DM-Alcore needs beta testing

[ChrisToth.hu]

Hi,

I'd like to ask for some beta testing/feedback for DM-Alcore.

It's a DM map in an abandoned storage facility on an alien planet with plenty of eye candy and details. The layout was (at least was tried to be) designed for 1on1 gameplay.


NOTE: You need the SGTech1.utx from UT Bonuspack 4 (http://www.planetunreal.com/files/) in order to play the map.

Give it a try and let me know what you would change in gameplay, visuals, layout/item placement...etc.

Thanks in advance!
DL the map HERE (http://www.combitz1.btinternet.co.uk/dm-alcore_beta15.zip).
Here are two screens:
http://www.combitz1.btinternet.co.uk/Alcore1.jpg
http://www.combitz1.btinternet.co.uk/Alcore2.jpg

[Rukee]

I would but.....
when I try to dnld.....this is what I get:

Angelfire does not allow direct linking
from offsite, non-Angelfire pages,
to files hosted on Angelfire.
This practice of 'remote linking' reduces
our ability to serve out the homepages
of our members quickly and efficiently.

[ChrisToth.hu]

Yes yes...

I'm working on it. (This is the 3rd server change...each had some kind of retardness)

[Hourences]

i really like those 2 screens, they are pure leetness, certainly the shape of the word angelfire is briljantly done, 3dsmax ? lightwave ? :)

i will look when you have the map online :)

[ChrisToth.hu]

LOL yeah. Angelfire suxx @ss.. :)

Problem fixed.

[Chrysaor]

Nice UT map.

[ChrisToth.hu]

Thx.

Hmm...Anyone else?

[Mxtrmntr]

Hmm only played it for a very short time yet, seemed very nice, very detailed at least...can't really tell about possible issues yet, and I haven't really got the time to play UT atm :/ So, maybe later...

[Lruce Bee]

Yes - visuals look really cool - lot's of care and attention to detail which I like to see in a map - Time is also an issue with me at the moment - but if the link works OK I'll certainly give it a spin Chris

Lruce

[StoneViper]

Originally posted by ChrisToth.hu

Problem fixed.
geocities has the same problem, can i ask how you fixed it¿

[Chrysaor]

Well I got stuck two places, bottom of a pipe and another place I can't remember. Everything was so busy, it was tough for me to enjoy. I don't like UT much anymore. It was very fast, but too hairy for me. But i had 14 bots in there. Maybe I'll play it again.

[ChrisToth.hu]

Chrysaor: Exactly where did you get stuck?

StoneViper: Fixed by moving the files to another server.

Mxtrmntr, Lruce: THx in advance...

[Hourences]

cool map, has nice details indeed, i like the sky and how it falls in, with the orange stuff, and the lightboxes too display the incoming light and stuff, thats al nice, maybe make those lightboxes a bit harder, really can barely see them
you got some lightbox misalinged ments too on some lights, some rotated square ceiling lights had a bit wrong aligned lightbox, it was a bit too small
i dunno if someone said this, but i felt in a pit :\ somewhere in a corridor, with a pipe deco on the wall, and the pipe goes from the ceiling too a hole in the floor, i felt between the pipe and the floor in, wich is kinda very ghey
textures are ok, you used stuff from alot of packages wich made them look pretty good again, but maybe its a bit too much on some places, i mean on some places it looks very bizzy, if you know what i mean, alot of differnt textures, maybe uise the next time a few real base textures, wich you use the most everywhere so it looks a bit calmer again
some parts of the water where very lit, why is that ? didnt saw a light around it
the pipe with streaming water is leet, but maybe make the pipes a bit closer to eachother, cause i can see the end of the sheet
sounds were nice, heard some dynamic birds and stuff
weird itemplacement, i mean, erm stuff like 2 health vials in a dead end corner or corridor ? erm, why the hell would i wanna go in there, and warn the enemy and be trapped for just some health vials ? you should use them to warn the enemy, placing them by imported things, in corrdiros so you hear the enemy comming and on ramps and all, not in a dead corner
floorplan was good, good use of ramps and stuff
with other textures it could have been red faction in high poly style :) atmosfere wasnt bad either, maybe more fx stuff, cracking woods, hanging plants or more hanging wires anything to get the theme stronger, maybe even more sounds, the key to leet sound is using weird sounds, with pretty much variation in it or so, and them use them with very low pitch and high volume, in my new sp maps i got sounds like a swamp or a churchbell in the middle of a skaarj base and everyone is telling me its leet, cause its so scary, you only hear cracking, and knocking and growling, that could be cool maybe for your map

/ran out of stuff to say

[Chrysaor]

Uh, I opened it in teh Editor this time. I got a pick of the pipe place where hour and me got stuck. Also a pic of that health vial corner. Apparently we agree on it's gayness. I thought it was just awkward in general. I think Hour hit the nail on the head with the lack of base textures. This level gave me a headache. It's probably the SGTech but there's just too much going on, which is the opposite of the way it typically is, but it's just crazy in there. I liked Axon better cuz it was calmer. I think that yellow conglomeration in the middle is ugly. The metal planks are a bit silly too IMO.
Anyway here's the picage...

