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I Will Say...
#45 posted by Shambler on 2018/01/01 13:23:07
...one slight gameplay frustration with some of these was actually an effect of how nice the designs were - I kept getting entranced by the vibes (did I mention i like small convoluted strongly themed maps) and forgetting to quicksave....
Map De Bal.
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/otp_xmas_bal.zip
Difficult to say anything that already hasn't been said about this gem of a map - such a highly polished, well built place. I played in normal QS, so no fancy volumetric fog-like particles, but I didn't mind. It looked really good even though thematically it was a fairly nondescript base.
My one niggle is the usual videogame-y progression felt a bit out of place: for example, there isn't much logic to pressing two pillar buttons to activate a small lift next room. Usually in Quake this matters practically never, but with this level of professionalism it was a little odd.
Very well done map, hope the next one comes soon!
Breezeep.
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/otp_xmas_breezeep.zip
The trademark high difficulty is back. I managed to fit within just one demo this time, even though I still played very sloppily.
The map does kind of show that it was made quickly before the deadline, though it's rather well done. I think I would have preferred subtler lighting, as I'm not fully convinced the dark monster skins fit very well with the white stone.
The outside area kept teasing me.
I liked the books.
Nice map overall!
Dumptruck.
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/otp_xmas_dumptruck.zip
Another map that could have done with some more time, and some moodier lighting.
This map somehow felt simultaneously small and too open at the same time. It was nice to have those tiny lifts everywhere, it reminded me of E4M8 in a way. It also makes me want to revisit my dm4 remix in this theme... :qthink:
I did like the revisiting of areas (though some more consistency would be nice, rather than making it sometimes a door opening, and sometimes a hole in the wall blowing open) and the twist on the ending.
Somehow I failed to connect the map together thematically (as seen in me tragically failing the ending).
A decent map, all things considered!
#49 posted by topher on 2018/01/01 21:31:55
well i played some of the maps and i must say that i'm impressed with ionous map, it's like a textbook case of reusing spaces.
Ionous Map Manages To Pack A 4096 Layout Into 1024.
#50 posted by Shambler on 2018/01/01 22:20:37
So well done. The starting bit was a gem with 32 monsters fitting in fine to one tiny area. I actually had dreams about this after trying it the first time (and, ahem, ragequitting the zombie trap after forgetting to quicksave......)
Ionous' Map
#51 posted by negke on 2018/01/01 22:35:17
Also a textbook case of using... textbooks
Oh Yeah I Didn't Read Those Fucking Things.
#52 posted by Shambler on 2018/01/01 22:48:33
I liked finding them tho....
Xmas Bal V2
#53 posted by Shambler on 2018/01/01 23:55:31
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/xmassham_balll.zip
Somewhat much easier on a second playthrough finding all the secrets, there's a lot of loot and tactics to manage it for the beefier ending. Although the super-secret was a bit of.....bundle of fun.
Xmas Ionous V2
#54 posted by Shambler on 2018/01/02 12:25:50
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/xmassham_ionooose.zip
Somewhat much easier on a third playthrough finding most of the secrets (the last two I couldn't actually see how they could fit into the uber-compact map), there's a lot of loot and tactics to manage it for the difficulty spikes.
Idunnos.
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/otp_xmas_ionous.zip
As usual, I liked this to bits. Good vibes, and surprisingly light-on-single-shotgun gameplay.
About 'Super Secrets'
#56 posted by Redfield on 2018/01/06 05:19:27
So these are really hard to pull of successfully, although I think Bal's map did a really good job of surprising the player with the secret. In most cases it seems the player will have to go backtracking and find missing secrets/things in order to unlock the 'super secret'.
It seems difficult to figure out where to place such a secret, if it is placed just before the ending it would seem logical, but if the player has missed something in the unlock sequence they may ignore it and finish the map. If it is placed near the beginning, the player will still have to backtrack to unlock it.
I think the mapper can make a conscious decision that the super secret will require backtracking, or it is there to encourage replay of the map. This is what I tried to do, by placing many monsters in the secret, and because the player has to backtrack to unlock it I hoped they will either explore more, or do a second playthrough. I agree with @Spud, I can see that this is not a perfect setup and maybe the super secret should be more natural to find. Does anyone have any examples of great super secrets in other maps?
Anyways this jam was really awesome to play through because of the diversity in the map themes. It was almost in some senses a theme-less jam.
@57 Re: Natural Super Secrets
#57 posted by Spud on 2018/01/06 12:54:22
Does anyone have any examples of great super secrets in other maps?
Given that this mapjam requires Arcane Dimensions be installed to play, it seems fair to mention the maps in AD itself, four of which include mod-relevant super secrets, that being the runes to collect. Two I'm gonna single out are ad_mountain (Firetop Mountain, by sock) and ad_cruical (Crucial Error, by mfx).
Firetop Mountain has already shown up multiple times in this thread (and I misspelled it as 'Lavatop'- whoops!) and is an overall great example of how to make a super secret- setting the player on a side-quest that runs alongside their normal level progress from the instant they see the first ghostly Knight at the map entrance, telling a neat story along the way, and most importantly, giving hints to how to progress towards the secret even if they miss a step or the initial apparition. The path is constantly changing as well- one second you're just looking for ghosts, then it's finding skeletons in the vents, then it's an arena fight as you get to watch the spectres make their way to the hidden room, etc. and it's all completely optional, with mini-secrets along the way like the Widowmaker shotgun.
