New map based on LOST (TV series)

(Vok) #1

Hi all,

I’m planning to adapt the set of Lost to an ET map. I am hoping someone here shares my love for the series and ET map making and wants to help, so it can evolve into something decent. Beginners and pros welcome!

The plan is not to make an exact replica but to simplify the map for enjoyable ET gameplay and to gradually add more elements from the series into the map, possibly into different final versions.

In case you don’t know the TV series, here’s an outline:

  • white palm beach island (shot at hawaii) with jungle + rocks
  • Boeing 777 crashed via separation in mid air, 352 seats, 48 survivors
  • Mysterious creatures/technology/dead bodies/scientistific experiments on the island
  • LOTS of flashbacks to uncover the mysterious lives and deep characters of the survivors/“the others”
  • you can never tell friend from foe and what’s gonna happen next
  • lots of dynamite, guns, bunkers, aircraft debris (suitable for cover)
  • a radar, submarine, underwater bunker, a bunker without an entrance, a deadly magnetic fence, black smoke in the woods, authentic slave ship
  • a VW van loaded with beer that saves the day!

All in all very fitting for ET style + gameplay + map making!

I want to create skins to resemble some of the main characters (without modelling the mdm/mdx, at least for now); 5 classes of survivors of the mid-section = allies, 5 classes of “the others” = axis (axis jacket can be scientist robe).

Perhaps it would be nice to add short “movieclips” to the map (as in RTCW SP), at least when the map ends of course, but maybe also some short flashes of the plane crash when the game begins or something, possibly just photo’s of the series. The map deserves to stand out :wink:

Any other ideas?

BTW, it’s my first serious map, but I have a good understanding of the tools and scripts/shaders.

Also check out the official LOST game: trailer

(carnage) #2

even for a hardened verterain of mapping this sounds like a HUGE task

also im not sure how you would create the jungle scene as there isnt really anything like this in any ET map i know. You really need to put a lot of planning into this if you hope to pull it off

(-SSF-Sage) #3
  • LOTS of flashbacks to uncover the mysterious lives and deep characters of the survivors/“the others”

How would you do this?

Boeing 777 crashed via separation in mid air, 352 seats, 48 survivors

Who would count it ingame?

you can never tell friend from foe and what’s gonna happen next

Map size: 2000030300330 TB of randomly appearing stuff… Basicly you would know it after playing a few times. Other way you would have to make tooooooo much stuff.

  1. almost impossible to create some of it. I think most of this stuff isn’t working in ET, atleast if you wanna make it look good. Picture of the crash in the tree wouldn’t look nice imo.

  2. Recuires really much work. Many many times more than even most complicated maps.

  3. Would be probably really really really laggy. Even if you are the best vis optimaser. Debris etc…

  4. How would you do these survivors, players?

  5. What would they fight for?

  6. I don’t watch that kind of crap, lol. :stuck_out_tongue:

  7. Probably the most bad gameplay ever, probably more like fun for just watch the stuff for 1 time and never look the map again.

  8. No offense but somebody kill me. :smiley:

(Vok) #4

I don’t make the entire island, just a small regular ET map with features from the series, starting with just a few.

Forest can be modelled as alpha textures (just simple polygons, like a fence, not all over the place like radar foliage).

(-SSF-Sage) #5

Right. And what about the game play? You seem to more likely plan a SP-map without any fragging. That’s the picture I get.

Objectives: Watch the plain crash over and over again. Drink a lot beer. **** the women. Go count the seats. Watch flashbacks. Count the survivors, and watch them doing their stuff. :evil: Sry but had to.

Good luck with the “ET-movie-map”. But I don’t see it fun at all. I think it’s ET, not a some random flashgame.

edit More to my mind, you can do scenery quite near to it, but make it just a frag map where ppl are fragging each other, and stealing beer… :expressionless:

(Vok) #6

There is a lot of shooting and blowing up, which is default ET gameplay. It can be restricted to that and be very enjoyable to Lost fans and ET players.

The entire remake is already done in the official game so there’s no reason to make another exact copy.

(aaa3) #7

i think it could be a great map - with careful planning.

