Atomicmass Bridge
ChromeAngel
Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 14Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
Join Date: 2002-01-24 Member: 14Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
<div class="IPBDescription">Screenshot</div> Here's a work in progress shot of the bridge of AtomicMass (replaces Phase Monitoring). Marine start to the left, route to Mess to the right, vent to Mess behind. I think I overdid the blue lights. Can't quite get the right 'feel' to this space. Comments?
Comments
I Like your work! brush and texturewise.
this looks 100% grade-a awesome now. w00t.
I know. I'm over-thinking this. Leave me alone. It's getting late.
EDIT: after a second look, it seems you've put spots in there already. I think they should be more defined and that "room" should be darker than the rest. Not dark, just darker.
I will eat your brains raw so that I may gain your mapping abilities and ascend into godhood.
Or something like that.
<a href='http://www.btinternet.com/~chromea999/NS/ns_atomicmass19.zip' target='_blank'>http://www.btinternet.com/~chromea999/NS/n...tomicmass19.zip</a>
<a href='http://www.btinternet.com/~chromea999/NS/ns_atomicmass19.spr' target='_blank'>http://www.btinternet.com/~chromea999/NS/n...tomicmass19.spr</a>
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I like.
So, I took some notes:
1. Main Bridge:
It's pretty close to the marine base so it's bound to be an ambush location for skulks. Problem is, the skulks would have no place to "hide". I still say the spot lights should be intensified and the general area should be darker. Let the monitors illuminate.
The small lights just above the RT (with the cable) totally stood out to me. I think they're great. I hope you're going to spread some of that around.
The room seems to need a bit of "prestige". It's the "Main Bridge" after all.
2. Warehouse hive:
That loader is killer!
Looks like there's only one path to get into that hive. Seems like a pretty committed path for the marines unless they can get into the vent.
3. Cryonics:
I took a pretty heavy fps drop in there from the particles. That might just be my problem though.
It's a cool room (no pun intended) and I sat and looked at those doors for way too long <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
4. The stairs by the airlock is simply masterful. The perspective from the base of the steps is stunning. Hive five for making those walls work at that angle.
Overview: the wall textures and "flourescent" light textures might get a bit redundant without some detailing and there doesn't seem to be much transition from area to area. Also, the airlock itself left me unsatisfied. While some of that might sound bad, I really think you've got a winner here. Keep up the good work.
Anyway, I like that room!
That loader is killer!
Looks like there's only one path to get into that hive. Seems like a pretty committed path for the marines unless they can get into the vent.
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A couple days ago, I got to play on this map. At the beginning, I really liked it. Two hours later, I was contemplating deleting it off my computer so I wouldn't accidentally play it again anytime in the future. The marines relocated to one of the hives. Sorry if I can't remember which one it is, but it sounds like the warehouse hive Spooge mentioned. It has only two entrances (a lift and a vent) and the room itself is pretty large (split up into two sections: the hive and the side with the lift).
We (the aliens) spent somewhere around two hours just trying to break into that room. They had a nice wall of turrets to slow fades off the lift, and the whole time grenades were littering the connecting hallway. Once they found the vent it almost completely blocked off that entrance as well. They had no hope of getting out, but was entirely too hard for us to get in. It was a pretty large server so that probably contributed to the difficulty. And a couple times we almost had them. I started building the hive behind their backs and they wouldn't have noticed until Onos were riding up the lift except a skulk came running my way and drew their attention to the half-built hive.
Also, some of our coordinated attacks resulted in some major resource losses for the marines, but nothing seemed to make a difference in the long run. Well, until our last rush... If I remember correctly, we had about 10 fades, a gorge, and me as lerk on the final attack. We had tried that before, however, but I think it finally worked because half of the marines were losing the will to fight and we had whittled away at their resources for two hours previously.
Now, I don't know if we just sucked or if it was the map's doing, but I just thought you'd like to know. The lift really hurt our affectiveness and the wide open nature of the room made skulking through the vent next to impossible. I love the pipe near the ceiling, but you couldn't really surprise them because it was a long way down. Most of the times I died before hitting the ground.
Of course this could go the other way. If we had actually got that hive from the beginning it would've been tough for them to break through as well. That is, until they used sieges.
Otherwise, love the map!
Just a couple of comments. There do not seem to be enough ambient sounds. Many places in the map are dead quiet.
Cryonics for instance. It has no sound whatsoever. I would expect *at least* the sound of escaping gasses used to keep the cryonic facilities cold.
Also on Cryonics, The doors say that it is a cold area and they are frosted to sort of indicate that it is cold but there is no indication of it actually being cold. Perhaps you could have a hurt trigger in there with a cold snowflake indicator on the HUD that would show the player that they were taking damage while in there. Nothing severe, but enough to make it not such a pleasant place to be. Just a thought because as it is right now, it is totally flat as far as believeable environments go.
These are just a couple of thoughts that I feel might make an already great map even better.
One technical note. It is often commented about how your map causes lag on the server much more frequently that other maps. I have experienced this myself on an 18 player server and was wondering if you have any idea why that might be. Are you reaching any limits for entity use or planes? I would have absolutley no idea how to fix such a thing but I thought I would bring it up so you could look into it.
Here's hoping that your map makes it to official status. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
BTW, We are running version 21.
MST <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Pie 'oh' pah, Same thing goes for the Drive Tubes hive, I may well redesign/rebuild this hive before 1.1 is released, that hiveroom is currently too big for it's contents.
Macros, yes I picked up this obsession from studying ns_nothing.
MessyTreat, I have only just found the suitable ambient hum that I have been searching for all these months, this may or may not make it into the build I submit to Flayra, I don't know If I have time :/
I still haven't found the continous steam hiss I want for the pipework areas so they remain silent :/
I have considered frost damage for the areas above the cryopods, but decied that the FPS hit form the particle systems was bad enough without adding damage.
Regarding server lag the map is at a mere 96% of the original planes limit, not that this should lag the server. I admit I have't checked the entity count lately, i'll see if I can get those down a bit before the final version.
Build 21 is still the latest version, no significant changes have been made since then.
Pie 'oh' pah, Same thing goes for the Drive Tubes hive, I may well redesign/rebuild this hive before 1.1 is released, that hiveroom is currently too big for it's contents. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ah yes, that sounds familiar. I believe it was Drive Tubes. Warehouse is the one with all the boxes. And the third one is right next to the Cryonics room.
I think I got it now.
Anyway, Drive Tubes was the pain. There never was a fight near Warehouse, so I'm not sure about that one. The marines went straight for Drive Tubes. Make the room smaller, get rid of the lift, or add another entrance; any of those should help fix the problem.
I like the water path in the third hive. It was the first time I ever encountered marines while swimming. Pretty cool, except the fades looked rediculous in the water... but that has nothing to do with the map.
You didn't overdo the blue lights. I like'em.
The lighting - I know what you mean it needs something else but I cannot think what I would add to it. I thought some small red spots (with no light_spot involved) could create some contrast. Also - it takes alot to use that floor texture well. Try a different one for the main room and only have the res floor adorned with that.
Big white spot lights with stretched white circles on the floor might look nice.