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Ter Shibboleth - A New Quake Episode
Presenting a new Quake custom episode, Ter Shibboleth. You will traverse through new environments including a tropical hotel resort, a far east structure nestled on the edge of a cliff, and a western mining town. Each map is designed to be as non-linear as possible, so don't be afraid to explore and take different routes as you progress. While each map can be played with a shotgun start, the episode was designed to be played from start to finish. Saving periodically is encouraged, you will face hard encounters.

This episode MUST be played with the customized Quakespasm engine that was included in the release of ad_sepulcher (Quakespasm 0.92.2-qss-r7-admod). It has been included in this .zip as well for convienience. Any other engine has not been tested and probably will not work as intended. The next official Quakespasm release will be version 0.93.0, and will have the ability to run these maps without issue, so you have the option of using that instead once it is out.

While also stated in the readme, I will repeat it here because it is important.
sv_protocol 999 must be used at all times. Likewise, gl_farclip must be set to 100000 or higher. Quake's soundtrack is also recommended. All skill settings are available. You will more than likely encounter framerate drops when looking at far distant scenery. I only hope it will not hinder your experience when playing.

Map sources and texture wads used are included in the .zip for your convienience.

Demos are always appreciated, but not mandatory.

I give great special thanks to EricW for assisting me along the way with this episode, for if it were not for his expertise and development tools these maps simply would not exist.

http://www.quaketastic.com/files/single_player/Ter%20Shibboleth.zip

Please enjoy the episode and be sure to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you!
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Wow 
These look incredible but I guess I'll wait till they've been vised, I recall playing a big unvised map from a jam a while back and getting single digit fps. 
Vis 
Wouldn't make too much difference in some places in these monstrosities. 
Qmaster 
Take a look at the map source, it was done using very very fast func_trains, each timed carefully.

I'm far from the first person to use this trick though, I've seen old maps from the 90's that pull off a similar trick. 
Second Part Of The Stream 
Fifthelephant 
I do so love your british accent fifth, I'm sorry I couldn't be there to watch it live, but it looks like you didn't have too much trouble with navigation, though you were low on ammo a few times.

I hope it was an overall pleasant experience for you, even if there were some annoying moments. What would you say was your favorite map? 
 
I do so love your british accent fifth

CHAV ACCENT MORE LIKE

Innit, m8. 
My Fav 
Was scarabrus. Felt like I was trapped in the mind of a quake mapper. 
Surprised 
I am surprised at the amount of people who claimed shib4 was their favorite, I anticipated it would be the least favorite amongst the majority. I feel the first map would have been the least favorite, that or the puzzle map.

But that just goes to show, everyone has their preference and I'm glad I could satisfy everyone's craving. 
Cowboy One Was Close 2nd For Me, Then Sun 
 
Blastocyst Demo 
Hey there KenChenner/Orl,

Played through the second map Blastocyst, which I think is the smaller one. A very unique and strange base map with lots of awesome rotating bits. Really liked this one, although it should of had a secret! The map pack as a whole is really inspiring and I love the Western map. Reminds me of Timesplitters 2 Wild West map. I haven't finished it yet and my performance suffers a bit, but it's a really artistic map.

Here's my demo:
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/redfield_tershib.zip

All the best to you, I'm sure you will prevail in your current endeavors. 
Great Demo Redfield 
Enjoyed watching it, you had no trouble solving the maps puzzles. Not to mention your combat skills are exquisite :) I look forward to seeing more from you if you plan on playing the rest of the pack! 
On That Subject 
Blastocyst was the map that generally concerned me the most, and what the communities reception of it would be. Once you first enter the large main room, it is a bit overwhelming, as you see arrows, teleporters, and geometry on the ground and ceiling everywhere.

My worry was that players would see this, and immediately be put off by its very un-Quake like style, likely not bother to even attempt it as it might frustrate them.

For those who have played through it, were the puzzles too confusing or too abstruse to make it through the map entirely? 
 
I just played through Blastocyst and it was a blast!

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

were the puzzles too confusing or too abstruse to make it through the map entirely?

No, they were fun and made me want to continue playing. I do love puzzle maps, though, so this was right up my alley.

I think two things really help prevent frustration/confusion:

1) The fact that the player is always fairly locked in, so even if you're not immediately sure what to do next or what that last button did, it doesn't take too long to figure it out (since you don't have a sprawling map to run around in, wondering what to do).

