Re: TGNS Map Making Team

**Yer Mom** · 09-07-2006, 10:43 AM

The layout I posted is extremely rough, guys. I said that when I posted it. It's no where near scale, and it's not exactly what I was going for the map to look like. I did the rooms first, and the rest just kind've got spat out.

I'm focusing on rooms, and some of the hallways. I realize what's useful and what's not. I did that layout in about 15 minutes so I didn't put a lot of thought into the hallways, but I did the room placement.

I'll rework the layout soon enough, but I'm trying to focus my time on getting some of the map done.

-Mom

**Curlydave** · 09-07-2006, 11:33 AM

Originally Posted by Kerostasis

The north-eastern most corridor in that map feels kind of useless. It doesn't do anything except connect Doubleres to a Hive--which sounds important until you realize there is another hallway connecting the same two rooms, which is shorter, contains a res node, AND branches into other areas of the map.

Its the same complaint people have with the stairs behind Main Aft on NS_bast, where no one ever goes except to try to sneak into Engine hive.

I would just move the RT (the one you abbreviated as "nod" when you ran out of space for the "e") up to the top corridor, so it feels more important.

But it does serve as an alternate way in and out of the hive. As you pointed out, it provides an alternate way it to the hive for marines and fleeing aliens, and gives the aliens anoter way out if marines are in the main one. The stairway area in bast is used by marines trying to sneak into the hive.

**Yer Mom** · 09-07-2006, 01:19 PM

Exactly, Curly. I can remember when the Engine hive in bast didn't even have an alternate route out besides the water treatment area.

Fact of the matter is, the layout I put up is VERY rough. It's going to be altered and changed, and eventually it will be a map.

Curly, it seems like you know more than I do about Hammer. Are you too busy to give me some help right now?

-Mom

**Darkilla** · 09-07-2006, 01:21 PM

I've been reading, and contrubuting a little on this project, and while I most definatly won't be the best coder, or the best texture man, one thing I do know how to do, is be an Idea's man, and I've got a few I think need to be addressed.

1) A building never starts to get built until the blueprints have been made. Granted, stuff happens, and blueprints chance, but one must have a VERY clear set of instructions and guidelines to follow before setting out on one's task.

2) What makes a map work?
Think for a second. Why is tannith and Veil played more frequently then Bast or Ayumi? What makes Eclipse maint hive very unbalanced to beginners, but incredibly usefull to advanced players? Why is beta deck sunken like that and not level? What makes the map work and why do we like it?

3) Every team has members, and every member is responsible for their role within the team http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/teambuilding.html <-- A must read for everyone who wishes to understand team dynamics, and how to sucessfully work through a project togeather.

These are the 3 most important idea's that have jumped into my head since starting this. And yes, some of them might stupid, or out of context, but the main point i'm trying to get across is this.

I would rather see this project last the next 6 months, and have some of the Dev's say "Wow, that's incredible" then create a map that will sometimes be played on TG when we've got nothing better to do. Let's aim high, like top of the map rotation at TG!!

**Yer Mom** · 09-07-2006, 01:28 PM

Dark, aiming high is my goal, but you have to realize that 9 out of 10 new maps are rejected by a community because of a lack of experience. People want to play Veil and Lost and all those maps because they're everyday maps. People know the exploits, the hallways, and the ninja spots.

I'd like to see the community have a more open mind about new maps that are introduced through this project, and new maps that were made by other people that deserve recognition.

Lucid, 11th hour, all of those maps are ... fairly balanced and worth playing, but they're not in the rotation because no one is used to them. I've seen Lucid run an hours worth of game play in TG. We play the maps because they can be tactical, not because we're used to them. Every map that's made has a chance at being tactical, it just has to have time put into it.

-Mom

**Keres** · 09-07-2006, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by Yer Mom

I'd like to see the community have a more open mind about new maps that are introduced through this project, and new maps that were made by other people that deserve recognition.

Lucid, 11th hour, all of those maps are ... fairly balanced and worth playing, but they're not in the rotation because no one is used to them. I've seen Lucid run an hours worth of game play in TG. We play the maps because they can be tactical, not because we're used to them. Every map that's made has a chance at being tactical, it just has to have time put into it.

