Hey all... again. :smile:
So, following on the tradition of the first two betas, I went and made some major changes to the map after the third beta release. The changes focus on the construction site.
It's become evident that the construction site seems to contribute very little to gameplay. Reaper47 also pointed out that the design of it is kind of erratic and unrealistic. I was pretty aware of this, but I went after that design because I thought it'd be more fun to play on. Reaper47 had some great ideas to give the construction site's layout a little more purpose, but since it seems that either way it makes little contribution to gameplay, I'm getting rid of it.
I initially tried simply moving all of the buildings over to take up the space it left behind.. it all lined up perfectly and I loved it at first - I've always been looking for a way to cut the map's size down somehow. But that quickly died out too: the map was too closed off.
After some discussion with a friend it was decided that a stripmall could work well there, with some office space on top. I created a basic design that I later ended up destroying (literally) as a result of the bomb that took out the building across the street from it. the gameplay it gives is way more straightforward and hopefully it's the last change I have to make.
In fact, it'd better be the last change I ever make, because I've pretty much committed to the size and structure of the map by carefully reconstructing the skybox brushes around the edges of the outside buildings: any changes in layout will be a bit of a pain now. And since I've committed to the layout, why not?: I've created a 3D skybox to give the level some perspective. The change in the feeling of the map from having buildings and hills surrounding the playable area is surprisingly good.
Other changes that I got several complaints about... all of the spotlight beams have been reduced in intensity, and there are no longer any super-bright sprites or beams. I've also done a lot of maintenance work like clipping the tops of all the buildings, both for players and physics objects: you can no longer toss physics objects anywhere outside the actual playable area. Also, all the HDR effects and blooms have been toned down a lot... the map is a lot less bloomy overall.
So without further ado... pictures.
Looking down the street (excuse the lighting on the skybox building). Looking pretty similar to before...
...
and the new stripmall/office building with the connecting ramp collapsed to bits. You can run up the right or jump up the left. (No longer just blank sky down the street on the right!)
A view from the sniper building. Some little skybox stuff in the background, I like those smokestacks and the subtle bloom around them. Still need to add handrailings along the edge of the stripmall here...
From atop the stripmall itself. An entirely new texture for the debris down there, as well as some physprops - need a few more.
From below. Still not sure if the Citadel will stay - I added it a long time ago just as kind of a test/experiment and I kind of like the way it looks, although it doesn't entirely make sense here, it could still be passed off as some kind of mysterious structure? Adds some visual interest from the POV of players on the ground... any thoughts on this issue are very welcome. (Also, the spark on the left... is that the best-timed screenshot ever or what? It's just beginning to erupt...) :smile:
And one more from one of the ramps.
On the roof of 1532 is where the skybox really looks nice, to me. I still have some lighting tweaks to do but I'm nearly there with it.
Atop 1532 looking the other direction - a nice contrast to the other shot, the buildings here are shadowed out by the hill a bit.
Also, two examples of some lighting adjustments I made to make things more atmospheric and interesting:
the stairs along the back of the destroyed building, and
one of the gates inside the sniper building. Thoughts?
So that's the very latest on the map, I wanted to go straight from B3 -> final but it looks like I'll end up putting out a B4 in light of all the changes.. very soon. Hopefully by the end of the week. After gathering any last comments, I might still be able to crank out the final in time for my goal release date: before September 5th (when school starts).
So please, let the comments and crits fly. :smile: Thanks for looking as always!
-- midkay
