map testing

[j3st3r]

Here is the map I made around my explosion test from another post. Fast vis, just a few textures, and no calk atm so speeds will suck. Test it out and tell me what you think.



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15159109/jgothspace.zip

[Eraser]

The screenshot definitely looks cool.
I wonder about one thing though. You say there's no caulk. Are you seriously going through all of your brushwork again to caulk invisible surfaces? I usually just build everything in caulk and then texture the faces I can see.

[dONKEY]

I was thinking the exact same thing, and was going to offer the exact same advice! As much as I like gothic themed floaters, primarily because they are rare, the intricasy demanded by gothic architecture and the lack of vis control afforded by floater levels can be mutually counter-productive. Not saying controlling r_speeds is impossible but to do this well is going to be damn tricky.
On the up side, the screen shot look great. Maybe consider moving away from the box map approach though.

[j3st3r]

The no caulk approach I use in building is a hold over form my quake 2 mapping. I have always built in 1 or 2 textures and then went back in and 'painted' the level. As counter productive as it sounds it is just something that works for me and really doesn't take long. Just cover all in caulk and then paint the level with textures. I wanted to do a floater due to the traps in the map. If the explosion doesn't kill you there is a chance of being blown into the void. Plus you don't see too many gothic floaters though speeds are a concern for me.

[sock]

I like the architectural style and I played around on the map for a while, but the flow of the map feels awkward. I can't find the gameplay loops and I always end up rushing up to a top a tower and sniping. The fact you added a trap to the top of every tower says a lot about where players want to be, especially because all the powerful items (except RA) are up top. The button to release the explosion is frustrating because you have to touch it, can't shoot and then I don't see the explosions.

The goth + black sky thing has certainly been done before - http://www.lvlworld.com/review.php?id=359 and what made nunuk's map interesting was it had a lot of floor / air space to move around on. Personally I think gothic looks better when it is bright with huge arches lifting towards the sky!

[lvlshot]http://www.simonoc.com/images/misc/jgoth2_1.jpg[/lvlshot]
[lvlshot]http://www.simonoc.com/images/misc/jgoth2_2.jpg[/lvlshot]
[lvlshot]http://www.simonoc.com/images/misc/jgoth2_3.jpg[/lvlshot]
[lvlshot]http://www.simonoc.com/images/misc/jgoth2_4.jpg[/lvlshot]

[j3st3r]

Well the map was rushed a bit to use the traps which I may have over done. Any suggestions on the map flow would be appreciated. As far as the button goes, I could just move it to the other side of the pillar for a shootable but the bots seems to have trouble with that.

[ailmanki]

It seems strange, that it gets wider the higher the tower goes.
I turned the pic you posted by 180°, and I instantly felt more comfortable looking at it. Maybe add some fundament - maybe a big rock where it is on..

[j3st3r]

Bueller......

[j3st3r]

Changed some stuff around and added in some more room. Still need textures and a skybox. Any comments welcome. Hopefully getting closer to something playable.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15159109/jgothspace.zip

[j3st3r]

Any comments good or bad are welcome. Mostly looking for gameplay feedback atm.

[dervish]

From the RG spawns JP I managed to land on the JP that sent me to the Quad roof (i did this on purpose) and coincidentally a bot hit the explosion button as i picked up quad and I was launched to MH I though that was a really cool experience haha. I don't know If you wanted it to be possible to jump directly from the RG jump pad to the one for quad was my main point other than my awesomely timed explosion ;P