Posts by Campaignjunkie

Oh man. Could I convert those to Source when you're done? I really want to make a map with those. As Ferret said - it's NS on crack.

I played the HL1 demo a bit. It was fun... that is, if you knew what to do and had a strategy. Here's how the HL1 gameplay worked, as I saw it:

Every player is assigned another player target to kill. First, you have to find out who he is. To get a player's name, you have to +use them. Once you get their name, you can follow them throughout the ship and eventually kill them. So, you +use them and kill them, real easy right?

The thing is, there are a bunch of AI bots on the ship as well. Most people generally ignore them, because you can usually tell who's a bot and who's a player pretty easily - the bots rarely run, they walk in straight lines, they rarely strafe, etc.

Thus, the challenge actually lies in blending in with these bots, so that your would-be assassin (or possible target) ignores you and assumes you're a bot. You walk in straight lines, you turn really slowly, etc. Human players will make a mistake and run too fast, or turn too quickly - at which point, you carefully trail them back to their cabin... and when they're asleep... POW!

.. While I'm sure there are other play styles, that's what intrigued me when I played it. It's kind of like being a spy in TFC. You have to play towards other player's expectations and deceive them. There's a lot of "player psychology" involved... if you actually play for more than a few minutes instead of judging it solely by the screenshots.

I'm not sure if I would pay for it, though.

It works really well in Oblivion too. When you hit someone, it feels really, uh... "visceral" - plus, there's still plenty of strategy involved with movement and timing your attacks. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this, especially since the developers are big fans of Thief and System Shock.

I think it's the texture tiling that gives it away - in the mountains or in the grass sprites. But then again, I guess that's not really an issue in-game.

Great work, you really captured that whole "vast" feeling, simply in the screenshots alone. I dig the mesa too.

I'd say NS is one of the more successful / iconic implementations, though. I heard that game Savage was supposed to be pretty good too.

I hear SketchUp is quite nice.

Quote

[12] hey Campaignjunkie[12] hello

[12] how are you?

[12] fine, thanks

[12] you know who I am at all?

[12] I wouldn't suppose so

[12] no, unfortunately :\

[12] curious if we've spoken before

[12] ah ok

[12] David Lyon, project manager of Nuclear Dawn

[12] nice to meet you

[12] and you as well

[12] been looking at your site, very nice stuff

[12] thanks

[12] have you seen any Nuclear Dawn media?

[13] yeah, some, just sa74n's subway shots recently

[13] ok cool

[13] well, we're now at a stage we have a game to play, and I'm curious if you fancy coming onboard

[13] not as a die-hard core team member, but rather to build a level layout and work on the gameplay primarily over the course of a few months testing

[13] as we're a multiplayer game

[13] gameplay is hugely important, as levels are replayed time and time again

[13] essentially abused for any flaw

[13] if you are interested, I'll continue

[13] Sorry, I don't fancy multiplayer mapping too much, thanks for the offer though

[13] sure thing

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He seemed nice enough to me. But in the face of this overwhelming testimony, I guess I was the exception rather than the usual? No matter what his behavior actually is, I think you guys might be making too big of a deal out of this. He's just a person - not a comic book villain.

With regard to phys props - I think few players are going to go the bathroom just to fetch some sink or toilets. Both bathrooms are death traps; pretty cramped, with only two exits. Sid Meier defines gameplay as "a set of interesting choices" - and this layout doesn't provide much choice.

I understand you want to create an accurate recreation of the pools, but I'm of the opinion that you can have your cake AND eat it too. Realism is just a tool to make maps awesome - I don't think it should be a goal in itself. But clearly... you have other ideas.

I think the layout needs work. I've never been to the baths of course, but if this is the actual layout, it doesn't make for very compelling play. Very linear, one-level play with few height changes or Z-axis gameplay. Not much opportunity for cover either, and only a few phys props (which is where HL2 DM really shines, IMO).

