Obstacle course map

bp2008bp2008 Join Date: 2012-11-28 Member: 173581Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold
edited February 2013 in Mapping
I am thinking about creating an obstacle course map for Combat Mode. In this map, the marine team must make it to the end of an obstacle course filled with tricky jumps, tests of dexterity and timing, and of course alien ambushes. Any marine who makes it to the end is rewarded with a marine-only teleporter to a safe room with direct access to the hive, essentially ending the game.

Obviously there is only so much you can do with the stock ns2 game mechanics. Fortunately, thanks to JimWest we have ExtraEntitiesMod which happens to be integrated into Combat Mode. This adds some powerful entities that most mappers haven't put to use, and I think a map such as this is just what the doctor ordered!

Any thoughts? Is this feasible? Would anyone play this? Have I gone off the deep end?

Please comment. This could be a considerable time sink to build and I'd like some idea of how it would be received :D

Comments

  • TharosTharos Join Date: 2012-12-18 Member: 175439Members
    A kind of Deathrun like this would be fantastic in ns2
  • bp2008bp2008 Join Date: 2012-11-28 Member: 173581Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold
    I'd have to really figure out how to do lua coding and cinematics if I wanted to create a real deathrun map :D
  • WorthyRivalWorthyRival Black Armor Division Join Date: 2006-11-07 Member: 58470Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    edited February 2013
    I've been thinking about a similar fun map.
    It's very feasible with the teleport entity.

    Create the course with a teleport entity at the end of the course that doesn't allow Aliens to go through it.
    Have the exit point another room aliens cant access. a Joined room that overlooks the game field with glass so they can watch other team mate try to make it to the end.

    Run for your life to the end of the map go through teleporter to safety!

    Some one could mod a game mode where your bitten by an alien you become an alien team member too, that would be hilarious.
    A sort of last man standing mode.

    A mod like that wouldn't be far off making great for a zombie mod too.
    Have a single Fade. and everyone else on marines.
    Each marine thats killed by the original Fade, becomes another fade on the alien team. till it's last man standing. or the marines escape through the teleporter.
  • DarkSeraphDarkSeraph Join Date: 2004-06-07 Member: 29174Members
    A proper deathrun map would require several more entities, but would be a good way to build out the entities in the editor. Except that there's kinda no one to program those entities (UWE seems busy and so does JimWest).

    @Worthy, you could actually make that mod now fairly easily. I really like the idea about marines being able to run through an area and escape before being killed, which would likely be quite difficult. The hardest thing to balance in that mod I think would be the move speed of the 'zombies'.
  • bp2008bp2008 Join Date: 2012-11-28 Member: 173581Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold
    NS2 is so limited in the entity department that a traditional deathrun map is difficult if not impossible right now. Deathrun relies on all sorts of animated objects with physics-based interaction. For example, a death-player hits a button and the walls snap together killing everyone between them. Or a bridge flips over. Or a set of giant axes spin in circles and move up and down. You can simulate a lot of these things using cinematics and copious amounts of lua i'm sure (both server-side and client-side) but it would be far more work than it is worth.

    For now, I'm just going to explore the possibilities. The map will need to be run under Combat Mode. It will consist of the marine start, the hive room, and ~5-10 sequential rooms connected to each other via marine-only teleporters. Each room will have one or more obstacles to pass. Some of the rooms will have traps that the aliens can trigger from a viewing room by standing in trigger entities. Many of the rooms will also have vents in them allowing aliens to enter and set up ambushes or gorge up key areas.

    Beyond that, i can't say what kind of traps will be possible. Maybe too few to make a decent map. There is only so much you can do to kill a player with doors and glitchy trains and stuff :)
  • schkorpioschkorpio I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
    i made a map similar to that back in ns1 days, you basically go from room to room setting off simple triggers which eventually opens up easy hive access, OR easy command station access. So what it does is place the combat into particular sections of the map. it was quite fun if i don't say so myself :P

    There is a big explanation here of how it all works, feel free to rip it off :)
    http://forums.unknownworlds.com/discussion/102074/co_cooperation-wip/p1
  • bp2008bp2008 Join Date: 2012-11-28 Member: 173581Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold
    http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=127248333

    Only one very simple room. I tried to use a train entity to push marines off their pillars but it doesn't work *at all*. Alas, I may have to rethink this.
  • schkorpioschkorpio I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
    bp2008 wrote: »
    http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=127248333

    Only one very simple room. I tried to use a train entity to push marines off their pillars but it doesn't work *at all*. Alas, I may have to rethink this.

    what about instead of a train entity you use a push entity - so it looks like wind or steam is pushing them off

  • bp2008bp2008 Join Date: 2012-11-28 Member: 173581Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold
    Apparently it was my fault that my train wasn't pushing players. I had changed the model and lowered the gray entity box scale down to 1:1:1 which meant the actual hit box was just a small cube in the corner of the prop I was using. I reset the train to normal and now it works. Sort of. It isn't what I wanted but it will work considering I can't do better right now without learning lua.
  • bp2008bp2008 Join Date: 2012-11-28 Member: 173581Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Gold
    edited February 2013
    schkorpio wrote: »
    what about instead of a train entity you use a push entity - so it looks like wind or steam is pushing them off
    I could certainly do that.

    What would be really great is being able to trigger sounds and cinematics to go along with such things. And a button entity that could be disabled and enabled by other logic entities would be great too. Right now I seem to be stuck with the logic_trigger and I can't seem to disable / enable it with other logic entities. And while we're at it, it would be nice to be able to use other models with the train entity and have the hit box line up. And also to have the train stop when it reaches the end of the waypoints and trigger another entity at that time.

    Alas, that is all stuff for ExtraEntitiesMod and I'm sure JimWest has better things to do.
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