spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 9, 2015 10:00:58 GMT -5
I think we should play some of the maps together to get a feel for them. I connected to tastyspleen a few times during the last days and played some maps. My ping there is horrible (I'm in Germany), but we could still try.
Anybody interested? Are you guys in some IRC channel where we can meet and start games spontaneously? This forum may be a bit too asynchronous I guess.
Maybe #quake2 on quakenet? Or something else instead of IRC?
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 8, 2015 13:49:28 GMT -5
Very open, and I guess the Quake 3 community would call it a 'boxed' map, but it still looks very cool and has a strong theme. Lots of powerful jump pads and launch pads, which is rather uncommon in Quake 2. Lots of different spots, and a rail gun tower which is designed in a way which does NOT make it too overpowered (cover on the map, hard to watch your back on it).
Texturing and lighting are very good. After running around a bit, I guess that gameplay is better than you would expect from the screenshots, and could be quite fun with lots of players (DM), but for my taste it is still too open.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 8, 2015 13:37:22 GMT -5
Item placement could be improved, I think it needs a bit more juice. The layout ain't bad, but it did not really get me.
Texturing and brushwork are very good, and I guess the fix makes the lighting good as well (for me it does not, but I'll assume it's my fault, and with gl_modulate 7 I can make it look ok). The mixture of bricks and rocks with water is cool. Overall a solid map, for some reason it still did not really impress me.
Most important: the rocks and the uneven ground with the grass looks very good, but the movement on it makes me want to rage-quit.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 8, 2015 11:18:34 GMT -5
This map has some gameplay issues, but they have already been mentioned so I'll skip that.
You can see from the screenshots already that it looks pretty cool and has some creative elements and good brush work, but I really liked the moving textures you cannot see in the screenies. They made me feel like I really was in a moving space ship, which added a lot to the theme.
My advice for the author: leave this map as it is, you won't be able turn the layout into a great playing map. Go play some Quake 2 instead. Look at the maps you like because they play great, and learn from them to improve the gameplay of your maps. Everything else, like technical stuff, textures, theme/design -- you already know how to do that it seems to me.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 8, 2015 10:51:43 GMT -5
A masterpiece by Pan. Old-school Quake 2 look, with excellent lighting, usage of the textures and great gameplay.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 8, 2015 10:44:34 GMT -5
That's one of my problems I guess. I think the theme is one of the parts where my maps are not that great. Their theme usually is 'some installation without any obvious purpose on a distant planet'.
I guess this is because I do not like texturing/lighting that much (and because I do not make my own textures). I just want to get over with it and draw the next layout. I should work on this and think about a theme earlier I guess.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 2, 2015 10:54:52 GMT -5
Doesn't look bad at all, you're on the right way here.
My most important suggestion: give it a third height level (above the currently highest one). On that level, add some bridges over the map and stuff like that. Currently, the upper level is only at the "outer borders" of the map. Add connectivity by providing both stairs and faster ways up: a jumppad or 2, maybe a teleporter if needed. This will dramatically improve game play on the map imo.
And you have a ton of items in there already. Do not add new items for the 3rd level, just move the existing ones around. Be sure to have one important item up on the third level.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 2, 2015 9:21:34 GMT -5
Thanks a lot!
EDIT: I just tested 10 of the maps, and they are really impressive & creative!
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 1, 2015 16:25:40 GMT -5
Thanks a lot, and congrats to everybody!
I'm currently not at home, but I am looking forward to checking out all the maps tomorrow. And to playing them on the servers soon.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 1, 2015 5:36:29 GMT -5
Yeah, give us the maps, please!!!!11!
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Apr 1, 2015 2:46:14 GMT -5
Hoooray! With Quake 2, everyone is a winner! Thanks heaps for the hard work to the judges and to null of course for all his work, and congratulations to all mappers!
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Mar 30, 2015 7:09:59 GMT -5
Thanks everybody! This one focused on item placement and creating interesting spots for item placement. Maybe I'll write more on other aspects some day.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Mar 30, 2015 4:20:43 GMT -5
I've had a look at the map yesterday, and I like it. Some small texture fixes and adjustments won't hurt, as Margaal pointed out. Lighting is ok, but could use some more contrast in some areas, agree with jdolan here.
On the layout / game play: I like it and I think it works, but some suggestions and stuff that came to my mind are here:
* height levels: There are 2 height levels, which are very strictly separated, and each level has no height variations within itself (with 2 minor exceptions: the area above the flak jacket, and the ramp down to hyperblaster). The interactions between the 2 levels (places where you can see + shoot up from below and vice versa) exist, but there are too few of them imo. This may lead to many fights on a plane. (This is in part a side-effect of the fact that you only used jumppads and teleporters instead of stairs: the entrances/exits of the JPs are so small that it is not possible to interact with the other level through them. For teleporters it'S even worse, no interaction at all is possible.)
* room-corridor-room feeling, low connectivity: there are few distinct places, and quite a few rather tight corridors and small rooms. (I also found it hard to distinguish the rooms and corridors from each other at first.) The map lacks a larger central room with several height levels. Not every map needs this of course, but this may lead to a lot of close-quarter combat after random encounters at corners.
Did not test enough to be able to comment on item placement. (Rail<->BA seemed short, but it's no big deal on such a tight map.)
I know that you are most likely not gonna change the things mentioned above anymore, because it's rather late for this, but maybe it still helps for the future.
Minor stuff: * the blue texture under that one rocket launcher (even though it is not the other blue jumppad texture) in combination with the blue stripes going up the wall made me think there was a jumppad there leading to the level above it, but there is not.
There are also some things which I found very cool:
* you have already added some cool-looking architecture, (mostly the stuff with the blue texture, and round corridors) which gives the map a rather unique look * I like the water and broken floor tiles at the flak jacket, makes that area stand out. I also like the half-height level there. (it has a pack of rockets which are too close to the wall btw, if I remember correctly) * HB on the lowest point of the map, but with an upwards tele next to it * the jump to MH, and that players can see it from below. (I think it would be even better if the area below it would be an area with more traffic though. While the idea is cool, very few people will actually be shot at from below at that location in a real game I bet.)
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Mar 27, 2015 13:57:01 GMT -5
The web page went missing some time between my last Q2 map (2011 ?) and this contest.
The mod implements bots which are OK, and you do not have to make annoying waypoint files for them (maybe it does more, but I don't care). I use it to test very early maps, that's why I like it.
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spirit
Quake 2 Mapping Club
maps.rcmd.org
Posts: 509
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Post by spirit on Mar 27, 2015 6:28:34 GMT -5
I have started this a long time ago, now it's finished. For all level designers who are interested, I put together some thoughts on designing great multiplayer FPS maps. It if focused on the Quake series of course, and uses Quake 2 as an example. This guide does NOT talk about technical stuff like editors, vis, or whatever. It is about designing maps that play great, not about placing brushes. As most people here know, I am lazy and thus prefer to make small maps. So I like 1vs1, and the guide focuses on that. It will still help you if you make DM maps, and it is certainly not limited to Quake 2. The guide is split into 3 parts (and you should read part 1 first ): * Introduction -- explains the basics (like item layouts, up-player and down-player, ...) * Examples -- shows and discusses item placement and great spots to fight in some famous maps * Details and Conclusion -- draws conclusions from the examples, and discusses some items in detail It is important to note that the guide is not the truth, it's just some thoughts of mine. Feel free to discuss them, point out errors, whatever. I hope it helps somebody.
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