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New Q1SP: Cataractnacon (OMS3)
Five years in the making, these two maps are a lengthy journey through a non-linear H.R. giger themed flooded scrapyard. Large areas, hundreds of monsters, dozens of traps and bizarre landmarks await you.

These maps come with only two skill settings, easy and hard. Normal skill is unsupported, and attempting load the map with it will trap you in an enclosed area until the skill is changed.

Exploration is vital, as there is lots of ground to cover. You will most likely not encounter every monster on your first playthrough, but is it encouraged to stray off the path to hunt for health and ammunition, because you are going to need it.

Save often, be prepared to face a horde of enemies at any time. There is no one precise route to take, all are interconnected with one another in some way.

Lastly, and most important and disappointingly, these maps require the use of the RMQ 0.85.3 engine, which is included in the zip file. The reason being is the second part of the map extends beyond Quake's default +-4096 map limit. RMQ is the predecessor to the Quakespasm engine, so most should find the transition easy enough. Quakespasm and other engines may soon support larger map sizes but until then, RMQ 0.85.3 is the only engine that has been tested and can play these maps without issue.
I understand this is a controversial decision and an unpopular one, I like Quakespasm just as much as the rest of you, as it is more stable and optimized. But it could not be helped that the map needed extra room, and I was against the idea of cutting out a large and expensive portion of the map in order to squeeze it into Quake's default map size. I also realize this will create a conflict with sharing demos amongst each other.

Also included are the .map files along with the texture .wad file, which you are free to use for any project of your own.

I feel its also important to note that while this may not be my last Quake map, its my last in regards to very large and overly complex maps.

With that said, please enjoy, critique, and record and share demos to your leisure.

Download links:
http://qrf.servequake.com/~orl/oms3.zip
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/single_player/oms3.zip

Screenshots:
http://qrf.servequake.com/~orl/oms31.jpg
http://qrf.servequake.com/~orl/oms3ss3.jpg
http://qrf.servequake.com/~orl/oms3ss4.jpg
http://qrf.servequake.com/~orl/oms3ss5.jpg

Engine Update : Special build of QuakeSpasm with OMS3 support (windows + mac + source code):
http://quaketastic.com/files/tools/windows/engines/quakespasm-oms3.zip

Make sure to enter "sv_protocol 999" in the console before starting the map!
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the gfx.wad error usually means the game is not using the correct "working directory"

if launching from a shortcut, you can set this in the shortcut properties.

if launching from a batch file, you can "cd" to the quake directory before launching the exe.

But, when directly double-clicking the exe I'm not sure what the behavior is in that case. 
 
For those having trouble with RMQEngine, here's an experimental Quakespasm build that loads both maps:

win32 binary source

Important: you have to set "sv_protocol 999" before starting, otherwise you will wrap around when you step outside of +-4096 (half way through the second map) 
Another One Bites The Dust 
 
Seriously 
For future mapping projects, how big are those new boundaries?

What are the drawbacks? 
 
how big are those new boundaries?

As vast as czg's cavernous ass. 
+ / - 8192 
Is my uneducated guess 
Czgs Ass Fits In A 4x4x4 Box 
i've heard 
8192 
I'm using +/-8192 myself in jackhammer.

All these huge maps of late are simply amazing. 
QMaster 
none of those use extended bounds, thats amazing heh? 
Night In The Museum 
Wow, I do love the sculptures, especially when you get outside the first dome (first map) and see this wild landscape of twisted metal bursting out from muddy waters. Hands and faces scattered around the outer edges with strange metal platforms and spiral ramps instead of stairs. The two domes on either end of the central room looked like some cool bio sphere experiment and you get to explore inside them as well!

The map is definitely a different visual style to most Quake maps. It certainly felt like a labour of love with the editor and far how you can twist, warp and rotate brushes to create stuff. My only concern is how this twisted brushwork affected gameplay, especially the spiral ramps that I often fell off and/or got catapulted at weird angles from.

I played the first map on skill 0 and it could have easily been skill 1 and then make skill 0 a puzzle/sightseeing skill level instead. Removing skill 1 seemed like a missed opportunity to do something different.

The gameplay seemed very standard to me, locked cages, drop down arenas and spawning monster waves being thrown at the player. The timing did seem weird with lots of pauses, it felt like the spawning did not keep pace with the player combat pacing. The final dome area is really hard, wacky floor detail + small platforms + spawning monsters really close with little room to dodge around.

