"Mysterious Invention" - new SP map

[gm94385]

While I have the inspiration to create new maps for Q2, I try to use it reliably. In over two months I created a new single-player map, under the name "Mysterious Invention". This level is about getting a powerful weapon, more on this you can read in the "readme" file (ATTENTION TO SPOILERS). My map has nothing to do with map-pack/mission-pack under the name "Venus", so for a change you won't find, for example, weapons and monsters with official additions (TR and GZ). It's just a map that will be liked by i.a. enthusiasts of the first fan maps to Q2, which were created during the first year, maybe 2 years, after the Q2 premiere.

LINK TO DOWNLOAD (GOOGLE DRIVE):

drive.google.com/open?id=1Bow6PbVohT2rfZO_CzoYiFniDhrD52Xe (version 1.1)

drive.google.com/open?id=1Zpl7kkup_00QNVNrK1kiNjQcX8hD-59F (version 1.0)

3 SCREENS:

If you have any comments to my map, write to me, preferably at private message.

[knightmare]

I just finished this map. A major improvement over your previous release, you definitely focused on quality over quantity this time, and it shows. It seems to me that this is the project you should have finished first, and then focused on multi-level units.

The interconnected layout of this map and the return to the start at the end somewhat remind me of Carson Utz's The Widening Gyre (risc2).

I found 4 of 5 secrets. The adrenaline near the railgun and power armor- was that meant to be a secret? It didn't count. I also had to alt-fire grenade jump to reach the quad secret.

One major annoyance- those red lasers that function as an instant death trap, with absolutely no warning. That's a very old pet peeve of most Q2 players. There should ALWAYS be a telltale sign that such a trap is waiting, and to give the player a good chance to avoid it once it's triggered. It would also be nice to have some Lazarus func_pushable crates that could be moved to block those instant death lasers.

The final trap with the moving green lasers took me a half-dozen attempts to get past. Waaay too hard, for even a veteran player. At least give the player adequeate room to jump over each pair. I ended up rocket-jumping over them on my return.

You also forgot to cut slots for the doors that open downward to retract into. It looks really weird when a door just disappears into a solid floor.

Also, there were a few times you refered to a door being opened/unloced as a "gate". If you intend it to be a gate, it should be something like bars that can be seen and shot through. Speaking of gates, the fat lasers blocking the hallway looked a bit out of place. It may just be my opinion, but normal lasers are approriate for barriers, the fat ones are better for special map effects like energy or weapon systems.

Last, I noticed a few misaligned or incorrect textures on crates. A very minor nitpick, as can be difficult to check every face of every crate brush.

On a final note, you also might want to gamma-correct your screenshots a bit to match the brightness most Q2 players run at.

[gm94385]

Let me answer some of your suggestions for the mission:

Jul 16, 2019 3:08:56 GMT -5 knightmare said:

I found 4 of 5 secrets. The adrenaline near the railgun and power armor- was that meant to be a secret? It didn't count. I also had to alt-fire grenade jump to reach the quad secret.

The adrenaline, you are writing about, isn't a secret. For secrets, I usually recognize those that are at least an average level of difficulty of discovery and/or require logical thinking. In a similar way, I approached my secrets' policy in "Venus".

Jul 16, 2019 3:08:56 GMT -5 knightmare said:

One major annoyance- those red lasers that function as an instant death trap, with absolutely no warning. That's a very old pet peeve of most Q2 players. There should ALWAYS be a telltale sign that such a trap is waiting, and to give the player a good chance to avoid it once it's triggered. It would also be nice to have some Lazarus func_pushable crates that could be moved to block those instant death lasers.

The final trap with the moving green lasers took me a half-dozen attempts to get past. Waaay too hard, for even a veteran player. At least give the player adequeate room to jump over each pair. I ended up rocket-jumping over them on my return.

I don't exclude update of this map. Pay attention to the fact that all the doors (which open the red laser traps) open "about 1-2 meters in front of the laser line". In most such cases, the player is still able to see the door opening.

In the earlier version of my map, the green lasers were supposed to move faster. Finally, I gave up this solution, because in the tests of passing through the "laser field", usually about every 20 attempts to go through them ended without loss of life (of course, I didn't use the rocket jump). When the movement speed of the green lasers was reduced by me - through the laser field it was possible to pass every 4-5 try. Condition: you can't rush, and rocket jump should be used only as a last resort, if you have HP and armor.

[knightmare]

Those are still almost no-warning instant death traps if the player has "always run" on, which most players do. The triggers should be moved further away to allow more warning to the player.

Also, the spaces between the moving green laser pairs need to be about 3 times as wide to give the player proper space to move and jump. Zero-clearance jumping puzzles like that are ever a source of rage for a great many players.

[MaRiNe [Q2C]]

Yeah, I have to echo what Knightmare said here. Those lasers are really cheap and I kind of lost interest in the playthrough after I saw them appear a second time. There's no indication that they're there and there's no skill involved in dodging them after you've already inevitably died to them once.

I got flashbacks from those awful moments in Ground Zero where you'd have turrets lying in wait above every doorway, which really slowed the pace of the gameplay in that mission pack. You really don't want that for a Quake level.

[gm94385]

Jul 16, 2019 3:08:56 GMT -5 knightmare said:

One major annoyance- those red lasers that function as an instant death trap, with absolutely no warning. That's a very old pet peeve of most Q2 players. There should ALWAYS be a telltale sign that such a trap is waiting, and to give the player a good chance to avoid it once it's triggered. It would also be nice to have some Lazarus func_pushable crates that could be moved to block those instant death lasers.

The final trap with the moving green lasers took me a half-dozen attempts to get past. Waaay too hard, for even a veteran player. At least give the player adequeate room to jump over each pair. I ended up rocket-jumping over them on my return.

Jul 16, 2019 18:24:05 GMT -5 knightmare said:

Those are still almost no-warning instant death traps if the player has "always run" on, which most players do. The triggers should be moved further away to allow more warning to the player.

Also, the spaces between the moving green laser pairs need to be about 3 times as wide to give the player proper space to move and jump. Zero-clearance jumping puzzles like that are ever a source of rage for a great many players.

Aug 17, 2019 18:29:34 GMT -5 MaRiNe [Q2C] said:

Yeah, I have to echo what Knightmare said here. Those lasers are really cheap and I kind of lost interest in the playthrough after I saw them appear a second time. There's no indication that they're there and there's no skill involved in dodging them after you've already inevitably died to them once.

I got flashbacks from those awful moments in Ground Zero where you'd have turrets lying in wait above every doorway, which really slowed the pace of the gameplay in that mission pack. You really don't want that for a Quake level.

These forum posts show one thing, generally the biggest disadavantage of the map is that you recognize my laser practices. The biggest complaint (although not everyone must think so) can even be that unexpectedly, during the reinstallation of the OS, the "Mysterious Invention" map's source files disappeared. Admittedly there are programs like QuArK and WinBSPC, but they can't be enough to be able to make many corrections quite quickly.

But somehow I managed to break the limits and I significantly reduced laser damage - yes, those in the form of hidden traps. You can check it in slightly changed version 1.1 (link in the first post).

In addition, I published a survey consisting of 1 question, you'll know its content by clicking the LINK. (I deleted the survey because of too little interest, version 1.0 remains to be downloaded, although after the "possible" release of version 1.2, the oldest version of the map will be removed from Google Drive) It will be the only place where I put the link, but if I have a desire - I can publish it in other places, although I don't promise.