Author Topic: New Map Idea ?¿?¿ (Read 21633 times)

SuicidaL MonkeY · May 12, 2004, 05:54:11 PM

I've been contemplating about a new map idea...but for the server...

..a Lunixmonster map, with ideas from our community....

i think it would be a great map.........plus that way there would be at LEAST one thing everyone will love about it... ^_^

Dubbilex · May 12, 2004, 08:11:58 PM

So like a community type plan. I'd be willing to throw myself behind this, now that I've got my computer back. I just have to get back into mapping again.

I guess I'm kinda like the aging samurai who has put aside his blade and swore never again to take a life in anger. But I support this cause, so bushido can go die or something

BobTheJanitor · May 13, 2004, 12:17:51 PM

Are you talking about having those of us with mapping experience work on different parts and then link them together or something? Not really that hard, as I understand it. We'd just have to pick a common texture theme to work with, so the map is consistant and doesn't break the texture limit. I might be enticed to work on this. I haven't really wanted to map since my last one was lost when my hard drive got scrambled, but if I could just work on a few rooms and halls, that'd be fun.

Majin · May 13, 2004, 01:01:56 PM

A map created from Ideas of the REGs... This might be one cool map or one INSANELY STUPID, BRAIN DEAD, MINDLESSLY THOUGH OUT, POS knowing the kinds of ppl who regular on the LM :p

I support this IDEA!
But only if Someone adds something to honor me and the constellation!

Clashen · May 13, 2004, 01:07:50 PM

Cool idea, i could contribute with some sprites and basic mapping, i've only mapped for HLDM and CS before. And that was a while ago

BobTheJanitor · May 13, 2004, 01:20:53 PM

Alright, works for me. Who can get involved in this that has some mapping experience? Even if it's not that much. As long as you can put brushes together into a room that's not a big box and that doesn't leak, we can probably have more advanced mappers come back and pretty things up at the end.

Obviously I'm offering my services. Who else? We need to get a few people willing to commit, then we need to start making up a map layout and decide on texture set. (I'm assuming we're going to make an ns_ map as a co_ map is hardly enough work to warrant multiple mappers...)

Let's do this!

confused! · May 13, 2004, 02:05:10 PM

i willing, thoiuhg right now i am busy trying to get me a jobbie.

sorry i havent been around too much but a few of you saw my attempt to play ns the other day:) (ping 300... ping 7000)

BobTheJanitor · May 13, 2004, 10:50:21 PM

Anyone else up for this? If it's just going to be me and confused trying to work on it, I can guarantee it'll never get finished...

Seth · May 13, 2004, 11:17:04 PM

point me to where the program is that you use and i'll fire up something that'll make your head spin.
probably a lil marine bia'sed but whatever

i was thinking something where the MS is right smack dab in the middle of the map
would make for some interesting gameplay i'd think

call it NS_Crashland
or NS_crashnburn

you get my drift...

Dubbilex · May 14, 2004, 04:45:36 AM

Oh you can definitely count me in. Now that ns_dubbilex has died a nasty hard-drive-failure-related death, I need to fill the empty void in my life. B)

I just have to get hammer once again and get all my affairs together - which I shall do this evening. Should we start divvying up the map? If not, how many people should we wait for before we begin?

Golgothaa · May 14, 2004, 10:28:18 AM

Hydrosity has marines allready smack dab in the middle of the map almost, but yah point me to the program, and ill goof around with it, think of ideas, be GLAD to help so much, i love making maps, i havnt made any maps though since..... *wait for it* doom 2 haha. Oh man old game, but so awesome. made some fun DM maps and one funny as hell map with lots of barrels. POINT ME TO IT!

BobTheJanitor · May 14, 2004, 12:17:48 PM

Ns_delta has MS right in the middle of the map. Doesn't work too well, honestly, as marines start out already holding a major choke point and depending on the hive the aliens get, they're practically screwed from the start.

We do need to get started on a layout plan though. It may be dull but I still think the old methods work nice. MS in one corner, hives in the other three corners, couple of good choke points in the middle. I'd like to try and make a map as balanced as possible if we can. As much as I love, say, bast, I hate starting in engine hive. So lets avoid any problems like that if we can! Try and stick to the general NS rules... 30 seconds from ms to any hive, not putting any really important tactical points in quick reach for either team from start. And no silly 'funmaps'!!!! Let the gameplay be fun, not the map design be goofy...

Tombomb · May 14, 2004, 02:24:21 PM

Wow this sounds soo coollll i love waching things like this come togethur.
sorry i have no maping experiance exept on wc3 so i cant help you lol..
but i have asowme ideas about maps it be cool if we got a sugestion box or sumin going!

Dubbilex · May 14, 2004, 02:42:32 PM

I just got my hammer all set up today. So uhhh....I'm totally ready. Give me some material and I'll map until I drop.

Who could make a layout?

BobTheJanitor · May 14, 2004, 03:02:40 PM

Wellllll I'd like to get as many people as are interested involved in the layout design. That allows even those with no mapping experience at all to have some work in getting the map made. So we should probably get a good idea for what sort of layout we want. SO...

