[Map] Crater (beta)

[4rson]

EDIT: Crater is now complete. For those who haven't played it yet, the map is based around a remote base hidden in an icy crater. It is intended for quite fast gameplay with plenty of wall running etc. Best suited to insta and ctf modes.

Screenshots (early version):







Download:

crater.zip

(2.87 MiB) Downloaded 411 times

[fawstoar]

Wow, that looks very interesting so far... similar to John_III's Isolation, sort of.

[4rson]

Yes, I did take some inspiration for the colour scheme from Isolation, although the layout is very different.

[qubodup]

Cool map!

I tried recording a video, but the internal /movie command was giving quite laggy output.

Some thoughts on invisible walls: http://qubodup.wordpress.com/2012/06/17 ... designers/ (of course it's perfectly fine to leave them, as FPS players are mostly used to them).

Also, I got stuck (couldn't move away) here: http://i.imgur.com/Xuv6L.jpg

[Dratz-_C]

Hi 4rson,
The functional layout of crater_beta is fun to play in but the frame rate becomes unmanageable, dropping to 18 a second when I get into combat with enemy teams. I think the terrain contains too much geometry exposed for my nettop to handle. The theme is good but I think it should be realized efficiently. I suggest making one area of playable, detailed lunar landscape like the pit with the water in it; the rest of the map quarried out of the crater earth with sweeping, bold, plain slopes with some large inaccessible areas tastefully gradated in appearance by light sources of differing luminance and color; and hints of the more detailed landscape surrounding the quarried crater only viewable through gated vehicular access tunnels from areas of frequent player traffic. In general, the only area that should be able to see most of the complex geometry should be in or near the center such that whoever looks out from it is not at once confronted with most of the polygons in the scene.
Also, would you consider adding two more flag locations for multi team capture the flag? I've attached a basic schematic, here.

crater_beta_01.png

Cheers

[Ulukai]

Great map so far, I like the setting but I must agree that you're making it a heavy map for lower-end PCs, which makes it less attractive to vote for some people. But I like the detail, the way the bridges are constructed and the general layout. Finishing the map with rocks isn't that easy, I remember from Ares I spent so many hours trying to make them look realistic at first, but then the map became too heavy. Then I flattened out the rocks to make them less heavy and wallrunnable. This was a way simpler solution but all in all it took me countless hours to achieve it.

Maybe lock the map off with some laser beams connecting the four corners of the map, make it all deathzone when they pass the laser lines. Beyond the lasers, you can create a subtle illusion of a rocky area but don't go into too much detail. Like this, you also avoid that players go running or hiding on the maps surroundings.

One remark: the light on the picture beneath ir reflecting way too much on this floor surface. Try making 2 lights (there are 2 light textures on the walls anyway) so that it won't reflect in the middle, or try experimenting with another floor texture.

Keep it up!

[4rson]

The invisible walls are definitely a problem. Some kind of solution with the crater walls becoming vertical, but not looking too ugly would be ideal, but I can't get it to look right at the moment.

The problem with reducing the geometric detail of the terrain is that it starts to look really nasty with the relatively low light angles. I will have a go replacing the crater walls with something close to vertical which can probably be made with lower detail.

There are a couple of other places where that floor reflection is a problem. Is it possible to reduce the specular component of a texture and still have it look good?

[qreeves]

There are a couple of other places where that floor reflection is a problem. Is it possible to reduce the specular component of a texture and still have it look good?

Most definitely.

[4rson]

I've updated the first post with a new version.

The terrain has been improved and (at least on my laptop) runs with a fast framerate relative to most other maps.
Some textures have been improved and more details added.
Improved fog with fogdome (thanks Quin for pointing that one out).
Added bomberball and defend the flag modes.

I haven't added support for multi-teamplay yet because I think the map is probably too small for it to work well.

Does anyone run a server these days where people can vote for custom maps? It would be nice to try a real game.

[Ulukai]

Good that you're updating the map Your map is votable on my server now (Ulukai's Killing Ground). It is called "crater", so place your map in the map directory with this exact name (I stripped the _beta label from the map files) and then vote for it on my server if you want to try it out online.

[4rson]

Thanks, I will try to get some games going on there this evening.

[Dratz-_C]

Hi 4rson,
I like what you have done with the map this time. It runs fine now on my nettop. You will want to take a look at this awkward, untextured pit and square plane around the playing region.

crater_beta2-01.jpg

Cheers

[4rson]

I haven't decided what to do with the surrounding plane yet. If I add mountains, it will reduce the framerate a bit. Otherwise I could just remove it entirely, but that would make it look like the whole map is floating in space.

