http://www.quaketastic.com/upload/files/demos/coag3_negke_skill1_spy.rar

definitely it's the best release of 2009

congrats negke! 

Thanks for the demos.
I should have have increased the zombie time even more. Though if I remember correctly, Scraggy managed to do it easily.
And maybe I shouldn't have lowered the tarbabies' health so much, either (but the Shambler's instead). spy's demo also showed a few bugs (or at least glitches I didn't notice). For example, after failing the zombie run, a "now proceed to the top" centerprint was supposed to appear, but it apparently doesn't for some reason. Oh well. 

I have recorded 2 demos (joequake-gl)
long periods of being totally lost
http://www.quaketastic.com/upload/files/demos/c3ngke.zip

I have stopped during the zombie thing.

I liked all the fights.
Was lost all the time.
Died once but don't know why
The architecture was very good as expected 

Resuming from the first game I did yesterday. The missing centerprint would certainly have led me to completion on first run.
I had to know that a true master like Negke would never, ever leave you alone with an axe in the middle of a level without hope of completing it...

GREAT. 

I know it's lame, but since the release is still fresh and all, I made a quick fix (and also increased the timelimit to 4 minutes). Everyone who hasn't played the map yet, please download it again for the new version. 

got the one by the nailgun and the one floating in the tube, but i can't find the third one.

i looked with r_drawworld 0 and i see no gold key anywhere. (this is after 40 minutes) 

this was fun, and interesting, and not too hard for me (i did die a few times, but i do that in most maps so it felt typical on skill 1.)

Some notes:

- i started out using the shambler statues as a landmark, which turned out to be a big mistake and i eventually realized there were multiple locations with the same statues. Until then i was very confused!

- failed a couple times on the zombie gib section, the layout of that central area is quite confusing too. Mainly becuase it seems that there were three parts to it, and they were almost not connected (top and middle seemed to be only connected by a one-way lift, and the bottom section is only connected to the middle by a path which goes out to one of the towers.) And you have to drop down to get back down between sections. Doing it multiple times means that by the last attempt, i actually did pretty much know how to get around pretty well.

- found the secret brick, but don't know what it opened.

- no way to get down from the very top of the central section without taking damage, which kind of sucks when you have <5 health.

- never had a problem with Shub not being rendered, maybe it depends on the engine?

- this was fun and the gameplay was interesting and fresh. nice work. 

... Frus-strate-ting... I'm not one for Escher-esque map designs. Found half the triggers and silver key, but couldn't piece anything together.

Fitz-0.85 sdl beta kept crashing too (especially at the finale), so had to play it with no sound sometimes %< 

This is yet another awesome negke map!

Architecture and layout was fantastis but confusing! 8-)!

Had to quicksave a lot of times but beat the map in the end, even though I really don't know how I did it 8-)

Anyway it looked greath! I really love how you use the ID textures in new ways.

Keep them comming! 

I tested this map on Hard and found it fascinating and perplexing to the max. I kept playing until I got it fully which meant spending much time learning it, finding all the secrets and eventually killing all the zombies. It is the best maze map yet and you'd never guess from such an open layout.

Trust me, spend time with it and you will be rewarded with a very unique Quake experience - plus, it looks great in those classic ID textures. 

Not a small feat.

I still have in my head the sound of that secret door opening god knows where... 

Do you mean from the plain brick trigger ?
I couldn't find it either
8-0 

what's the secret door? 

the silent/stevenaaus: It might have been better off staying open until found, but then again it's a very powerful secret in that it holds the SNG - and the weapons you find in the secret areas are not removed for the zombie fight. Problem is that people never look up. Otherwise they might have spotted it in another area and deduced button/door and this secret are related. spy found it (though I assume he did some prior 'research'?). Think through the wall.

metl: Layout - correct assessment. However, more paths to each part open up once you've done a tower (for you can use its teleporter and then jump down to the upper walkway) and, of course, found the barriers secret (people found the key, and the lock is clearly visible from at least two spots) - means to open it are close.
The Shub bbbox doesn't occur in Fitz, indeed.

Scraggy: That's the spirit. I wouldn't call it a maze map, though. But apparently that's how it feels to most people.

Just noclip around the central building and you'll see that it doesn't seem so confusing anymore.

necros: I assume you've found the key by now? #23

I should mention that, since there are two distinct game modes, skill 1 is like "hard" and skill 0 "normal".

I wonder if anyone finds the full moon... ;) 

i just wonder, how to open the silver key secret, to get the LG and all that jazz, on skill 2/3 i can get it, but on skill0/1 i can't
we're need the complete secret areas walkthrough ;) 

@spy: I suppose it's a door, since it sounds like a door, but might as well be a trap ora hole in the sky, since I was never able to see anything moving, when I push the button...

@Negke. Thanks for the tip... I'll stick my nose in the air... ;P 

spy: I'm going to do walkthrough demos soon.
For now, try this hint: go to the area below the GK tube next to the yellow (Ogre) tower and keep your eyes peeled. 