[Chrysaor]

Sorry I didn't resize these, I was being lazy.

[Hourences]

thats the pipe i felt between i thought

[ChrisToth.hu]

Thanks. I'll place a Block actor there...

2 health vials in a dead end corner or corridor
Do you mean the ones behind that crate near the water and at the reddish light? Should I place some ammo next to it or change it to a Health box? Are the vials alright at the other locations?

Thanx for the comprehensive feedback BTW.

[Hourences]

all the healthvials that lay in useless corners and other stuff where you run into danger by getting them are wrong, they ar enot worth getting in there and their sound wont enahcne gameplay like that

[ChrisToth.hu]

OK, I'll try to fix them. eg I'll place them on other ramps...

[AMmayhem]

Downloading now, I'll be back later with me thoughts. From the screenies, it looks great. :tup:

[AMmayhem]

Nice map, do have a few questions.

There's a hole in the floor where you've got 3 health vials stacked in mid-air, and you've got a jump spot next to it as well; are there supposed to be jumpboots to get up that or what?

The other question isn't that big of a deal but I see that there's a box on a crane that's a mover. How do you get it to move? Is it a crusher? (devious grin...)

Otherwise it's pretty good, I don't know how you guys figure out these complex (to me) map layouts.

[ChrisToth.hu]

Those Health vials can be grabbed by jumping down...not up.
The mover is just a simple swinging crate. No human pancake making...:)

[Hourences]

you just turn ued on, you substract a cube and another one and another one, and after a week you have this ''complex'' layout :)

[@kuma]

I can see why some people like it but the composition is horrible, it's something I've been guilty of in the past - a load of 'leet' brushwork thrown together with no overall form or structure.

And unfortunately it doesnt look that great for the (relatively) high polycount which renders it unplayable. Maybe it's those way over-busy SG tech textures that are putting me off, but if I were you I'd start again & salvage some of that brushwork into something more cohesive.

Lots of nice ideas jammed together doesnt make for a great map :|

[AMmayhem]

Originally posted by Hourences
you just turn ued on, you substract a cube and another one and another one, and after a week you have this ''complex'' layout :)

Yeah, yeah. Bite me. :p

[Lruce Bee]

I'll go with Akuma on this one - SGTech1 texture set is waaay overused and kills this map cold - I've scrapped most of the SGTech texture set in my recent creation in favour of a new one and the transformation is unbeleivable - I'd suggest you do the same

Brushwork is excellent and the map generally - is very well put together - but it does lack soul and the theme is going nowhere - I played it for about 10 minutes before I gave up the ghost and thought been there - done that etc etc

There are some really cool touches - the lighting is really nicely done (some light greenings are apparent though) shadowing has been done with great taste as well - the rotating radar was very cool - sky box was nicely realised too and the leaking pipe was a leet touch

So - after an initial wander around - I added some bots to check out gameplay and this is where things fell apart for me - I got really confused on the ground floor around the water area - I felt cramped down there and disorientated because I had no focal point to guide me - there just seemed to be too much geometry going on in any one place - I was desperate to find an open area for breathing space and to really let rip with some rockets

1 on 1 maps don't agree with me personally and I can see where you were trying to go with this but I feel you were undecided whether to make this a 1 on 1 map or a full blown deathmatch level with the net result that you're caught somewhere in between

Still - a cool effort all the same

Lruce

[ChrisToth.hu]

Thanks for the feedback Akuma and Lruce! This means that there are a "couple" of things that need to be to the map. I'll jump on it today. I don't want to release the map until it's better in these aspects.

Could you give me some tips about where to start? Because the job is not that simple... I could hinder myself with doing stuff in the wrong order at some parts..

Thanks again.

[LXIXGTO]

My first impression when I played this map was that there
were too many textures. Much like DM-Imago.
I agree 100% with Hourences and Chrysaor that it needs some
base surfaces. Right now the numerous textures give it a "busy"
or "cluttered" look. This can affect your depth perception and
make it hard to tell where you or your enemy are sometimes.

Don't take this the wrong way. The map has some very cool
aspects. In particular the way you have unused areas below the
playing areas just for atmosphere. And the work you did on the
sky with the revolving radar dish and such are very nice.

I can appreciate all the work that went into aligning all those
textures and masked surfaces but in general it lacks cohesion.
Change some of the walls to some base textures and it would
look more realistic.

A fun map with some very nice work. It just needs some
tweaking on the textures in my humble opinion.


:biorifle: :biorifle:

[ChrisToth.hu]

Thx for the feedback.

Should I remove the whole SGTech set or just those reddish overdetailed ones from it?

[Chrysaor]

Originally posted by ChrisToth.hu
just those reddish overdetailed ones from it?

This is all I'd do. SG is fine, but cut it back. Maybe ditch some of the richrig's too.

[ChrisToth.hu]

The problem is that I can't find any decent replacement...the map is too dependant on the set...

[Chrysaor]

Are you looking for bases or less decorative walls/floors?

[ChrisToth.hu]

I can't find textures that go well with the geometry. I've been messing with brick textures and some concrete bases but they don't fit well.

[Chrysaor]

You might have to adjust some of the geometry. You can also say **** the community and release it as it was.