-Mom

That isn't what Dark is saying at all. He wants you guys to be prepared and to think about what works and what doesn't. He wants you guys to create another tanith. This isn't about the map playing or not on the server, this is about creating something that works functionally. The reason a lot of custom maps aren't on the server is because they are glitchy, they are easily exploitive, one sided, and just not fun.

I think what he wants, and what we all want, is a map that we can look at and say "man, this is better than tanith," and for that to happen this project is going to take a lot of time and research. Find out why people like tanith and not bast. Make a build and see what could cause problems- res nodes too far away or too easy to hold for aliens. This map, if you want it to be as big as you say you do, will take a lot more than just slapping a few cute rooms together.

**Curlydave** · 09-07-2006, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by Yer Mom

Curly, it seems like you know more than I do about Hammer. Are you too busy to give me some help right now?

-Mom

Not busy, but will be soon for an hour or two. I'll be in TS when I'm here.

Dark and Keres - right on. It'- fun to just get into Hammer and start mapping, but detailed planning is critical to making a high-quality map, especially when it's a team effort.

**Wyzcrak** · 09-07-2006, 02:10 PM

*** Moved to the closest thing we've got to a mapping forum. This sort of interest would have to last several weeks, I imagine, and span several threads, before you'll see a forum, here, just for mapping in NS.

**Yer Mom** · 09-07-2006, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by Yer Mom

Dark, aiming high is my goal,

I know what Dark was saying. I pointed out that I realize it's going to take time and research. I've put in approximately 14 hours now just learning the program and putting a room together.

When I say I need rooms, I'm telling people who want to do rooms to start. A room itself takes an ample amount of time to create. I'm aiming high at believing that by the end of a month I'll have the smallest rooms in the map complete.

Concider the layout to have rooms scaled to almost approximate size, rather than just boxes. Of course, they won't all be square, but the general area of the square (room) itself is about how big the room should be.

I've planned 10 nodes total on this map. One in each hive, the double, MS, and the other 3 rooms on the map. I'm going to have to move my rooms around conciderably now that I look at it so that they are close enough to be a second node for marines, and seperate them out so that aliens will have a second node on the same side of the map that marines have a second node on, relatively.

I'm seeing the map to be rather square. Lucid hit the fan because everyone complained of it being entirely too curved. Although, I don't want the entire map to be a big boxy thing, curve the hallways instead of corner them, curve room walls and add second floor access (on a very small scale) to the game.

Concider if the marines had a staircase running to the railway above Generate room in ... I draw a blank as the map name, but everyone knows what I'm talking about (Viaduct hive, Powersilo, Cargo, Ominous, etc... I'm at a total blank). Now change the room around so that it's still small, but it's got more crevices, and more alien cover. The catwalk on the second level of the room will be a marine biased spot, but the room offers enough cover to be able to reach the catwalk.

I think we need to start with hive ideas before we even begin building rooms. What kind've hives do we want? Do we want large, open hives, or tight, waste like hives?

Let's get a discussion on that started, then build from the hives out. How does that sound?

-Mom

**Yer Mom** · 09-07-2006, 05:16 PM

The TGNS Mapping Teamspeak Session will begin in 1 hour 45 minutes. I am already in TS. The session will be held in the Half-Life Engine channel.

-Mom

**sUZY dERKINS** · 09-07-2006, 06:14 PM

im finishing up work on a so far ugly but interesting version of the map i posted earlier, also itll be an ns map and its been expanded quite a bit
i will call it ns_okcomputadora

will be posted hopefully later today or tommorow
david please help me with the lighting
curse the rad files!

**Sirusblk** · 09-07-2006, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by Yer Mom

The TGNS Mapping Teamspeak Session will begin in 1 hour 45 minutes. I am already in TS. The session will be held in the Half-Life Engine channel.

-Mom

I plan on showing up. However know that if the earth implodes... I might be late.

-Sirusblk

*Edit: I messed up on the time settings for my area, I am already late...

**xtcmen** · 09-08-2006, 12:57 AM

Yeah I give up. Thats all I have to say. Maybe I would of stayed if all the objects I crated had working textures to go with them.

**Slayer of Hippies** · 09-08-2006, 01:14 AM

And to think, you spent two whole days learning to map, only to give up now.

**sUZY dERKINS** · 09-08-2006, 05:56 AM

haha 100th post magic slayer

Thread Tools

Display