Baguet Map Pack

And as usual, thanks for your supports

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The last news we released was found on a French community website (dod France) and it said that we'll be releasing our pack at the end of school year, in June.

As you can see, we are soon arriving at the end of June, so, it's important for us to get out of our silence and begin to communicate with you all. smile

We are really proud to announce to you that we have reach our objective to 90% and that our deadline will be respected.

As you can see there isnt any release in this news BUT you'll have some interesting information in waiting for the D-Day.

Well, where are we?

We'll start to speak about the much advanced maps. As you know, Colonia (the last pack's map) suffered because of Satyre's departure (the first creator of the map). The others members have their occupations and also their maps to build, so we couldn't, until recently, give the necessary time to continue it.

But we'll talk about it in more detail later in this news.

Almere, Causeway and Wildenthal , we can say are in their last development stage. To be clear, they are now compiled like Release Candidates. It means a lot of things for us as mappers.

From these, we are looking at the last minor visual and gameplay issues. We have had alot of help from Splatt and his team, the Rommel's Renegade and others testers from the dod community.

You can't imagine the number of tests we have done, but believe us, they have been in progress for almost 6 months now and we have successfully acheived the gameplay and visuals we are aiming for.

To illustrate our text and to show you the evolution of the maps, here are some comparative screens :

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[Blocked Image: http://www.bidoulmarc.be/baguet_new_june/dod_causeways_old_mini.jpg] [Blocked Image: http://www.bidoulmarc.be/baguet_new_june/dod_causeways_new_mini.jpg]

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Time to come back to Colonia. We can imagine that you are impatient to hear more news on it because this is the map where you'll find limited communications.

Reason for this issue is very simple: despite our strategy of alternations on the map's development, we were unable to make progress at the same level as the others, so we had less things to show you.

Our ambitions for this level were also inadequate with our deadline and, of course, our small number of staff.

Soon we reached the conclusion that the map would have to be dropped from the pack. It was very disappointing from our point of view, even if we provided you with three quality maps, it would feel like we failed.

At this time of great depression, a distinguished =RR= clan member, SLi-WooDy, came to us to offer his assistance to complete Colonia as it should.

What a deal! His integration in our team has enable us to concentrate on our respective maps and keep in place our firsts ambitions.

However, we always had our deadline and we had to respect it! So we redesigned all of Colonia's layout. We focused the gameplay around the mansion and made the map much smaller to have a more furious gameplay.

Started from this idea with a defined atmosphere, Woody has created a quality background which fitted perfectly into our project and which is respectful of our requirements.

With his big help, we now have a quality map with a dynamic gameplay.

[Blocked Image: http://www.bidoulmarc.be/baguet_new_june/dod_colonia_newA_mini.jpg] [Blocked Image: http://www.bidoulmarc.be/baguet_new_june/dod_colonia_newB_mini.jpg] [Blocked Image: http://www.bidoulmarc.be/baguet_new_june/dod_colonia_newC_mini.jpg]

Ahaha An excellent sauce dude! You'll see!

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Hello doders!

We're still hard at work and putting the finishing touches to the Baguet Map Pack so it is as good as it can be. With the four maps already well into the final polishing phase, we thought you might enjoy a bird's eye view of the combat zones.

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Above Colonia and Causeways, our two flags maps.

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Above Almere and Wildenthal, our two detonations maps.

Over the many months of development, the pack has benefited enormously from the great work of many play-testers. Chief among them, Splatt, from the Rommel's Renegades clan, has been subjecting the four maps in the pack to intense scrutiny since their infancy. Texture and brush misalignments, sticky spots, levitating models, logic errors, overpowered positions, balance issues, exploits... you dread them, he finds them.

We thought you would enjoy reading his thoughts about the Baguet Map Pack, so we "went" to sunny Scotland and interviewed him.

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You have been on this project since the beginning. What do you think about the dev time? Has it been too long or too short and why?

I was fortunate enough to be invited to help test the Baguet Maps after I had provided Moroes with feedback on dod_campazzo2 so yes I guess I have been around longer than most non Baguet members. It does seem like a long time since this project was first mentioned on the DoDS forums and I suppose that for people not involved in the project - but who have had to wait for its release - it has been too long. The plus side in my opinion is that they will find that the wait has been worth it as the maps they will be playing will be pretty much faultless. I have had the benefit of seeing each and every map develop from the embryo stage to newborn.

When you compare our pack with other maps you test (because we know you're a famous tester in our community), what can you say? What are the difference between us and the others?

lol, a famous tester! Thanks. If only I got paid hehe.

I have now tested something like 80 individual DoDS maps (almost 200 counting all versions). The first thing that stands out in the Baguet Maps is the use of new models developed by the Baguet team. I know that some of them will cause mouths to drop in the community and that many mappers will be keen to use them.

As regards differences between the Baguet mappers and others I help out, hmm. Certainly if has been nice to see some of my own ideas incorporated into the Baguet maps. Some mappers appreciate the bug finding service I provide; however they are not so receptive to suggestions. The Baguet Team have considered all of my input and, if not adopted, I have been told why (and this helps me in developing my skill base) for I am not mapper.

We know that all maps are really different when we compare them to the beginning, so what do you think about the evolution of the maps?

