An opportunity for an official NS map pack.
puzl
The Old Firm Join Date: 2003-02-26 Member: 14029Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation
The Old Firm Join Date: 2003-02-26 Member: 14029Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation
Greetings NS mapping community.
After 3.2 goes public we are going to look at publishing a official map pack containing the best of what the NS community has to offer. This will be an optional install for both clients and servers and will hopefully help the more creative and productive of you to get more feedback from the NS community while also offering more variety to players who enjoy it.
We still haven't made any final decisions on how the maps will be selected, but it will probably be coordinated by an existing member of the NS team with assistance from some of you. If you think this is a good idea and would be interested in submitting your map for this project then reply here with details of the map you would be submitting and any thoughts you have on the project.
After 3.2 goes public we are going to look at publishing a official map pack containing the best of what the NS community has to offer. This will be an optional install for both clients and servers and will hopefully help the more creative and productive of you to get more feedback from the NS community while also offering more variety to players who enjoy it.
We still haven't made any final decisions on how the maps will be selected, but it will probably be coordinated by an existing member of the NS team with assistance from some of you. If you think this is a good idea and would be interested in submitting your map for this project then reply here with details of the map you would be submitting and any thoughts you have on the project.
Comments
ns_incubus (a siege themed map with hopefully good deisgn and a twist)
ns_x (name pending) my next project after incubus.
Incubus is my primary foyar back into mapping after so long of not doing it and the loss of so much data from my HD going funky.
I would not expect to see siege maps included in a map pack. We'd be looking for classic ns maps and combat maps only.
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Hear, hear...
I'm not sure if Droggog is still working on it, but co_minas looked very promising.
I'm not entirely sure on Incubus' direction just yet <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
Greetings NS mapping community.
After 3.2 goes public we are going to look at publishing a official map pack containing the best of what the NS community has to offer. This will be an optional install for both clients and servers and will hopefully help the more creative and productive of you to get more feedback from the NS community while also offering more variety to players who enjoy it.
We still haven't made any final decisions on how the maps will be selected, but it will probably be coordinated by an existing member of the NS team with assistance from some of you. If you think this is a good idea and would be interested in submitting your map for this project then reply here with details of the map you would be submitting and any thoughts you have on the project.
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Wow, what a great idea to get the community involved again. I wish I had the time to do a classic NS map for you guys. Good luck to the people who are going to try to get their maps in.
Why not release two mappacks? classic/combat pack and an alternative pack? I don't know if you support the siege, mvm/ava gametypes. But fact is that they are here and seem to be quite popular, I can't help with the selection of those maps though, since I've never played/seen them ingame... Aso some of them are modified version of other maps I hear, which would exclude them without concent of the official mappers' permission...
I've seen the impact of an officially supported mappack at another modding community (bf42, Forgotten Hope). Since they don't have an ingame downloading system for custom maps in bf42, which makes custom maps have an even harder time. Also the average 50Mb+ filesize doesn't help. Yet they have released 6 mappacks over the years they have been developing FH. And these maps are played regularly, with the simple reason they are released in an officially supported mappack. It opens up a new window towards the players who just visit the website or their server site to read news on the mod.
I have a fe suggestions from community members who seem no longer active here, but won't post them yet. Maybe they will wake up. If they don't, I'll post them here and hope they can be contacted for sourcefile release (troublesome at least)
My maps <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
- <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=3803986566912271872&showtopic=91668&hl=achio" target="_blank"><b>ns_achio</b></a>
* needs to be updated to ns3.2 (minimaps) and hive target on death/targeton spawn need to be added to a teleporter. Also it has the 4 unique gameplay elements, which might exclude it from the pack...
- <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=7679445890822274048&showtopic=100289&st=0&gopid=1604454&#entry1604454" target="_blank"><b>co_cerberus</b></a>
* freshly released might need playtesting first. I'm new at this combat gametype, but I think I got it right. Have been looking at the official combat maps and peeking at co_moira for insights <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
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offtopic: Also how the heck are these transparant minimaps created. Sprite explorer says alphatest as type, yet I can't get them to be the least bit transparant o.o"
<a href="http://img114.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nsnexusb3test0000dm5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/6083/nsnexusb3test0000dm5.th.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></a>
(screen is darker than in-game)
This would pretty much be the most detailed, most complex, and most in-depth NS map (ambitious but thats what it sounds like from people's feedback). Its niche would be for the players who want the opposite of bland flat hallways and seemingly haphazard placement. Although best played with more players, the 6v6's are still balanced.
Some people absolutely love it and cant get enough of its unique features; some people hate it and cant handle its few issues.
But, Nexus is about to be released in its Beta 3 version, and I dont even know what else I could fix with it. You can download the ns_nexus_b3_test to check it out, there's been no bugs found during its playtesting so I'm just going to re-release it with proper minimaps as ns_nexus_b3.
