Rommel_b1 released

[Ifurita]

Another collaborative mapping effort with Mean Mr. Mustard, Cptn Triscuit, Ifurita, and considerable input and feedback from the et-center and jolt forum communities.

Download links:
Fileplanet - http://www.fileplanet.com/dl.aspx?/planetwolfenstein/4newbies/rommel_b1_0725.zip
PC Gamemods - http://pcgamemods.com/6335/

Rommel_b1 README file

Scenario:

August, 1942

Rangers, attached to the famed SAS, have been raiding Axis supply depots located deep in the Libyan deserts. Friendly Bedouins have alerted the attackers to the location of one such depot, containing one of Rommel’s last remaining water purification facilities. The cistern is camouflaged in the ruins of an ancient trading post that has been swallowed by sand dunes.

Objectives:

Allied Objectives

1. Breach West Gate
2. Breach East Gate
3. Steal the Key Card
4. Deliver Key Card to Cistern
5. Destroy the Cistern Controls
6. Protect the Forward Spawn
7. Construct the Command Post

Other areas of interest

8. Allied spawn
9. Tank Depot
10. Axis spawn

Gameplay Notes

-Map is designed for 12-28 players
-Allies are on offense
-Allies can gain access to the cistern before access card is delivered but cistern controls cannot be blown up unless key card has been capped
-If the allies build the CP, the team door by the Tank Depot becomes accessible to everyone and the allies gain a 5 second respawn advantage
-Once West Gate has been blown, the forward spawn point becomes a permanent allied spawn

Change Log:

Changes from _fp to _b1

-Reduced map time from 30 to 15
-Allies gain 5 second respawn bonus when CP is built
-Added a team door to each gate
-Created a vis-blocking structure, which divides the lower base area
-Added constructible MG in the forward spawn complex
-Added constructible MG in the cistern
-Clipped off many areas where people were getting hung up and stuck
-Added second exit from flag area to speed movement towards East Gate
-Much interior decorating
-Added cover in front of each gate

Screenshots

West Gate

Forward Spawn complex - new exit is to the left and leads to the East Gate

East Gate

View of CP room from East Gate. Building CP changes tank depot door from Axis only to everyone and gives allies a 5 second respawn bonus

Aerial view of cistern

Cistern gate

Tank depot

Aerial view of lower complex

Key card building

Another overview from the cistern

Credits:
Mean Mr. Mustard - Terrain, Tunnel, Spawnpoint scripting, V2 Models + Animation, lots of other scripting
Cptn Triscuit - Most of the buildings, cistern, key card models and skin, custom textures
Ifurita - Laid down a brush here and there, did the crates by the truck
Schaffer - Command map
Members of the teamwarfare.com, et-center.com and jolt.co.uk forums for providing a substantial amount of constructive and valuable feedback during early concept development

[ChiemseeMan]

Mirror :fiesta:
www.etmaps.de/maps/rommel_b1.rar

[Ifurita]

Thanks for the mirror

[_Muzzle]

love the look of the cistern and the rest looks like oasis and oasis is a great map.
Keep 'em coming infurita

[Brevik]

Nice, really nice, I played the original FP a few times on Kendle and DG’s custom map server, (quick plug, get on there people), and it was a lot of fun then. Most (if not all) of the few gripes I had with it have been fixed - maybe it’s just me, but the forward spawn is a lot less disorientating than it was to start off with. I really like the big building blocking the long view between the keycard building and the cistern.

A few things I noticed:

• The ladder hole down to the West Gate team door is tricky to get down - would it be possible to make that larger?

• The ladder at the back of the west gate could do with being a rung shorter at the top- it tends to “pop you up” too far into the Allies view from the other side of the gate (maybe intentional?)

• The constructable MG42 in the cistern area gave me a few issues, first building it, then I could only operate it if I looked right down on it rather than facing it looking forwards (hope that made sense?)

• There are a couple of (only tiny) HOM effects, and a few odd shadows dotted about, I’ll try to get some screenshots sorted out.

• The wooden teamdoor sounds metallic…

I’m not an experienced clan player at all (Night Watch has only played one season in the Savage league and none of us had any previous clan experience), but I was wondering if both gates are going to be too difficult to defend properly and that clans will just abandon trying to defend the gates and concentrate on holding the key room? That was the initial impression I got anyway.

I guess it’s going to take some competitve (or friendly I guess) clan games to work that one out…

Good job guys. :drink:

[Mean_Mr_Mustard]

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, the mg is giving us fits…I just copied and pasted it from another map…where it works fine…so, I must have screwed something up in my haste to get it in the map…

I’ll looking into the things you mentioned. Screenies of the HOM would be great

[S.S.Heirpie]

Well I got a chance to play your map,very nice work all of you…I see Ifurita plugging byzintine map… vacation istanbul… hehehe …

[Mean_Mr_Mustard]

we also plugged vengeance and v2_factory…more subtly, of course…there is a small scale v2 rocket in the axis spawn…

[Schaffer]

Hmm,

I found Istanbul, Rocket, Mustard bottles, Filing Cabinet but I couldn’t find a signature from Cptn Triscuit

Anything else to find that’s cool?