Yes, some of the maps are totally different from what I first tested most notably dod_wildenthal. From a map awash with tunnels and interesting nooks and crannies at the beginning, it has developed into a totally different but nonetheless great objective map that takes place wholly above ground.

dod_almere by Moroes (previously dod_nordhausen) has seen some massive changes in both lighting and layout. When I cast my mind back to the first version, it was set at night time with numerous routes to and from the objectives (of which there were initially only two). Following numerous playtests and expert input from the likes of Furyo, gameplay has been tightened and the atmosphere (in terms of lighting, detail and sounds) greatly enhanced. A lot of attention has been paid to detail on this map and it shows.

Kane's map. dod_causeways. is perhaps the map that has seen least changes from the first version (although opening up the church has added another dimension to its gameplay). I always thought at the outset that this map had tremendous potential and so it has proved. The change from a purely objectives map to a capture the flag has ensured that rather than just being the Axis on the defensive (as almere and wildenthal are), the battle will flow back and forth. The map looks and plays fantastic.

dod_wildental, as I said before, has had a complete overhaul both in terms on layout and appearance. When I think back to the first ground textures that I saw to what Grippy is now using, the map has moved onto another level completely. The gameplay will suit all classes of players - mg'ers like me to riflemen and snipers. Even rocketmen get an objective to blow to pieces.

Perhaps the most challenging map has been dod_colonia which utilizes the tremendous house designed by Satyre. The first attempt at this map by Moroes and Kane (following Satyre's departure from the project) did not, in my view work. Having what in effect is a country house located amongst bunkers and Axis out-houses was a difficult mix. Taking SLi-Woody onboard as an additional mapper was a stroke of genius. Not only did it allow the main Baguet team to concentrate on their maps, it brought another style of mapping to the project. Whilst adapting slightly the concept of Satyre's original house, he has enhanced it with a unique style of gameplay which, I must admit, I was not sure would work. But work it does. Also, given the time constraints he faced, he has produced a quality map that slots in perfectly with the others.

The Baguet Map has certainly kept me busy and entertained in recent months. I have just counted up the number of screenshots I have submitted. Almost 1,400 phew!

During our playtest parties, your clan (Rommel's Renegades) were always present. What is their opinion of our work?

Rommel's Renegades is an eclectic bunch (some would say eccentric) with members from all over Europe (and now the USA) although we are UK based. As such our members like all sorts of maps. It is true to say that some members prefer certain Baguet maps over others - that is to be expected. However, all have been greatly impressed with the quality of the maps and have eagerly awaited details of forthcoming playtests. Suffice to say, so far as Rommel's Renegades is concerned, the pack is already a hit!

Did you find you had to focus more on gameplay improvements or on mere "technicalities" (textures and brushes alignments, etc.)?

I had only been map testing for just over a year and a half or so when I started out testing the Baguet Maps so my focus was initially on the technical side. I concentrated on finding visual bugs and game exploits. However, as my experience of map testing has increased, I feel that not only do I now cast my evil eye over maps looking for such bugs and exploits. I also consider how the map plays and look for logic errors. Although Day of Defeat: Source is not a realism mod, nonetheless being a bit of a history buff (and having been born only 11 years after the end of WWII), I get annoyed when things do not look right. For example, when testing other maps I have found television aerials and other modern items where they should not exist. So I like maps to look right. That is one area in which the Baguet maps excel.

I also consider other enhancements that I think would add something to a map, whether it is an audio clip or item of equipment.

That said, with every map that I test I learn something new. And whilst I may not have what some would term the macro view of a map that perhaps true mappers possess, I believe that testers of my kind bring something additional to the process and very often spot the things that mappers do not.

Did anything surprise you while working on this project? Anything you weren't expecting?

Well I was certainly surprised at the introduction of new and reskinned models. The reskinned AA guns in dod_causeways look awesome and I really like Ukulele's new military radio. Even the icons used in the maps are new.

I love the distant town and harbour area on dod_almere...when I first saw that the hairs stood up on the back of my neck. The addition of SLi-Woody searchlights has only increased its effectiveness.

Oh and Grippy must be congratulated on being the first mapper to use the ‘Wilhelm Scream’ in a DoDS map (to my knowledge) even although he did not realize it at the time.

The Baguet Map Pack: great pack, or the greatest pack?

lol, a loaded question or what? Well to be honest this is the first ‘Pack’ I have tested so, yeah it is the greatest ever

Okay, you didn't have to answer that. Anything else you'd like to add?

Hmm, just that I have thoroughly enjoyed traveling this road with the Baguet team and look forward tom your new project. I assume that I am invited?

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Many thanks to Splatt and the many testers who contributed to the pack. Their input has truly been invaluable.

That's it for this news folks! Stay tuned!

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Hello.

We have been hard at work lately finalizing the Baguet Map Pack and, the good news is, we are almost there! Indeed we would probably be finished already if our highly efficient testing team would just stop suggesting things to improve and allowing new ideas to pop into our heads!

For this news release, we thought that perhaps you would like to have a glimpse of some of the objectives and capture areas that players will soon be battling to achieve. So, here are some of them, one for each map:

[email protected], as soon as possible. We can then keep you in the loop for the release and help you set up mirrors if required. Thanks in advance!

We thought a little something extra might be nice to celebrate the last news release before the pack becomes available so we have made a little video - a short trailer - for you guys.

[Blocked Image: http://www.bidoulmarc.be/baguet_new/video_news.jpg].

You can download the full 720p video (147 MB). Enjoy, and stay tuned for the imminent release of the Baguet Map Pack!

lol DoD:S is not dead and the pack will be available in a few days now