DM-Inertia [Alpha]

[Vaskadar]

Name: DM-Hyraxis
Version: Alpha 6
Compatibility: No Mods, 1.2 Patch
Description: A radical, deadly layout for a deathmatch map, originating from an original TimeSplitters: Future Perfect map called AuToMaTiKs 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIAW4xjwI-A), Inertia is going to make you think twice about jumping off that platform to the rail, or go after the amp, or run haplessly through a teleport, it will keep your twitch reflexes going. Those of you who knew the map beforehand, prepare for a radically different map. You'll like it when you play it (it's intended for casual players, none of that uber-competetive crap) although with all the changes, I don't know now. Anywho, the map is turning out to be a good one in my opinion, and I've been playtesting it consistently so that I nail the gameplay just right. This is my third map on UT3, I'm for sure going to finish this one. I hope you enjoy it.

Comments: Bot support, all the gameplay basics.

Change Log

Alpha 1 to alpha 2

Greatly expanded arena size, increased horizontal space (A lot), added textures, added shield belt, added berserk, added second sniper rifle, moved all weaponry, added more health packs to sustain players after firefights, added more mobility in general, horizontal and vertical, the layout is finished now. So play it until you find something that needs to be changed within reason.


Alpha 2 to Alpha 3

Added static meshes to enhance the mood, altered lighting, changed bot pathing, added air lift. Added ambient sounds for trains, and added keg o' health on train rail to make things interesting. It's funny seeing bots splatter themselves because they stop on the tracks.

Alpha 3 to [alpha 4]

Fixed train sounds, finished 25% of the meshing to be done on the interiors, altered bot pathing, added more spawn points, fixed lift trigger issue. Added emitters and altered sounds for generators to be loud enough to hear.

Alpha 4 to Alpha 5

Increased train interval length to allow easier access to the super health, fixed jumps' angles to flak (if you consistently fall while jumping towards the flak, I will add a small "catch" to save you from a humiliating and frustrating death) amp tower interior is now decorated. Lighting needs to be brightened for those who are too lazy to adjust their monitors, added a blocking volume on top of the generator in the generator room, and fixed some bot issues with super health.

Alpha 5 to Alpha 6

Fixed a few flow issues, altered lighting (Somewhat). Moved link gun to generator room, deleted central generator (interrupted flow), switched berserk with flak, added catches to give players a small platform if jump is unsuccessful.

Download: Alpha 6 (http://files.filefront.com/DM+HyraxisAlpha6zip/;10115859;/fileinfo.html)

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/7797/screenshot00014ba9.th.png (http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot00014ba9.png)http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/9113/screenshot00015dz4.th.png (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot00015dz4.png)

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/4841/screenshot00016ke6.th.png (http://img246.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screenshot00016ke6.png) What remains to be fixed on amp tower: TOO MUCH BSP!

[Sijik]

Looks, like a lot of custom UT3 maps, to be REALLY dark. Like, Doom3 dark.
This tends to put me off of maps right off the bat.

[Vaskadar]

I can fix that. It's not going to be that dark in the final. This is just temp lighting. But it's mostly the texturing that makes the stuff look dark. Honestly. If I were to use a lighter texture setting for the rest of the map, it'd look totally different, but since I'm kinda going for a darker look, it's fine, all it really needs right now is a bit of lighting in the black areas.

[virgo47]

Erm... too dangerous to even move, not to fight others, I'd say. For me the layout is too chaotic and lacks some smooth flow. On many places I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't able to say in advance that "ah, this supposed to be jumppad-tunnel", etc. First time I used jumppad it hit me against the wall and I fell into the blue death (I guess it was near flak). I'd also tone it down in vertical dimension.

However, you went for radical layout and I didn't expect this radical. :-) So I'm not probably right person to comment it. For me it's rather frustrated than fun.

