Hi!
I’m not that new here, because though I registered late, I’ve been reading those forums for months now and I’m quite used to games based id engines. I already worked on a map for Q3 for several months but I gave up, mainly because even I put lots of details, I started to make my own textures, sounds and shaders along complex and detailed layout, and I ran out of motivation. It was a rather big map and worste is that it’s nearly finished. I just have to put terrain here and there, correct a few enties, add the right ones and compile to get my first playable beta. The task was too big, too long, and I don’t know if it’s worth to release a map for Q3 nowadays.
I have a question which, given the replies, will let me know if my project is possible or not.
I usually tend to think about concepts that can push the gameplay a bit further. I mean, unusual ideas, different from regular things such as blow up that thing or steal those docs, or at least, if those are the objectives, it’s done in some refreshing way.
With the new possibilities provided by ET, I realized that I may have the chance to make one of those ideas real. Here it is:
The story:
"Allies sent a small task behind the lines, in the mountains of south Poland, to find out if the recent intercepted transmissions about a top secret project are true or not. It seems that Axis forces are devlopping a new type of vehicle that would give them definitive superiority in ground combat as well as for anti-air protection. A fast Allies airstrike was executed against that secret base, but even if a large quantity of the surface structures have been damaged, the destruction is superficial. Allies planes have been shot down, but other are on their way and Axis DCA turrets are all disabled.
This secret weapon is indeed very real and the Axis forces are planning to move it to a more secure place.
Allies objective: Find the citadel and destroy it, or at least block the citadel into the ruins long enough for the next Allies airstrike to blow that vehicle up.
Axis objective: Protect the citadel and bring in to a more secure place before next Allies airstrike."
The idea is based on an Avalon scene where Ash, Stunner, the priest and his bots fight against a “citadel” in the Ruins C66 zone.
The weapon talked about in the objectives is a powerful tank with several cannons, anti-troop guns and DCA turrets, which will be called a citadel or something alike.
It will be heavily armoured and though massive firepower could bring it down, the quickiest way to get rid of that machine would be to shoot three rockets into its weak point, the engines, located at the rear.
I have plot excuses to explain how this vehicle was produced and why it has a weak spot, but it’s not necessarily meant to be realistic.
It will also add a Metal Slug touch to it.
The citadel will be a movable vehicle, which you have to climb inside to move. It should have 4 MG42s, but it seems that we can put other types of guns or cannons. It will also carry bigger cannons but which will just act as mere decorative pieces.
In order to make the citadel move forward, you’ll have to sit inside the command deck located at the higher level of the vehicle
Axis forces will have to protect the citadel and bring inside a bunker or a boat, I dunno, while Allies forces will have to destroy the citadel.
This map is meant to give a bigger and major role to the soldiers, who are generally considered as the near to useless newbie class, since rocket launchers should be the most efficient weapon against the citadel.
To destroy the citadel, you’ll either be able to unleash heavy fire on the outer hull (though heavily armoured, it will still be destroyable) or deliver three rockets into the engines (soft spot) located at the rear of the citadel.
Whether bringing health points of hull or engines to zero or below will make the whole citadel to blow up.
While the main fight will happen in a zone which will be called Ruins C66, the Axis forces will first have to activate the citadel, which will be located in some kind of damaged garage/workshop.
As the base has been attacked by Allies, several passageways are now non usable.
There are still two ways for the Allies forces to reach the garage, but Axis forces wil be able to quickly and definitively close those paths.
Axis forces will then have to move the citadel into a large corridor leading to the main gate. Behind that gate, the ruins.
So basically, once the Axis forces will have blocked the two paths used by Allies forces to sneak into the garage, they will move the citadel towards the ruins and hurry because the whole garage will be about to blow up, and if it does while the citadel is still inside, Axis will lose.
At that time, Allies forces will take position in the ruins and wait for the citadel to come.
Once the heavy rusty doors of the main gate will be completely open for the citadel to advance, the Allies will have to whether unleash as much firepower as they can on the machine or try to sneak in the several little passageways and blind spots in order for the soldiers to shoot at the engines of the citadel.
Of course, there’ll be plenty of appropriate locations for Allies snipers to get the maximum wider lines of sight in order to protect the soldiers and other units.
I think I’ll put a few scripts here and there to add a bit of relief to the action, with for example the citadel firing its main cannons at some big piles of debris in order to move further. There’ll also be that garage which will blow up after a few minutes.
Now, I have to know if such a project can be made.
The questions are the following ones:
- [li] Can a MG42 turret entirely protect a player if, for example, the player slot (where you get teleported when taking control of a gun) is entirely encased inside a nearly totally sealed box (to put it simply).
[/li]
Actually, I think I should edit the MG42 model and add various pieces to transform it into a complete sealed and rotative turret. The gun which will sprout outside of the turret will not be a simple MG42 anymore, though it will still use MG42 mechanics. Basically, only the model will change.
Unfortunately, it seems that those rotatable models can’t stop bullets and other projectiles, so while the model will move as the player slides his mouse on the left or the right (and up and down), there will be invisible parts which will block projectiles.
Well, snipers will still have the possibility to aim for little holes in order to shoot down those gunners.
[li] Since there will be four turrets, I want them to be only reachable from inside the citadel. I think you have two zones. Zone A is the where a player has to stand in order to be granted access to gun control.
[/li]Zone B is the slot where the player is teleported when taking control of the gun.
So double-question:
- Can I make zone A be inside the citadel only?
- Can I be sure that when leaving zone B (player slot), the arrival zone will be zone A, inside the citadel.
I mean, the turrets aren’t supposed to be reachable from outside, so it would be not appreciated if a player could jump intoa turret while walking on the hull of the citadel or if a player would appear outside of the citadel, on the ground nearby, when leaving a turret.
[li] If I stand behind a thin model, will I be protected of splash damage from a rocket explosion that hits the model on the opposite side than mine… let’s say that there’s a wall, I’m standing behind said wall, which is a model again, and a rocket hits the other side of the wall… will the splash damage affect me or anything that is located on the same side as me?
[/li]
This is very important because I don’t want a player to get killed by a rocket that hits the hull when that said player is sitting still inside of the vehicle. It’s also very important since the soft point at the rear of the citadel must only be damageable if a rocket directly hits it (you have to be behind the citadel to shot the engines).
[li] Can we attach other types of guns to a gun slot rather than usual MG42s? I mean a real different weapon, like a grenade launcher or else? I’d like to put commands to bigger weapons in the command deck.
[/li]
[li] Can the citadel be composed of several parts that all move together? The citadel is meant to be, at least, composed of a main part (hull, corridors and ramps), plus the engines (which will have their own “health points”) and four turrets (undestructible but with holes for the gunners to be killed… so expect large gunfest against those turrets).
[/li]
I think that’s all. I hope it wasn’t too long.
Excuse me for the english mistakes, as english isn’t my native language.
Thanks.
