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Topic Starter Topic: Map on the Edge of Forever
sock
The Illuminated
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PostPosted: 03-06-2010 11:46 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote




Here is the final release of a map that some of you may have seen over the last 8 months via the mountain of screenshots I have drowned this forum in and wondered 'what is going on here!'. It has been a very long journey for me with countless builds and months of building but thanks to all my friends it has been an amazing experience. :)

As always, constructive comments are welcome and if you have the chance to record any demo's please let me know because I would love to see how you played the map. I do understand that this will not be everyone's cup of tea because it has a very strong puzzle element but take your time and try to resist the urge to noclip around the place. All the source files and a detailed explaination of the map will be released next week. The website does contain some help on how to find things if you are really stuck!

Zip File : http://www.simonoc.com/files/maps/sp/moteof_final2.zip (49Mb)

Instructions for loading / playing the map

This map is designed for Quake 3 Arena 1.32 and IOQuake 3 and does not require any special MOD in order to play correctly. I would highly recommend that you turn off various elements of the default HUD so that the playing experience is as immersive as possible and follow the loading instructions below:

Place moteof_final.pk3 in your /Quake III Arena/baseq3/ folder
Start quake3 Arena icon on desktop
Hit ` key usually next to the number one key, left hand side and type:

/g_gametype 2 - This mode will get rid of the awaiting player message
/cg_drawgun 0 - Stops drawing any player weapon on the screen
/cg_drawstatus 0 - Removes the ammo, health and armor status
/cg_drawfps 0 - Turns off the fps counter in the top right corner
/timelimit 0 - Stops the map ending if an existing timelimit has been set
/fraglimit 0 - Turns of the fraglimit on the bottom right side of the screen

/map moteof_final loads the map, can be done via ffa/tourney menu as well
Hit ` key will close the console if still open

If the map fails to load with the follow error message ERROR: Hunk_Alloc failed then you need to change the memory amount using the following console command: '/com_hunkmegs 96'. After typing the command, restart the game and load the map again.

If you feel the lighting of the map is too dark, you should change the screen gamma to a brighter value. Please note that the gamma console command only affects the display if the game is full screen. (the game fills up all of the screen, no window border)

The console command to adjust gamma is '/r_gamma 1.0' (default value)
A good starting point for something lighter is 1.3 and a lot brigher would be 1.5.

The design

This is a single player experience ONLY and there are no plans for adding bots or multiplayer support to this map. The environment is designed with countless visual clues of what to do next and will require the player(YOU) to look up to find them! There is no time limit pressure and the level can be played at any pace.

The environmental detail comes with a price and that is extremely high poly counts in most areas of the map. The average poly count for the map is between 20k-30k and will require a modern day PC in order to reduce any FPS problems.

The main puzzles are made up of two state objects (on or off) which are linked together to create more interesting problems. All of the puzzles are setup with custom sounds and visual effects so that it should be easier to see and hear what is going on.

The solution for every puzzle is always linked to something that is blocking your path, this could be a door, a floor opening or a new route forward. Two of the puzzles are randomly setup each time you load or re-start the map, so if you play the map several times it should be a slightly different experience everytime.

The Story

Far across the Dead Sea, beyond the shores of white sand are The Dragon's Teeth--heartless mountains consumed by cold howling winds and separated by valleys of icy fog. Nestled deep within is a small rocky pinnacle upon which rests the palace of The Guardian, the architect of the Vault of Knowledge.

For centuries people have visited the Guardian hoping for blessings and the chance to take the Trial of Knowledge but few have been granted the wish. After many wars and natural disasters the location of The Guardian eventually slipped from people's memories and was lost forever from maps. Only legends remain telling of the trial and the strange machines that seem to crackle with the power of the skies.

For years you have dreamt of finding the Vault and gaining the treasure of the ancients but the mountain paths have just led you round in circles. One day, while searching the northwest mountain peaks, you discovered a hidden trail marked with small piles of stones covered in unusual symbols. Something looks familiar and you suspect you have seen these symbols before in ancient books, but your memory is fading and you are not sure anymore.

After days of walking past countless marker stones, the trail eventually descended from the higher peaks towards a misty valley. Far off in the distance you could see a small hill with what seemed to be a manmade structure on the top but you will need to get closer to find out.