  • leave any flashbacks/videos out.
  • the van of beer, airplane, et c stuff from the series should remain only eye candy without involving them to the gameplay. simplified brushwork and not necessarily real-life scales. u can place them near the common routes to players see the,m, and can place ammo/health into some of them.
  • create a story which fit to a 20 minute ET-style game.
  • if u add chatacters from the film then only as stationary models with texture. eg. someone sitting in the chair and reading. another one planting plants in her garden. but like a statue.
  • and a general note - keep its size in MB low, but adding some unique sounds and textures (dharma logos) are unavoidable. find the balance.
  • dont forget the black smoke and the little airplane with the blessed virgin mary ministatues :slight_smile:

oh and good luck! u can be sure that i will try that map out :wink: i would really really love a good lost map!

(Vok) #8

Tnx for the tips!

Found complete reconstruction of the hatch’s interior, very helpful:

http://lost-forum.com/showthread.php?t=14883

(Diego) #9

Well, as mentioned, ET has a very limited ability to create an appealing jungle setting with a decent frame rate. You would have to be very careful in your design and probably use a lot of cheats likes walls of tree textures to or rocky cliffs to layout paths and block vis. If you have Quake 3, you should really take a look at Sock’s map Pyramid of the Magician. It has a nice jungle feel without a lot of trees.

However, there are quite a few scenarios in the series that could make interesting ET gameplay. I would recommend you focus on a very limited selection. Perhaps just concentrate on the main season 1 plot lines. If you try to hit the highlights of the entire series, the complexity of the map is going to get out of control.

Skip the idea of making it a complete replica of the show or reskinning the players. Keep it in a WW2 setting and adapt the spirit of the show to that time period. For instance:

Your Allied base camp can be some tents and a crashed military caro plane. The axis camp could be in some caves on higher ground or a WW2 version of a training camp. Some mission objectives could include:

Stealing dynamite from the Black Rock to blow the hatchs to enter the Swan Station. Once inside, they need deactivate or destroy the EMP generators to prevent other planes from being brought down. You can plant health packs and a cp at the medical station hatch.

They can go to the Control Room station that was under the plane to perhaps get code keys to disable the sonic fence that surrounds the Axis base. Steal the VW minivan loaded with Beer and drive it back to the allied base. Or perhaps the tried and true “destroy the sub” scenario.

A third scenario might have the allies assaulting two fronts. They would have to disable the radio tower (Axis CP) whose signal is interferring with attempts to call for help. And destroy the jamming signal coming from the underwater base. (You would have to take liberties with the design to allow for multiple ways into the underwater base besides the moon pool.) The Allies could be in control of the communications station ready to send the call for help. Axis could win the map by destroying the communications array before the allies can stop the signal jamming.

You could use a black smoke entity to represent the island creature. It could either appear randomly in different parts of the map or perhaps put it on a spline path. Anyone caught in its way would be killed. Kind of like standing in front of a freight train. Add some nice vibrations and sound effects and it could be immersive enough to really make some one want to get the hell out of the way.

Well, anyway. I think missions like these could be intriguing and fun. But it will really come down to how well the map performs. Don’t make it with large open areas. Keep your beach areas small. Design the map out as if it was all interior spaces with Large rooms for the open areas, and corridors for the path-ways between them. Work out a good Vis blocking plan before you even create one piece of terrain. Make sure you can never see one big open area from another and you should be fine.

And as suggested earlier, a project like this could take a very long time so I suggest you keep it small. You don’t want to spend 3 years on your first map like I did. :frowning:

(Vok) #10

3 years, what the hell?? :stuck_out_tongue:

Thanks for your many ideas, I have determined the objective of the first version of the map (other versions, if any, will have other objectives). It’s based around the Hatch.

It also states the furniture etc that I plan to incorporate for now. The jungle will be very basic, no traps or other buildings, etc.

It’s of course still open for debate.

The idea is that the axis have to press the button every 108 seconds, while the allies have to prevent them from doing so, which will trigger a final 3 minute countdown. The allies then have to trigger the failsafe in time, otherwise it’s a tie.

The failsafe is behind a wall that needs to be blown, the key can be captured by an allied covops in disguise and the countdown is accompanied by lowering the blastdoors. The blastdoors can be lowered manually by allied engineers, making it harder for the axis to press the button in time (after which the doors will open again). Allies can also press the button in time to avoid the final countdown (for instance when it’s unlikely they will retrieve the key and blast the wall in time).

