http://www.quaddicted.com/reviews/sgodrune.html 

I remember that zigzag walkway in ProdigySE that was over a slime pit - very simple, but effective.

i think prodigyxl might take exception to people walking on him, especially over a slime pit :d 

Why is the environment not used to tell stories, either? All it does in most Quake maps is look cool

i'm not sure i follow, can you give an example of an environment being used to tell a story? 

What I mean is "forensic detail", like that doom3 level where "suffering" etc are scrawled on the wall in blood, or simply dead/injured marines, barricades made from crates, burning ruins, Quake 2 scenes where pods crashed through the roof, open books on tables or scattered on the floor, anything that gives the impression that some event occurred in the environment, or is still occurring. Malfunctioning doors, SOS messages that no one answers, bloody altars with gibs on them, machines with their parts scattered around (or simply running machines), parts of buildings damaged or collapsed as if an attack happened (or they rotted away), furniture and pottery giving the effect of some sort of life going on in the level that exists by itself, independent of the player.

Sure shamblers probably have no furniture, but grunts/enforcers might, dogs might have cages or kennels, prisoners might be held in cells, and ogres or knights might use stuff or have places where they live, camp, torture, cook, or whatever else it is they do. There is an ogre cook, after all (in Nehahra).

Some forklifts or jeeps in some garage go a long way to suggesting that the place normally has a life. You'd have to find equivalent things for the Netherworld, etc. Like the unholy altars. That can't be all, though. 

suggestions noted. it does seem easier to convey in modern/realistic settings, for sure.. maybe less so in your typical quakey blocky medieval/runic map

i think that's one thing much of quake was characterised by though; the mystery of why everything is just *there*, seemingly not functioning or having any real purpose other than providing a gauntlet to run the player through. that said i do think little details like altars can compliment that effect, providing there is still an air of mystery as to why they are there... 

Good and inspiring stuff. I like all these ideas in different ways. Kinda proves the potential is there! 

~Mario/Wario/Zelda inspired monster ideas

Monsters don't go after the player but stay in their area. Some might not even have attacks but they just block the player's progression.

Monster with a shield/forcefield in front of it that damages the player if touched. So it is only attackable from behind. Basic monster in many games.

Monster with a rotating armor of some kind that has a hole in just one place (maybe 1/8 of the circumference). The player can only damage the monster by shooting through that hole (or from above?).

I also wrote "spawn creeps around and explodes" but I have no idea what that was supposed to mean.

Another piece of paper I can throw away. :-)

Also I think some faked multi-part monster could work amazing as either level decoration or boss fight. Think tentacles reaching out of holes, a scrag swarm moving in a bird-like rollercoaster path (like the Boss dragon but sucking less) or someone carefully spawning monsters or throwing things at you (not in an open space like the usual "range-attack monster on top of pillar").

Generally Quake could use some stationary monsters. If you place then interestingly and keep in mind what weapons and how much ammo is around, they would not suck. 

monster spawning monsters is not what I actually meant. Oops. 

kamikaze spawns, from behind? 

A Vore Queen!!! Wheres Kell.....
Necros? 

Also I think some faked multi-part monster could work amazing as either level decoration or boss fight.

i'd love to see a huge monster like this. ironically, there was a really cool boss in WoW called c'thun. it was huge and you only fought bits and pieces of it at a time and it could even swallow you temporarily so that you could damage it while you were in it's stomach. 

Some time ago I played an unreleased Q1SP episode by Kaiser. One of the WIP monsters was a huge blob that spat tarbabies at the player. When killed, it exploded into more tarbabies. It think they were toned down versions, though.

Or imagine a swarm of mini-tarbabies that don't do much damage when they explode individually - firecracker-style. But if they cornered you, boom. 

The mini-tarbaby thing is cool. Shame models can't be scaled...

I can imagine miniature ones combining by touching during their random bouncing to become the regular size, then, later, larger ones that are heavier (slower) but make a louder boom.

Or maybe has to be broken by damage into smaller ones, that then go boom.

Tarbaby boss?

-> Shoggoth 

That posting had some eerie QMD-feel to it. 

this http://quotes.fov120.com/?show=single&quote=631 

i like the idea of small bits being able to combine into a fullsized one. it would be cool to combine the two ideas into one.

fullsized tarbaby that breaks into maybe 3 or 4 pieces. if you don't kill the small ones, they recombine into a fullsized tarbaby again.

you could add something like lightning damage would disperse it by fully vaporizing it without any pieces or something.

if you wanted to go further, you could make it immune to shotgun and nail damage (would need to communicate this somehow like zombies) and only rockets can break it. (the small ones would be killable by normal means). 

Necros I was going to suggest something like lightning stunning it, during which time you could safely kill it without it exploding or something like that. Stop stealing my ideas you warlock >:( 

 

something like lightning stunning it, during which time you could safely kill it without it exploding or something
ohh i also like this! players who are good shots could just ignore this mechanic and blow them away quickly, but others could opt at stunning them so they can destroy them at their leisure.

T1000babies
TOTALLY what i was thinking of too. i love that scene near the end where those little globules are skittering across the floor into a heap that keeps growing ominously. 

Stunning Tbabies / daddies - wobble on the spot animation + sparks?

I don't think it'd work too well for the LG though, since that's a constant high damage weapon. Maybe if it were only whilst 'held' by the electricity and another coop player blasted it then.

Completely different game though.

In a boss context it could be a type of trap - activating a current that runs through metal plates placed in the level, the player having to lure it onto them. Maybe even make the biggest version immune to normal damage, rockets, nails and so on just bouncing off.

Making it a regular monster feature would mean making it spawnflag enabled, so all maps with tarbabies wouldn't automatically start creating minibosses. 

i think that was more along the lines of 'stop jumping around, you mother fucker', but that could just be me. ^_^; 

I was thinking that for the bigger versions - the bigger they get, the heavier they are, so can't go flubbering around the place.

I'm also thinking of Voreling style hanging spawn, maybe a wall version as well, Aliens style. 

Yeah. It could hang on the ceiling and when the player gets near, 'drips' down (upside-down jump animation) like some sort of demolition ball and explodes when he touches it. 

just to confuse the player - the pause before it starts leaping will be less predictable if they're stuck all over the place.

On the other hand, having them lie in wait and then drop on the player's head could be fun as well, nice living trap behaviour. 

of the slime monster from Duke3d that would attach to your face and you'd have to shoot them off (or kick them off? I don't remember if you could do that or not.)