The trail leads down into a dense forest shrouded in a thick miasma that chills you to the bone. The boughs creak and groan but there is no wind, just the fog blocking out the light above. Several days pass and eventually the winding trail leads upwards again, out of the mist. You stand before a small ornate building with glass on all sides.

You enter the main door...

EDIT: Fixed all file/image links



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Last edited by sock on 04-06-2012 10:30 PM, edited 1 time in total.
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wattro
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PostPosted: 03-06-2010 11:58 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


nice! will check it out as soon as i get to my quake pc
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Delirium
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 02:15 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Wow, played on it for and hour and 20 minutes and still havnt finished it! better luck tomorrow.

The level looks great! gj Sock =)


PS: is there a way out of the dungeon?



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Tabun
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 02:19 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Well, I'm about as hyped and eager to try this map as I would a new game that's just been released. :]



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cityy
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 02:22 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


I think I can say that this is the most awesome stuff that I have ever played in q3. The general concept is very cool and the visuals are perfect so far.

I was not able to find the last trigger in the second puzzle.... :( Is there some kind of guide in case you dont know further?



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sock
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 02:38 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


!!! SPOILER ALERT !!!

The zip does have a full run through demo of the map in 4 1/2 minutes, so if you get stuck or just want to see it complete then try it out, BUT be warned it will show you everything and probably spoil all surprises. The bottom of the map website page also offers 2 types of clues to where things are hidden which is much better because you can check one clue at a time and not see everything. Once I get a spare moment today I will finish off the walk through guides on all the puzzles and link to the main page.

Website : http://www.simonoc.com/pages/design/maps_q3/moteof.htm

Alternatively you can check out a youtube video which is a recording of the demo included in the zip file. Again this will show EVERYTHING and should be used as a last resort or if you don't have Q3 installed anymore.

youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYm-AGRx2Gg

A couple of people have already asked me about the source files and YES everything will be released next week, so you can see how the map was put together. I am sure most people will decompile the map in the meantime but trust me it is worth waiting for the original source map file! ;)

Here is a link to the texture pack if you want to just play around with the new textures.
Textures : http://www.simonoc.com/pages/materials/ ... /index.htm



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cityy
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 02:44 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Thanks for the video! I was just totally doing it wrong :owned:

Can't wait to try the textures. :)

Edit:

My demo: http://cityy.explicits.de/uploads/demos (5.2mb :toothy: )

Forgott to put it in a .zip file - I hope it is ok.



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ShadoW_86
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 05:32 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Wow! Sock that's amazing stuff. I enjoyed it very much, feels pretty oldschool, like all those old good 'find the key to open the door' great games :). And I must admit I had a problem to find all skulls :rolleyes: . 8 Months?! :eek:

But now I have one important question. WHY? Why you didn't made Wolfenstein all by yourself!?! :):):)

Once again congratulations on this one. I'm waiting for next part.



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cityy
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 05:35 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


ShadoW_86 wrote:
But now I have one important question. WHY? Why you didn't made Wolfenstein all by yourself!?! :):):)


Good one :olo:



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Hipshot
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 07:15 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Just for the record: This is a great level sock!
The only bad thing here is that the game core isn't made for it, have you ever though about making it a source level?
Keeping everything the same but having the benefits of an advanced single player engine?



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sock
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 08:11 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


@citty, wow your demo is amazing, Ive got no idea how you got the hidden stuff so quickly! What is interesting is how everyone thinks the hidden stuff is mirrored in identical locations and rushes off to check a facing window or alcove. It seems everyone gets stuck with at least one skull and so far no two demo's are the same.

@ShadoW_86, thanks, I am glad you enjoyed it. After spending so much time make just one level, I realised I would need to be part of a team to make something bigger.

@Hipshot, thanks. I have no plans to convert this to another engine or continue the story. It started life as an experiment into 3d scripting and trigger chains and as usual grew into something else. I am planning to move onto UDK as soon as I have finished releasing all the source files for this project.



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seremtan
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 09:21 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


sock wrote:
youtube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYm-AGRx2Gg


you weren't kidding about puzzles :eek:

you should try mapping for portal. i bet you could make something impossible
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phantasmagoria
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 10:14 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


excellent stuff. Indeed you should try (if you havent already) mapping in source, it lends itself far better to logic and gate based puzzles, though i imagine a lot of the fun you had was in overcoming the shortfalls in radiant.