Overall the first map is certainly a visual treat and something that everyone should have a wander/fight around. 
Skill 1 
My decision to remove a skill level was certainly not a matter of "macho dickwaving" the reason is much more simple. In previous maps I would sometimes lose track of entity flags being set for easy and normal skill. For example I may have accidently set a monster or item to appear on easy, but set it to normal instead. I've always had trouble keeping track of that, especially in large maps.

I could have just as easily set all entities not appearing in normal, to not appearing in easy, and the outcome would have been the same. It was just less frustrating in the end is all, nothing more.

And ericw, thank you very much for providing a Quakespasm update to support oms3_2. I've updated the readme to reflect the change. It works flawlessly. 
 
Can't get the map to run in either Quakespasm or RNQ. Sorry. 
 
Update: installed the latest quakespasm version that's the map is supposedly compatible with. Upon clicking "New Game" or loading the console and typing map oms3, the game exits to the desktop. Not sure what's going on. 
Current Is Too Strong 
It's five AM here, so forgive the brief post. I loved many things about this adventure. Loved that I have a sight of the world I will only see next map (and vice-versa), loved the transition between the two maps and variation indoor/outdoor. Loved the visuals, very unique and surreal. You created a new "base" setting and Giger inspiration shows.

To my taste, I think you abused monster teleporting and jump scares. Encounters are always too close, there's no time or space for a real dodge/attack dance.

Anyway, congratulations for the release. I had a great time that ended with a stupid death close to the end. Maybe another day. 
Post #25 
Zomg!

In a dark gothic vault somewhere impossible, Tronyn rises from his slumber and announces to his army of goblin miners and builders, "We have work to do". 
Terrible Lag 
I am getting awful lag on this i.e. frame rate and sound, which is making it unplayable. Are there some settings I need to use when I load the game? I am just running the engine and loading the map. (it's been a long time and I don't remember nuffink!) 
Engines , Command Line And Heapsize 
I found the maps very demanding on hardware.

Mike, are you using the RMQengine packed within the zip?

RMQ allocates 256 MB memory by default If i'm not mistaken, so no need to put it in the commandline.

Quakespasm usually runs maps better than RMQ though.

So I recommend using the experimental build in post #25.

I think you should use the argument -heapsize 131072 or even -heapsize 262144 in the command line.

And don't forget to type sv_protocol 999 (in the console) before loading the maps, as ericw points out in the same post #25. 
Correction. 
No need for -heapsize argument in the QS experimental build. 256MB ram is allocated by default. 
Thanks But No Joy 
Runs in a small window and gives a 'no free edicts' error 
 
try a higher max_edicts 
Thanks Both... 
As I am now off to revel in some Colorado powder for the next couple of weeks, I will try again when I am back. 
Thinking Out Loud 
Its been 25 days since these maps were released, and now that this thread has fallen off the last 10 news posts, very few seemed to have actually played them. I only count six people in this thread that have left reviews, that conveys to me only two things: The maps were an incredible failure, unsuccessful in grabbing the attention of players, or the maps themselves were simply bad, with confusing layouts and terrible gameplay.

The other possibility, is there is a considerable disinterest in this release, possibly being overshadowed by other, more successful releases and mappers. There's not even a single demo I can watch to see how others played through it, something I was really looking forward to. I'm sure it doesn't help that initially, the map required the use of a different engine other than Quakespasm. I knew that would hesitate some players, but I didn't expect such a backlash about it. I really have to thank ericw though for releasing a compatible version of Quakespasm shortly after this release, I had a suspicion that if I did not share these maps as they are, we would be waiting for who knows how long for another map to emerge requiring limits beyond Quake's normal +-4096. Building past those limits however, seems to be unconcerning for the mapping community at this time.

The whole ordeal really makes me question if I should even continue mapping at all. With so many hours invested in this project only to be faded away into obscurity, perhaps my time would be better suited towards other endeavors. I do not blame the Quake community at all, if anything I blame myself for pushing for specific requirements that most players may not be ready to acclimate to. 
Dont Be So... 
I think what most people drove off was the requirement of a specific engine.

Having looked at the source now, the part that exceeds bounds could have been avoided in my eyes. Which would have resulted in far wider audience.

I played it again, this time i managed to beat it, and i am totally in awe with the last part, the transparent textures and the broken bits really shine there.

Plus, the hands all over are really cool!

Don't let it bring you down. 
Orl 
It could be timing. I personally saw the map, was intrigued by the screenshots but was too busy to play a huge map. Then I simply forgot to track it down, even now I'm too busy. If you want demos it's best to ask for them up front. 
Oh 
Those screenshots look incredible and I would have played it already if it didn't require to download and install a specific engine to play it. I'll definitely post some feedback as soon as I play it. I haven't even posted a proper feedback on most of AD maps yet. 
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