Outside?

HuNTeD · March 2005

<div class="IPBDescription">Is it possible?</div> Hey, I'm lookin to make a NS map and I've noticed that all the maps are indoors! It gets bland cuz there really is no plant life or fresh air! I've also noticed that this is all in space by looking you windows and other stuff. Would it be wrong to create a .wad file with sky and grass and trees because it would be getting off track with the NS map theme.

-Hunted

KungFuDiscoMonkey · March 2005

You can certainly do more organic environments. Nothing is restricting you to doing space stations and such. However having maps that take place outside with wide open areas presents many challenges both in ballancing gameplay and optimizing for the engine.

HuNTeD · March 2005

I understand that and I'm up for that challange. Thanks.

-Hunted

Lt_Patch · March 2005

Hey, an outside level may be a good thing.

I don't think the engine will be too much of a problem, unless NS uses a custom variant of the HL engine, seeing as HL1 is perfectly capable of doing outside areas. You just need a ceiling for the level, which is reachable by most marine weapons, including the shotgun (Hey, you do clay pigeon shooting with a shotgun!)

Keep us updated if you do, Hunted, as it would provide a good change.

Lt_Gravity · March 2005

and most likely you will quit.

because he stress isnt worth it <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' />
but hey, if you manage to keep about 200 problems in the eye that come along with an outdoor map... because we arent talking about dod or cs. we are talking about ns.

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>my first try</span>
<img src='http://mitglied.lycos.de/centercross/ns_60seconds_b10000.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>someone elses try</span>
<img src='http://mitglied.lycos.de/centercross/Akaba1.JPG' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

btw does anybody know if the mapper of akaba is still alive?
and I cant say if thisis the map or the readyroom but I think it was meant as readyroom. otherwise you would have 1000 problems.

good luck. you will need it. but dont whine later on, you had been warned <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

HuNTeD · March 2005

They look good, but my first NS map wont be outside, well one or two parts of it might but not all. I put the layout on another thread.

-Hunted

Thaldarin · March 2005

Kawak made that area of akaba as part of the map. Looks very pretty, shame it will never play well under the HL engine in the current state and play of NS.

HuNTeD · March 2005

Yeah... A map with that much eye candy is bound to lag up the wazoo.

-Hunted

LoDwkeef · March 2005

yeah, i'd wait for ns source b4 trying to make REAL outdoor ns maps

<a href='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/Map.php?UniqueID=432' target='_blank'>http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/Map.php?UniqueID=432</a>
<img src='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/pictures/Uploaded/1987/fullsize.JPG' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

<a href='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/Map.php?UniqueID=520' target='_blank'>http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/Map.php?UniqueID=520</a>
<img src='http://nsworld.ns-central.co.uk/pictures/Uploaded/2581/fullsize.JPG' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

outdoor is just a little intensive for ns, specially with big areas(I never could continue the city map due to too much crap) and there are just so many errors and problems and whatnot. Beware da skybox, unless you make it were it shoots you to the ground like a bullet(which is lame) hard to keep leapers and jpers out/off. There was a topic about outdoor areas a while back, I recall one idea of creating like toxic clouds at a certain height that would kill you after like 10 sec of being in them(like 100-200 ft off the ground), so like the atmosphere goes bad on this planet/moon/station/whatever. It would keep the stupid trigger_push's out of the mix.

SamR · March 2005

Back in the day, the idea of doing an out door area would be slammed and flamed instantly, but more outdoor areas would be cool, since it has been proved it can be done.

I really like the look of akaba

Thaldarin · March 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (SamR @ Mar 12 2005, 01:36 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Back in the day, the idea of doing an out door area would be slammed and flamed instantly, but more outdoor areas would be cool, since it has been proved it can be done.

I really like the look of akaba  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
If my account had not already been suspended 3 times I probably would have flamed insulting the new forum member on how to use the search button <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' />

brute_force · March 2005

My map, co_ares, originally had alot of outside areas. Then I lost the RMF due to a freak of nature. The new co_ares has a small outside area, but they're pretty hard to balance with cover and stuff. I wouldn't recommend making outside areas, they're way too hard to make them look good, play well, etc. Readyrooms with outside areas work OK though. If you really want to know how the original ares MS looked like (outside area), I could probably dig up some pics...

JazzX · March 2005

From the <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/ns/Mapping_Guidelines#Avoid_Outdoor_Spaces' target='_blank'>mapping guidelines</a>. </div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>Natural Selection gameplay is balanced for interior environments and small spaces. In an open air map, flying and crawling aliens pose special problems that don't have a clear solution.</td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'>

And while there are a few 1.0-era official maps that don't follow this rule (Tanith and especially Hera come to mind) the other maps are held to it rigidly. This obviously doesn't stop you from doing so in your map, but bear in mind that at some point there are probably going to be things crawling on top of, or bumping their heads into, the boundry of your sky with little to no explanation as to why.

Thaldarin · March 2005

Tanith has or did have an outside area in 1.0 that was not small? Lies, the outside area is small due to the holographic wall. Stick a normal texture there it would still be the same.

HuNTeD · March 2005

Well, I don't think I'm gonna for an outside map just yet... I've made some CS maps but never a NS map it's gonna take forever to keep up with the eye candy in the maps, compared to the NS mappers I'm a nub. I'm just gonna make a really simple one to get the hang of it (and set up the batch compiler....I hate these things, jsut wanna use hammer...) plus I gotta find out how to make a sky so gimme a few months.

Lt_Gravity · March 2005

all I can say regarding outside ares:

- natural selection: source
- geo editor
- vehicles
- "commander, we sighted a group of skulks, northeast of current position." - "YOU have the tank so dont ask me what to do." - "roger."

<img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' />

Thaldarin · March 2005

</div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Lt Gravity @ Mar 13 2005, 04:44 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> - "commander, we sighted a group of skulks, northeast of current position." - "YOU have the tank so dont ask me what to do." - "roger."

<img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink-fix.gif' />  </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> 
Ion Cannon <img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' />

HuNTeD · March 2005

ill wait till source then...

Lt_Gravity · March 2005

why waiting? hope I find out how to use the geo manipulation tool in a decent way soon...

Outside?

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