I had to watch your speedrun to get a couple of the skulls. The one hidden in the top of the doorframe was quite a little bitch. >:E



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pjw
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 10:40 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Just emphasizing yet again that this is awesome.

Great job on the final, sock!

I've had a great deal of fun playing through the various iterations, and I hope you do something similar in the future!

I wouldn't have included a demo or YouTube link. But I'm a jerk like that... :)
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phantazm11
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 11:47 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Fan-freakin'-tastic sock.

I haven't finished it yet, but I was also wishing that this was just the first level of a complete game.

Congratulations on the release! :D
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AEon
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 12:15 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Great, great map...

Alas I seem to be too stupid to find the 10 skulls... got 9/10... argl... even with noclip I could not locate the missing one. But I am not giving in to looking up a solution just yet... sigh.
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sock
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 01:41 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


@phantasmagoria, part of the challenge of this map was trying to make the puzzles with Q3 and to find inventive ways around the engine limitations. I know if I turned the map into a Q3 MOD or used HL source, it would not of been as much fun or as impressive to create for me.

@pjw, I am still waiting for your speed run! :P

@phantazm11, there is no hurry to complete it :) There is only one map and it is very unlikely there will be anymore after this one from me either.

@AEon, finding the skulls are suppose to be hard, it is certainly no reflection on intelligence. Plus I wanted people to play the map for roughly 30-60mins, so it was designed to be tricky and so far everyone has had problems getting the last skull :D



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MrLego
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 02:39 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Love the map Sock

It took me two sessions before I found all 10 skulls - almost 2 hours of running around looking for the triggers.

Great job.

I read your previous post, but hopefully this won't be the end of the story.

To be continued...



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Johnny Law
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 05:01 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


When an interesting Q3 map is released I tend to just want to wander around inside and examine it, without bots in the way, and this map really hits the spot. :) Good times...

Man, it's a shame that Q3 never had a standard singleplayer entities set for folks to work with. Obviously that's old news, but it's just something that occurred to me yet again after seeing this map, and seeing the lists of 10,000 user-made Q3 maps that Foo has been digging up.


The switch-puzzles were straightforward, just right for making me feel slightly clever when solving them. Getting the skulls took me forever though... which is par for the course, as I'm crap at finding secrets in Q1 and Q2 maps too. While running back and forth looking for the last couple of skulls, I thought it would be cool to get some sort of general pointer or hint for them in-game (one example would be the Riddler maps you can find in Batman AA). Did you spend any time pondering how to do that sort of thing with unmodded Q3?

Actually, just a more general question: what other kinds of things did you want to do in this map, where Q3 limitations foiled you in the end?


But anyway: outstanding job! You made a great place to explore. And remember, since you said "to be continued", you're contractually obligated for another one. :)


Edit: I have a couple more specific comments, but I'm wondering, is there any way to hide or spoiler-protect text on this board? I don't think there is, but maybe I've forgotten.
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obsidian
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 05:16 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


sock wrote:
I have no plans to convert this to another engine or continue the story.


But but but.... it says, "To be continued..."!

pjw wrote:
I wouldn't have included a demo or YouTube link. But I'm a jerk like that... :)


Yeah, tell me about it. We didn't get to take the easy way out on the 6 or 7 versions of this thing and countless hours spent running around scratching our heads. If we have to do it the hard way, so does everyone else! (I think it's actually easier with the final version with the suggested clues to puzzles and hidden triggers). You should also remove the skull puzzle solutions from the webpage, that's too easy. >:D

This map is amazing and I hope everyone else has as much fun playing it as I did. NO CHEATING!



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Foo
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 05:29 PM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


obsidian wrote:
But but but.... it says, "To be continued..."!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woySeSNBL3o
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Silicone_Milk
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 06:08 PM           Profile   Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Hot fuck this is amazing. It's finally out! I need to reinstall Q3 now that I found the lost disc hiding in my car.
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g0th-
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PostPosted: 03-07-2010 11:24 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


awesome work man!
I haven't got time to run through all the puzzles yet, I got stuck pretty quickly on the second pair of doors and noclipped from there and just looked around.