We can do:

1. Big square style. The most common. Seen in maps like ns_tanith, ns_caged, ns_veil, ns_eclipse, ns_agora, ns_mineshaft, etc. Basically a square with ms at one corner and the hives in the other three corners. Sometimes they may get rotated around to be on the walls of the square rather than the points, but the design is pretty much the same.

2. MS in the middle. Mentioned before, seen in ns_hydrosity and ns_delta. Hard to balance properly! But could be quite interesting if done right.

3. WTF style. Seen in maps like bast... hard to tell what in the world is going on here... :p

Add your own ideas and bear in mind we're only talking about dull layout ideas right now. We have to get this out of the way before we move on to fun things like background story, texture sets, pretty details, etc. etc. We've GOT to a have a layout down in a central location where it can be easily viewed by everyone involved. With different people working on multiple map bits, there's no other way to do it right.

My vote's going to be with the big square style. It's proved its value time and again and also its great variability. It's easy to start with everything on the edges and work inwards to balance the rest of the map. So... thoughts? Criticism? Arguments? Additional ideas?

Dubbilex · May 14, 2004, 03:39:05 PM

Quote

Wellllll I'd like to get as many people as are interested involved in the layout design. That allows even those with no mapping experience at all to have some work in getting the map made. So we should probably get a good idea for what sort of layout we want. SO...

We can do:

1. Big square style. The most common. Seen in maps like ns_tanith, ns_caged, ns_veil, ns_eclipse, ns_agora, ns_mineshaft, etc. Basically a square with ms at one corner and the hives in the other three corners. Sometimes they may get rotated around to be on the walls of the square rather than the points, but the design is pretty much the same.

2. MS in the middle. Mentioned before, seen in ns_hydrosity and ns_delta. Hard to balance properly! But could be quite interesting if done right.

3. WTF style. Seen in maps like bast... hard to tell what in the world is going on here... :p

Add your own ideas and bear in mind we're only talking about dull layout ideas right now. We have to get this out of the way before we move on to fun things like background story, texture sets, pretty details, etc. etc. We've GOT to a have a layout down in a central location where it can be easily viewed by everyone involved. With different people working on multiple map bits, there's no other way to do it right.

My vote's going to be with the big square style. It's proved its value time and again and also its great variability. It's easy to start with everything on the edges and work inwards to balance the rest of the map. So... thoughts? Criticism? Arguments? Additional ideas?

This much sounds good to me - while I'm a real fan of the "WTF?!?!"-style of map (a la Bast, Cilrais, etc), such is a hard thing to accomplish correctly. I'd resort to a more square layout design, myself just for the sake of ease.

Now, I have absolutely no experience in layouts. When I did ns_dubbilex, it was complete and utter seat-of-the-ponce mapping. I had no rhyme or reason for what I was doing, which was perhaps not a good idea. But like I said - I wouldn;t even know where to start in this department. So I'd like to leave that up to those who are knowledgeable in that area.

BobTheJanitor · May 14, 2004, 05:09:19 PM

Well, that's two votes for your basic big square then. Anyone got any good centralized hosting we can use? I can already see we're going to need it often. We could start doing up map layouts and posting them, but that'd require having someplace to store them...

Dark · May 14, 2004, 05:47:31 PM

my host is fine if need be just send me the pictars and i'll upload them

confused! · May 14, 2004, 10:17:57 PM

if you guys prefer i can set up an ftp server though my host as well.

scince richmond is about to enter beta (after sati apporves my current changes, which means i need to upload) i should have some time for this in the future:)

im also strongly in favor of a wtf style of mapping, but a plan couldnt hurt us.

finally i suggest we at least contemplate the remix wad availible here

sweet

BobTheJanitor · May 15, 2004, 01:16:24 AM

I'll have to reload hammer (still in mourning over my last map) and take a look at that wad, probably tomorrow.

The thing I don't like about trying a crazy map layout is that it inevitably ends up totally imbalanced. I'd like to come up with a map that people won't just play to say 'look what these guys from the LM community did!' but that they'll say 'that's a great map, we should play it all the time!'

To that end I'd like a map with a pretty straightforward layout, but also with several ways to get around to various areas. Uber choke points (like main aft on bast) are no fun. Once someone has it locked down, the game is almost a foregone conclusion. I like several minor choke points, but sneaky ways to ninja a pg into a hive if the aliens aren't watching. And also ways for aliens to still get from one side of the map to the other if marines have tfarmed a central area. Also not so many res nodes that you don't have to fight over them. That's why eclipse, for example, is a lot of fun to play. There's not really a 'safe' RT to drop anywhere, there's multiple ways to get from place to place, there's some minor choke points but nothing huge, and everything's just generally balanced. Keeps both teams on their toes... Fun!

Oh yeah, and having a bit of ftp space with just a generic guest account we can all use would be nice. Would enable file sharing a lot more easily.