Ironwood by Pat Howard [FINAL]

[Bacon]

Great map! Fun as hell using CPM physics. You can capture the flag in < 5 seconds using only 2 plasma bolts + 1 rocket, making it easily doable with 100 health in a real game. 3.xxx is probably possible.

[youtube]jxXrIpax6VQ[/youtube]

The only thing that looks odd to me is the skybox color. More of an orange/red sunset color would seem nice, but that's just personal opinion and nitpicking. Anything else (like map sounds) you already stated you have covered so nothing else I can really add.

Nice job

[KittenIgnition]

It may be OK with a few crappy GBs in CPM, but the cpm.1 or vq3.1 gameplay is severely lacking: there are too many obstacles and sharp turns.

[fKd]

[lvlshot]http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/t3e00sd8hzdquxt/shot0074.jpg[/lvlshot]

[Pat Howard]

@fKd: wow, good eyes. thanks.

@KittenIgnition: sorry you didn't enjoy it, but everyone has different tastes in gameplay. better luck next time i guess.

@Bacon: awesome video!! thanks for posting.

[Bacon]

there are too many obstacles and sharp turns.

Heres vq3.1, seems fine to me

[youtube]bXbHFjr534Q[/youtube]

[fKd]

id suggest being more aggressive with yourclipping pass, there are a lot of bits where you could smooth it out. apart from that its great map imo. good job man!

[KittenIgnition]

I just don't like how not fluid the movement is for such a small map. Personal preference, I'm sure the gameplay is fine for everyone else.

[Pat Howard]

@fKd: okay, will try. let me know if you have any specific trouble spots.

@KittenIgnition: thanks for your feedback. i will keep it in mind for future maps.

i have removed the snow pit from the center room and replaced it with a flat floor because i felt it was easier maneuver in the alpha when it was this way. i also tightened up the lower entrances into the center room, as they were in the alpha. finally, i added more red/blue colors and added sounds.

i will send this in to lvlworld for a review soon!

[deqer]

i will still look for more ways to work red/blue into the map though.

Cool. Did you look into maybe just putting in some colored omni lights everywhere on both sides? So that the castle walls have a red tint (faint) to them, or blue if on blue side.

Or does that go against your artistic standpoint.

I think gameplay overrules art, and making players look around for colored parts is not as user-friendly as if the entire area was colored and therefore a player doesn't need to look for colored parts.

[monaster]

Pat's at it again! Nice. Welcome back, man.

[sst13]

Some bugs and suggestions:

http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood1.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood2.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood3.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood4.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood5.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood6.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood7.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood8.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood9.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood10.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood11.jpg
http://sst13.net/pics/ironwood12.jpg

Here is a tall torch model with blue flames for you: http://sst13.net/maps/dev/tall_torch_blue.md3
Place it in "models\mapobjects\storch"

I have noticed that all torches are casting no light at all. It would generate a much better atmosphere and color coding by placing some colored light entitys in front of each torch!
You can also use 2 identical sky shader with different lightimages for each side to colorize the bases in a very simple way:

Code: Select all

textures/ironwood/sb_frozen_red
{
	qer_editorimage textures/skies/killsky_1.tga
	q3map_lightimage textures/base_light/light1.blend.tga
	surfaceparm noimpact
	surfaceparm nolightmap
	q3map_globaltexture
	q3map_lightsubdivide 32
	q3map_surfacelight 100
	surfaceparm sky
	q3map_sunExt 256 251 240 100 50 60 2 16
	skyparms env/sb_frozen/frozen - -
}

textures/ironwood/sb_frozen_blue
{
	qer_editorimage textures/skies/topclouds.tga
	q3map_lightimage textures/base_light/light1blue.blend.tga
	surfaceparm noimpact
	surfaceparm nolightmap
	q3map_globaltexture
	q3map_lightsubdivide 32
	q3map_surfacelight 100
	surfaceparm sky
	q3map_sunExt 256 251 240 100 50 60 2 16
	skyparms env/sb_frozen/frozen - -
}

Otherwise a really great map!

[Pat Howard]

@deqer: i'll probably slightly increase the intensity of the colored lights near all the torches. they are there right now, but too faint to see.

@monaster: thanks!

@sst13: thank you for the bug list. how the fuck did i manage to miss all those texture misalignments? looks like they came from when the map got flipped. oh, and thanks a bunch for that model.

i like your suggestion with the stairs in the center. i'm a little concerned about it disrupting the flow of a player's movement as he sprints across the center though. i'll give it a test and decide.

thanks everyone you guys are great.

[Pat Howard]

just submitted to LvL. thanks for all your help, everyone. hopefully i worked out all those little bugs that were in the last version.

change log
- aligned textures
- increased lighting
- ammo placement
- added small drop-down area below rail gun (see below)

[sst13]

The rail drop down is a nice idea! But the lower path goes in the same direction as the upper. If someone watching you going to the rail, he can shoot at both paths from the same point. How about connecting the lower path into the flagroom next to the shotgun. And close the arch behind the RL with thick bars.
One small point that annoys me extreme, is the missing weapon clip under the red armor. You can't rocketjump from the RA to the upper level. It's also very flat, unlike the other grates. (flagspots)

[Pat Howard]

One small point that annoys me extreme, is the missing weapon clip under the red armor.

@sst13: you're right, that's annoying. i've gone and fixed it and updated. (will i ever be done with this map? :P)

about the drop down: the point of adding it was to give the player, when trapped by an enemy, two options for exits to pop out of instead of just one. this can buy the player some time to escape, since usually the enemy is watching from the opposite rail and can't quite see what's going on. during testing, i have also been using it from time to time as a last-second rocket jump audible from the low path. i just veer off into the alcove, grab the 25, and RJ up to the rail, bypassing whatever defenders i didn't want to meet near the lower entrances into the base.

i never thought of cutting a path from the 25 health ball into the side of the base, ending near the low shotgun. it is definitely a fun option to think about. (there really are a lot more ways to add paths to this map than i first realized. it's almost overwhelming!)

i think barring off the alcove would be frustrating to the player who may instinctively want to enter it from the center. also, how often do people take a long transition from high to low on the attack? probably never, unless forced to do so by extreme pressure on the high path. i guess i could see a defender doing it though, grabbing the rail and quickly hopping back into his own base.

i would be more inclined to add the extra path and leave everything open. i think the new path would be harder to defend than the other low paths. it would need to be cramped, otherwise i'd risk it becoming the go-to path into the base from the ground. i'll think about it, even though i have already sent this map into LvL.

thanks for your feedback, i do enjoy discussing these hypothetical gameplay changes. if only there was a way to get people this interested in the map during the alpha phase when changes are logistically easier to make and i am less tired editing the map!

edit: after looking in the .map file i've decided that the path won't be possible to pull off gracefully. there isn't enough room, even though it may look in game like there is. i'm calling this map done-zo.

pat

[CZghost]

Pat, one thing to mention: You don't have to include the source mapmodels if you don't want to share it along the map as the models are already baked in the map by Q3Map2. Just a friendly reminder. I do not include my models in maps even if they are shared with license, because they are in separated ZIP files. I make models in native format for Quake3: md3, as it is protected by binary encoding and such edits in the code will trash the whole model. If I need to change something in the model, I have always the source Milkshape model saved on my local drive.

[CZghost]

Well, testing failed on my side, will test it again after CPU change. Oh the shame, I can't even test maps, nor edit them

[foralarx2k3]

submitted to LvL.

I know it's probably been there a while .. but just came across it as I've not long reinstalled Q3. Great map. Straight 5/5 vote from me. Nice work Pat.

[Pat Howard]

thanks!