When we started playing NS everything was scary, the maps were terribly scary and everyone was so scared they didn't want to step foot off the infranty portal or wander too far as a skulk.
Scary maps simply aren't possible for people are familiar with the game and experienced. I couldn't care a hill of beans about the atmosphere in a corridor, anymore. Seriously, who walks into maintenance corridor and is still scared? I just check the hiding spots like always and if i see a skulk i won't suddenly have a panic attack. I'm simply not afraid of skulks and i'm confident i can kill them so atmosphere or no atmosphere i'm still going to run around gun ho like always. I know that if fades turn up then shotgun squads will go strolling around, or that a lerk on a clorf is going to get it's winged clipped. I honestly do not notice the atmosphere i play in anymore and find myself more concerned with balance and gameplay. A 100 hp boost to a skulk would scare me more than a doom3 style corridor. Whilst yes it'd be great if i could have that orginial amazing factor like at the start of NS, it just isn't going to happen again on the HL engine.
A dark map with flashing lights and sirens would simply hinder gameplay, cause mass annoyance that you couldn't see or hear jack **** and result in constant MT first upgrades to make up for the lack of visual or sounds. I'm a mapper and i want my maps to look good but i won't compromise gameplay for atmosphere as that simply causes annoyance and doesn't make it enjoyable to play.
Also foxtrot, from my experience to have a match with a stalemate requires both teams to be incompetant. That's why pub matches can sometimes be fun.
Bob: NW has a whole range of different playin styles, it really depends on the specific map. Some are high pased, adrenline pumping and you're running around like mad, others are very slow paced, giving you a glimpse of your destination then throwing obstacles and puzzles in your path making for slower progress. Whome is lead level designer who helps out with gameplay everyone, if you've played someplace else then you'll realise he's a mapping genius so you needn't worry <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
checking the hidding spots... after reading the post in this thread I came to the conclusion, that a 100% scary map is not possible. but a super atmospheric map is definitely possible. but you should think aout some tricks to achieve some new effects. after reading the unreal 1 related reply I thought about a way to create moving shadows. -> custom sprites would be perfect. you can even create "moving" surfaces. you guys have to remember halflife: there were some xen "lifeforms" that shot yourself in the air when stepping on them. the effect of the moving "skin" had been achieved by a simple spike, well textured it looked like the skin would deform. similar effect on one of the opposing force maps: rotating cylinders simulated flushing in liquid. the center of rotation had been moved a little so the cylinder was "bouncing".
this are very simple but highly effective methods to create a unique environment. and every time I play halflife Im wondering how some cool effects are created, with nothing else but simple entities. maybe you guys should repeat the "halflife lesson" <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
A good way to scare players would be to have brighter lights with a smaller radius, so the lighting is more centralised. EG, a path is lit up, but you ca see whats just in the darkenss to each side. COmbining this sort of effect with that awesome purple foggish shot would be good. Scary maps have to be designed to have lots of 'holy **** it jumped out at me' moments.
A scary atmosphere is much harder in multiplayer than it is in single player/co-op, because in single player/co-op singplayer you can choreograph where the enemies are coming from, which is a pretty big part of making things scary. The other major thing which could make stuff scary would be choreographed sequences, ie you're walking through a corridor and suddenly a pipe comes loose from the ceiling and almost kills you, that sort've thing. This'd be pretty useless in multiplayer as it would only happen for the first person to go into the room.
So... yeah. We're pretty much limited to low lit environments <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->.
Comments
Scary maps simply aren't possible for people are familiar with the game and experienced. I couldn't care a hill of beans about the atmosphere in a corridor, anymore. Seriously, who walks into maintenance corridor and is still scared? I just check the hiding spots like always and if i see a skulk i won't suddenly have a panic attack. I'm simply not afraid of skulks and i'm confident i can kill them so atmosphere or no atmosphere i'm still going to run around gun ho like always. I know that if fades turn up then shotgun squads will go strolling around, or that a lerk on a clorf is going to get it's winged clipped. I honestly do not notice the atmosphere i play in anymore and find myself more concerned with balance and gameplay. A 100 hp boost to a skulk would scare me more than a doom3 style corridor. Whilst yes it'd be great if i could have that orginial amazing factor like at the start of NS, it just isn't going to happen again on the HL engine.
A dark map with flashing lights and sirens would simply hinder gameplay, cause mass annoyance that you couldn't see or hear jack **** and result in constant MT first upgrades to make up for the lack of visual or sounds. I'm a mapper and i want my maps to look good but i won't compromise gameplay for atmosphere as that simply causes annoyance and doesn't make it enjoyable to play.
Also foxtrot, from my experience to have a match with a stalemate requires both teams to be incompetant. That's why pub matches can sometimes be fun.
Bob: NW has a whole range of different playin styles, it really depends on the specific map. Some are high pased, adrenline pumping and you're running around like mad, others are very slow paced, giving you a glimpse of your destination then throwing obstacles and puzzles in your path making for slower progress.
Whome is lead level designer who helps out with gameplay everyone, if you've played someplace else then you'll realise he's a mapping genius so you needn't worry <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Anyways, here's a pic of some great detail in ns_Teabag (yeah ha ha the name is funny) and i think these little details add so much to a map:
after reading the post in this thread I came to the conclusion, that a 100% scary map is not possible. but a super atmospheric map is definitely possible. but you should think aout some tricks to achieve some new effects.
after reading the unreal 1 related reply I thought about a way to create moving shadows. -> custom sprites would be perfect. you can even create "moving" surfaces. you guys have to remember halflife: there were some xen "lifeforms" that shot yourself in the air when stepping on them. the effect of the moving "skin" had been achieved by a simple spike, well textured it looked like the skin would deform.
similar effect on one of the opposing force maps: rotating cylinders simulated flushing in liquid. the center of rotation had been moved a little so the cylinder was "bouncing".
this are very simple but highly effective methods to create a unique environment.
and every time I play halflife Im wondering how some cool effects are created, with nothing else but simple entities. maybe you guys should repeat the "halflife lesson" <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
So... yeah. We're pretty much limited to low lit environments <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->.