Visually, I also think you can push the map farther. It needs more light contrast, and all the rooms look the same - especially since the layout is mirrored. There's no recognizable landmarks to help the players navigate. Look at the HL2DM source VMFs included with the SDK, see how Valve does some of its stuff.

Some suggestions:

- Ditch the sunset sky, it's generally overused. (I would suggest not using a sky at all, it takes focus away from the interior)

- (Basically a consequence of getting rid of the sunset sky) Ditch the orangeish lighting. I think it looks busy and muddy when it interacts with the blueness of the textures. Of course some people like that, but I don't really care for it.

- Consider making the lamps into prop_physics, to make gameplay more interesting. Plus - If the player can rip radiators off the walls, then why not these lamps? Of course, they won't be able to emit light anymore, but I think the map would be better off with less light everywhere.

- Replace the brush benches with prop_physics benches. It'll look better and make gameplay more interesting.

- There's no signs of use in the level. No dirt, nothing broken, everything is in pristine condition. Add some chairs, stools, towels, dirt, etc. You don't have to demolish the place, but I'm just saying that real-world stuff is rarely in perfect condition.

- Add landmarks - unique bits that will make a certain room stick out. Maybe a fountain or something?

- Showers in the bathroom? For the ones who'd rather not use the baths, huh?

If you'd like, you can send me the VMF and I'll try to help with the lighting and such, or at least voice my opinion.

It's really.. uhh.. blue. So blue infact, that I find it really distracting. Really distracting! How has no one else mentioned this yet? It seems like a really glaring thing that needs improvement... C'mon! I'm not crazy! Stop staring at me! You and your accusing eyes! AHHH!

But seriously, I would tone down the blue to a more earthy saturation. And get some of that fancy specular shader stuff on the tiles, this is Source after all!

EDIT: I'm assuming you're basing the level off of this image ( http://www.carto.net/neumann/travelling ... n_bath.jpg ).. Hmm, tricky. But notice that the blue tiles on the bottom wall trim are more purpleish, while the blue tiles on the walls are less purpleish. Also, the blue on the columns is REALLY desaturated, not nearly as strong as you have it right now. And as the others said, work on getting some natural looking light coming through the windows - in HL2, sometimes Valve just used a pure white texture (I think it's called fakesky or something) and put a window over it. But anyway, this is certainly a good start, keep working on it!

Underwater art deco = all kinds of awesome.

It's really fun to play with, though, and fairly intuitive. Do the 15 minute tutorials that come with the program, don't just watch the video tutorials!

And if you're a student, you can probably get a hefty discount, provided you file the appropriate paperwork.

Ha, I remember that part... A little surprising, to say the least.

The Dark Brotherhood quests are fantastic. At least try them out (preferably on a stealthy character) before you shelve the game.

There's definitely plenty of flaws (character animation is ugly, poor framerate, lots of NPC faces are ugly, etc.), so I won't try to defend it, but the quests and exploration are definitely the best elements. Just get on your horse and go riding into the forest - you'll probably stumble upon something interesting after a few minutes...

Some shack out in the wilderness could be the trigger for a really entertaining quest. You might meet another adventurer and team up with him. You might encounter some crazy boss monsters and run for your life.

If you're tempted to keep going through the main quest even though it's not very fun: don't. Seriously, just stop and do something else - go to the book store and read some books, investigate some ruins, join a guild! The main quest will still be there when you decide to return to it.

Zaphod: Running speed depends on your attributes. Power up Speed and Athletics to get faster. Or get a horse.

I think the point is to have fun making an entry, rather than actually striving to win the contest. Good gameplay, bad gameplay - oh well, just get off your ass and make something.

Huzzah!

(Wow, a few months too late, but...)

Cordon off pieces of the map and compile them seperately, so you can get an idea of the rough location of the error. In the old HL1 days, you would have to do this if the pointfile led nowhere, and it was kind of annoying like that.

I love the mountains. It makes the scene seem so much more alien. It kind of reminds me of the climax in the movie Contact, where Jodie Foster encounters the aliens.

I think it would be up to Adam Foster to release the WADs, since he made at least 95% of the textures.