2) The visual cues -- in particular the blinking tubes that connect the teleporters, the arrows that show you where to go, and the large images on either side of the large room, which make it very clear which way the room is oriented at any given time.

The only part that had me stumped for a while was the slope jump, mainly because I really didn't expect that mechanic to be used. But when I figured it out it felt satisfying.

What I didn't like so much was the final area where you move through a large spinning structure. It's very impressive visually, but it made me feel nauseous. I would have preferred if that special effect were used for a short sequence (like a wind tunnel or something similar) as opposed to a space you have to navigate and fight through. 
Spinning Blastocyst Room 
Was one of my favorite parts! Opening that door to see it the first time was one of the best suprise moments in a Quake level ever.

Puzzles were well done. Felt like Portal in quake which was great! Cues were helpful. The ramp jump had me going for a bit too tho.

That and just about every 10secs in Scarabrus was another surprise. Good fun overall. 
The Slope Jump 
Since Ionous' stream showed him struggling with the ramp jump, I silently updated the map to add a narrow step next to the switch, so you could jump normally and not rely on the slope.

That and a few tweaks and fixes in shib3, Sun. 
Plumdanglr 
I'm a metal-head not a chav.
I fucking hate chav scum so I'd rather not be compared to one thanks. 
 
Yeah the Blastocyst puzzle room was great. I also was stumped by the slope jump for a bit--I saw the button but kept trying to look for a different way to jump to it. The other part that held me up for a bit was the part right before where you have to to the timed two-button press to gain access to the next area. Although I thought I hit it the first time, I think I just barely missed and I assumed I did. 
He's From Lancashire Enough Said. 
Dunno if they have chavs in the 3rd world. 
Shambler 
I hope you choke on a yorkshire pudding. 
Bring It On Motherfucker. 
Haven't had a yorkshire pudding for ages :( 
^ Is That A British Code For Some Disgusting Sexual Fetish? 
Orl, impressive release! Very unique and entirely different from anything we're used to. I applaud the approach of disregarding conventions and make something in this scale and themes.

Nice hacks and tricks. I enjoyed the maps, although I had some serious ammo problems towards the end of shib3 and all throughout 4 and 5.

The levels look cool in the sense that the styles is so uncommon for Quake which is refreshing. Of course, the construction is fairly crude in many areas, but I suppose with the huge scale it's impossible to finetune things to the last brush and texture. Not complaining. I thought it was a bit of a shame the buildings were so empty and samey. Some variation (individual detail) here would have made exploration more rewarding. Again, I understand this would have made the pack even harder to finish. This way it's more about setting and scenery.
Disappointing most of them appear to be unvised. I realize a fullvis would take ages, but still -> func_detail the hell out of it and it should be okay?

Nice how it all runs on ID1, though I felt like it could have benefitted from just a little more monster variety in places. Still fun for the most part.

Shib1: fairly straight affair - unless one missed the GK which seems easy as it's tucked away unprominently in one the rooms. This level would have had potential for all kinds of visual story telling by means of unique details in the rooms and events on the beach. The bridge vista is awesome. Shame it cuts off at the sides, but nothing you could do about it. Felt like the girder beam secret could or should have been part of the main progression; running around on the roof tops is nice.

Shib2: kind of odd but nice puzzle map with a mind-blowing finale. I found the puzzles to be managable, no frustrating situations, and it's cool (and required) to see/realize what's going on and how things change on floor/ceiling.

Shib3: Great style and shapes. Seems like it has quite a bit of unused potential, though. Like the temple front was made mainly for the vista and then only populated for gameplay. The stuff in the distance is cool. Never used F11 more than in these maps. Progression can be confusing if one doesn't realize the importance of the central house, because the key doors are somewhat hidden inside.

Shib4: my favorite level of the pack. Very weird and original style and architecture, and cool vista that reminded me of Dark Souls somehow. At the same time, it's very awkward to play. I managed progression for the most part, but had ammo problems and there was pyshics crap likely related to problematic construction.
This may be something for ericw to look into: I had clipping issues on several lifts that would block and return even though I didn't touch any obstacle. Also why the hell does F10 close the game without confirmation?

