Highlight vent entrances

Bicsum

Hi,

some vent entrances are pretty hard to find for new players, even IF they should be using the (c)map.

As a solution, you could implement arrows that point into vent entrances, like the arrows that point into an empty command station in pre game:

Another possibility would be to give vent entrances a parasite-like colored shade that goes through walls, so you can see vent entrances right away through walls, when you're in range.

It could be limited to pre game, so it doesn't interfere in game.

I think this change would be helpful for new players and veterans alike, when learning new maps.

The_Welsh_Wizard

Could help new players, but I think a more elegant Way could be to light them properly and make geo fluidly leading into them. But Yea, maybe it is more obvious with some Kind of hint on the HUD.

Kouji_San

It seems you are unaware of this vent.
Can I help you in the ways of the vents?

Keats

At one point, vents entrances were visible as if they were parasited. There was a problem with it and it was scrapped. I want to say that it was confusing and cluttered the screen but I cannot remember.

Bicsum

Keats wrote: »

At one point, vents entrances were visible as if they were parasited. There was a problem with it and it was scrapped. I want to say that it was confusing and cluttered the screen but I cannot remember.

Yeah, I can imagine it being problematic, but limiting it to pre game and sandbox could work in any case though. You would walk through the map in pre game and discover the vent entrances that you may then use in a real match.

The_Welsh_Wizard

Keats wrote: »

At one point, vents entrances were visible as if they were parasited. There was a problem with it and it was scrapped. I want to say that it was confusing and cluttered the screen but I cannot remember.

Yea that's why it should be optional. And you could limit the highlighted entrances to the ones in line of sight or only in a certain range around the player.

Mephilles

@Kouji_San you want mendasp to show the rookies where the vents are?

also isn't it the job of the map designer to make vent entrances easily visible?

Yojimbo

Spoke about this with @SamusDroid awhile back, IIRC it would require altering every.single.vent.on.every.single.map., who's gonna do it?

Number one problem with this game, loads of great ideas, not enough man power to actually do em.

Kouji_San

Mephilles wrote: »

@Kouji_San you want mendasp to show the rookies where the vents are?

also isn't it the job of the map designer to make vent entrances easily visible?

Of course


Yeah, well... More detail adds to visual clutter adds to less visible vents. The pretties are prettying up the shizzle, so everything blends together requiring more work...

SamusDroid

No matter how you go about doing this, it's a technical nightmare and near impossible to do.

As @Mephilles said, it's the job of the map designer to make vents easy to see, and use. Way back in the day in some game design docs I remember seeing something about all vents being red, or at least the entrance marked with red, but I don't know what happened to that.

RevanCorana

Instead of a highlight in 3d couldnt they add a ns2+ option to change only the minimap overview (C key) since it's just a 2d picture should be simpler?
Of course mappers would need to update their map to have 2 versions of the overview to be compatible with this features

Mephilles

well it is usually gloowing in ornage now. But this can easily be done in all official maps. It's like no effort to put a single orange light with a high enough intensity on the vent exits @Zavaro

Bicsum

Aren't doors some kind of map entity? Can't a door, theoretically, have a parasite effect outline? Doesn't that work for a static, invisble ventilation entrance map entity?

SamusDroid

Yes doors can have a parasite on them, but that still doesn't change the fact that you would have to change every single vent in every single map to be some sort of entity, and then at that you would have to make tons of different entities to make those vents mesh with where they are in the actual map.

Bicsum

It doesn't have to fit. It can be one type of entity that says "look here, you can go in here". One could straight up use the arrows from the pre game cc, maybe give it a different color and place them on every single vent entrance. Only for pre game of course.

The amount of vents in the game is still reasonable. On Veil I counted 26 vent entrances. If someone would make it happen, I would be willing to go through every map and place those entities.