info_gravity_direction or angle or something.

BigD · July 2007

<div class="IPBDescription">Think: Crashed ships resting at an angle on the ground.</div>Something I've always wanted to try when mapping was to make a ship "feel" crashed. That is to say, the whole thing is on an angle with tons of damage everywhere. (Honestly, you just freakin' crashed: how is it that you can play a game of pool still?)

The only thing that stopped me is I know my brain would explode trying to get vertices to snap to the grid. I have no experience with source, but I can't imagine it being much easier to keep everything at shallow angle. (I'm not talking about turning ns into Kreedz Climbing here...)

Well, I just got to thinking that perhaps why not build the map, nicely aligned to the grid like normal, and instead then give the marines all one short leg? So would it be possible in anyway to change which direction is up? Obviously, the comm view would have to move perpendicular to this angle as well.

Plus, just <a href="http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?s=7670546400749093888&showtopic=87380&hl=bast" target="_blank">imagine the fun possibilties...</a>

I'm not talking about something dynamic and changing, this would be a value set by the mapper. Done well (with ramps that become "flat ground" in game for example) this effect could tremendously help the realism as well. It's not very often you play a game where everything is off kilter like that.

Abaddon0 · August 2007

why move gravity, move the map. just have the entire map change orientation.

schkorpio · August 2007

its true, you could just map the whole map and then rotate it when you are done - then it wouldn't matter if its aligned to a grid or not (just keep a non rotated copy somewhere in case you want to update your map)

there was a map in that old game starsiege tribes, that had a crashed ship in the middle of it - the whole ship was diagonal on 2 of its axis and while i thought it was really awesome, it was really difficult to move around not to mention made you feel sick and dizzy from your brain trying to figure out which was is up and down. Plus the controls sorta didn't work, as when you turn your mouse left to look left, it really felt like it moved down diagonally left or vice versa so it was just an annoying experience.

Try it yourself BigD just get a map of yours and rotate it and you'll see what i mean <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />

now if you could actually walk on walls, and the view rotated that would be a different story - prey was really fun thanks to that gimick.

BigD · August 2007

I don't think it would be that bad, control wise. I'd consider the gameplay to be much like playing on a slope (eclipse-like) but maybe a few "windows" to give a frame of reference might be a good idea though (and a low detail outdoor environment would probably be easier to design at an angle anyway). That might help the easily nauseated types.

I just don't like the idea of "just rotating the map". Again, like I say, I don't know much about source, but I just can't see compiling it being very efficient that way. It would seem to me that more floating point calculations would cause the compiler to puke. (I likes me geometry using integers when it can!)

CanadianWolverine · August 2007

What are the chances of gravity changing during the play of a map? Gravity generators offline, a space ship or space station entering a planets atmosphere ... or even getting too close to a black hole or worm hole.

Is it hard to make a zero gravity map? Room? Outside hull?

The reason I ask is because it sure would be interesting to gameplay if you had to deal with an enemy under such circumstances.

Buzzou · August 2007

it would be pretty cool to play on a map that is a bit slanted due to a space ship crashing etc, bit it could get a bit old pretty quick.

and yeah, the slant would have to be minimal, otherwize it would cause headaches or motion sickness in some people. also if the slant is too high the map would become un-playable.

the_x5 · August 2007

When I read this idea all I think of the "grav_control" entity you find in Prey:
[youtube]DN1ENHRXyQU[/youtube]

Very cool.

vote yes

INKEDOUT · August 2007

The gravity in Prey looks cool. I really wanted to do a HL2 DM KillBox level like that, but couldn't be bothered to work out how to do it. Not even sure if it is possible to do on HL2 DM?<img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />?? The slanted ship idea sounds cool, but I would keep it below 20 degrees else it might be too much, that and all the Marines structures wouldn't sit right!!

the_x5 · August 2007

Oh the gravity manipulation and fully functional portals (ie: can see 3D to the otherside and interact with it through it) is more than just looks, it a key part in Prey gameplay. Rooms with switched (or weldables!!!) that could affect the artificial gravity in the room and have an effect on everything in its field would be really fun and interesting in gameplay. Low gravity skulks AIEEE!!! Anyways you get the point. You wouldn't want to over do it or even use it at all in some maps, but giving the mappers the ability to use something like this is HUGE for a vast event horizon of gravitational possibilities.

