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Making a remix of my favorite Q1 map E1M3 - The Necropolis, I'm a few days in at this point. It is not a brick by brick copy but instead a re-imagining. Keeping some key components like the "ring of shadows" secret, traps and overall layout of the original. Going for a "medium-sized" map, not much bigger than the original, and certainly not legendary scale like the amazing AD maps :)
Some things I'm not sure about, like shifting from the brown/white castle theme into the swampy/brick theme as you move down/away from the start area. Maybe stick with with the broken/swampy theme, feels more like the original? Also, another consideration is to either stick with classic Quake or incorporate AD entities, there are especially some useful ranged monsters like crossbow men etc. Some screens for reference: Start Area [img]http://i.imgur.com/wkq8dZS.jpg[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/RWAVC5o.jpg[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/ql7FJBP.jpg[/img] Gold Key Area [img]http://i.imgur.com/diwP3op.jpg[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/1jwxN5M.jpg[/img] It is early but if you have considerations and feedback I would appreciate it. That was stated on the original post but I guess I should entered that information again!
Great idea, E1M3 is a classy and iconic map (maybe due to it being an early aspiration of Quake speedrunning, as well as the great variety), and has a lot of potential for enhancement whilst retaining the classic layout and atmosphere.
It looks good so far BUT needs some more texture variety, especially in the 1st start shot and 2nd GK area shot. Feel free to go heavy on the detailing too as long as it's consistent :) P.S. I kinda like the shifting thing at the start, adds a bit of flavour. Yeah, you can't expect people not to be lazy.
Here is a demo https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/58150516/q1/mjb.7z there is a few notes in it. Thought I was stuck at the top level but noticed the key right after saying that. Ran out of ammo couple of times. Forcefield ambushes trap you in an area that feels a bit small, not much space to maneuver. Overall, plays well imho. DeeDoubleU,
First of all, thank you for testing the level. I really appreciate it! I'll just list things in bullet form: -I wanted the NM skill search to be assigned to the player so they start looking around the skill selection room. It is atypical to be sure. - The Mega Health clip through the crate thing in the stable is a glitch I was made aware of yesterday when friends tested the level. I tested the level +500 times and that one eluded me haha. -You say: "Oh come on" during a yellow window shot...is that because of the lack of direction they give? The yellow windows are tied to a super secret but maybe providing the *"More to go"* message is the better way to go. -The bobbing crate is not a favorite among testers haha...I will have to rework that section a bit. -Stable key sort of blends in but I am not sure how to draw attention there. -Force field fight is not implemented the best but I didn't want the player to be able to freely leave at the same time. I might add an extra respawn of items in there. -As for ammo, a lot of items were sitting atop breakable planks throughout the level. I think I need to add a visual connection to show the player that you can do this. -You and the rest of the testers only found the one secret (armor in the window) so I wonder if I should make them a bit more obvious hmm. -I may add the entrance to the stable to break open so the "Horse" can chase the player further and not get stuck in the stable. -You escaped so fast at the end that you left the "surprise" encounter in the dust! Very interesting (and nerve-wracking!) to watch someone that isn't me play through wow...so much insight about how players interact with the world you designed. This will be of tremendous help and again thank you! Couple of the questions on the technical side:
Lighting okay? Overall presentation not from a gameplay perspective...atmosphere...stuff like that? Thank you for the feedback shambler, regarding detailing, I'm new to Quake 1 mapping and the extended engines (I use quakespasm) but just how nuts can you go with details in one area without causing problems? :P
PS: Sorry for broken links, wasn't sure how to put them here. Looking good! I like the additional vertical layer at the start section and that things are a bit more open in general. I would say go all out re-imagining with AD!
Looking forward to more :) I played Horse Named Quake last night. Not a bad level at all, with quite a lot packed in to what is basically one big room. Played on normal.
Found 6 of 9 secrets but I only completed the yellow windows because of no clipping. Discovered a window that wanted a "widowmaker" and had no idea what that meant. Saw the red armor, couldn't get to it. The little ramps to get up to the higher area (after climbing the ladder) are too awkward. I could climb the rope but couldn't figure out how to get off. Doors in the start area just sink through the ground in a way which which looks weird. Wood textures everywhere need to be aligned better. The grain should appear to run in the same direction on all sides. I saw what looked like a red key in the start area but couldn't get to it. I also saw what looked like a shoot button, but wasn't shootable and didn't see any obvious way to get up there to push it. Didn't have any problems with the amount of ammo or health. Monster placement was okay, but it seemed like one of the little spider things was stuck under a ramp. Lighting was a little bland and maybe a bit bright, but way better than none at all, and really good lighting can be very time consuming get right. Overall a pretty good map. Even though I'd never played an AD map before, it wasn't hard to figure things out, so you did well in that respect also. - I meant "oh, c'mon, how is this not a secret/button?"
Disregard that. I guess I was too far away for me to see that particles were "bloody". I don't think you need "More to go" message, would make it too obvious. Have no idea how to activate top-most trigger, tried to shoot while jumping but always hit the wall. - I don't think it is the crate itself, but the context - most of the time when I tried to climb it, there was few enemies around. That made me panic and miss those jumps more than I should. - stable key some particles maybe? Torch above entrance to courtyard drew my attention immediately. - Ah, breakables. I'm not used to AD and keep forgetting about it. Noclipped to check other stuff and I think secrets are fair. It's up to you of course. - "surprise" encounter Whoops. I honestly thought that is all there is. I think it is cool that different people will have different experience. - lighting is just fine. Only weak point I see on the visual part is view from ground looking up. Ceiling areas(there spider is hanging from for example) looks empty. Imho few supports, wooden beams that kind of stuff is needed there. As for the atmosphere... stables without a single manure pile?! I don't buy it. =P To be honest, I was too overwhelmed with action most of the time and could only enjoy the aesthetics while flying around. Rick, thanks for testing the map!