The visuals are very good and I love all the small details you put in everywhere. This is absolutely in the top level of quality works for q3



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AEon
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PostPosted: 03-08-2010 01:33 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


On a possible continuation... a quick additional SP continuation could be to use so some of the designs from this map (architectural designs mostly), plus re-use POM for a labyrinth / additional puzzles... since the design is already defined there. The pyramid would probably be a bit off topic, but everything else in that map should save you a lot of time. Not as a verbatim copy, but as a set of rock/cave "templates" / modules.

About the puzzles, the second one with the two gates (two battery rooms)... I will be playing that one again... but either I am not the really "thinking" type, i.e. I use trial and error a lot, or there are actually not any real hints on what to do, other than "power up". Maybe - once enough folks have played the map - we could start a discussion on puzzle logic vs. random trial and error. I may simply not have properly understood the "hints" though.
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monaster
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PostPosted: 03-08-2010 03:27 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Ok, heading for some constructive comments beside the obvious "Oh my sock, you make it hard for people to continue mapping with the knowledge that it could take centuries in some cases to make their own maps look as good as yours; who needs tempest utopia anyway": You could add the following to your first post or maybe in your readme: "anything below Quake 3 Arena v1.32 will NOT work", because it simply doesn't. Seems that id applied some changes to a few limits with the latest patch, because I tried to load moteof - nice rememberable abbreviation even if it is kinda coincidential - and constantly got a "shader overload", which prevented loading a single brush of your map. That occured under v1.30. If anyone would be able to test v1.31, that test would be completed, otherwise it should be marked that "anything up to Quake 3 Arena v1.30 will definitely NOT work".
Greets and Congrats!



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sock
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PostPosted: 03-08-2010 04:54 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


@MrLego, hey did you record any demos?

@Johnny Law, part of the challenge for me was to try and create a puzzle orientated single player experience using just vanilla q3 and that alone is a crazy idea. :) The main problem is that you are limited to 255 brush based entities and that soon goes when you are using Q3A logic.

Often the type of puzzles I wanted to create were just not possible because there is no engine support for toggled states (I did via a hack) and all the moveable entities are two position only. Even thou rotation is supported, it cannot be toggled on/off and draws regardless of portals! The list of problems with the vanilla Q3 engine are too much without a MOD and I would prefer to spend my time working with a better engine.

If you have any discussion or questions about the map, fire away. I think the 5 people that the map was designed for have played it by now :P

@obsidian, thanks. You should check out the demo's that are avilable for the map at func_message board :) They are amazing to watch if you know the map really well.

@Foo, LALALA I can't hear you! :P

@Silicone_Milk, hope you like it, record a demo!

@g0th-, yeah the right hand puzzle for the double door is designed to prevent random completion. You got to pay attention to what is going on and try/observe switch settings.

@AEon, nah vanilla Q3 is too limited on entity types and quantity. Once I release the source files, maybe someone else will pick up the torch and run with it. By all means, chat about puzzle construction in this thread. I am sure the majority of people have seen it by now. The Q3 community is really small <100 lurkers.

@monaster, umm I say at the top of the thread 'This map is designed for Quake 3 Arena 1.32 and IOQuake 3' so I am not sure why you are running an old version?



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cityy
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PostPosted: 03-08-2010 07:03 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


sock wrote:
@citty, wow your demo is amazing, Ive got no idea how you got the hidden stuff so quickly!


Well as I said earlier in the thread I had some problems with the first two puzzles (according to your site). I solved the left room's puzzle randomly and stucked at the right room. I spent like 45 minutes in the first rooms, watched everything and found most of the skulls there kinda randomly - that was my first try. Then I watched the youtube video to figure out how the puzzles that I didnt understand work. (I only watched until the second puzzle - this is the truth! :paranoid:) Then I started again - that's why the first rooms went pretty quick - All the other stuff I found was just random. As you have seen I had some problems finding the trigger below the lift.. that one was cheeky. :toothy:

I used to play zelda on my N64/NGC and kingdom hearts on the ps2 - there were a lot of this kind of puzzles in these games and I enjoy them a lot! Still a great map - even my friends who usually only play cod4 enjoyed it and they were impressed by the visuals.