[qubodup]

Otherwise I could just remove it entirely, but that would make it look like the whole map is floating in space.

small asteroid! (with artificial gravitation or something.)

[Dratz-_C]

4rson,
Another option would be to make the perimeter round, the texture an innocuous monochrome and simulate a distance gradient using light sources and/or texture blending. Perhaps the skybox could be modified to include some ground.
Cheers

[qreeves]

Try using an "envlayer" with "envlayerheight" set to a negative number; this is a duplicate of "cloudlayer" which allows you to use a texture for something that stretches to the horizon, I use this trick in "tower" for the lava.

[4rson]

New version uploaded. I've corrected some texturing errors, added an upper clip for jetpack mode, and added an envlayer to replace the nasty looking surrounding plane. Thanks to everyone who helped with the testing.

Ulukai, could you update the map version on your server. I have removed the _beta extension from the download.

EDIT: I updated the upload with snow particles suggested by Damien.

[Ulukai]

New version uploaded. I've corrected some texturing errors, added an upper clip for jetpack mode, and added an envlayer to replace the nasty looking surrounding plane. Thanks to everyone who helped with the testing.

Ulukai, could you update the map version on your server. I have removed the _beta extension from the download.

EDIT: I updated the upload with snow particles suggested by Damien.

Server updated.

[4rson]

I have updated the link at the top with a new version. This is a fairly major update with some additions to the layout and extra details.

I think this can be considered as a stable release. I am completely out of ideas on how to make it look better so I think that makes for a good reason to stop changing it.

The updated version is on the Frogteam 3 server, but the modified way-points are needed from the download in this thread.

(offtopic) Are there any plans to make the way-point files be downloaded from a server together with the rest of the map in future?

[Iridium]

I have updated the link at the top with a new version. This is a fairly major update with some additions to the layout and extra details.

I think this can be considered as a stable release. I am completely out of ideas on how to make it look better so I think that makes for a good reason to stop changing it.

The updated version is on the Frogteam 3 server, but the modified way-points are needed from the download in this thread.

(offtopic) Are there any plans to make the way-point files be downloaded from a server together with the rest of the map in future?

If this is stable and you are happy with it, then why not submit it for inclusion on the thread at the top of the forum? Then we will see it in the next RE release
-Iridium

[Dratz-_C]

4rson,
I played the new version of Crater offline and added 4 bots. The picture shows what happened to the distribution of the bots. Usually a bot is added to 1 team and the next bot is added to the other and so on. However, in the basket bomberball game the red team only has 3, while the blue team has 5. I tried switching to the red team but it stayed at 3. Do you have any idea what could be causing this anomaly? Also, if you do have to revise the map, would you consider making the minimum count 6 rather than 4? I ran the game with 8 on my nettop and it never dipped below 22fps. Six would allow each bomberball team to pass the ball among 2 runners and still have a goalkeeper. By the way, bomber ball is fun with the ball on the other side of the map--well done. I also like D.A.M.I.E.N's snow.

Crater_01.jpg

Cheers

[4rson]

I tried to make the minimum number of bots 6 on the last release as the map does indeed play much better than with only 4 players. On my version of the map I get the expected 3v3 in team games. Did you download your version from the link above, or was it from a server? Is anyone else able to replicate this bug?

From your screenshot, the map thumbnail image appears to be from an older version. If your version doesn't have a 3rd smg in a new air-vent type of area near to where the nuke is then you definitely have an older version. I did notice that on the frog3 server, the minimum number of bots is still 4 so I'm concerned that my update didn't work properly.

[Dratz-_C]

4rson,
No, this is probably just me. I downloaded your map the last time I saw that you updated it. I'll redownload the map from the top of the thread and see if it does it again. No worries.
Okay I'm posting that the file-size is larger this time, so if it runs fine for you, it should for me. I'm running it once anyway to check.
I'm back and it's fine. I added the bots before I began playing which screwed up the balance. Once I restarted and joined the game before adding the bots, the bots all balanced beautifully.

Crater_02.jpg

Sorry for the scare and good job on your map. Perhaps I'll see you in the game sometime.
Cheers

[4rson]

Good to hear it's working properly, and thanks for giving the map a try.

[qreeves]

I reviewed this map for inclusion in the game, and unfortunately your map wasn't of the required quality.

• Framerate drops in several areas.
• Outer boundaries are extremely blocky and cast weird shadows.
• Certain areas are difficult to navigate.
• Weapon layout could be improved.
• Sunlight is being cast from a fictitious source.
• Over-use of clip to unnaturally keep players in the arena.