New DM Map: The Rail Box

[Animo]

This is my first public release of a deathmatch map. It's a fairly simple arena-style map with support for up to 8 players, though I recommend 4-6. With bots, it gets pretty chaotic at higher than 6 players. I also suggest that you set Weapons Stay to ON. I have gl_modulate and intensity set to 4, you might want to do the same if the map seems too dark... or adjust to whatever you like.

Mainly I'd like some feedback on the lighting, as that seems to be the hardest thing for me to get right. Is it too dark? Too bright? Other feedback appreciated as well, just keep it constructive. Does anything seem strangely placed? Any textures missing? Are you able to get outside the map anywhere? Etc...

If you use Eraser bots, I've included a routes file. Just place it in \Quake2\Eraser\Routes.

Download link and screenshots:

The Rail Box v1.1a: s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=00645988022267214748

[Deleted]

First thing I noticed...

1) i miss a info_player_start in your map to look around in ( Single player mode )..

2) in editor, I saw one bigg skybox, I assume to close leak holes?, repair,detect leak holes is not easy, takes time....a skybox is a solution, but make the map unnecessarily much bigger.
in Quark editor i use the CTRL key ( forced to grid )..
GtkRadiant editor must have one to....Maybe someone on the forum here knows....

Yeah I know a railz map has to be quick playing, but...ahh i really miss details!..
these stone walls,red and blue stripes are asking for creativity.


You can do lots of fun things with stones...


for more map ideas, you can check out this site.
maps.clanwos.org/maponserver/q2map_a.htm

[Animo]

1. I intentionally removed the SP start somewhere along the way while editing and apparently forgot to put it back. I'll add one in again.

2. Actually, the skybox was somewhat big originally because I wanted people to do rocket jumps to get up on the ledges of the outdoor areas. However, I ended up deciding to put clip brushes there instead because I didn't want people to see the secret areas or some of the z-fighting textures outside the map. Since people can't get up there now anyway, I can reduce the size of the skybox but still leave some room for vertical rocket jumps.

3. I love what you did with the bricks! That looks really cool. If I may ask, how did you do that? Just create a small brush and fit a texture to it? How did you "cut out" pieces of the wall? Also, how did you get the solid color underneath where the bricks are missing?

Thanks for the tips so far!

EDIT #1: Just a quick map update. The skybox has now been greatly reduced. Map size went from 760kb down to 460kb. Corrected texture that wasn't vertically aligned properly. Added info_player_start so the map can be explored in SP. New download link in OP.

[Deleted]

Dec 2, 2014 12:21:23 GMT -5 Animo said:

3. I love what you did with the bricks! That looks really cool. If I may ask, how did you do that? Just create a small brush and fit a texture to it? How did you "cut out" pieces of the wall? Also, how did you get the solid color underneath where the bricks are missing?

Oooo wait....I upload a small example map for you, ( bricks & color ). ( private message ---> link )

Have fun...

[Animo]

Thanks for the example map! I think what I'm going to do is keep the original version and also create a "broken" version, that way one arena seems brand new and the other seems like it's had some heavy battles going on in it. Holes in the walls, fallen bricks, etc. Thanks again for the tips, I appreciate it.

[giftmacher]

I'm not too familiar with rail maps, but since the emphasis is on gameplay I have a few suggestions.

1. Add some pillars to the yard areas so players can strafe behind them for cover -> It adds more gameplay elements to the map and detail (as margaal pointed out)
2. Put the quad in a risky area instead (like in the center / high up) and make the teleporters go there. So it is a high risk -> high reward move to get the powerup.

Other than that I'm happy to see another map posted! Keep going and look at other maps for inspiration

[Panzer]

Other tips...purely my preferences interjected here, so take with a grain of salt if not to your particular style:

Pillars (as suggested above) are a good thing. My suggestion...make them a bit decorative to give the map more personality. A box style map rarely pushes the r_speeds very high so you have a lot of room to play with in creating some interesting set pieces.

Spawn points can be buried under the floor (1 unit deep) to prevent seeing the ugly models for the spawn points AND to somewhat minimize spawn camping. Of course those who play a map often will know exactly where the spawn points are, but it still cleans up the floor from randomly placed spawn points, especially if your map is otherwise very symmetrical.

Play around with the lighting a bit...again, this is only to give the map more personality.

A quick final note. When I saw this map, the Doom Level "Dead Simple" came to mind. In that level, there is a perimeter hallway that surrounds the entire central atrium and corridors on the outside of that connected all the way around the level. You don't have to go to that length to add more real estate to the map, but adding some port windows along the hallways separating the atrium and the corridors will allow for some badass "lucky" rail shots.

You're fairly new to the community, but you seem like you have a really good understanding of the level editor...time to flex that creative muscle and make those maps unforgettable!

[Animo]

I don't have any new screenshots at the moment, but thought I'd post an update: I am still working on this map here and there. I've taken a lot of everyone's advice here and I think I'm on the right track to really improving things. The rocket launcher has been removed, as it no longer served any purpose, and it is supposed to be a rail-only map. I've also made the secret area much more worthwhile to visit -- there's now quite a bit more risk going there, but also a better reward if you make it out. This area is what's proving to be trickiest for me, as it involves several func_trains and they're kind of a pain to get exactly how I want them.

I've also redone some of the lighting and begun adding a few small obstacles in the main "battle area" of the map.

Once I get somewhere I'm happy with, I'll post some new screenshots and upload another beta-test version of the map to get some more feedback. Thanks again to everyone for their helpful tips and comments.

[Null]

Hey Animo,
Thanks for the progress update. Overall it sounds like your map is coming together nicely. Hopefully soon you'll be able to finalize it and move onto the next one.
Sometimes it's best to spread out ideas and implementation across a couple maps just to change things up, and refresh perspectives