The hatch and jungle can easily be sealed from each other to keep fps high.

Here are the original objects that appeared in the series, as numbered in the map:

  1. Beds
  2. Light behind beds
  3. Bicycle
  4. Pull-up tube
  5. Weights
  6. Cupboard
  7. Workout bench
    8 ) Dish washer and cleaner
  8. Uniforms
  9. Oven
  10. Kitchen table
  11. Tap
  12. Garbage container
  13. Telescope
  14. Metalic handle?
  15. Medicine locker
  16. Dining table
    18 ) Chair
  17. Table
  18. Couch
  19. Combination lock
  20. Weapons room
  21. Unknown closet
  22. Vinil player
  23. Control panel
  24. Lava lamp
  25. Tennis table
    28 ) Mural and painting tools
  26. Movable mirror
  27. Buckets
  28. Alcove with indicators
  29. Alcove without indicators
  30. Magnetic room
  31. Another/connected magnetic room?
  32. Control panel
  33. Small couch
  34. Desk
    38 ) Oscilloscopes
  35. Reel to reel machines
  36. Reel to reel machines
  37. Main control panel/console
  38. Apple computer
  39. Mirror on “boiler”
  40. Another mirror on a “boiler”
  41. Electronic/steam box
  42. Locke’s shoes
  43. Big lamp
    48 ) Big mirror

This is just for reference, I do not plan on implementing them just yet, except when I mentioned them in textlabels.

(ShadowAgent) #11

if you want to make a jungle map, youd better try with far cry.

(Vok) #12

You have to pay for that, ET is free :stuck_out_tongue:

  • my laptop is old
(Vok) #13

design steps:

  • make the terrain, ocean and sky (reuse textures from default maps) + spawn
  • find & place non-default jungle leaf textures on ground + trees
  • indicate pathways on the ground
  • create the hatch walls in the ground + a ladder
  • work out about 50% of the wall’s textures and bumps etc
  • place the doors, the toolbox, the computer, the wiring and the failsafe key + button
  • script them incl the dynamitable wall
  • place the crates, steam, health/ammo cabs
  • place the radio
  • place the bench, the top of the hatch, tables, bed, electronic boxes
  • create the rocks and trees
  • create the other foliage
  • finish the textures in the hatch
  • place some lights

texture, scripting, foliage and furniture jobs can be assigned to individual volunteers, who can work it out in parallel and then copy the final result in one map. In theory anyway…

I have about 1,5 beginning volunteers at the moment, besides myself.

(carnage) #14

imo diego has a nice idea there. keeping the lost theme but writing a new story more appropriate to the ET theme going back 60 years or so could work well

Allied plane crash, weird axis base installation messing with new and creepy technology sounds straight out of rtcw

i would advise that you drop the idea of create totally authentic lost sets. You would want to keep the look and feel but the spaces should be designed to be suitable for the ET gametype. You might find that small cluttered interiors don’t translate well into games like ET

as for creating a junggle theme you not going to be able to get results like far cry. More likely you will have to try fake the impression of a jungle. look at this map by sock and you will see he makes a very nice outdoor scene without having to use tons of foliage models http://www.simonoc.com/pages/maps/q3/pom.htm

setting you jungle section in something like valley could work. You could use a shallow body of water to take up a lot of room without having to place tree or foliage models. The sides of the valley give some steep rock to control vis and allow them self to be covered with ivy and vine texture to make the area seem more overgrown. This also should give a better way to control the game flow than in a open jungle environment

its an interesting challenge and perhaps why its so appealing

(Vok) #15

Ok the plane could be military, and there are typical ET crates and stuff, but I think the Dharma experiment bunker can still remain what it is, even though computers weren’t as far developed as in Lost and stuff like that. I planned on working out the bunker at about 1,5x the scale of Lost, or maybe more, as long as it makes sense for 2x10-15 players.

If necessary I will take the axis spawn out of the bunker and provide some more obstacles in the jungle.