[seven_dc]

where is the istambul reference?!?

Well soon there will be lot of nice details in rommel. I actually think I can boost up the FSP and add lots of details.
/me laughs at his mapping dungeon…

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RHODE ISLAND MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

[Mean_Mr_Mustard]

@Schaffer - no, nothing else to find…yet…

@seven_dc - yes, we have released ‘The Detailer’ on rommel. I’m sure there will be some big changes between b1 and the next release. If you can increase FPS - wow! I tried my best to do that…I’ll have to see what you do and learn from it. There is aposter of Iffy’s Byzantine map in one of the buildings

[seven_dc]

Hi. The mad detailer enters the floor. Swings his hat of by one graceful move. Grins and shows his perfect row of theets.

It is rather easy to increase FPS.
Here is some notes:

1. there is lot of unnessary geometry inside terrain. Like buildings and details of buildings like railings etc. They are all rendered by engine… so cutting tool comes handy.
2. Buildings have no caulck faces that are inside terrain these all are drawn too… so lots of caulking comes into play
3. Hint portals can be inserted into many places.
4. geometry inside the buildings (structural hull/walls) are rather complicated… by making it simpler the VIS table comes smaller and the VIS calculations of the egine comes simpler… This is only little gain… and I think I shall not touch this… only If I have time.

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Fix Ps3

[G0-Gerbil]

Generally framerates are ok - inside they shoot up cos there’s not much detail.
Outside they are ‘ok’ generally, but if you are putting more stuff in I’d definately take a note of Mr seven_dc’s comments, they should help.
If you don’t understand hinting though, now is probably not the time to learn - let someone do it quickly who knows how it works and learn from that

I have to say I find the whole map’s look a bit bland. Remember that Oasis has different coloured areas to help break it up (notably the fort is entirely different, albeit subtly, from the rest of the map’s texture sets). This isn’t a criticism with your map in particular, it’s something I feel about a lot of desert themed maps, they just don’t use the lighting / textures as inventively as Oasis does.

The layout looks pretty good, no immediate concerns, although people who play it on large servers will obviously be able to help you out more on that issue, but you guys generally have a pretty good idea of what makes a playable map so not unduly worried.

Lighting needs a lot of messing I reckon - would you have a high ambient setting by any chance? It means the caves aren’t very dark in contrast (an issue I have with Oasis itself). Ambient lighting is pretty tempting I know, but still…

Having said that, it has a good ‘feel’ to it, and I reckon the following versions will be ones to look out for.

Top marks for the command map - although someone deserves a spanking for getting coffee stains on such an important document

[seven_dc]

hmm. Gerbil You missed the point. I am actually now developing this map. And these are only my notices. That I going to work on so you shouldn’t be so harsh on Mustard. There is actually lot more caulks that I first had impression.

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Weed Vaporizer

[Aikon]

I liked the command map a whole lot, Schaffer, you get a seriously big cookie! I’ve done hinting in a map before…and goddamn it’s hard, so I wish you guys good luck with it… Also, Mr Mustard, the Mean in your name really fits, cause that’s one goddamn mean terrain! The architecture was also really nicely placed. The map plays really well alone, so I can’t wait to pub this baby.

[Mean_Mr_Mustard]

Lighting needs a lot of messing I reckon - would you have a high ambient setting by any chance? It means the caves aren’t very dark in contrast (an issue I have with Oasis itself). Ambient lighting is pretty tempting I know, but still…

No, no ambient light. For some reason the desert terrain textures are as bright as can be. I tried different things, but it seems they wanted to stay as bright as they could One thing I’ve struggled with is balancing lighting such that you get a contrast but yet the player models are ‘black’ when in game. I’ve noticed this quite a bit - the lighting looks cool in caves/hallways but then you can’t distinguish friend from foe…

Yes, that is why we brought in seven_dc…to clean up the mess we created

@seven_dc - I don’t think gerbil was being harsh. He was pointing out things he saw that needed improvement. That’s the only way maps improve

[G0-Gerbil]

Ah didn’t know that about the textures being so bright - it shows I’ve not personally looked into the desert theme myself yet
And yeah I wasn’t being mean - but one assumes the map is open for comments or it would be a final

[DG1]

better to be “mean” when things can be done about it than have other people being meaner about the final version

Make sure fps doesnt get worse, its currently “pretty good” but going down to “OK” would be a big loss. Players complain enough about fps in most of the official maps, and theres no way customs will get the kind of leeway people are willing to give to official maps. First time players walk round a map they have one eye on the fps counter, if it aint staying steady they have a bad first impression and be even more willing to feel critical about everything else.

[Ifurita]

we had one eye (or more) or the FPS meter as we were building the map too.

[G0-Gerbil]

BTW there’s a setstate error on map start.
Just pull down the console to see it.
Don’t feel too bad though - some of the official maps have 'em too