[map] Arena Draft

ARENA Draft
From Matt "Lord Ned" Hoffman and Ben "Nerdboy" Waters comes: Download Here!

Due to Snarkpit's odd handling of images, please visit this thread for the full experience. :P

So there you have it. Leave a post if you're running it on your server or enjoy it.

Extra Thanks:
Thanks to A Boojum Snark and Seba for help with server-list thumbs.
Thanks to Snacks for uncomplicateing some displacements, and being an all-around great help.

And really thanks to Nerdboy. Even though it's half his map, this guy has just been amazing to work with. I'd close the map in frustration over something and go to bed, and I'd wake up in the morning and Nerdboy would have fixed or detailed or taken care of whatever it was, without me even mentioning it.

The dream began one quiet August night as Lord Ned prepared to resurrect Hydroelectric. The very same night, Nerdboy, master of time and space, challenged him. "Lord Ned, good sir," he commented amidst the glow of the Livestream client, "I do believe it is preposterous for such an arena map to feature a sight line straight across both spawns." Insulted, Lord Ned challenged him to produce a layout that would be better than Hydroelectric's. And so, Nerdboy was off to produce such a layout in under 80 days. He took two hours. The rest is history.

Produced over the course of a months and eight iterations comes Draft, a new and exciting arena map from the creators of Hydroelectric and Drybed! A mega-fusion of height and options make this map more addicting than Gorge.

Full Change log available here!

Lord Ned said:
Due to Snarkpit's odd handling of images, please visit this thread for the full experience. :P

Translation: I can't be bothered to optimize my images to be considerate of others.

Full experience.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

Orpheus said:
Translation: I can't be bothered to optimize my images to be considerate of others.

It should, actually, be automatic based on the user's settings. Sort of like site detection between mobile and non-mobile devices.

I could understand complaining about bandwidth on images in 2003 ... but that boat has sailed, sir. You need to download a plugin that automatically stops images from loading in your browser or something and save everyone else the grief.

For example: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5613/
Here's instructions for IE, just in case you still have bad judgement: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080804135121AAeMye7
There's even a solution if you happen to be running Chrome: http://vvsite.com.ua/?fl=0&i=24#engl

In other words: get over it.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Well Said Crono..

Crono said:
I could understand complaining about bandwidth on images in 2003 ... but that boat has sailed, sir.
In other words: get over it.

By the way the map looks wonderful. Great work! (LORDNED)

Please don't use my annoyances with both of you to further your pissing contest.

Lord Ned, I can't really play anything currently, but from the screenshots their is something that irks me ... the wood texture on the buildings is so ... bland. I understand it's all made out of wood boards, but, you should think about trying to vary it so it looks a bit more appealing instead of a giant lump of brown.

Layout looks okay ... but it just seems to be a circle. It'd be cool to see it get a little more evolved in the flow department, maybe introduce a larger vertical element. A ranch-house type theme leaves lots of opportunity in terms of structures.

Update so this post makes sense:

"Muhnay's PM" said:
I fixed my post.. Adjust yours so your not pulled in.

Sorry man, did not think about that.. dont want to get your pulled into it. No pissing contest.. I am sure he pees much further than I do..

Consider it adjusted ... sounds like your have prostate cancer ...

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Adam, bite my ass. Broadband width may have increased but broadband coverage hasn't. Try using those plug ins a while and then come back and tell me just how much fun they are.

As long as broadband is unavailable to some of our users, I will continue to champion the cause against inconsiderate members.

[edit] To our new member: This is not an attempt at an attack on you personally. This is an old debate, one resolved years ago but alas some of our mor stubborn members refuse to acknowledge it.

Images can be optimized substantially without ANY DEGRADATION to them if properly done.

Snarkpit has been and always shall be conscience of its non broadband users. Sadly, there have been so much abuse of the image thing that a ode had to be written to take it out of the users hands.

Snarkpit isn't singling out you or your screenshots.

Again, please feel free to upload whatever you wish, but bare in mind that oversized screens will be automatically reduced.

Thanx, and welcome to Snarkpit.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

Orpheus said:
Adam, bite my ass.

No means NO!

Orpheus said:
Broadband width may have increased but broadband coverage hasn't. Try using those plug ins a while and then come back and tell me just how much fun they are.

What are you talking about? Broadband coverage has increased drastically since 2003! Are you kidding me!?

I don't care how "fun" they are, this is your problem. You chose where you live, you chose not to get satellite internet (So it's too expensive, it's not the posters problem), this is entirely your problem. You need to find a solution that fixes your problem without making it everyone else's.