INKEDOUT · August 2007

I have been mucking around with low gravity areas for an Air Lock idea that I plan to put in an NS2 map. Currently it's in HL2 DM. But I can't find anything that just sets an area to low gravity (like you get on HL2 DM Low Gravity Servers, where you fly up in the air slowly and then down again, like you were on the moon.) there is a trigger_gravity that basically allows you to turn gravity on or off in an area, but it does it in extremes, literally on or off, feet on the ground or hitting the roof. I haven't found a tutorial on it yet, but have been reading up on some DoD pages where people are talking about parachutes which allow you to descend slowly using a combination of trigger_push, trigger_gravity and areaportals. After reading this I tried playing around with both trigger_push and trigger_gravity and found you could get close to the desired effect using just a trigger_push and setting it on about 570 upwards push. Which means you are still able to fall very slowly but still go upwards when pushing off something.

A massive trigger_push (that covers your room/level) could easily be connected to a func_button and parented with a massive func_door (as high as your room/level) textured in a trigger texture so it is invisible and doesn't effect anyone. So basically when you press the func_button(or do what ever to trigger the button) the invisible door comes up and brings the trigger push with it, pushing everyone/thing in the room upwards for a moment, before they fall back down. Alternatively you could get rid of the func_door and just make the func_button turn on (Enable) the trigger_push, which you have to make fill your room and would just push people up a little further when they jumped, you could then set it so it stays on for X amount of time or make the button Disable the trigger again.

I don't think just tilting the level will work as it would mean you would have to go around changing all the doors again, which would be a pain in the neck if its a small angle, unless your level has no doors?

Any way, does anyone else know how to do low gravity areas in a level? Or work the trigger_gravity properly? Cause at the moment if I turn change the trigger_push so it pushes everything then light weight things like grenades go zooming up to the ceiling which makes me think this wouldn’t work properly on NS2 where there are many different classes, and presumably many different weights, meaning a skulk may fly up to the ceiling and a onos would just fall to the ground, ruining the effect. Unless I manage to make multiple trigger_push each one effecting a different classes; but that would be long and I imagine quite laggy, so it may have to be set up so it’s balanced between all the classes. Onos should fall down ( <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" /> ) slowly but nothing should fly up in the air without jumping.

EDIT: OK I found a tutorial with trigger_gravity. Basically if you set it to 0.1 it will give you low gravity, if you set it to 0 it will just error and set it back to 1(gravity on). Originally I was setting it to -1 pushing the player upwards all the time. If you try making a low gravity level you will need to put trigger_push on all the walls so people will kick off them, else you just kinda slide down them. Don't set the push speed to high and don't bother with the floor. I had a lot of fun setting the gravity really low, like 0.001 and setting the push speed too high like 500, it's like playing human pinball. 

This still won't do a Prey style room. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />

ThyReaper · August 2007

The problem with using trigger_push on walls is that it will affect skulks that wouldn't care if there was gravity or not. NS2 will have to support low gravity environments in its own way for a decent solution.

INKEDOUT · August 2007

Hmmm... Hadn't thought about that one. Well I imagine when it comes to NS2 I'll just scrap the trigger_push on the walls bit, it just adds a more realistic element to DM maps. Although it would be cool if there were some new trigger brushes to play with, where it is possible to allow only certain classes to be affected by them. This would allow you to make corridors where only marines or aliens could go, or even creatures of a certain size. You could have things like a hall way which only let skulks, gorge and lurks down, even though it was big enough for any class, and then if larger classes or marines went down it would creak and shake and then maybe it would fall apart and be consumed by space, forcing bulkhead doors at each end to close, killing all inside and closing that route. But maybe the Marines could weld parts of the hallway as they moved along it, allowing it to remain up, which perhaps gives the commander new options like another way into a hive. Could you imagine how funny it would be to watch the first noob run down it as it creaked and warning sirens went off and then the whole place collapsed killing him and anyone else who was stupid enough to follow him. How pissed off would the commander be at him, “No JP for you, I told you to weld that corridor not run down it after that skulk” now that would be funny! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/nerd-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="::nerdy::" border="0" alt="nerd-fix.gif" />

info_gravity_direction or angle or something.

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