dm_ff_stinger_b7

Hey all!,
I've been watching these forums for the release of the contest maps, but I thought I'd stop by and submit my latest project while I waited. It's a medium sized map with some secrets, some custom textures, and the likes. I am posting beta 7, although I am heavily into b8 here at home. Herew ya go:
The map
http://www.brdstudio.net/ffmember/juim/ ... ger_b7.zip
Some screenies:

This is one of the main courtyards. I call it the "Pluck-n-Chuck" cause theres melon trees a growin thar!

Same courtyard, reverse view. You have to hit the jump pad just right.

goofy little teleporter I snuck in.

A view from down below.

The glass tubey thingy.

Another angle from down below.

This is the other main area above. Got some Z-axis goin on here.

the reverse on that area.

NoClip, top down view.

Another view from below.


I got rid of all the glass fanciness. Took a heavy toll on performance.

the founders room(secret sound byte in here).

My version of Reapers RPG killer. (Shoot the rotating FF sign from anywhere to remove rocketeer from roof!)

Just a sexy view to show part of the 3d skybox.
So I have a few things to do, but mostly I need feedback/critz/comments, etc. As always thanks for having a look.

On a post note, heres a screenie of some changes I made in beta 8:

still have alot of work to do, but I am trying to add some color/diversity in this area. The lower area gets some more work as well.

Downloading the map right now theres 1 issue I have with your screen shots.....
Default Crosshairs omg man I mean come'on who uses default Honestly
umz Default Crosshairs have been notorious for holding good talent back check out

http://www.hl2dm-university.com/crosshairs.php

Both mine and nate's pack are a good combo hes made the accuracy of crosshairs so much better while I made the HUD more visible and colorful start off with the basic color adjustments till you find 1 you like

p.s. the info bars around the crosshairs aren't generally preffered for there aiming interference but to each his ownage

i've played this map on FF servers. its pretty nice, only thing i dont like about it, is the tight walk ways

yea, the tight walk ways jumped out big time for me too.
i'm also not a great fan of red lights (or any unrealistic / no light model) lights / lighting in realistic / semi-realistic maps.
it's sort of...this is obviously a work of a very talented person. it looks very sexual but kind of...hmm...inconsistent maybe? a bit multi-themed?
more pros than cons no doubt...but still i'd look into some of these aspects. I generally loved it (i know, this input is a tad confusing...i guess this is how i felt)

Keep HTIS up man! very promising.


val

ya, multi themed is a good way to describe this map. if you did something with those walk ways, this would be an epic map.

looking good bro.this is a great free for all map.i have nothing but fun playing it.not shure i like the red and blue lighting on the saw blades.keep up the good work

Thanks for the input fellas. You are right, the more I look at that top area, the more I need to re-think the skinny walkways there. Ideas are bubblin up now that thats been confirmed by other eyes. And the downstairs area is a work in progress as well. I think it's lit a bit inconsistently and there's a few more areas that need tweaking. If I remember, dm_striker was in the 13th beta before I finished it, so I will keep plugging away on this one. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Looks interesting

Valar you r funnay......I think all maps are "sexual" to you... LOL!

Just joking man, good to see someone excited about what he does and enjoys what others do too.

This has inspired me to try (*rolls eyes*) to learn hammer so maybe at some point Ill be showing you a map.

Juim,

You know what I think if this map.......IT ROCKS!! But, outside of my personal preference, if you wanted to "float" that top level more and turn some of the enclosed walkways into a more open floor, then I think that would support the feedback from above.

Outside of that, I have received so many compliments about this map from so many players. Most of them mention how much they like the layout and connectivity as it really creates diversity within one map with new challenges and that it is just plain "fun" to play. They appreciate the imaginative layout as it certainly is nothing like most deathmatch maps you see around today. I guess this user feedback from gameplay is really the true test of how successful a map is so I would not recommend changing too much at this point outside of opening up some of the narrow walkways at the top. As we discussed earlier, you might also want to add a spawn point or two to the mid level area by the glass tube.

Great work and very imaginative, keep it up and thanks for this contribution to the HL mapping world!

Well one of the reasons I think it is interesting is because its not too "open" and not too killboxy.....sorry, but for that reason I might load it on my server and try it out.

Are you stinger?

And how long ago did you create dm_striker?

Striker is an awesome map we played it a LOT for a while. btw, same issue with too narrow doorways and paths on that one. else, it's really a superb work.

Are you stinger?

And how long ago did you create dm_striker?

I created dm_Striker, during the writers strike, so it was between November 07' and April, 08'.
And thanks for the comments . I'm really impressed with the feedback here, aside from the pit, who's membership is dwindling, and a few good mapping friends comment, and Interlopers, where I can't even get a yawn, you guys rock!.

...aside from the pit, who's membership is dwindling, and a few good mapping friends comment, and Interlopers, where I can't even get a yawn...

aye aye...pitt is all but an ancient myth now so sad. intelopers was pure awesomeness not too long ago now feels like it turned into quite the boring tf2/dod lobby.
i have in the past and still am positive this site is the only place for any real hl2dm mapping discussions. i'm still hoping it will pick up and start moving fwd. after all, we're the last outpost.

snark pit?

Are you stinger?

Are you stinger?

I'm not sure I understand. If your asking if I've ever played under the name "stinger", then no. I have always been Juim, and more recently [FF]Assn.Juim, since becoming a member of Freedom Fighters.

Yeah, that's what I was asking. I didn't know if you knew AoS Stinger, or if you were him.

AOS Stinger used to be [FF]Stinger many years ago!

