Hey I really enjoyed the game earlier! Best one yet!
Though I still must say (again) that I don't like catwalk or hollow they both feel wrong. First time I've played the map as alien and I still didn't like them. I think you would do well to rethink and rebuild them without the death drops (in the middle of the room). Also hollow doesn't flow well its hard to navigate. I hate to be blunt but they stand out with the high quality of the rest of the map.
Other than that the maps coming along really well. I look forward to playing it again
It's shaping up nicely. More focused game this time and fun to play.
I'm with Howser about hollow it doesn't seem to work well. Not only is it open and deadly but it also forces the player to flail around a lot when trying to keep it secured. It just has all these points of interests (rt + entrances + vents + deathtraps) all over the room and it makes it hard for the player to track them. Ease it up a bit and use line of sight to your advantage with that. It might help if there if you'd reveal less of that room for the player at once. I only fell once to my death and that was all my fault. I don't really mind having those in the map. They spice things up a bit
Thanks so much for the feedback guys , going to see what I can do to "lead" the players around the room a little more, for hollow put some flat before the bridges so you can easily see where it goes down, maybe widen them up a bit and put some rocks or something along the edge as a sort of "railing".
I can totally appreciate the frustration of dying instantly when the map doesnt really help you navigate, but I am also on with spicing it up a bit. I would love to find a way to make it work, so there can be some map/surrounding awareness to be able to jump and dodge and have some risk.
Catwalk I would like to have a sort of, Do I try be quick and go across the broken bridge(Risky) or do I just go down the side where its safe(Maybe I need to make the sides safer?)
Think my next project is to revisit hollow then catwalk :P, oh and put some cover in those passageways between waterfall and hollow.
Last game had close spawns for the aliens favor. Hollow was in between the bases and no marine alive ever passed that place, it pinned them down pretty hard on the map.
Well... I have scrapped hollow :P
Busy throwing together another room, This time, there will be a centre column to block floor to ceiling and a catwalk going all the way around it, to hold RT and Power (It has railings )
Hopefully this makes it more open and easier to track what's going on.
Going to try get a playable version out for Sunday.
Hello, Little update. I'l see what else I can done for Sunday but here goes.
* Lowered some of the ceilings around the level to make it a little easier for skulks etc to use.
* Scrapped the old catwalk and added a new one
Oki new version is on the workshop
For now I have made catwalk runnable by Onos/Exo (Although I do have plans to change this, so please give some feedback)
Thanks for playing tonight.
Here are few quick things I took.
* Broken Catwalk windows were solid - Will be fixxed so you can go out again
* Observation Hive can be shot from outside - Will get this fixxed
* Some occlusion issues in the readyroom - Will get fixxed too.
* I have re-added the cyst to cover steam room starting RT, DOH!
* Fixxed the lockers from floating
As always I am always looking for feedback so please share
show us the money shot! I love the quality and style of landing pad and whats hinted at in the latest video.
I think waterfall and the cave areas should be brought inline with the art style of these areas.... you know how i feel about organic shapes and waterfalls :P
hehe maybe it will be playable by sunday, except for Flat :P, So there is a slim chance we mite possible find a sec to take 1 screeny on sunday.
Yes, im thinking next I mite need to do a tech point room, so its between waterfall and steam room, maybe also a really quick pass through cave to define it a bit more with the image I have in my head because at the moment it really doesnt!
^^ Yeah that match was one hell of a stomp, I lost count of the amount of times I died in that match. Still, I actually enjoyed it, despite my face being caved in.
DOWN WITH THE WATERFALLS!... but seriously it seems I am the only one that hates them. So maybe its best to listen to everyone else?! :P
The map is certainly very aesthetically pleasing. I like the waterfalls, but I'd say the LOS in the developed rooms favors the aliens a lot more without providing the marines much along the lines of defensive options.
For me personally, all the rocks, ramps, overhanging cover and line of sight breaking waterfalls give me a really hard time to kill anything but floor skulks or gorges, and gives them an overabundance of cover and flanking options. I simply can't aim properly at fast moving skulks over such a busy background.
In the waterfall hive the waterfalls provide instant cover and a wide range of ambush options for aliens. I can't really afford shooting randomly through a waterfall and there are no real defensive positions so all that's left is avoiding the room or running in like a maniac. I'd enjoy it a lot more if the waterfalls had a decorative function only.
In server room the corners don't allow a wide berth, so I constantly find myself right on top of aliens. Other marines can't really provide cover given the same corners and cramped passageway.
Last match the Marine play was pretty weak though, I would like to see some more games on the new setup.
I think daan just clarified my problem with 'organic' or busy surfaces like rock; its hard to track skulks bobbing all over a rough rocky surface compared to some rigid and consistent surfaces like you have west of the map.