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/7020/quake00.png

Found something more than what appears there, guess I should have access to the blocked teleporters...

Now... gotta get to that lock. >:( 

...you may be interested in knowing that the map works like a charm in stock Fruitz Of Dojo's GL ( a little HOM effect if you hit a particularly long diagonal).

Lots of maps crash it. 

Got them all.
I got the thunder.
And the Cheers from the Mastah!!!

And I still have to try skill 2&3... YUM! 

can you just tell me? (or email me if you don't want to spoil it) i'm beyond trying to figure it out myself.

your map looks great, but it's very frustrating and not very fun for me.

esp. the tarbaby gimmick fight. their jumping is pretty much random, so it's not like you can really try to coax them into the crushers. i spent like 2 minutes in there. the respawning health kit made it not completely retarded, but it still wasn't very fun for me.
i liked the shambler gimmick though. 

It's in an alcove next to the upper teleporter (if you walk up the stairs left to the big face texture).

I agree the tarbaby fight is random, sometimes they're squished instantly, sometimes it takes ages. At least the principle is more easily understood than in the Shambler fight. 

that wasn't cool. that teleporter is blocked so there's no reason to go near it and not only is the key squirreled away to the side, it's also down low enough that it might not be in you fov if you do look there. and it's pretty dark so that the key doesn't really catch your eye even if it is in your fov.

at least the key in the tube, there was a reason to look up there (it's a cool piece of brushwork that draws your eyes upward). the other key is just plain hidden. 

After many frustrated attempts I manged it all.
45:10, 3/3, 88/88, Skill 0. Sorry, no demo.

I'm not posting so much even though still following everything Q1. I played a lot of cool maps recently, but this one has really something more. Beside Quake, I love puzzle games and judging by the sceenshots I jumped in that one right away. Didn't read to much of this column and tried to solved it by myself. Spent 121:10 on my first run, quicksaved a lot and finished with the RA secret only. Came back several times to find the other two secrets and the SK lock access. Went to bed last night after a lot of coffe and a slight headache. The complex connectivity of the map pushed me way to far, looking for secret triggers. This way I only found a moon...

Today's fresh approch was finally much easier and successful. Pity I didn't demoed my run for the final top combat, lol! I ran all over the place, the monsters jumped from the platform and after what must have been a brief infight, they all bounced in the void to their instant death! Probably frightened by my mighty run, ah!...

OK. This is not a map Negke, it's a full GAME by itself! Such a top quality design. It's so original, you don't feel it's plain old iD textures. The double helix central building is fantastic. Connectivity is very fluid and it's a real fun to jump your way down, once the SK is solved. The respawn/restock after each tower is a treasure trove. In such a complex map, it really increases the immersion and the full game feel. This map is more than a classic. It's a wonderful maverick, so full of ideas (as most of your maps btw). I'll sure be back on it in my wet Quake dreams! Outstanding work. Bravo and thank you for the fun!

Some notes and suggestions:

- I ran this map in BJP and last DP build on PC, but mostly in DP (UB) 05.17.2007 build (!) on MacPro 2x3.2 Quad Mac OS 10.5.8 without noticeable problem.
- 3x centerprint "You need the gold key" should be "You need a gold key".
- Centerprints " You failed/Success! - Now proceed to the top" never failed to appear.
- About the shambler and tarbaby fight in the towers: Why not allow the player to drop in and figure the mechanisms first, then manually trig the monster by picking the pent?
- Is there a reward for killing all the zombies in 4 minutes? I didn't find any difference between success and failure...
- More Puzzle Quake map like that in the future. Mmmh? Yes!

JohnXmas salutes you... 

necros: The key is somewhat hidden but not badly. I'm actually surprised you managed to miss this long. The teleporter is initially blocked, but since there is no floor, I expected people to at least go near it to see what's below. Then you practially can't miss it - unless the area was too dark on your setup. But then the entire map must have been overly dark. Was missing this particular key a problem for other people as well?

JohnXmas: The boss monsters slided off and telefraged each other because of a physics bug in DP. It's fixed in the 6-Nov-09 beta build (and subsequent ones), that's why I mentioned it in the news post. A 2007 build should give you some trouble in other maps (e.g. my 768 vertical one), I recommend switching to the more recent if not lastest version.
Letting the players figure out the mechanisms first - good idea.
Zombies: On skill 1, your regular weapons are removed for the zombie run. If you succeed, you get them back for the boss fight; if you fail, you have to (quad)axe the remaining monsters.
On skill 0, you keep your weapons anyway, but failure results in the removal of all ammo boxes (unproblematic if picked up enough beforehand).


Thanks for the feedback, people. I didn't expect this to be this confusing and/or frustrating. The map's layout is kind of like a DM map (you can practice by running around it a bit in DM mode), there are also a few neat trickjump spots.
If you managed to get through the standard game mode and don't have hemorrhoids yet, go vent some steam on skill 0 - it's much more straightforward.