UT3 WAR-Beachfront[Release]

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neilthecellist

Renegade.
May 24, 2004
2,306
0
0
San Diego, California
www. .
Testing tonight, will give an in-depth review tomorrow. :), but I'll give my preliminary remarks:

  • I like the concept of camoflauge in the grass via Feign Death, really adds a nice gameplay element to the realm of Unreal gaming.
 
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_N_

addicted to mapping
May 23, 2008
233
0
0
Canada
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I've been incorporating feedback into changes for the "release" version coming soon.

Yeah, the shadows are very dark, but this was done to give the map more contrast and make the sun feel super-bright. In spite of this, I also get comments that there isn't enough contrast... I guess it comes down to personal preference, but so long as it doesn't hinder gameplay, I think the current lighting scheme will probably do.

Hmm... again, proper brightness is difficult to gauge indoors. I definitely want the indoor areas to be dark because if they're too bright then there's no contrast... I'll see if I can brighten it up a little because areas that are too dark would definitely interfere with gameplay.

Yeah, I've seen the bots do the same thing. I've struggled with those darn node teleporters for a long time because the editor ignores what height you place them at, and places them as high as it sees fit, it's not an issue for flat BSP floors, but for terrain, it's always placing them way to high above the ground. It's one of the most annoying "features" of the editor. I'm going to try some more tricks to see if I can get it at the proper height.

Yeah, unfortunately, the bots can see right through the jungle foliage because apparently only objects with collision block their line of sight. Against human players tho, I think the jungle will make for some unique battles and surprise attacks.
 

neilthecellist

Renegade.
May 24, 2004
2,306
0
0
San Diego, California
www. .
OK! I'm back with a review:

Your map is great for online play ONLY. In instant action mode, bots are complete cheaters (not your fault) because they can easily shoot through thick foliage that the human eye can’t see through. Again, as this isn’t your fault, I can’t really hark on you about it, and I don’t think there’s anything you could do as a mapper to fix that issue.

Speaking of thick foliage, the gameplay in this map is very unique as its conducive to camouflage tactics that players generally don’t get in UT3 stock maps. Feigning death and waiting for an enemy to pass you by, and then springing up to smash in on them (it’s even more fun when two players on the same team are feigning death and stand up to surprise the enemy from two ends)

I do have a gripe with the weapon locker placements though. As you know, UT3 doesn’t allow players to drop weapons. So say I’m in the middle of the field, blasting rockets at a tank. After a bit of time, I run out of ammo. I can either let myself get killed, or type in suicide in the console.

Or… I could get on my hoverboard and find a nearby weapon locker, only the nodes are too far away to do this. Suggestion: place some ammo around and have pickup lights over them that are SUPER DARK (like black or something under Light Properties / Light / LightColor) and then place 4 corner lights around each ammo thing to catch the human eye better. Don’t change the location of nodes, they’re fine as they are.

HDR. Need HDR. I know you already put in HDR, but a little more would be nicer. We need our visual orgasms. J

-Neil

P.S. Actually there’s one aspect of the bot paths that you might be able to fix. In some of the nodes (not the power cores) the bots get stuck trying to go up the stairs. They make an easy kill, but until you kill them, the enemy team is always down by 1, 2, or even 3 AI ! (I kept wondering where all the enemies were, I set the bot count to 13)
 

hal

Dictator
Staff member
Nov 24, 1998
21,409
19
38
54
------->
www.beyondunreal.com
I took a bunch of pics of this map for our front page feature. I just wanted to say how awesome it looks. I'm really happy to see more indoor nodes too as I think this is an element that can really win over the fringes of the "hate vehakalz" crowd.
 

Mr.CrackPot

New Member
Jul 23, 2005
181
0
0
indeed, I've said it before and I'll say it again: this really is a fantastic warfare map, just might be the best in the game atm.
 

Jetfire

New Member
Jul 25, 2005
354
0
0
Your map is great for online play ONLY. In instant action mode, bots are complete cheaters (not your fault) because they can easily shoot through thick foliage that the human eye can’t see through. Again, as this isn’t your fault, I can’t really hark on you about it, and I don’t think there’s anything you could do as a mapper to fix that issue.

I suspect you could place a volume in the foliage area, and on touch/untouch reduce a bot's sight radius, as is done in vctf-sandstorm.