In contrast, Crucial Error has its entire super secret route only available if you find the 'end point' near the start of the map, that being the locked door hidden behind a breakable vent in an air duct. However, unlike every other instance of a breakable vent in the map, this single vent has no visible crack giving the player a glimpse to the other side, and it's entirely likely they won't even realize it's breakable as there's a Grunt directly in front of it who will absorb their fire- if you're good enough to not miss a shot, you probably won't deal enough damage to break the vent. Worse, if they do manage to break it, the previous precedent demonstrated in the map- that being "breakable vents are marked with a crack" is broken, leading to an inquisitive player having to smack/shoot every single vent texture in the map (of which there are dozens if not more) to make sure the same trick wasn't pulled again. The secret itself is just a tiny room with a rune in it, unlocked by finding some computer chips- if you don't find the room itself first, the chips don't spawn in the map and you don't even get a hint that they exist.
EricW
#58 posted by negke on 2018/01/09 10:28:19
There's a portal error in my map. When you walk over the bridge towards the small room with the window that reveals the ring, the upper metal tile on the ramp disappears. No weird brushwork involved, or any errors in the QBSP output, so there's no reason this should happen?! No such issue with the XT utils. Any idea what's going on there?
Negke
#59 posted by ericw on 2018/01/09 10:51:51
Argh, sorry. I see it - will look into it.
What A Workout
#60 posted by Orl on 2018/01/09 21:34:11
I didn't realize a Christmas theme jam also meant the hardest maps ever! But I loved it. A great job to everyone.
Demos for each map, hard skill. Not all a first run, but played each time until I could get through it in one sitting.
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/orl_xmasjam_demos.part01.rar
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/orl_xmasjam_demos.part02.rar
Updated With A Bonus Map From Sock
#61 posted by Shambler on 2018/01/17 11:51:08
NB Xmas_Sock
#62 posted by Shambler on 2018/01/17 11:56:52
@xmas_sock
#63 posted by Redfield on 2018/01/19 09:44:54
Is an Xmas sock the same thing as a stocking? Anyways, this was a really neat little map. I love the use of the Twisted Christmas monsters, and it was kinda funny how they would explode. All the rocks and woodwork looked really good too. "My dear boy, you saved me!" Gets me every time...
Demo:
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/demos/redfield_xmassock.zip
A S(t)ocking Stuffer?
#64 posted by Spud on 2018/01/20 03:43:55
It's still Christmas somewhere in the world, right? Looks great but I don't think anyone is really expecting anything else given the map author. Found two secrets on the first playthrough but had to record a second demo because shenanigans and found the third secret (the megahealth) on a second playthrough. Wasn't expecting to save Santa so early. Also, the first secret (nailgun) has a kind of wonky secret trigger, I think- it counts as finding it when you jump towards the button, apparently, not when you actually activate it or when you enter the nail room. Demo here.
Unrelated side note: I noticed AD1.7's notes mention the shotgun damage has been rolled back to default Quake values; wasn't that part of the appeal of using the projectile shotguns, doing just a bit more damage compared to the normal hitscan ones?
Sock
I really liked this map. Short, but fun. Nice little enemies. Excellent attention to detail. As you saw on stream, I played on nightmare... Could have been a touch harder. Wish this had've released with the pack T_T
Great job man,
Cheers :)
Sock
Nice map. Wondered what the xmas monsters were going to be. thought they might have just been re-skins of the current monsters rather than the models from that crazy xmas mall map.
Here's a demo
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s3padv1au5kk2or/xmassock_5th.zip?dl=0
Just Popping In
#68 posted by sevin on 2018/02/26 00:14:19
To say that ionous's spiral staircase reveal is cool as shit.
Catching Up Time.
Fifth - Didn't remember much despite watching the mapping streams. Smooth gameplay with good progression. Annoying secrets though.
Nait - Didn't finish, sorry, interesting concept but not sure it was pulled off successfully. Props for ikblue though.
negke - Classic negke weirdness, with some AD "upper class" flair. Interesting idea with the ring, a bit anticlimactic though.
Pritchard - Sorry, didn't finish this either. I didn't like this map much but I still appreciate it, it must have taken some effort. I had to disable dynamic lighting after a while, far too much flickering torchlight for my eyes. Interesting multi-tiered layout. The outside area looked gorgeous but the actual basement was too busy visually though.
SOC - Nice map, good for a few minutes of gameplay and some laughs. I might steal that flagstone texture though.
Tens - Holy moly that scale, I got a bit too used to cramped hallways. Good boss fight material, a bit easy with the LG though.
Some of these demos are pretty big since I forgot to disable particles again after updating AD to 1.7, sorry about that.
Summing up, this jam turned out well, despite all odds. I can imagine that in some alternate universe, with more care put into keeping this thread active with hype, we would have gotten a full suit of 24 maps. I probably shouldn't complain, since I barely went over 50 brushes with my attempt - which I may finish and release as standalone sometime later, but I think I'd prefer to finish it for another 1024^3 event... ;-)
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