Outdoor Map

DjArcas

<div class="IPBDescription">What do you mean?</div> When people go on about 'outdoor maps', are they talking about proper UT2003 style outdoor maps, or maps that are indoors with outdoor sections, FI a few office building with outdoor areas between them?


Just curious as to the whole debate, as the map I'm working on (yes, NS made me dust off worldcraft after 3 years... no longer compiling on a p2/233 :-) has outdoor sections, but could in no way be classed as an outdoor map, yet some people seem to be getting very het up about this. A CS style sunny outdoor map would be entirely stupid, and not at all in keeping tho.

Maus

I'm assuming they're forbidden by the NS team because of the free-roaming nature of skulks (and lerks). It would be tricky to sort out a map boundary for them outdoors without using something like Tanith's laser fence thingy, which would be a little lame if it was used a lot.

Moleculor

Putting any form of outdoor area into your map, even if it's a small space between buildings, is very risky and asking for non-official-dom.

RhoadsToNowhere

Obviously, it'd be very hard to make a map that takes place almost all outdoors and still fits the NS theme. But I'd suggest that if you do include outdoor areas, try to make them as minimal as possible. The official map NS_Hera used to have a small outdoor area (the landing bay at the marine spawn was accessible, as can be seen in the trailer), but that had to be closed off, even though it wasn't a significant part of the map.

As for reasons why outdoors areas are not looked upon well, I think it's got a bit more to do with the theme than with the gameplay. I think it's actually impossible for a Skulk to climb on a skybrush, since skybrushes generally also involve clipbrushes, and Skulks do not climb clipbrushes. (This does not hold for Lerks or jetpacked marines, though.) But as I stated before, large outdoor areas just don't fit NS's theme at all. It's also partially explaining how the commander is able to see outdoors in his console, and partially giving the aliens enough ambush spots to have a chance to succeed against the longer-ranged marines.

To be honest though, if you really want to include an outdoor area in your map, by all means go ahead. We can't stop you at all. Just keep in mind that it'll most likely reduce the chances of your map going official by quite a bit.

DjArcas

> But as I stated before, large outdoor areas just don't fit NS's theme at all. It's also partially >explaining how the commander is able to see outdoors in his console, and partially giving the >aliens enough ambush spots to have a chance to succeed against the longer-ranged marines.

That's been the thing that's bothering me about my map... I intend to provide plenty of cover in the outdoor areas... then again, the spread on a machine gun is pretty lousy at any distance, meaning you won't do squat damage.

Jetpacks, well, that's another issue. Shame that one can't ban them on a per-level basis.

>To be honest though, if you really want to include an outdoor area in your map, by all means go >ahead.

Why, thanks! I was intending to anyways. My only thought is how the aliens get to the marine's spawn safely. Still, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I'm thinking 'hunted' here <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' valign='absmiddle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->

>We can't stop you at all. Just keep in mind that it'll most likely reduce the chances of your map >going official by quite a bit.

Not even something that had crossed my mind. I'm creating the map because I enjoy it, not to make it official. As for 'feel' - who says the aliens can't exist outdoors? if they have a huge disadvantage outdoors, then they will have to use the cover that exists there, or stay indoors where the advantage is theirs. But balance is the key, ah.