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AEon
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PostPosted: 03-08-2010 02:18 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Finally found the last scull... I had reckoned with a lot but not with two sculls being in relatively close prolixity.

indirect spoiler

  • I had fully expected to find a scull in the "panoramic view", opposite the lift that leads to the planetarium room.
  • And I also had expected second one to be placed somewhere on the outside walls (the walk-able balcony area).

Concerning the pacing towards the end. I found it a bit strange that your planetarium room did not have a more central role, i.e. I had fully expected to only be able to enter this room after solving the "yellow lift" and the "angled spools" (activate generator) puzzles. And that the final "showdown" would be the puzzle concerning the planetarium. Alas it was only deco... The "back room" TP, out the of main building was a bit of a let-down, felt a bit unglamorous, if I may say so.

More trial and error and a bit of thinking, makes most puzzles actually logical (i.e. the metal bars from ceiling and the yellow "spools"). The other generator puzzles, IMO, are still pretty trial and error.

indirect spoiler

  • Something I was very surprised about was the "yellow spool" puzzle. Here I was expecting to turn *on* all of them, not *off*. Change of pace? Or does it have a "hidden" logic that was discernible by looking at them very closely...?

Awesome voice acting, BTW.

Only "bug" I noted were the many sparklies (30+) - but it seems I am the only one (old ATi card, old drivers) who actually sees them?

Really beautiful map.

Thank you for making this map, it was a wonderful, visually stunning and fun experience.
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^Ghost
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PostPosted: 03-08-2010 03:33 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


great map looks amazing! very beautiful work sock!!

i think this map would work great as an offline defrag map.. you have a start and a finish ;D



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Pat Howard
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PostPosted: 03-08-2010 07:27 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Sock, it's beauuuutiful...
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InsaneKid
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PostPosted: 03-08-2010 07:31 PM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


;) >>>

Image

edit:
cool, now i understand those switches :D rly cool! (Y)



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Joined: 05 Jun 2008
Posts: 124
PostPosted: 03-09-2010 03:19 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Really great Map sock!
How did you create the the sounds?
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Pat Howard
Insane Quaker
Insane Quaker
Joined: 31 Mar 2009
Posts: 489
PostPosted: 03-09-2010 05:11 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Aaaaaah! No way! I was stuck in the cave for about a half hour playing without /cgdraw2d on until I realized the level was over. I might have realized that door was not actually a door if it showed bullet holes but the phong shading on there leaves no marks! Oh well.

Really groundbreaking map, Sock. Production levels are light years beyond anything I've ever seen in Q3 land. The Guardian voice especially sells the experience ( :up: to whoever did the voice acting) and the machinery is amazing. A few words about my experience:

Like some other people here, I had the most problems with the first puzzle on the right hand side. (Just out of curiosity, how many people went left before they went right?) I managed to solve the left side without actually realizing what I was doing at first and then when I got to the right it took about 45 mins. before I got the right idea. I was surprised at how subtle some parts of those first puzzles were (like the switches only working when their lights are on), but then, this could just be that we are not used to this kind of thing in Q3A and that I'm embarrassingly bad at puzzle maps.

I had no problem with any of the skulls. I did find it a little weird that your whole planetarium room was dedicated to the 10th skull, which kind of went against the easter-egg status of the skulls you had established in the beginning. That whole room is so amazing though that I could care less!

Now that I think about it though, I really don't think the whole level should have revolved around the skulls the way it did in the end. The way you had the first few skulls set up, I figured they would just be a secondary objective and the level's true end would lie in the finishing of the last puzzle.

I also thought the progression itself would be more linear, but there is actually some connectivity here, which I am personally not a fan of because I always worry that I'm skipping something.

Would've been cool also to have some different kinds of puzzles, like Mario-esque moving platform puzzles and keys that have to be found and brought to locked doors. While the machinery is awesome aesthetically, it is very difficult to give it much variety with Q3A's limited trigger system (especially since it lacks toggling) and the puzzles can often be solved randomly.

I never thought of episodic levels as a work around for the 255 entity limit. Smart thinking there. I might just try a similar idea myself someday... but for now I'll stick to normal game modes :).

Anyway, those are just some extra ideas I had while playing. I had an absolutely amazing time playing through this thing and I've already spent hours looking around at all the detail. Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations!

-pat

@obs: Yeah I just did /cgdraw2d 0 to get rid of the HUD after the first puzzle because I thought I didn't need the hints and was too lazy to type in all the specific commands. Serves me right :).