Refreshing to see you found more secrets...it would appear that Hard skill makes players focus more on surviving rather than taking time to explore the site. -I guess if you haven't played the AD mod, that some terms are confusing. In any case, if the secret is solved you are rewarded with the Widowmaker which would hopefully make the player go "Ooh!". That was the plan anyway ;) -Now that is interesting! You found 6 secrets but couldn't get to the one that everyone else could only find. Just really curious stuff! -Always felt off about the small wooden ramps upwards. Going to implement stairs so ramp running is not required. -I added some lip to the start stable doors so they don't just vanish...good eye. -Yep, red key is the puzzle to reach nightmare. I tried to keep the convention of red = shoot and anything else means to push. A well timed slope jump may be able to reach that button. ;) -I know what spider you are referring to and I pushed him out a little more. -Any pointers on the lighting? I did focus a good amount of time on lights. Tune down the sunlight/2 perhaps? Should I remove some ambient delay 5 lights I placed around...? - Whoa, wood grain alignment...not something I was thinking about! That is a nice bit of feedback. You say everywhere but I look at major wood textures (Like ceilings of the vertical sections) and it looks like they are all going the same direction. Any specific glaringly obvious examples? -Cool to know I conveyed AD even with the absence of AD knowledge! Excellent feedback and this helps a ton...thank you again! DeeDoubleU: Ah, great to hear about your noclipping analysis! Adding wood beams or detail to the ceiling sections is a great idea...going to definitely do that. Ah, now I need to create a poop model to really enGROSS the player...haah! Thanks for the follow up! Try to imagine how the grain would be oriented if you actually built in real life using something like 2x4 or 4x4 planks.
http://quaketastic.com/files/GoodandBadGrain.jpg I think I understand now, it is more so the planks of wood and places where you can see all sides of a wood brush, thank you.
Any advice for the lighting aspect...to make it less bland? I tried having intense light at the windows and source of flames. :) It's possible my TV is just set too bright, but everything looks fine to me. I switched to Nvidia controls instead of Windows and turned the gamma down a bit. Seems better. Maybe it's that moon up in the sky that makes me think it should be darker. I also noticed the gamma in Quakespasm was set one notch higher than in Fitzquake and I've been testing my map in Fitzquake only for the last few weeks.
And yeah, about the wood. When wood is turned into lumber and used to build stuff the grain will almost always follow the longest dimension. That's the way it has the most strength. Okay well if you are saying it looks fine then I am pretty satisfied with that. I have seen your WIP shots of your wish level and that lighting is gorgeous so I feel safe haha.
Looks like that damn bobbing crate is the source of many tester's woes. It appears that sometimes it will bob lower than it should and prevent the player from reaching the higher ledge! Going to need to implement an alternative route up, can't risk that happening on official release! The TV computer's Windows install has some issue with adjusting display settings. They will adjust but then it complains about "path not found" when it tries to save them, and resets them back to default (which is actually way too bright).
The thing is, Fitzquake's brightness (gamma) setting seems unaffected by the Windows desktop gamma, but in Quakespasm it is. In Quakespasm, the Windows desktop gamma being too high also causes the in game brightness to be too high. I think that's what was making your map look too bright. I wouldn't worry about it too much, though I think the sky light could be lowered a bit without hurting anything. I wonder where other people set the gamma in Quake? I play in Fitzquake with brightness at two notches from the minimum. Judging by looking at the status bar in youtube videos, I think a lot of people play with it set too bright. Beta2:
http://digspt.ru/quake/digs08_beta2.zip 1. Fixed an issue with the two hell knight 2. Increase the number of monsters. 3. Added a few secrets. A few old secrets are made more notable 4. The three buttons in the blue region. I made them more notable and increased security. Now the fun 5. Some weapons moved. Now it is easier to see 6. Added a few pointers that reduce the probability of getting lost. 7. Added ammo, medicine chests, armors 8. portal that opens golden key now double (not one with double side) 9. The trees were old. I do not know how to make good trees 10. Fixed a lot of small problems Map named "The Isolation". Barriers that appear not to provide an opportunity to get out. They are needed to tease freedom. And yes, I'm not going to reduce the number of teleports, as planned from the outset that there will be many. Especially since the branch on the map is not so much, in fact. Already much better.
Please, don't forget to change the sucking trees ! Use some weird out-of-this-world alien-like Giger-erotic sculptures. Is it possible to add "infinite" number of monsters in nightmare mode ? Kill'em-all-more-are-spwaning-on-their-way-back-to-kick-your-chick-butt ! Texan-style ! Hello again, thanks to DeeDoubleU and Rick and a few friends for testing my potential first release. I fixed some things, upped the visuals a tad and (hopefully) aligned wood grain ;).
I still would like some testers to make sure nothing is outstanding but if I receive no hits for about...oh a week I will release the map! Screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/XkmbF ***Arcane Dimensions with Patch 2 Required!*** http://www.celephais.net/board/view_thread.php?id=61270&start=662 A Horse Named Quake Beta 1.1: https://copy.com/Ddsy3FydWR9J7VFI Thank you and looking forward to joining the long list of map creators!
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