[Q4 MP] Lost and Found

[BJA]

Hi, I've been visiting this forum now for quite some time but now I thought it's the right time to actually register and make a first post

I made a small quake4 multiplayer map in an industrial/tech environment for 2-4 players.
IMPORTANT: You need to have the latest Quake4 patch (Quake4-beta-1.4.1) installed to play this map.

Screenshots:







More screenshots: http://www.bja-design.de/lost_and_found.htm

Download (20,7mb):
http://www.bja-design.de/images/q4maps/ ... bjadm2.zip

Have fun! Feedback and comments are welcome, just tell me what you think about it

[obsidian]

Oooo...

Welcome to Quake3World!

Very nice lighting and terrain. Downloading...

[Jemcdv]

What Obsidian said, sweet. Downloading.

Edit: Wow 20 Megs, is that normal for Q4?

[Lukin]

The visual style is a little bit incoherent, but it looks nice. Even very nice in some places.

Gameplay wise the map lacks something. The layout seems to be oversimplified and quite uninteresting after a while. I guess it's too late to say that since it's a final version, but, well, you asked for an opinions... So, another vertical level could be a bliss. Maybe this YA cave could be connected with other rooms somehow?

Also, an item placement could be done better. Three health bubbles is not enough for 2 players, not to mention 3 or 4. There is no MegaHealth and only one armor. All of that makes the game pretty random: a player who has just died and respawned has an advantage over the rest as he has 125hp and only looks for a stronger weapon (which respawns every 5 secs) while his opponents desperately search for a medkit (which respawns every 30 seconds IIRC). This aformentioned stronger weapon is not even needed to kill someone (MG is enough) but to defend against... a respawned enemies. One of them will kill you sooner or later anyway. It's kinda dull.

All in all it's a cool looking level which would gain a lot from some gameplay improvements. IMHO.

Edit: Wow 20 Megs, is that normal for Q4?

If there are a new textures included then yes - it's normal. Every material needs three image files which have to be in .tga format.
However, these four screenshots (over 2MB) could have been removed from the zip

[BJA]

Thanks Lukin for feedback, very much appreciated
And yes I know that the gameplay and layout are very simple. I really didn't care that much about those things since I just wanted to create a Q4 map with a different look. Well I guess a good map should have both, good gameplay and nice visuals, but as mentioned I wanted to concentrate more on the look of the map rather than making it fun to play.
As for the item placement: To be honest, I didn't even think about all those things you mentioned, but it makes perfect sense. Thanks again.

However, these four screenshots (over 2MB) could have been removed from the zip

Yeah, I could have put in just 1 lowres screenshot, but hey what are 2MB these days

[Jemcdv]

Just finished playing the map. Thanks for making it! I enjoyed it very much.

Is this a beta or release? I do hope it's a beta.

I liked the playability of the map, it is very easy to get from a to b. It is also very small, I had a hard time imagining more than 4 players in this map, but realistically 2, maybe 3. There were no hang-ups that I experienced, which made movement even better.

To me the theme of the map was nice and aesthetically pleasing. I liked the different details, from piping to wires and bricks, giving the map life. The indoor lighting was ample, and I didn't feel like I was running around in the dark. (This seems to be common with other Q4 maps for MP. Why???)

The layout could have vastly improved from better item placement, expanded rooms with more passages, or maybe by keeping the size but cutting one of the jumppads out. I have to agree with Lukin that an extra level would have made this map very, I should say, sweet. I also agree with the point of not enough armour/health around.

EDIT, ANAL ITEM PLACEMENT SUGGESTIONS: I believe the quad location could improve by moving it outside to replace the yellow health by the wall. You might want to try putting the rocket launcher in the Quad location, and the shotgun where the RL is. Also, add a YH on a crate somewhere and maybe put some green health on the passage towards the teleport. The YA by the TP could stay there or perhaps be adjusted better by placing it on top of a crate outside. (You have lots of crates in this map. You can change the impetus to hide behind them by placing something on top of the crate - leaving the player with a choice to make themselves more vulnerable for a desirable item.)
/END EDIT

It's a fun map, for duels. I could easily see this expanding into a 2on2 type gameplay or so. The graphics are good and in general the layout works. Just as a future reminder, I think if you have a quad, you should have a Megahealth or something to offset it's impact.

Good luck with future mapping. Don't let the item placement thing get you down. I like what corsair said,

gameplay..... whats in it.. I get a feeling that people tend to think that gameplay is a static thing, that its fixed per game.. and that therefor a map has just one set of guidelines per gametype to conform to that gameplay...
Nothing is less true if you'd ask me... not the game defines gameplay, but the map does.. The problem seems to be that most maps try to fit to the gameplay that is supposedly defined by the game, instead of widening the gameplay posibilities within the game, by exploring the unexplored in mapping itself.

[v1l3]

It definitely blows away your 1024-Map "The Brush Rush" (bja1dm.pk3). Did you ever make any other Q3 Maps other than that one? Sorry this has nothing to do with this map...