Also, IMO, the "pit", or Snarkpit as it is formally known, went rapidly downhill as soon as they changed their web layout. Personally I think this was a big mistake on their part, but.......just my opinion.

you need some clip brushes along the fence line that you show in your pics i can smg nade myself out of the map and look at funky colored eyed ppl.

Are you the same Juim who had the Hot Death Diner?

Yah, thats me. I only stopped the website because my webhost went out of business, (and he was family so the price was right, hehe). I miss having a map review site too. That was some of the best times for me and HLdm.

I loved that server. I was working shifts during a lot of my time in HLDM and it was one of the few places I could get a good game in the middle of the night

Oh yes the map. Agreeing with everybody else on the walkways being a bit restrictive, other than that it was quite fun.

ok finally got my rig up and running so was able to give the map a run through..
i wasn't too far off by looking at the ss; pathways and too narrow and the map is somewhat of a maze. not taking from the obvious talent and grace you put into your work - that is gorgeous.
i found a few gaps in brushwork ever and anon, let me know i've taken screen so i can post if you like.
the center spawn area with round stage (where the watermelon trees are [BTW, what an original and funny idea!!!]) there's a gap under the grass displacement and you see nodraw.

to summarize:

what i felt about striker was even more prevalent here - i would, if i may, suggest in the future...take the most important areas and cut away the rest. you clearly know your way around the editor and your maps are all great eye candies and laden with amazing atmosphere - if they could be more concentrated layout wise it will compliment gameplay in a big way.

great work all n all.
val

Thanks Valar. I'm thinking here...
You know, I always assumed that 96 units was plenty wide for a pathway, but I'm getting different feedback here to the contrary(again).
I map in long hand. Which means,about the most technical command I use in Hammer is copy/paste. I don't know many keyboard shortcuts, and I need tutorials for anything more complicated than a teleport.I guess it's my own fault, 'cause that just how my brain works. I also seem to be drawn to symetrical layouts, which I have also been criticized about.
I do know that I can map a map to death until I get the right kind of feedback, and it's funny, 'cause just when I think my shite smells rosey, someone in the know hands me a great big batch of opinion, and I'm off again with tons of changes. I truly appreciate your feedback, because, quite frankly, I'm not getting any from the other sites (which, IMO is a bad sign). Look for big changes in the one area with the little awnings, and also the skybox, and the lower area.I may re-light the whole map as well. I work in the movie biz and I light a map like lighting a set, so it's a work in progress until I like it.I hate having so many betas out there, so I may only release screenshots until the final, but that's also up in the air. I'd also be very interested in hearing what areas you might think this map could do without, because there are only three main areas as it stands, and if your interested, PM me and I will send you the VMF. (I may want to do that anyways, as I could use some help optimizing the map with Hints and such.).Thanks again for the comments.

added you in Friends. talk more there.

good thing about map feedback on the U is you get a players view point as well as mappers view point(especially from the mapping God....V). i think both are extremely important in ever stage of map making.

I enjoy this map, every time I play it I learn some new path!

http://www.brdstudio.net/ffmember/juim/ ... ger_b9.zip
Latest version. Here's some screenies:




So I widened the walkways in the upper west courtyard. Added some awnings for drop down Z-axis fun. Added some teleporters to several different parts of the map to aid gameplay. Re-lit the entire map(and added a tone of walkway lights), enlarged the "Jump" pad, clipped the outer walkways(so you can't get outside the map now), and btw the whole map is clipped to facilitate low grav servers,(but the frame rates might not be so desirable from way up there unless you have a monster rig.). There are no screenies of the lower area, as not much has changed there. I must admit that the way my brain works, sometimes I need to step away from the mapping for a bit, and usually, something will come to me.And, the watermelons in the "Pluck-n-Chuck courtyard are 'splodable now!
Things I need to do yet:
The lower area(duh)
I need a good tutorial on floating weapon pick-ups. (The one at interlopers leaves a pile of weapons at the world center.).
Founders hall(east side). Need to add a back room, it's a pet project for the clan, but I also need to add some incentive to go there for gameplay balance.
I don't do modeling yet, but I would love to customize the exploding barrels with the FF logo!.
And of course, any major changes you might see/suggest will always be taken into consideration, (as you can see by the B9 version!.)
Thanks for the great feedback as always. This is quite possibly the last great bastion for true DM lovers.

Looking awesome bro. love the changes. my notes..

I need a good tutorial on floating weapon pick-ups. (The one at interlopers leaves a pile of weapons at the world center.).

that would be using game_player_equip which is pretty much broken in hl2mp so i'd avoid using it. look for something else. like carving a niche in a wall and place your wep in there or make a func_physclip pedestal to lay your wep on...that sorta thing...

This is quite possibly the last great bastion for true DM lovers.

Couldn't agree more although sadly i will add, with the uncontrollable flaming and disgusting language raging here of late i sure hope something happens quickly or else this site will be dead before too long.

keep up the amazing work bro!!!

P.S.
wondering if you will want to take a look at some areas i'm lighting for chem's castle. you seem to know what you're doing (d'oh) and i could use a fresh pair of eyes.

val

Well, it's as finished as I can make it. Thanks to Haymaker and [EYE]Valar for all their technical inputs. RC1 has been heavily optimized from beta 9a, and there are a few more goodies here and there. This map should run fine on most rigs. Here's a couple of screenies:





and a download:
http://www.brdstudio.net/ffmember/juim/ ... er_rc1.zip
Unless there are any major bugs as of yet undiscovered, this will stand as final. Thanks to all of you for your comments/critz/suggestions!.
Enjoy!

this is a pub joy. mo' put it on my servers later.
a classic. thanks for keeping it up.

wooit nice to see one of these frikkin things put to rest! Beauty job all around mate. Congrats!