So many buildings in this world are so depressingly ugly. Pre-fab monstrosities slapped together as if by washed up ex-Soviet architects, nostalgic for the good ol' days of the Bloc.
i hope that whatever it is Ryoko does for a living excites him enough to make up for the fact he's missed his calling--as the architect that might have saved us from this mundanity.
Make no mistake--these maps are works of art. Playing these feels like lobbing grenades down the hallways of a Frank Lloyd Wright. Just when you've stopped to ponder a clever stair, or the railing along a causeway--BOOM! Pwned for admiring the scenery.
One complaint i frequently have with netmaps is the lack of attention paid to variation of floor heights. Splitting up the floor levels does wonders for gameplay, as it forces you to look around--to be a true vidmaster, instead of just taking centred-view potshots on an even playing field. Every set of stairs in these maps also flows nicely--no leaping up stairs set too high, or ceilings set too low.
i appreciate a mapper who appreciates variation in textures. Not a single wall is uninteresting--even the large, flat-textured ones toward the end seem to set off the details in other parts of the map. That, coupled with the fact that surfaces are the appropriate size for their textures gives a feeling of a 'strong', 'finished' map.
Nice work. i'm inspired.
ADDENDUM: It appears i should trust my intuition...Ryoko does in fact study architecture. Should have known...
Suck it down.
I hear from a reliable source that this script ruins COLORSPEACK.
This script ruins COLORSPEACK.
This is excellent! So much fun!
Awesome! Been waiting for this baby. This is going to be a blast in co-op!
Perhaps players using a powerup (Invincibility, Infravision, etc.) should get less points, and killing a person with a powerup gives more points.
I like it. It really solves the problem of people staying dead, and when you nearly killed someone. I agree with Jackal- it'd be cool if a lower-tier kill was more points-worthy than a rocket or napalm kill.
This is a very cool script. It balances out the problem of players with less deaths and less kills being ahead of those that potentially did better. What would be really neat to see would be for the damage not to be based off of the physics. While this would complicate the script much more, it could be very interesting- e.g., a magnum kill would be worth more than a rocket kill.
I've always had an affinity with water-based levels, so I love the idea of exploring this place. Very well done. Also, I like the nods towards Trilogy levels, especially the thoth levels, and other architecture from My Private Thermopylae. The only quibble is a lack of varied texturing, but that's easily fixed.
As Ryoko said, my only qualms are the lack of ammo and the mono-texturing. keep the flickering lights, though. Makes it harder to shoot, I like that. To make it less annoying, you should probably lower the rate of the flicker. Really fun though, good job!
The idea isn't new but it's executed rather well. Having the player move as quickly as he does with the physics helps out greatly.
Some issues: 1. Basically the only weapons worth using are the SMG/shotguns; when you can fly, the grenades and rockets are entirely non-threatening. But... 2. There isn't nearly enough ammo for anything on this map. It's a huge map, but with myself and $lave we had trouble finding ammo. This is not good. I would also have some ammo floating around since no one will actually be walking on the ground normally. I think the problem lies in the item respawn rate, so I direct you here: http://www.pfhorums.com/index.php?showtopic=2403 3. The texturing is generally okay, but you greatly overdid the flickering lights. Static lights are quite fine. Generally speaking, the contrast is fine, so I would just get rid of most of your flashing and flickering lights; they're very annoying. Also, in one particular area you use the same light panel texture on almost every wall, which is really annoying. 4. This level is absolutely enormous and most of the side rooms are completely extraneous. In addition to its size, the multiple pits and the messed-up radar make it very difficult to find someone who's hiding. Uncheck the Magnetic radar setting. 5. Getting rid of that water fader is really important. I would embed mml to remove the fader entirely. On that note, merge in the physics, because the level is absolutely dependent on them.
This is a pretty tired idea but probably the best execution of it I've seen; it's just rough around the edges. Fix these listed problems and you would have a solid map.
HIVEMIND clearly states:
P.S. This is my first map, sorry that right now it is a knockoff, but I will edit monster/BOB flow later, sounds, etc.
Once he edits monster/BOB flow, sounds, etc. it will not be a knockoff. Ever heard of pubic beta.
Very original level, but it was a bit too bright for me.
I'm going to complain about how dark it is. I'm aware that that's the point. It's a stupid point. Not being able to see is the easiest way to make a bad level.
If you're going to alter an existing map, you should at least have the decency to alter a good one. That said, I'm impressed at how much worse you managed to make an already poor map.
What could drive someone to think "well I'm too lazy to make my own map why don't I just completely butcher this existing map in 15 minutes and publish it hurfadurfa" because that's ridiculous, make your own maps next time.
I mean, you didn't even do a good job.
Before we continue on to my rave review of 'your' map I feel that there is a matter we must clear up first. You see, this isn't your map. If possession were based merely on the ability to throw the shitty alien textures on a map and make it dark as fuck I would have published Paradise Lost. That being said, doing the above you've made an already mediocre map simply terrible. Said map was created for netplay, and I must question your judgment in choosing it to "make" your solo/coop map. If you simply must 'solotexture' (you obviously don't solomap) at least steal a decent singleplayer level. Gameplay is sub par to placing your penis in a blender, turning it to the highest setting and attempting to sing Mozart's Requiem Mass, the lighting is of course completely flat and I can't see your texturing job to judge it. There are forerunners and pioneers for everything and I don't want to discourage you , after all, theft of intellectual property rights may just become the next big thing in Marathon mapmaking, I just think you should alter a different level perhaps more suited to solo play.
SOMEONE LIKED MY MAP!
I love it (but its my map, so...) but it was not designed to be dark, cause you can fall off the ledges, as dugit noted. I feel for you, texturing ALL of that... Sorta good job! (=
Ill Descent (available separately) is really the highlight of this pack. The two maps that precede it are pretty mediocre, and have some flow issues. The two maps following it are much better flow-wise, but still suffer from bland texturing.
Differential shading, ammo and weapon placement are done well, which makes for three playable maps out of the five. Hopefully more will be added in that vein.
All the maps here are awesome, although I did encounter some problems with Ill Descent that I didn't encounter with the original. The snow is larger and falls in sheets rather than at random, and the F'lickta color tables are now dark red and some weird brown, as opposed to light orange and green.
I have an irrational hatred of knockoffs. The original map is great, but that's not your own work, now, is it?