Last edited by Pat Howard on 03-09-2010 08:25 AM, edited 1 time in total.
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obsidian
I'm the dude!
I'm the dude!
Joined: 04 Feb 2002
Posts: 12238
PostPosted: 03-09-2010 07:58 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote


Did you disable the on-screen messages as well? There were lots of hints telling you what you were supposed to do.



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sock
The Illuminated
The Illuminated
Joined: 08 Sep 2000
Posts: 1085
PostPosted: 03-09-2010 11:12 AM           Profile Send private message  E-mail  Edit post Reply with quote



The Edge of Forever - Source files

Web : http://www.simonoc.com/pages/design/map ... source.htm

The map source file is very large (10Mb) because I have included 200+ ASE files with relevant map files and a few of those are linked together to form other files. The ASE naming convention is a bit strange but the level was developered over 8 months with 156 map versions so some stuff will probably be in the wrong place. I recommend you turn on camera clipping in the editor, otherwise you will not be able to move the camera around.

The map is compressed into a small space in the editor so that the light grid has a better density on surfaces. I have included map compile options in the readme file and it works fine with q3map2 version 2.16. All the Q3A logic stuff is high above the map and is colour coded via textures to show the different functions used. Once I get a free moment I will sit down and go through some of the logic stuff because unless you are into scripting or coding it will be very difficult to follow.

@AEon, I just ran out of entities and could not add anymore to the map. I thought of at least another 5 places I could of created more secrets but Q3A has hard code limits. I could of got around this limitation with a MOD, but I wanted this to work with base Q3 as well.

The pacing at the end is weird because after I created puzzles 1-5 I hit the engine entity limits and had no chance to create anything else. The map had already been cut down in size twice before and I just wanted to finish the map and move on. The orrery is my nod to 'Dark Crystal' the film and is just something fun to find, a visual treat for playing the map close to the end. I originally wanted the orrery to rotate and be something you solved by aligning the planets but that is just light years ahead of vanilla Q3.

I tried to make every teleporter unique in style so that it was easy to describe them to someone else. The teleporter back to The Guardian room is suppose to be very industrial and feel like it was manmade. It certainly does not look as special as the Guardian portal. It probably could of had more detail added to it because I did not spend a much time on that room compared to others.

Puzzle 1 is usually completed by people running around like a headless chicken madly pecking at switches. It seems to be a favourite style for people and FPS games.

Puzzle 2 is the tricky one that actually requires players to observe, think and stop playing the map like a traditional Q3 map. It is the one puzzle that catches everyone out because you have to take note of the visual clues and re-use switches. This is very similar in style to puzzle 4 with multiple switches being re-used several times to complete something.

Puzzle 3 / 5 can easily be completed by random chicken effect. The real fun is to try and spot the patterns and complete it logically in two moves from beginning to end. Sadly these puzzles show quiet clearly how vanilla Q3 is just terrible for puzzle creation.

Puzzle 4 is a scripted event with some button mashing to advance each stage. No special puzzle logic, it is just something cool to look and listen too as the machine changes and develops into something else. I had a lot of fun making this one and all the people that saw it for the first time, always had a grin on their face when it was complete.

@^Ghost, if you want to convert parts of this to defrag maps then have a look at the source. Hope you have fun with the map file and come back to Q3W with screenshots!

@InsaneKid, OMG that screenshot is ugly, you really need to fix your version of quake to have a lower gamma setting or just get a better monitor. Hope you enjoyed the map glowing at you! :p

@neoplan, all the sounds are custom made from raw sound files. I used a crazy amount of them and I really should credit all the different sources but I don't know which one's I have used anymore. I downloaded a ton of stuff from http://www.freesound.org/ and I recommend you check the website out. Amazing stuff.

@Pat Howard, I have been waiting for your feedback and I was wondering what you thought of it. The Guardian voice is by a friend of mine and it was worth the wait to get it recorded. It really makes the map shine and makes the environment/story much more interesting. The map is full of subtle clues to how things work and ways to help anyone solve puzzles. I think the clues should of been stronger (visually) but that is probably why nowadays anything that is remotely interactive or useful has a huge glow around it :p

Thanks for the kind words everyone, it does mean a lot to me after such a long time in development. :)



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