Nice looking map, yo. Congrats :)
 

_N_

addicted to mapping
May 23, 2008
233
0
0
Canada
I suspect you could place a volume in the foliage area, and on touch/untouch reduce a bot's sight radius, as is done in vctf-sandstorm.

Nice looking map, yo. Congrats :)

Hmm... I was considering such a thing myself. The issue is where to place such a volume. I can't just place it in the jungle, because the issue is mostly that bots outside the jungle are shooting in. I can't place it outside the jungle because then bots outside will be blind to stuff that they should easily see (like the centre node or snipers in the bunkers etc :hmm:... I'm still trying out some other potential solutions though, so maybe I'll have something workable for version 1.3 down the road. ;)

Also, I wouldn't say it's for online play only. Obviously, you can't be very stealthy against bots, but there's still lotsa tricks that you can do! Remember, there are 8 other nodes besides the jungle ;)!

Did you know about the secret area near the Black Cliffs node? There's a Nightshade there that's loads of fun! Actually, I had no idea they hover over water until I made this map :lol:.

Also, hidden deep within the jungle are a pair of jump boots. You can use them to get onto the rocky areas and fire down on you enemies. Look out for snipers though... You can also use them to jump up to the secret back-entrance to the Black Cliffs node. Much much safer than going through the exposed front door!

Having trouble with snipers in the wide open beach area? Keep your eye out for a hidden invisibility powerup somewhere near the beach. Also, if you see a hoverboard flying around with (apparently) nobody on it, it's time to start shooting!

Having trouble taking the enemy hilltop bunker? Grab the spider mine powerup and drop it off in the bunker. The narrow confines make the little guys almost impossible to avoid. Better yet, deploy it outside, and use your avril laser to guide an army of spiders into the bunker to help you out! After you clear the inside, it'll stand watch outside as you build the node for your team! Good fun :D

Of course, getting to the enemy hilltop bunker will be somewhat of a challenge if you're stuck holding the spider mine trap and there's a bunch of goliaths around. Use the nearby EMP to knock out any goliaths protecting the bunker. Again, invisibility is useful here.

Anyways, there's probably dozens of other tricks that even I didn't think of. Explore and try out new things! :D
 

awaw

I didn't survive the '08 BUF crash
Jan 19, 2008
95
0
0
That blasted Leviathan has been somewhat of a pain the whole time. I'm considering getting rid of it altogether... but what else is there to reward the team that captures the center node?

How about a orb-spawner? I haven't played your map (yet!), but if I read your initial post right, orbs only spawn at the core and an orb spawner at the middle of the battle could really give an advantage.
 

Kantham

Fool.
Sep 17, 2004
18,034
2
38
I thought the grass/shadows looked a bit odd from here, the water is really nice though, are those UT2004 ECE textures?

For the gameplay, I'm not a fan of it, the AI seems to be lost at time, like they sometimes get inside the middle tank and stay there idle. Those nodes inside the structure may not help the cause. Many time they left their vehicles for on foot traveling

The node underwater may be frustrating, since you always need to go underneath.
And the Levi? I haven't tried it, but when I saw it spawn, I did the face palm.
 

neilthecellist

Renegade.
May 24, 2004
2,306
0
0
San Diego, California
www. .
I thought the grass/shadows looked a bit odd from here, the water is really nice though, are those UT2004 ECE textures?

For the gameplay, I'm not a fan of it, the AI seems to be lost at time, like they sometimes get inside the middle tank and stay there idle. Those nodes inside the structure may not help the cause. Many time they left their vehicles for on foot traveling

The node underwater may be frustrating, since you always need to go underneath.
And the Levi? I haven't tried it, but when I saw it spawn, I did the face palm.

The grass looks... fake, but that's not the mapper's fault, it's the grass static meshes that are available in UT3's stock assets (I'm sure you knew that though)

The ai DOES get lost, and it frustrates me too, maybe there should be more waypoints? That seems too easy of a solution though, is the problem bigger than what it appears to look like?
 

_N_

addicted to mapping
May 23, 2008
233
0
0
Canada
The ai DOES get lost, and it frustrates me too, maybe there should be more waypoints? That seems too easy of a solution though, is the problem bigger than what it appears to look like?
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Hmm... which areas do you mostly notice the A.I.s acting "lost"?