Landing pad works really well as you have the impression of being in a cave without the noisy surfaces all around. The combination of hard and organic surfaces is in my opinion much more preferable to the 100% rocky environments else where in the map. I think this is also a problem with the southern areas of mineshaft.
Also i agree with daan on the waterfalls, they look pretty but they hinder game play too much. The best solution is to just use them as mine shaft does and have them set out of the way. Maybe for the next build just remove them for one round and see if game-play improves?
Comments
Though I still must say (again) that I don't like catwalk or hollow they both feel wrong. First time I've played the map as alien and I still didn't like them. I think you would do well to rethink and rebuild them without the death drops (in the middle of the room). Also hollow doesn't flow well its hard to navigate. I hate to be blunt but they stand out with the high quality of the rest of the map.
Other than that the maps coming along really well. I look forward to playing it again
I'm with Howser about hollow it doesn't seem to work well. Not only is it open and deadly but it also forces the player to flail around a lot when trying to keep it secured. It just has all these points of interests (rt + entrances + vents + deathtraps) all over the room and it makes it hard for the player to track them. Ease it up a bit and use line of sight to your advantage with that. It might help if there if you'd reveal less of that room for the player at once. I only fell once to my death and that was all my fault. I don't really mind having those in the map. They spice things up a bit
I can totally appreciate the frustration of dying instantly when the map doesnt really help you navigate, but I am also on with spicing it up a bit. I would love to find a way to make it work, so there can be some map/surrounding awareness to be able to jump and dodge and have some risk.
Catwalk I would like to have a sort of, Do I try be quick and go across the broken bridge(Risky) or do I just go down the side where its safe(Maybe I need to make the sides safer?)
Think my next project is to revisit hollow then catwalk :P, oh and put some cover in those passageways between waterfall and hollow.
Busy throwing together another room, This time, there will be a centre column to block floor to ceiling and a catwalk going all the way around it, to hold RT and Power (It has railings
Hopefully this makes it more open and easier to track what's going on.
Going to try get a playable version out for Sunday.
* Lowered some of the ceilings around the level to make it a little easier for skulks etc to use.
* Scrapped the old catwalk and added a new one
* Added two little vents to try help aliens.
Really liking messing around with water, maybe I need to rename my map :P
Keep it quiet
For now I have made catwalk runnable by Onos/Exo (Although I do have plans to change this, so please give some feedback)
Here are few quick things I took.
* Broken Catwalk windows were solid - Will be fixxed so you can go out again
* Observation Hive can be shot from outside
* Some occlusion issues in the readyroom - Will get fixxed too.
* I have re-added the cyst to cover steam room starting RT, DOH!
* Fixxed the lockers from floating
As always I am always looking for feedback so please share
While I was running around I did find a sticking point on some crates in Cargo:
Adding two screenies of the landing pad change incase anyone hasn't had a chance to run around.
I think waterfall and the cave areas should be brought inline with the art style of these areas.... you know how i feel about organic shapes and waterfalls :P
Yes, im thinking next I mite need to do a tech point room, so its between waterfall and steam room, maybe also a really quick pass through cave to define it a bit more with the image I have in my head because at the moment it really doesnt!
See there is some love hate for waterfalls :P
I wasnt able to attend due to working late
I think Troop would like a word with you. XD Poor guy needs a skilled shooter on his team to offset his bad luck.
The map is certainly very aesthetically pleasing. I like the waterfalls, but I'd say the LOS in the developed rooms favors the aliens a lot more without providing the marines much along the lines of defensive options.
For me personally, all the rocks, ramps, overhanging cover and line of sight breaking waterfalls give me a really hard time to kill anything but floor skulks or gorges, and gives them an overabundance of cover and flanking options. I simply can't aim properly at fast moving skulks over such a busy background.
In the waterfall hive the waterfalls provide instant cover and a wide range of ambush options for aliens. I can't really afford shooting randomly through a waterfall and there are no real defensive positions so all that's left is avoiding the room or running in like a maniac. I'd enjoy it a lot more if the waterfalls had a decorative function only.
In server room the corners don't allow a wide berth, so I constantly find myself right on top of aliens. Other marines can't really provide cover given the same corners and cramped passageway.
Last match the Marine play was pretty weak though, I would like to see some more games on the new setup.
Landing pad works really well as you have the impression of being in a cave without the noisy surfaces all around. The combination of hard and organic surfaces is in my opinion much more preferable to the 100% rocky environments else where in the map. I think this is also a problem with the southern areas of mineshaft.
Also i agree with daan on the waterfalls, they look pretty but they hinder game play too much. The best solution is to just use them as mine shaft does and have them set out of the way. Maybe for the next build just remove them for one round and see if game-play improves?