DM-1on1-Erase

[Flikswich]

INFO:

Latest version (maybe) http://ut.drani.de/Maps/DM-Erase_B5-WindowsNoEditor.pak

I agree that this content constitutes a Submission under the Unreal Engine EULA

Flikswich


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I've been working on a new map over the past few days so here it is:



Video:

Layout:

http://i.imgur.com/wSPfQso.jpg


File: (DM-Erase_A3)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vebej3w6ym...ditor.pak?dl=1


I'm not 100% convinced on the enforcer weapon base or the chest plate locations, and there seems to be a large area near the lift where there are no pickups to be found. I'm toying with the idea of moving the link gun down to this area and maybe the enforcer onto the bridge. The bio may move up to where the chest plate is and the chest plate might move to where the vials are in the corner of the map near the shock rifle.

Please give me some feedback below

[Clawfist]

Looks like a great start and interesting floor plan.


Some feedback based on the video:

Check out this thread for a basic lighting/post example setup, should help with making it easier to read the shell.

I think you are doing yourself a bit of a disservice by repeating those light cut outs across the entire map and it hurts area recognizability a bit. Heavy repetition of an element like that would be more powerful if it were unique to an area (say the underground shield belt pit).

I know it's first pass and also usually kind of goes with this style of top down cut-out atrium map but it would really help to make areas stand out a bit more if you added some really simple bold architecture to at least a few of the areas. Even alternating between indoor/outdoor or deliberately having one or two distinct outdoor areas while adding some ceiling elements to a few corners. I'm not suggesting to go in there and go crazy with elaborate BSP that will hurt your iteration time in the end, just some really simple quick shapes - i.e. the wall bit in front of the shock jump pad is nice an symmetrical and could be turned into a tower that raises above the "skyline" of the rest of the map. Simple stuff like that.

0:31 - I'd stay away from small floor cut outs/step ups like that, especially next to a weapon as it usually tends to facilitate snags more than anything else. I'd save that for a visual pass where it doesn't actually affect player collision and keeps the surface smooth.

0:35 - I really like the deliberate two way jump pad via air control

Can't comment much more on anything else without actually playing, nice job man!

[Flikswich]

Thanks so much for the feedback,

It's a pretty barren scene as far as aesthetics go as I created the map fully on Saturday, then realised that the scaling was off entirely so completely redid it on Sunday, and simply didn't have time to make things look interesting :P The intention as of now is to go for a DM-1on1-Backspace type look but I am definitely considering indoor areas on the upper area near the sniper and rocket launcher.

As regards to the cut out floor panels under the rocket launcher and shock rifle, I feel inexplicably inclined to keep these :P Perhaps due to the fact that these seem to be somewhat of a reoccurring theme in maps such as Roughinery, Backspace and Shred. The indents into the floor currently have a blocking volume in them to avoid snagging but as of yet I have not found a way to remove collision with the bsp panel above ground. Would it be better to replace this with a mesh with no collision? or is there another way to make these purely asthetic?

I really like the idea of adding towers etc that jut out above the current skyline and am investigating ways in which to do this, but as I am new to the editor this may take some time for me to nail down.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the feedback, I hope to improve it within the next week.

[Clawfist]

If the floor panel is important to you and you don't want it to snag players then yes, replacing it with one of the generic mesh cubes and scaling it to fit would be your best bet (to be able to disable pawn collision). You could also just set the solidity of the brush to non-solid but that might cause other issues so the mesh solution seems more elegant.

[Jay22]

Just watched your video and I enjoy those dodge ramps. Good work.

[doWn5h1Ft]

Some Ceilings are to low IMO, bumping my head here when jumping.








Sorry for my paint skilz.

[Flikswich]

Thanks for bringing that to my attention The low floors near the health packs are intentional as there is supposed to be a slight risk involved, aka sacrificing some maneuverability, however the others that you pointed out are not supposed to be. I'll work on fixing these asap.

[nvz]

Some feedback:

I played this map last weekend whenever it was still a young pup. There were a lot of problems, and you seemed to address at least half of those problems.


My thoughts:

• You seemed to address the scale a little bit. Some areas of the map still feel too small and tough to maneuver around.
• The 100(Body) powerup was placed in a more desirable location. I like that. It is also harder to get, which is more of a challenge for duelers!
• The dip down in the belt area was removed, which i also like. The overall area down by belt seems to be great, some defense with some vulnerability to get attacked and take a lot of damage as well. The piston jump at the end of the belt hallway was a great addition, too.
• The jump pad created more options to escape the shock rifle area. I like that, although I feel like this area is too small.
• The ceiling by the health packs below the flak cannon is way too low.
• The additional lift jump by the sniper rifle was a great addition to this map.
• How many health packs does this map have? 5 should be your limit, 4 on a small map such as this. Although that is subject to change as weapon damage is tweaked thoughout the process of the game's development.