[Kaz]

Very interesting; definitely different looking. Downloading on my measley 56k, hah

I feel as though v1|3 is a q3 historian. :P

[BJA]

@TheTruthfulLiar and others: thanks for feedback and comments, I really appreciate that

Is this a beta or release? I do hope it's a beta.

It's actually supposed to be a finished release, so I'm not sure if I'll work on this map anymore. But I've got some great ideas and suggestions that I will definitely keep in mind when making another multiplayer level.

I liked the playability of the map, it is very easy to get from a to b.

Actually I just have 3-4 rooms that are connected with each other. I'm not sure if that is the best thing for a mp deathmatch level because most 1v1 maps that I looked at seem to be more compact, almost as if it's just one room.

I believe the quad location could improve by moving it outside to replace the yellow health by the wall. You might want to try putting the rocket launcher in the Quad location

Funny, I wanted to do that, but decided to put the quad damage a bit more apart and the rocket launcher more in the center, where you don't have to walk too long to get it.

You have lots of crates in this map. You can change the impetus to hide behind them by placing something on top of the crate - leaving the player with a choice to make themselves more vulnerable for a desirable item.

Have to agree. Especially the outside area has too many crates that are simply lying around without any sense.

I think if you have a quad, you should have a Megahealth or something to offset it's impact.

Now when I think about it, I'm not so sure if the quad damage item makes much sense in a small map like this. But good point in adding more health or the megahealth when using it. Never really thought about it.

Good luck with future mapping. Don't let the item placement thing get you down.

Thanks, and nice quote from corsair

It definitely blows away your 1024-Map "The Brush Rush" (bja1dm.pk3). Did you ever make any other Q3 Maps other than that one?

Hmmm, well that Q3 map is 2 years old and simply one open room made in a few days, so I don't think you can compare those two maps. But I'm glad you like my new map better And no, I don't have more Q3 maps. I had a little space map that got lost after a harddisc crash but that's really it.

Very interesting; definitely different looking. Downloading on my measley 56k, hah

Wow, there are still guys who own and actually use a 56k modem? I thought museums are the only places to find that kind of hardware

So thanks again to everyone for feedback. Really can't say how much I appreciate that

[pjw]

I've got some great ideas and suggestions that I will definitely keep in mind when making another multiplayer level.

Good. Next time please give us a beta to look at, and you'll probably get a variety of suggestions.

Lukin and TheTrughfulLair gave you some good feedback re: layout and item placement, and I agree with most of that, especially that more vert would be good (although I tend to go kinda nutty in that regard), and that the YA cave would be better connected with the rest of the map somehow through a passage or something...it just felt kind of weird and like it didn't really fit.

I also liked the lighting and the overall look, and that it was a notable change from the common dark-and-gloomy Q4 look. Nice job in that regard.

The indoor lighting was ample, and I didn't feel like I was running around in the dark. (This seems to be common with other Q4 maps for MP. Why???)

IMO, the reasons you don't see it much, are that lighting in Q4 is kind of a pain in that it's not baked in, and so directly affects performance--if you go with lots of bright lights, your lights-per-surface goes up and performance goes down. Clever lighting and design can minimize this, and use of ambient lighting can also help, but people tend to shy away from ambient, since it's very easy to overuse if you're lazy/sloppy. Said overuse tends to kill all your normals and contrast and make everything look like flattened ass. /derail

[g0th-]

Looks really good. you got a nice theme going there

[Foo]

Hi, I've been visiting this forum now for quite some time but now I thought it's the right time to actually register and make a first post

I made a small quake4 multiplayer map in an industrial/tech environment for 2-4 players.
IMPORTANT: You need to have the latest Quake4 patch (Quake4-beta-1.4.1) installed to play this map.

Screenshots:

Have fun! Feedback and comments are welcome, just tell me what you think about it

Those shots are freaking stunning. Some of the best work I've seen with Q4 so far.

[dichtfux]

Gave the map a try and I really like the look. Very impressive for your first q4 map! :icon14:

[BJA]

Thanks pjw for your comments

Next time please give us a beta to look at, and you'll probably get a variety of suggestions.

That's probably a good idea. It's just that I'm not a big fan of open beta tests. I don't know why, maybe because once I showed my stuff to the public I'm too unmotivated to work on it anymore.

if you go with lots of bright lights, your lights-per-surface goes up and performance goes down.

Oh yeah, that's why there are some performance dropdowns in certain areas. I used an ambient light, it's just very slightly and after a second thought I'm not even sure why I used it since there are almost no pitch black areas but I thought it would be good to make the map look a bit brighter. I also used a lot more lights than it's recommended. Just in case if you wonder why there are some performance issues with this map.

@g0th-: thanks, I was a bit worried about if that tech and industrial theme and the textures I've chosen fit well together.

@Foo: Also a big thank you

[BJA]

Gave the map a try and I really like the look. Very impressive for your first q4 map! :icon14:

Actually, this is my second q4 map
This was my first map (not only first Q4 map but also my first attempt in making a mp level other than a "one-room-map"), just in case your interested:
http://www.bja-design.de/nohumanity.htm

I also did some single player maps for doom3 and prey, so this is not really my "first" map.

[dichtfux]

Hehe, looks like I got some things wrong there. I'm a bit confused atm, sorry.