Sofia pre-final shots


(Victorianetza) #1

ok, the map is almost ready, it will be tested on some local servers to check if everything is ok, and then i will release the final; in this thread i will post the objectives & some screenies; so the allied objs are:

Primary:

-> Destroy the main entrance!
-> Steal the Radar Parts
-> Secure the Radar Parts
-> Destroy the Gun Controls

Secondary:

-> Build the Water Pump
-> Destroy the Underground Entrance
-> Destroy the Side Entrance
-> Destroy Side Entrance #2

Axis objs:

Primary:

-> Defend the main entrance!
-> Defend the Radar Parts
-> Defend the Gun COntrols
-> of course: prevent allies from building up the water pump, from destroying the underground entrance :wink:

here are the screenies:

http://fakir22.freewebspace.com/SOfia%20Pre%20FInal%20Beta%203%20map%20version%200.9/

PS: the map contains @least 2 secret rooms :wink:


(G0-Gerbil) #2

Urk - I hate to sound like a pain but can people PLEASE find free hosts that:

  1. Don’t spam with multiple popups on every bloody action
  2. Don’t try to install spyware

I looked briefly at 1 pic and then closed everything down immediately.
Now I can’t give feedback - shame because the picture I looked at for all of one second before reaching for ALT+F4 looked interesting.


(Victorianetza) #3

wtf?

if the problem comes from the multiple pop-up windows, its from the host, aint my fault…

tell me another server wheere i can upload the pics & will do it right away


(Orange) #4

http://www.vibrahost.com/
That does the trick for me…


(Victorianetza) #5

ok, those who dont like popups, check here:

http://victorianetza.vibrahost.com/


(G0-Gerbil) #6

wtf?

if the problem comes from the multiple pop-up windows, its from the host, aint my fault…
One assumes you chose the host though?

Anyway comments on the actual pictures now :slight_smile:

General:

  • Damage to the buildings is a bit too blocky. You aren’t the first to fall foul of this, but it’s very commonness kinda annoys me.
    Buildings don’t just have huge blocks taken out of them, nor do they generally end up balancing in improbable structures :slight_smile:
  • I like the scale. Nice and high surroundings, and it’s not fogged to hell and back either. The snow fits in with the map, unlike a few snow maps I’ve seen in the past
  • Some very nice custom textures - always a good sign
  • Something I don’t like generally in snow maps is the ‘purity’ of the snow covering. Where’s the footprints, the slush, the bits missed? Same for winddrifts - pick a rough direction for the wind to travel in, and bank up snow in that direction, and remove some of it in the opposite.

Image specific:

2nd pic - Looks like the left side of the main building you’ve repeated the texture too much horizontally making it look thin and disproportionate. Not 100% on this, you may have a FOV I’m not used to looking at though. That chunk out of the corner is particularly ‘neat’ :slight_smile:
4th pic - Unlikely looking bit of damage. I do like the spikes on top of the wall though - definately makes a change from the usual flat alpha-ed version most people tend to do.
5th pic - looks like the windows go into the concrete supports. Just shift the window textures down until they are more central on the levels.
6th pic - neato damage again (won’t mention it any more I promise!)
7th pic - building on the left looks great with the new textures
11th pic - would definately put snow drifts over the plane - looks like it’s been gently laid on top of the snow
12th pic - select the faces with the light, bring up the texture editor (‘s’) and hit ‘fit’
14th pic - empty-itis
15th pic - like the stairs - stuff like this makes for great non-horizontal firefights :slight_smile:

Good to see the railgun getting a home at last :slight_smile:

Just a word of caution:

it will be tested on some local servers to check if everything is ok, and then i will release the final;
I hope I misunderstand and you mean you’ll be testing it with lots of friends on a LAN, otherwise there’s no way a map is ready for final with that little testing. Releasing a map as final without properly testing is a good way to earn a bad reputation, so if you can avoid it, you should.

Looking forward to playing it though - seems nice and large and I like large maps these days :smiley:


(G0-Gerbil) #7

Sofia - 94% completed, vers. Beta #3 public, map vers. 0.9
Possibly I misunderstood in another way (cos I’ve only just read the quoted bit from your sig) - didn’t realise there had been public versions already - if so, ignore my previous comment about testing :slight_smile:


(Victorianetza) #8

WOW !

G0-Gerbil , tnx for the fast feedback! i really appreciate this :slight_smile: i will try to fullfil your expectations, to make the map really nice for playing :wink:

:clap:


(Victorianetza) #9

i am currently trying to add some stuff, but i fear i will hit a problem with the compiling - i have 21429 brushes …

have to del some brushes :wink:


(Oxygen - o2) #10

the only thing that botherd me is, like gerbil said, the unreaslitic (screwed) debri and damage, in the pic with the 3d barbed wire and spawns that large chunk of building would crumble, very VERY easilly

fix them and u have urself a winner :slight_smile:


(WeblionX) #11

If you can, adding some snow to the benches in the park may make them not seem so out of place.


(_Muzzle_) #12

it looks great, but the terrain is missing some snowy rocks, some little details
Easter eggs :clap:


(Ifurita) #13

I don’t think any public versions have been released yet - at least not announced here - take your time before announcing a _final and you won’t get burned like you did on PoC with objective problems that plain kill the map. Going on the assumption that you haven’t released a public beta, i’d start off with the _fp version and let people, a lot of people run around on it and play


(Victorianetza) #14

i have few beta testers, who helped me a lot with the map, but now i am facing a big issue: the fps are low @ some places; i am reading some tutorials on hint brushes, but they aint easy to understand :wink:

i am trying very hard, to make this map enjoyable for playing - dont want to make the same mistake with PoM…

@Ifurita: _fp = First Playable ?

i am currently adding some stuff on the ground, hope i wont hit the limit of brushes & have a compile :wink:


(G0-Gerbil) #15

Urk, what is it with people not releasing non-final versions for public playtesting?
Better to have 2 (or more) versions out than a final that’s bug-ridden.
If PoC had major bugs in it’s ‘final’ release, why would you want to repeat this with the next map? And you can be sure, private testing isn’t nearly enough.
Think about out it - with all the private testers SD had, the official maps still have bugs. Are you suggesting that:

  1. You have as many, if not more, private testers as SD?
  2. You have as many people working on the map as SD to keep track and fix things?
    I find it ‘unlikely’ you can answer ‘yes’ to both those questions, so do yourself a favour, and at least release 1 public version before final, even if you don’t fancy the whole _FP, _A, _B rleease cycle (which I thoroughly recommend, but with the caveat that you don’t flood the world with daily updates - be selective!).

(Victorianetza) #16

G0-Gerbil:

i dont have enough testers as SD, and i think i will follow yours & Ifurita’s advices: as soon as i can i will release _FP version for public testing :wink:


(G0-Gerbil) #17

Good man - didn’t want to hapr on about it, but it’s definately the best means we mappers have of preventing game-killing bugs slipping through.


(Victorianetza) #18

i got a problem - my map loads fine, but on some places the fps drop to 26! i placed hint&skip brushes, read tutorials but nothing happens… if someone can tell me how i can optimize a map with a lot of buildings (urban ), it will be good… i placed hint & skip brushes but maybe they are on wrong place… and if there is an underground bunker, how to fix the problem with the fps?


(G0-Gerbil) #19

How about sending me the source for a quick look over? Sometimes it gets to the point where it’s easier to point out specific things than to give general advice?


(Aikon) #20

Gerbil, when you are finished touching up the “hints”, can you post some pictures? I still can’t grasp the way hint really works, despite the 20 tutorials I read…-_-. Some pics would help however :slight_smile: .