Orpheus said:
As long as broadband is unavailable to some of our users, I will continue to champion the cause against inconsiderate members.

Yeah, but, I think you're the only person ... it's not some champion cause if you're just being stubborn.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

So thats how its gonna be Crono, I send you a PM, and try to be nice and you act just as much an assclown as Orph.. so be it.. talk about a community that has gone way down hill. Everyone so bitter ready to sell out their grandmother for 2 bits and a reputation. Sad... but that is what RIVEN wants here, a gaggle of asshats who beat on each other to impress themselves so be it.

Crono said:

Orpheus said:
Adam, bite my ass.

No means NO!

LOL

you win, I cannot compete with that level of.... Humor

I do not have net. My choice where I live its true but 7 lousy miles. I wouldn't know how to go about finding the coverage areas in the world but believe me its unavailable.. AND Satelite sux. Not only the price but the services.

Still... As we now notice, I borrow net at times. its not everywhere either BTW but even so its broadband. I am not defending my connections but others.

Like it, or lump it.

XXXOOOXXX

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The best things in life, aren't things.

Muhnay said:
So thats how its gonna be Crono, I send you a PM, and try to be nice and you act just as much an assclown as Orph.. so be it.. talk about a community that has gone way down hill. Everyone so bitter ready to sell out their grandmother for 2 bits and a reputation. Sad... but that is what RIVEN wants here, a gaggle of asshats who beat on each other to impress themselves so be it.

You weren't "being nice" you were trying to give me a proverbial, "it's cool brah" fist bump for me snagging Orph in one of his Convolution Moments™. You went on to instruct me that I should get my "post straight" so that I don't incur his wrath, something that I can assure you is, actually, harmless. I survived Underdog, I can survive anything Jon throws out ... or girlishly tosses.

Anyway, I did the only thing that made sense ... supplemented the context of my post.

I'm, honestly, not bitter at all ... I just thought it'd be funny to make a joke about urinary issues. But, you should stop pouting. Go with the flow of the community instead of trying to control it ... Man you guys are much more similar than you realize ... I think that makes making out okay ... you should look into it. You could be the hottest couple of 2010 in PitWeekly.

Orpheus, I really don't think many people (if any) are visiting the site using dial-up. Maybe you should switch to advocating EDGE mobile users, at least then it might make a little sense. I mean how are we suppose to get our pit on the go if we don't have access to full 3G/4G coverage, HOW!?

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Point made and taken Adam. I will put it on hold, unless someone claims to be on less than broadband. However, I reserve the right to bash anyone whom post a series of screens in excess of a meg. (cumulative) Deal?

For the record I looked. The original screens were massive. In excess of 350k each. That's simply refuckingtarded.

Anywhos
1 megs my limit. If you ask for more you're being obtuse just to prove you can be.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

I prefer people to post high resolution screenshots so I don't have to strain my eyes trying to look at the details of the level, even if I was on dial-up (I've been there).

"Crono" said:
but from the screenshots their is something that irks me ... the wood texture on the buildings is so ... bland. I understand it's all made out of wood boards, but, you should think about trying to vary it so it looks a bit more appealing instead of a giant lump of brown.

Well yeah, I think the buildings blend into the environment too much and they should stand out a bit more for aesthetic and gameplay reasons.

Also, the font you used on the poster thing for the description and the list of changes since last time could use some anti-aliasing. Just looks too much like I'm looking at a word document on my old pos crt monitor amongst other pretty fonts and colourful pictures that are on the poster.

And the rocks look too cell shaded, more noise on the rocks please!

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Aaron's Stuff

So is this the final release version?

I like the style, and the technique is very clean. I'm actually ok with the flatshaded style of the rocks - I get what you're going for. My main advice would be: vary the outdoor ground surfaces. Right now there is grass, and bright dirt. That's it. The wide open areas are basically the exact same as the "paths". There is no sense that people have been hauling around lumber. Maybe add some brown dirt, and perhaps tracks from wheel carts. Maybe a pile of logs here or there.

Whoop's sorry for forgetting about this topic, pretty sure I hit "Notify me when a reply was posted", and just now got around to manually checking the thread to find all this!

And no worries at the non-broadband discussion, the "Full Experience" was actually the buttons that are at the bottom of the TF2Maps thread.

When I first posted it they wouldn't url link and so they were all misaligned and created odd spacing and all that. I settled for removing them and putting in the "Full Experience" thing.

I'll take all of the above into consideration for the next release. It'll be a while because I'm quite swamped with schoolwork right now but I'll get through all the feedback and try to incorporate it for sure!

Really surprised at how much of a kick this thread got. Much better response here than at other sites like Interlopers or Mapcore.