[Vaskadar]

Well, radical was what I was going for, however, if you wanted me to, I could fix a few issues with the jumps. It's still excruciatingly alpha (and hard to get support on, but I'm not scrapping this one for any reason), and I want to know what you would need for me to fix. There's a lot of movement in the vertical dimension, that's for sure, but I'm not expecting any veteran, hardcore players to like this map. A few have tried this map and liked it, but I'm not expecting great reviews. It was to recreate an extremely fast-paced map that I loved back in the day. It was AuToMaTiKs 2, from timesplitters. I know that the death pit is a little much for comp players, and I know that it's rather painful to find that you die often. If you wanted me to, I could make some minor tweaks to fix it up though, to make it less frustrating. I worked about two or three weeks on the first tower's layout, then I redid the map and added a second tower.

Here's AuToMaTiKs 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIAW4xjwI-A)

I know that inertia isn't entirely faithful to the original layout, and it's mostly because of the past need for greater space in the map, but I feel that this map is starting to come together. I'll have alpha 5 with some fixed collision, pathing, and the likes. Thank you.

[Vaskadar]

I wasn't able to say in advance that "ah, this supposed to be jumppad-tunnel", etc. First time I used jumppad it hit me against the wall and I fell into the blue death (I guess it was near flak).

I know exactly which jump pad you were talking about, it's fixed in this version, now that I altered its jump time. I guess it launched you at a funny angle, so that it knocked you againt the wall.

Now I was considering expanding on the upper receiving teleport rooms so that they're not so freaking cramped. The teleport basically thrusts you right into the minigun, and you can't really see where you're going, so maybe I should put it further back for more visibility. Another thing I want to know, what do you mean by "jumppad-tunnel?" I should probably explain that all teleports lead to the upper reaches of the map. But if you're talking about the air lifts, I was going to add emitters, and other stuff of the likes to make it more apparent that you run up them. This is still undecorated, so it unfortunately doesn't make it obvious where you're supposed to go, sorry.

I'd just like some feedback on the parts that are completed. With each alpha I make, little changes to gameplay come along with small changes to visuals. I hope to finish the berserk tower tonight so that I can go onto step three, fixing up the exteriors. I'm ONLY A FREAKING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT!

[virgo47]

Yeah I meant air lifts - sorry for lack of words on my side. ;-) I might give the map another look but not in next couple of days because I'll be offline.

[Vaskadar]

Hopefully by then I'll have better lighting and the interiors decorated, maybe even a bit of the exteriors. ;) Thanks for the response.

[NitrousUser]

Haven't tried it yet (I plan to) but I have Future Perfect on the ol' lamecube and god I wish I had this map.

=(

After playing: Concept's pretty neat, but I had problems playing with it. Mostly me awkwardly failing to make a lot of jumps since the way things are spaced out, some flight paths look so inviting. And it's pretty dark in areas to the point where I actually kinda lose myself.

I don't know what to say specifically or how technical to get with the jargon though, so I'm sorry I can't be too helpful.

[Vaskadar]

I've definitely got to fix some of the lighting if it affects gameplay that much.

[NitrousUser]

At request I tried to get specific, but my descriptive abilities suck so, umm, video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX7FQwhNE3k

0:00 - This spawn area feels too dark, same with the chest armor area (which I forgot to go to)

1:01 - Thanks for this. I love having areas around doors to duck into. :)

1:08 - No matter how many times that train kills me, I'll never stop being amused by it. lol

1:45 - This is one of those jumps I have a tendency to fail at. Of course not much to do about it other than hope the player isn't as bad as me.

2:05 - Feels weird not being able to shoot through this.

2:15 - Bots are always here...

2:35 - ...but I almost never see them here.

-----

Video was pretty short, but I just wanted to get a quick run through. I've noticed my general flow of the map is determined by my spawning point. Sometimes I'll always hang around the train tracks. I don't know how, but I always end up there. And sometimes I'll always be near the berserker pick up. Kinda weird, I dunno.

Well, best I could do for feedback. =p

[Vaskadar]

Okay. I fixed most of that up in beta 1.1, the blue things you can shoot through now, there's a lot more eye candy than before, and the flak now has no camping capabilities. I didn't want you to be able to get to the berserk from the sniper bridge, so I added glass there. The exterior is a little less blank, but since you added your feedback, I've done a lot. Thanks for your time.