<b><u>Selling points:</b></u>
---Long-term gameplay; RT layout designed like Tanith's (a 5-5 'divide') to encourage long, epic games (oh G4B2S, how you've rocked the Nexus epics <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />)
---Per-room gameplay; every room was designed with all the 'fun' gameplay aspects in mind, i.e.: large vs tight; innovative cover; marine hiding spots; ceiling architecture etc
---Per-room balance; every siege has a 'proper' amount of vent access, every room has a long-though-out LOS vs Cover balance (taking into account the strategic purpose of the room, some having been given marine- or alien-oriented balance on purpose)
---Per-Hive/MS balance; Marine Start, as well as each Hive, has one 'easy' node and a second node which is fairly easy. As such, each team, no matter the start location, should be able to have at least 3 nodes. Its a formula that I noticed in many of the better official maps.
---Weldables; counting 7 currently, with perhaps the most original weldable ever seen (check out Mag Pump room; it'll take at least two tries to fully understand what REALLY happens)
---Vents; the second all-encompassing Vent map (after Nancy), except: you can learn these far more easily; they're actually drawn on the minimap; far, far better visuals; and marines can make great use of them (if they can find a way in) for some insane ninja'ing
---Sieging; every siege possibility was planned before the hive rooms were even begun in Hammer, hence were perfected upon completion (bar one which is fully fixed in beta 3)
---Runtimes; are spot on
---Hive layout; the first NS map to feature a pyramid hive layout, where MS and each hive are actually equal distance from each other (other maps that have tried this have only had the hives equal distance from MS, but then their distances were whack)
---Visuals; I've taken the engine as far as it'll go, though perhaps there's room for some Particles as I'm not totally familiar with them yet; visuals were reviewed heavily in beta2 and then fully upgraded in beta3
---Continuity; the map was designed from the very beginning as a full Space Ship, and every room was pre-planned to have its purpose
---Sound; proper ambience is found in just about every room
---Ready Room; Beta 3 finally has an acceptable one
---Secrets; not the unfair/cheating type, but more of the Caged - SkillJumps type (rouchly 4); some giving access to the Vents, some to great vantage points, and some giving ninja hive access
---Entity Count is roughly 217
<b><u>Bad Points:</b></u>
---Complex; Although the basic layout isn't actually complex, the two areas with vertical importance make the minimap harder to follow; visibility of the Vents on the minimap add to its complex look
---Large; despite the 10 nodes and the actually smaller-than-all-others minimap, it is more compact, and especially, vertical, making this map feel peculiarly large for its actual X/Z dimensions
---Commander View; comm's are semi-hindered by vertical aspects, but this is only an issue with newer comms (I'm a vet comm and in all the games ive commed on Nexus, the problem areas showed themselves and were all optimized by Beta3); of course, if a marine calls for Med in the View Halls (the only area directly and fully under another, being Chromo Hive), a comm can still easily move to the side for a full view of the View Halls, but the med icon will bring him to Chromo
---R_speeds; they reach 1k in a few places on-the-ground, and 2k in one place for comm; but realistically, on my computer that can barely play BF2142 on the lowest settings, there isnt a single noticeable slowdown even with 30 players
PM me here or email beavatron at hotmail, for info on the next release or for feedback.
There was also a community co_map made by Hanz Gruber & co. but I dunno if that got finished. It looked freakin sweet though.
For the voting you could have a general nomination list, then knock that list down to a final shortlist, then get all creators of maps in the final shortlist to vote on eachother's work and pick the winners.
Or, even better, find a server in the US and in Europe (and Oz if poss) that could host the shortlist mappack and get the constellation to give feedback on all the maps. You could run a few polls (best for compatitive play, best atmosphere, best combat) and see what the consties have to say. I'm not saying the constellation is any better at giving back constructive crits, but it would allow for you to orchestrate part of the selection process in 'private' and since the consties would feel 'privileged', they'd be more likely to populate the servers you ran.
By the way, better late than never. This mapping community has deserved some official help to promote its brilliance for a looong time.
I'd also love to finish Vargus in time for it to be considered.
And I nominate Kouji's map, Ns_Achio for consideration as well.
Cheers,
~ DarkATi
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There was also a community co_map made by Hanz Gruber & co. but I dunno if that got finished. It looked freakin sweet though.
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ah.. Memories. Ya know I dunno what we did with that map....
<a href="http://personal.inet.fi/hima/quazilin1/ns_rampage.zip" target="_blank">http://personal.inet.fi/hima/quazilin1/ns_rampage.zip</a>
I haven't touched it since I released it years ago but I think it's pretty playable and bug free...