(Vok) #16

Reviewed some episodes today; hatch feels too small indeed. I could make it a map with toysoldier proportions like in Kung Fu Grip, which could be justified as a new mysterious experiment on the island:

Tiny humans were cloned to simulate wars and analyse efficient strategies without too much of a mess and without taking too much time. This cloning happened with stem cells extracted from the foetuses, which growth was stimulated with the yellow liquid (which hasnt been explained by a trustworthy character yet, in the series, so it’s all legit).

Of course, after the takeover of Dharma scientists by Ben and The Others, the experiment and its security protocol was abandoned and the tiny soldiers managed to get loose from the medical facility using their tiny weaponry.

These little buggers had been pumped with aggression-inducing hormones, and had developed an enormous responsibility via the disturbing propaganda gore (which Alex’s boyfriend was still subjected to as well), which made them willing to die for their “country”. They were also not informed about the island.

After roaming it for awhile, both sides working together for their survival and shared feelings of revenge, they stumbled upon the already uncovered hatch. Somebody from the series (haven’t decided yet who) is alone in the bunker and passed out with a bottle of whiskey. This guy can be nicely modelled without animation. The toy soldiers were alarmed by the beep sounds and the timer on the wall and found a note on the computer in the center of the dome. After typing the numbers on this note in the computer, the beep stopped and the timer reset.

Now there was a split in the group (just like Locke experienced): the axis side, who never liked the allies in the first place, believed these numbers should be repeatedly entered, after all, why would the large humans experiment on themselves? This must be a real threat! Of course they could just leave one axis soldier there, typing in the numbers, but the allies believe it’s just another experiment and start to feel like killing those obnoxious axis again and move on to the rest of the jungle to look for answers and revenge on their captors without further obstruction by the axis. So they exit the hatch, gather up some more troops and storm the hatch again, while the axis are sleeping (which justifies the spawn points).

When the allies succeed, the alarm goes off and things start to blow and fly through the room, so they go for the failsafe which they read about on another note in the room.

With this context both the integrity of the hatch structure and the typical ET gameplay can be maintained, and the toy soldier point of view is a lot of fun anyway. There is no need for weird gravity, I’ll just model a lot of things that can be climbed to reach the computer, wires, medical cabinet etc.

The objectives are shouted through the radio on-the-go; the only objective visible in limbo is “enter the code every 108 seconds on the central computer in the dome” (axis) and “storm the hatch and neutralize the annoying axis once and for all, so we can seek uninterrupted revenge on our captors” (allies). The background story will be partially shown in limbo, partially on the loading screen.

The beach, plane and mountains are not featured anymore, that’s left for a possible other version of “Lost in Enemy Territory”. Allies spawn in the woods from the camp they set up (using Dharma beercans of course) with ammo and health.

(.Chris.) #17

The hatch isn’t that small that you have to shrink players to make it fit :expressionless:

Design your own hatch and give it that lost feel to it, provide a reason for the hatch and try think up an objective for it that can be done in ET easily.

(Vok) #18

It is; when you have 15 fullsize players on each team, the place is packed and objectives impossible. Of course you could take the battle mainly somewhere else, but that’s not my intention at this point; for one it would require modelling a large part of the island as well, which may not be wise for a first map :stuck_out_tongue:

(aaa3) #19

i think that it might be better to leave out the mini-soldier concept from this map :roll: :oops:

(Vok) #20

I’ll think about it.

For now, the objectives have been altered to match the series: the failsafe is in the basement which can be accessed by tilting an inconspicuous piece of floor next to the leftmost electronic box in the dome (so no dynamite objective*), and the wiring to open or close the blastdoors is in that leftmost electronic box, which has to be opened first. There is also a third blast door between the hallway and the living room and a fourth behind the window. The second entrance to the hatch is at the other end of the hallway and can be opened by axis (and allies in disguise) only. There is also an airduct passage between the ceiling of the storage room and a yet unknown location in the dome.

The third blastdoor is stopped by the (dented) toolbox + lifting weights (the other is stopped by a dented metal cabinet). The uv-map on it will be visible via flickering lights on the final countdown (“system failure”). Metal objects will be scripted to fly against it and slip under it to stick to the magnetic room in case system failure is triggered.

I also have a lot of screenshots now, and the necessary sounds. I only need to edit the textures and then we can start modelling.

  • after all, nothing was destroyed by the dynamite in the series.