[Flikswich]

At the moment there are 6 health packs (3 groups of 2) one near the rockets, one in the tunnel near the bio (although the bio has moved slightly in the newer version) and one under the flak. I'm trying 6 for now (same as rough and backspace (i think)) which is kind what I was going for. There are also now 13 heath vials, which seems like a lot right now but as weapon damage is so high, it may not be a problem. These will probably be reduced in the future as weapon balance is tweaked.

I agree that there is an issue with the ceiling height under the flak, but as this point interests me from an aesthetic standpoint, i'm torn between numerous ways of fixing it.

As for the shock area, it does feel fairly cramped, but this was kinda the look I was going for, however if the general idea is that this restricts gameplay then I will definitely try to open up the area a little by cutting the corner of the "hexagon" where the slope dodge is back a bit.

I've also opened up the top pathway to the sniper as this definitely felt a little cramped.

Thanks again for the feedback, I can't wait to get it tested

[Flikswich]

UPDATE 05/10/14


Video:

I added a few roofs and indoor areas. I moved the thigh pads up to an area that really had no purpose previously. I also added a health vial perch above the flak which allows you to get from one side of the map to the centre walkway. I also moved the bio a little and the link and enforcer have got entirely new positions. I did some work on the architecture, making the pillars more interesting and adding some temporary bsp pipes on the underside of doorways and on walls. The wall near the jump pad has been turned into a tower as suggested by Clawfist and the shock area has been opened up a little by moving insetting the slope dodges into the wall and adding a new one to make for a quicker path up to the top level. I've also lowered some roofs to prevent head bumping as this was an issue in the previous version, however the health tunnel lear the lift still has a low roof as I want this part to feel claustrophobic.

Lighting definitely needs work as some areas are just too dark, and as Clawfist pointed out, the lights are a little repetitive :P Hopefully I'll get a version for the 4.5 engine build out soon for testing

[Axis_Zaibot]

Hey I really like the design of this map is very smooth and balanced, perfect for trick jumps, just the kind of maps that I love.

For now I can not install the game, so my feedback is based on the videos: The jump pad beside the the shock rifle, right now looks great, but what if it is replaced by a lift? not only opens another option to catch the chest armor, also makes the game faster in that area, allowing a more unpredictable player movement. Another thing is that you have a very strong area there, because is very close: armor chest, health vials, biorifle and the shock rifle; which gives advantage to the player that respawn there, my suggestion is to replace the enforcer by the shock rifle, and eliminate the enforcer. I do not know if these are very radical changes, anyway, keep up the good work.

[Flikswich]

At the moment i'm experimenting with swapping bio and the chest plate but I like the idea of moving the shock to where the the enforcer is. I have a video of a couple of changes coming v.soon hopefully.

Also,are you having any issues installing the game, it should be fairly easy to do so :/

Thanks for the feedback anyway

Edit:
Also, as for replacing the jump pad with a lift: Both The pad and lift currently serve as a fantastic audible cues for where your opponent is in the map and personally I think that having 2 lifts might detract from that. It also might make the areas either side of the pad a little redundant but we'll see. It still needs some testing

[irridium77]

At the moment i'm experimenting with swapping bio and the chest plate but I like the idea of moving the shock to where the the enforcer is. I have a video of a couple of changes coming v.soon hopefully.

Also,are you having any issues installing the game, it should be fairly easy to do so :/

Thanks for the feedback anyway

Did some running around in V9. Fun map! I like it
Found this little brush misalignment tho.


Otherwise: it haz a very neat flow, some sweet trickjumps.
swapping shock and enforcer is good idea, but don't ditch the enforcer!

keep it up!

[Flikswich]

Did some running around in V9. Fun map! I like it
Found this little brush misalignment tho.

You have no idea how difficult it is to get rid of that bsp hole :/ I may have to cover it with a static mesh.
Thanks for the feedback

[Flikswich]

UPDATE 20/10/14

Video:

Just showing some changes. Still not sure about the teleporter, I might remove it as it makes it really easy to get from chestplate to belt. Thanks to Tetsu and Chumb0 for some duel testing and for Tetsu for improving the lift jump area.

Some jumps that were not possible before are now possible which should help with the flow a bit.

Please give some feedback. Still needs some 1v1 testing before I finalize the flow