<img src="http://personal.inet.fi/hima/quazilin1/Maps/ns_rampage1.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
I'd definately submit the next version of moira for this, I'm just working on a couple of lighting bugs right now, but I'm close to being ready for a fresh release within the next couple of days. The basic layout has been in play for over a year now, but the new version I'm ready to release soon improves upon it in every way. (I've decided it'll be known as co_moiraD as I'm personally unfond of numbering schemes, but I don't want versioning trouble to appear for people either. So yeah... co_moirad works pretty good. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink-fix.gif" />)
Entity count is 260, mostly due to semi-dynamic infestation and dynamic (switchable) lighting.
R_speeds are mostly under 800 in big areas, maybe reaching as high as 900something but only from specific angles in specific spots.
The "gimmicks" I've added are fairly passive and non-game determining. It's standard combat play.
(See the "post your screenshots" thread for... screenshots!)
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As far as getting a hold of old maps, there were some really gems out there. What sort of scope are you looking at?
ns_marineris is another fantastic map... forget who made it... uhh... And given Lt. Gravity's previous efforts to spread the "quality custom map" word, if someone could get a hold of him, I'm sure he'd love to have ns_source in this.
Or are you hoping for "current" fairly uptodate and recent maps? I started creating a mappack of "quality" maps a few months ago... but I think I lost it switching to a new computer...
I'd be willing to help in anyway, though I'm a tad limited due to my dialup connection.
Great idea though!
He had some awesome unfinished maps <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />
Also <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=3724711306029388800&showtopic=76279&hl=oasis" target="_blank">ns_oasis</a> is nice...
Original thread can be found here: <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=4232302850919670784&showtopic=82574" target="_blank">http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index....showtopic=82574</a>
Ontopic: this sounds like a great idea, though I wonder... why mappack and not just include in the game? Also, I hope I will finish either ns_grey or ns_amp (2007 contest) so it can be included. I don't think I'm such a great mapper, but it'd be friggin' sweet if I had some 'official' stuff.
Also Kawak is probably my favourite mapper for NS, but since he never finished anything he can't really be included <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Naigel and others: Finish Leren PLEASE!
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=7707410757920023552&showtopic=98979&st=60" target="_blank">co_engineroom</a>
<a href="http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y226/yarrik71/?action=view¤t=co_engineroom.flv" target="_blank"><img src="http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y226/yarrik71/th_co_engineroom.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" /></a>
What all would be needed for a submission? Just the .bsp or all the build files?
As for co_engineroom:
I'll have to load up the official CO maps to be sure, but it's probably on the large size for a CO map. Though, I'm planning on having plenty of interactive sections, plenty of vents for the poor skulks and lurks, and one or two easter eggs thrown in before everything is said and done. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Greetings NS mapping community.
After 3.2 goes public we are going to look at publishing a official map pack containing the best of what the NS community has to offer. This will be an optional install for both clients and servers and will hopefully help the more creative and productive of you to get more feedback from the NS community while also offering more variety to players who enjoy it.
We still haven't made any final decisions on how the maps will be selected, but it will probably be coordinated by an existing member of the NS team with assistance from some of you. If you think this is a good idea and would be interested in submitting your map for this project then reply here with details of the map you would be submitting and any thoughts you have on the project.
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A great idea but- and apologies for sounding like the devil's advocate- isn't anyone worried that this could divide the community even more? IDK about other scenes, but there's scant few good servers in Europe.
Still, a good move for those looking for map variety.
A great idea but- and apologies for sounding like the devil's advocate- isn't anyone worried that this could divide the community even more? IDK about other scenes, but there's scant few good servers in Europe.
Still, a good move for those looking for map variety.
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the theoretical chance of bringing in more players far outweighs dividing the community further.
i don't think many servers would have a reason not to at least try them out or pick the ones they like.
<img src="http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/8073/readyroom3nx9.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
<img src="http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9919/marinestart2oc1.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
<img src="http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/2420/hive2oc3.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
<a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=8060693559469496320&showtopic=97956" target="_blank">ns_disonberg</a>
<img src="http://img250.imageshack.us/img250/3687/nsdisonbergbeta10002nr4.jpg" border="0" alt="IPB Image" />
I nominate ns_marineris (cause its awesome) and ns_hydrosity (cause its moist)
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I also nominate ns_hydrosity. It's a very good map, but few people want to play it due to the file size and the map is absolutely ginormous.
I'd also nominate ns_fenris since I put a fair amount of work into that map myself.
My maps <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
- <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=3803986566912271872&showtopic=91668&hl=achio" target="_blank"><b>ns_achio</b></a>
* needs to be updated to ns3.2 (minimaps) and hive target on death/targeton spawn need to be added to a teleporter. Also it has the 4 unique gameplay elements, which might exclude it from the pack...
- <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=7679445890822274048&showtopic=100289&st=0&gopid=1604454&#entry1604454" target="_blank"><b>co_cerberus</b></a>
* freshly released might need playtesting first. I'm new at this combat gametype, but I think I got it right. Have been looking at the official combat maps and peeking at co_moira for insights <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
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I second this mans 2 maps for nomination!