Posted by Victor-933 on Sat Dec 9th 2006 at 1:48am

I'm working on these things.. That floating roof part was where I forgot to assign the prop_physics the proper name. Also, after some thinking I decided to make the metal plates actually break, using the old debris models left over from when those models broke when shot. It doesn't work 100% of the time, but the fact remains that the plates disappear after some time. I'm also trying to break up the corridors some. I thought about making a physprop-blocked tunnel leading directly to the RPG, and permanently blocking the other two tunnels. The chain link elevator room.. I'm not sure what to do with it, aside from add a vent which I probably will do.

I suppose one of my flaws is trying to please everyone -- a mere two people asked me to expand upon the flooded tunnels which originally were blocked off by gates, a state I may return them to.

Posted by Captain P on Fri Dec 8th 2006 at 8:25pm

Corridors are fine, if they're interesting (read: wide) enough and provide cover and multiple approaches. It's mainly that corridors are narrow, linear and empty that makes them bad. Then again, if they're not, you'd probably not call them corridor anymore... " SRC="images/smiles/icon_wink.gif">

I agree with reaper47: it's a weak layout. I wasn't even able to find the top-side area after a few minutes, as I probably ran around in circles. I don't know actually, almost every corridor looked the same. And they were way too long too.
Besides that I saw a lot of doors. These take away a lot of speed from the game, I'd remove them if I were you.
And, several area's were dead ends. Most area's in fact were dead ends. That's bad for the gameflow: you get trapped easily, and on the other hand there's no surprize anymore: the opponent can only come from one entrance ever.
I also noticed a lack of physics objects in most area's, and an abundance of them in some others. Especially the stack of wood beams looks unnecessary, and the top-side shack that explodes doesn't add much to the gameplay since it's a one-time thing. It does add a lot of physics overhead and causes the area to be hard to walk on with all those plates on the ground.


Players want action fast, so make the map more compact, cut down on corridors and add bigger area's so players know where to find the action they're looking for. Provide more cover in these area's and more connections between them to make them interesting to fight in. Get rid of overabundant physics items, spread them across the map some more, to encourage physics combat more and avoid bad performance. Give area's clear purposes and looks, make them look more distinct to make the map easier to learn and to navigate. This also means players will remember what area's contain what items (if you place them well of course) so they have a better idea of where they can go.

Perhaps it'll help you to draw out the layout. I usually create simple overview, indicating combat area's with circles and connections with lines. Generally speaking, most area's do well with 3-5 connections, and most connections shouldn't take longer than a few seconds to move through. Of course, connections and area's can blend in somewhat, but I found it to be a good thumbrule. I hope it can help you as well. " SRC="images/smiles/icon_smile.gif">

Posted by Victor-933 on Fri Dec 8th 2006 at 2:49am

Well I decided that there should at least be some topside travel, but not too much, because with the AR2 as deadly as it is in the mines you don't want it easily reachable, and topside seemed the best place to put it. As for the "death machine".. it's more of a hazard than an instant-kill device. I guess I described it wrong, but the ENTIRE hallway doesn't fill up, it just blocks off a part with hot steam that does a good bit of damage.. more or less an oil slick to throw down when someone's chasing you, although to duck in the alcove and turn the valve to activate it might require some fast fingerwork.

As for the barren part, I've been slapping down most of the layout, then focusing on certain areas to perfect them. On the final run-through I'll throw all kinds of decals and physprops about to help make the gravgun a little more useful.

It probably should be noted that I haven't quite perfected the shed yet; some of the sheets get stuck together and need punting.. I'm considering tagging them all as debris.