New way to determine what commander sees
schkorpio
I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
<div class="IPBDescription">for more interesting ceiling and level designs</div>I've always felt that the way a commander sees things in NS really limited more interesting level design, especially ceilings, they are usually limited to a flat surface with little bits of of details here and there other wise it starts blocking the commanders view. (you can make them entities and make them invisible to the commander, but with tiny entitiy limits it doesnt help)
So i've thought of a really easy to way which mappers could use to determine what the commander isn't able to see.
It would work similarly to many of the other functions like room names etc,
You just cover what area you don't want the commander to see inside this special red brush and then ingame it doesnt appear for the commander.
E.G.
In the pic below there is a room with some pipes, but they are blocking the commanders view. The mapper covers them with the red brush and recompiles the map. The pipes, the ceiling, and the top parts of the walls do not appear in the commanders view.
<img src="http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7485/commanderviewswp1.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
edit: of course this is something that would need to be programmed in with the FGD so the game and editor know what the red brush does.
I think that this could lead to much more complex and interesting level designs, especially when it comes to ceilings. You could even have vents above hallways that skulks could hide in, layers of pipes in tall ceilings that lerks could perch on etc etc and all without interfering with the commanders ability to see.
So i've thought of a really easy to way which mappers could use to determine what the commander isn't able to see.
It would work similarly to many of the other functions like room names etc,
You just cover what area you don't want the commander to see inside this special red brush and then ingame it doesnt appear for the commander.
E.G.
In the pic below there is a room with some pipes, but they are blocking the commanders view. The mapper covers them with the red brush and recompiles the map. The pipes, the ceiling, and the top parts of the walls do not appear in the commanders view.
<img src="http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/7485/commanderviewswp1.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
edit: of course this is something that would need to be programmed in with the FGD so the game and editor know what the red brush does.
I think that this could lead to much more complex and interesting level designs, especially when it comes to ceilings. You could even have vents above hallways that skulks could hide in, layers of pipes in tall ceilings that lerks could perch on etc etc and all without interfering with the commanders ability to see.
Comments
In Source (and hence NS2), entities are way easier for the engine to handle. Func_details are a perfect example of this; you can pepper your map with them and see no performance degradation much at all. Func_seethrough's will almost certainly be the same.
using the way suggested way you could do an entire map in about 10 minutes if you are being fussy about it <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile-fix.gif" />
maybe (this would disable marines from instantly finding the alien hive with an obs.) have a static overlay over the whole view of the commanders view and the more the static the commander sees the less he can hear. but the command chair emits a large (being the largest field) field around it that allows the commander to see. marines also emit a field and if alot of marines bunch up or get close to eachother than they emit a larger field. Observatories can blip anywhere on the static and remove the static for a limited time than the static will show up again once the ping runs out. the Obs would have the 2nd largest view field. as well as having an entity for mappers that would allow a marine to weld a point that would restore energy to a large observatory that could reveal most of the map.