Shib5: Proper western theme, pulled off well. Very consistent. I enjoyed the nonlinear exploration. The terrain, especially the transition to the skyline looks very natural. Shame the buildings are largely props with nothing inside. Again, this would have been a perfect opportunity for some visual storytelling to reward explorers.
Gameplay seems to rise and fall with the route one takes. Like I said, ammo (and health) was a problem for me, and the grunts chipping away at me from the distance. Also, FFS, clip those mine cart rails next time!

By and large, a nice surprise and refreshing chance of scenery. GG

Demos 
Go To Console: 
unbind f10 
Its A Good Thing Demos Compress So Well 
3GB's of demos at only 86MB.

Terrific job Negke, very enjoyable to watch from beginning to end. And it looks like this time around you were having a good time, which I was very glad to see. Your little quips are always fun to read as you play.

To address some of the criticisms:
Yes, the rooms in maps 1 and 5 are by and large very samey and copy/paste. Reason being is I didn't want to spend too much time creating individual designs for each room. The goal of the project was to step away from the absurd detail I put into previous maps. And while it may look bland, it was sort of the intention.

I would have loved to have the golden gate bridge stretch off much further, but that is as far as the 999 protocol would allow. I did try to create the illusion of it stretching into infinity, but I couldn't get it to look right, so I stuck with what I had.

No trouble at all with map 2. Besides getting stuck briefly on the timed double sided ledge button puzzle, you passed it with ease.

You had no problem memorizing where the silver and gold key "doors" were in shib3, which I'm certain made progress for you go much more smoothly. And avoided all the raining rockets like a pro.

Obviously the big problem in shib4 was getting crushed by the platforms. Sadly from what I had learned over time, and by Ericw, this is and always has been a Quake problem tied to framerate. Even at 72 fps, you will still get crushed. Host_maxfps MUST be set to 60 or lower to ensure it doesn't happen. It sucks, but sadly there's nothing I can do about that. With that said, it was understandable you noclipped and god-moded your way through some of the map.

Despite being always low on health and ammo up to map 5, you managed to persevere and complete it. Shib 5 is designed so that, if one route seems to difficult, there is almost always another path you can take that might be easier.

Again good demos Negke, thanks for playing it all the way through! 
Golden Gate Bridge 
Why not use fog? That's what struck me first, how your exterior lighting looks almost fullbright. Fog would help immensely. 
Tidbits Of Information 
Now that most everyone has had a chance to play the maps or at least watch them livestream, I'll share some info.

As much as I really did not want to, I had no choice not to vis maps 3, 4 and 5. Even func_detail'ing everything, the maps were still just too big and open for vis to have any affect. Not even a fast vis would make a difference. If anything, all it would do is increase the .bsp size by about 100MB or more.

Ericw can corroborate, as he has been attempting to vis shib5 for the past several days, though I give him credit for trying!

Inspirations for each map are varied from different video games, television shows and real life locations. Shib1 was actually based on a dream I had, where I wasn't on a tropical island, but a bridge largely resembling the golden gate bridge towered above me, stretching from left to right as far as I could see, and was so tall it extended beyond the clouds.

Shib3 is mostly just my admiration of Asian architecture, and not from any real life location. The same goes for shib5, just inspiration from other games and movies that used a western theme that I wanted to see be made in Quake.

Shib4 is as many have guessed, largely inspired by Dark Souls. Specifically towards the end of Dark Souls III, in two areas called Kiln of the first flame, and the dreg heap. The twisted and bizarre structures was to see just how Lovecraftian a Quake map can be. But more associated the map with Alice's adventures in Wonderland, which I can certainly see the resemblance to. The 'floor' texture is a birds eye photograph of a town in Syria that I heavily edited to make it look like it would be impossible to exist in our reality. http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AFP_Getty-521723796.jpg

And finally, many compared shib2 to Portal. But shib2 is entirely inspired by an old, somewhat obscure 1996 game called Blast Chamber. The concept of the game is you the player are placed in a large cube, and are tasked with solving the cube, or chamber's puzzle. And to do so, you must rotate the chamber, which makes the ceiling the floor, and vice versa. Just look up any video on Blast Chamber and you will see the inspiration I took from it.

And as far as the many, many rotating objects I used throughout each map, you should credit Scampie for figuring out how to do that in id1. :) 
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