make a smaller map. (to not end up with a complicated map)
I don't think this is necessarily a problem in itself (that is, overall size of the map) as, if you think it is too large, you can always split it into two or more maps if there are places to do so that would make sense (doors, lifts and similar points are often used as the link point between one map and the next).
Looking at the two maps you posted, lighting is important to create atmosphere and to mimic 'reality' and those maps have uniform lighting.
I would say that, as a whole, the spaces are mostly too large - they're uniformly large across a map and they tend to be rectangular as well - variety in the size (length, breadth and height) and shape of a space is important, but then you have recognised that. It is often not possible to determine what the function of a particular room or space is from its form - that is, its size, layout, the materials from which it is constructed and its decoration - so think about this aspect and how you can achieve it.
Again the textures used seem to be all default textures and to some extent they are used haphazardly. There is liltte in the way of decorative features. Maybe it is time to look beyond default textures - unless you want to recreate a Nali world for example, then using those default textures is OK. Try to keep things simple but coherent - the textures are the construction materials and decorations of your spaces - what materials would be used in what places in a room or corridor? When would construction materials logically change for structural or decorative reasons?
Setting aside the gameplay, in designing spaces (both in the sense of the map as a whole and in relation to individual 'parts' of the map), form should bear some relationship to function (domestic spaces will be small compared to industrial or storage spaces - corridors and linking rooms should similarly related in size to the type of building they are in). Religious spaces may be a variety of scales and don't need to be uniformly grand, though they can be of course if you wish them to be. Decoration and 'stuff' in those spaces helps to give an indication of their function and a greater sense of the uniqueness of a space.
If these maps are part of an intended SP campaign then the story should largely dictate the form of the maps (I think - though I am not an expert - this is my opinion based on observation). The story is important but, in SP, the creation of interesting and absorbing environments is equally important - for this see A Friend In Need, The Vale:Evelyn and the Savage Lands Demo as recent examples of well executed and gripping stories and maps.
Finally have another read through of the earlier responces in this thread and have a look at some SP campaigns to see how other authors have addressed the questions you've raised.