Decoder Beta 3b

(leifhv) #1

This is ‘Decoder_beta3b’ the second public release of my map Decoder.

DL: http://www.pcgamemods.com/mod/17991.html

The major complaint about the last version was the ‘corridor of death’ inside the axis base where the axis would camp with an MG and slaughter the poor alies as they tried to enter the base. I’ve tried to correct this by adding some more cover in the corridor and I’ve also added a truck in the the ‘courtyard’ which should also give the allies some more cover. During testing this seemed to improve this phase a lot.

Never got around to updating the command map when the allies discover the location of the real decoder…I’ll try to include that in the next version!

(There was a beta3 that saw a limited release and the only change for beta3b was the removal of a misplaced (and non-working) MG model)). :disgust:

Gameplay:
One thing that is a bit different about this map is that the axis can change the location of the objective at the start of the round. There are 3 possible locations for the decoding unit the allies are supposed to destroy. The allies do not know which of the three decoders is real and will have to find the secret document that reveals the location of the real decoder or just try to destroy all three decoders. (The voice-overs about the location of the real decoder can not be heard by the other team!).

Hints:[ul]-Allies should probably build the ramp so they can attack the main gate or flag from two directions
-A covert might be usefull for allies. (Blow up the the fence, provide smoke cover inside main gate,
sneak in and look at the documents)
-Axis must decide if they want to defend only the real decoder or set up a ‘fake defence’ by the other decoders
-It’s possible to enter the base through the sewer pipe by the bridge if you have an axis uniform![/ul]

Credits and thanks:[ul] -Thanks to Splash Damage/ID Software/Activision for a great game
-Thanks to NW.MadMatt and NW.Superdeformed for the great voice-overs!
-Thanks to NW.MadMatt for voice-over post processing!
-Thanks to NW.Ferrolux for promo work!
-Thanks to clan Night Watch for patiently trying out each new version I threw at them
-Thanks to clan VPL for helping us test the map in clan matches
-Thanks to -Wags- for finding lots of small bugs
-Thanks to Loffy for letting me have a look at the ‘Duplex Tower’ map file
-Thanks to Ifurita for sign-template texures and all the work he has done for the ET community (both mappers and players)
-lh-alliedposter taken from NASJONALBIBLIOTEKETS online public archives ( http://www.nb.no/baser/krigstrykk/ )
-lh_darkconcrete3, lh-grass2 and skybox by me (Leif Hugo VÃ¥rum). Free for use by anyone[/ul]

Screenshots:





Todo:[ul]-Fix some small light bleeds
-Update command map when allies find decoder location
[/ul]Changelog Beta2->Beta3b:[ul]
-Crates in the corridor to make the MG less usefull there
-Added a truck model inside the main gate
-Brighten whole map slightly (_minlight)
-More light entities in the courtyard
-More light entities around both outside spawns
-Removed one MG
-Further limited the range of the mounted MG
-Made the main gate a little wider
-Fixed some buggy textures on the brushwork
-Improved illogical shadows around allied 1. spawn…
-Fixed clipping around models
-Removed wall above entrace to long coridor
-Moved crates behind truck slightly
-Added some crates in the hall to lab 3
-Removed a tree and added a bush by the fence
[/ul]Tools used:[ul] -GtkRadiant ( http://www.qeradiant.com/ )
-Q3Map2 ( http://www.shaderlab.com/ )
-The Gimp ( http://www.gimp.org/ )
-Visual C++ compiler (For text file processing)
-Visual Sourcesafe (Microsoft)
-Zip utility from Info-zip (http://www.info-zip.org/pub/infozip/)
-TerraGen (for skybox) free at www.planetside.co.uk/terragen
[/ul]

(Pytox) #2

Cool, 2nd beta was also fun :slight_smile: its still the yellow decoder? :stuck_out_tongue:

(leifhv) #3

Axis can choose the location of the decoder(objective) at the start of the round so maybe you mean ‘Is the yellow lab still the best choice for axis’? :slight_smile:

Well, I’ve modified the area around the yellow lab slightly so allies should have an easier time attacking it now. I also belive that both the grey and green lab can be a good choices for axis if they set up their defence correctly. (i.e. don’t focus too much on the defending the main corridor.)

(carnage) #4

looking great but one surgestion

remove or change the dirt marks on the road, they look out of place unless the truck has REALY REALY dirty tires

(Jaquboss) #5

terrain looks odd and pictures have about 4X or 6X FSAA who plays with that ?

(leifhv) #6

The terrain is a bit rough but this was done for performance reasons and sadly it’s too much work to change this now.

The screenshots were taken at default settings but have since been scaled down from 12801024 to 800600 in ‘The Gimp’ using cubic interpolation which is the most accurate scaling method in ‘The Gimp’ afaik. They have also been brightened a bit. Stil, the screenshots are very close to how the map looks when I play it on my low specced system (2ghz p4, 6600gt) so I see no reason to worry about this. :slight_smile:

(Gringo) #7

Cannie wait to give it try. I fekkin loved it before hand anyway and now it gonna be even better, yeeha :banana:

(leifhv) #8

Well, spring in the northern part of Norway is quite muddy! :slight_smile:

Ok, I’ll see how it looks without the tire marks…I’m fearing that it’ll look a bit flat and strange but…

(flower.Hercules) #9

Terrain looks great, in my opinion. Makes me think it is morning.

(MadMattUK) #10

Just wondering, can you add some fog, say at just below the tip of the lowest mountain?. Can you even set a height for fog?.

If you can, I think it might just make the contrast between the skybox and the terrain just that bit more realistic? :???:. Not real heavy fogging, just a hint of morning mist :slight_smile:

I like the map, but it might add a touch of performance maybe ( or does fog take it away? ), and possibly might make the comments about the terrain being “sucky” stop. :drink:

(Loffy) #11

A very cool map! Clever game design. It gave me the same “why didn’t I think of that!”-feeling as when I played Password the first time.
//L.

(Homer J) #12

Tried it out this week and most of the action took place inside the labs so it certainly seems to have been a success.

I think we had the broken MG version though. We will put that right for next time.

Nice map, great idea. :drink:

(roissgil) #13

OK… i’ve played this a few times as axis and I may be blind, but I’m not seeing how to change the location of the obj. I’ve looked on different forums and I’ve read the readme that came with the map, but I’ve seen no explanation. So… how does the axis change the location?

Thanks

(Loffy) #14

In the hut, where Axis spawn when the game commences. On the table, three buttons.

(leifhv) #15

Yep, nice suggestion…but I don’t think you can add fog to just parts of the map since it’ll look strange when you’re outside the fog brush?

I don’t think performance will be a problem since the current version is so well behaved in this regard (partly due to the rough terrain).

Morning mist? You know that this is a nighttime map right? (Norway - Land of the midnight sun!) :slight_smile:

Also, the air in that part of Norway is usually quite clear (see pictures at http://360.yahoo.com/leifhv )…well, except for the rain and snow that is. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I’ll try it and see how it looks!

(leifhv) #16

Thanks!

Originally I had much higher ambitions for this map including random objectives, random walls, random doors, etc but soon found out that designing a map where every possible permutation would play well was quite difficult. :banghead:

(Dazzamac) #17

I do believe if you did that, my head would implode :weird:

(Igloo) #18

Nice map^

I tested it on my server… good job :smiley: