JB-Divergence (formerly JB- ...noname)

[Hazel.H]

The updated buglist is completely different from the first.
does that mean the origional bugs are all fixed or are the problems
in both lists still there?

I'd better stop mapping. I obviously suck at it and won't get any
comment since there are much better maps out here
(this one for instance).

Those are just bugs that were found since the beta was released.
Don't stop mapping! You're doing good for a first map, and it takes practice. There are much better maps than this one out there but it doesn't put me off.

 

[Vatcilli zeitchef]

Wish I had the faith and the skills to go on,
But n00b maps just are not being tested and thus
never fixed or finished.
R.I.P JB-Monody

Anyway back to your map.
It looks real good and I haven't seen any real bugs
that are not mentioned yet,
There is one fighter in the skybox that is not black
What did you do different on that one?
Botpathing is well done as well as lighting.
Weapon placement is good though it is
quite difficult for released prisoners to get to their
Base for a decent weapon.
Anyway it looks real good, Add a loadingscreen
and it will be ready to roll.

 

[Hazel.H]

What do you think of the arena, escape route and jail door timings? are they ok? Did anyone have problems with the bots using the translocator point near the lock?
I was also wondering if you think the map would play better if the jails were swapped around.

There is one fighter in the skybox that is not black
What did you do different on that one?

The circling ship is a mover and the others are mesh emitters, but I can't get the mesh emitters to go unlit or change the way they're facing.

> Indoors look awesome, however I think the outdoor areas still need more eyecandy (especially around the switch)

Just add to the eye candy in some places and I can't really think of much else.

More eye candy it is then

 

[tarquin]

The circling ship is a mover and the others are mesh emitters, but I can't get the mesh emitters to go unlit or change the way they're facing.

I can't get them to change the way they face either.
Might be an idea to ask further afield -- mapping forum on BU, or even (gasp!) the Atari forums.
It could be that the mesh emitter was designed with stuff like snowflakes in mind, where the initial orientation doesn't matter. Which would be a pity

 

[Vatcilli zeitchef]

What's with the Atari forums?
Never been there, what's so bad about it?

 

[G.Lecter]

Here's what I think about the switch layout:
If you stand near the edge you've got a better vantage point but it's higher risk because someone can easily shoot you off the edge with the shock rifle or rocket launcher. The player moving towards the lock may also have an advantage because they have more space to move around, while you're stuck on a little bridge. If you move closer to the ramps you're nearer to the pickups but less likely to see attackers. If you're above the archway you can probably watch both of the upper entrances but not the lower one at the same time. Two players could defend the lower corridor and upper room with the lightning gun but you've still got the same number of routes to cover (and needs some teamwork).

Yeah, you're right, but what I mean is that staying beside the swtch, defenders have a certain chance to fight attackers (even if they are in disadvantage). I think everyone will stay beside the switch when only 1 player of the opposite team is remaining, and that player has not any chance to take a path where it couldn't be seen so easily...
Bleh, there are 'for' and 'against' plots for everything, so leave it as it's now if you think it's OK...

What textures do you suggest?

Here they are:

 

[Hazel.H]

Thanks I like the star pattern on the floor, trims, jail floor and I'll definitely get rid of those arrows Yeah the lock area is something to think about, confusing. Not sure about the hourpitores and desolation textures. The hourpitores texture is similar to the one already used on the walls, and the desolation textures look very washed out and low quality to me. I like the existing floor texture because of the angles, but I can modify some of those textures or make new ones

 

[G.Lecter]

...Not sure about the hourpitores and desolation textures. The hourpitores texture is similar to the one already used on the walls, and the desolation textures look very washed out and low quality to me. I like the existing floor texture because of the angles, but I can modify some of those textures or make new ones

The wall texture is what I dislike the most lol...
It's not the drawings/shape of the textures what I don't like. They are the materials/stones what is not fitting with the theme of the map. The tiles of the 'angled' texture remind an old factory, not the futuristic greenhose that Divergence is... Same for the other industrial textures; if you think you can tweak their 'materials', don't wait a minute! ...but that wall texture looks so... uhm...

gl

 

[Hans Oberlander]

Hazel, can we get an updated beta, I'd like to test. thxs.

 

[Hazel.H]

I've still got some more stuff to do and I'm away for the weeked so it'll probably be monday or tuesday before I can upload the next beta

Edit:
Here's a preview of the loading screen

 

[Vatcilli zeitchef]

Looking good but do we really HAVE to put those horizontal lines in it as mappers?

 

[Hans Oberlander]

Looking good but do we really HAVE to put those horizontal lines in it as mappers?

yeah, makes it look cool..

 

[Hazel.H]

JB-Divergence Beta 2

I uploaded beta version 2. The only bug I know of is the small bsp error in the pattern above the red jail door. Someone on the atari forums said the spikes don't kill you when you stand next to the window, but I haven't had that problem yet. How are the frame rates for you? Is there anywhere else I can put antiportals?

jb-divergence-beta2.zip (10.5MB)

 

[Vatcilli zeitchef]

It is true the spikes don't always kill you, but you can't really escape them as player.
Fps is good here.

 

[The_Head]

Framerates are fine. Havent seen it go below 100fps on my comp on maz settings in 1280x1024. Keep it coming with the eye candy!
Don't forget to be using Anti Aliasing when taking the screenshots.

 

[Hazel.H]

Framerates are fine. Havent seen it go below 100fps on my comp on maz settings in 1280x1024. Keep it coming with the eye candy!
Don't forget to be using Anti Aliasing when taking the screenshots.

What have you got? Mine runs between 30 and 60 fps at 1024x768 most of the time.

 

[The_Head]

AMD64 3000+
1GB RAM
X800XL
-Gonna be upgrading the cpu soon, really getting tempted by the 7800GT's though.....

 

[G.Lecter]

Good work!
- My framerates stay about 20-30, which is a very good number for my system specs. They sometimes drop to 15 (when there are too many bots together, when I get into the release switch emitters...), but it's fine overall.
- I think the star patterns look a bit odd beside the hexagon texture, check how does it look substracting a bit of the floor and adding trim...
- The area around the switches still looks a bit too brush-shaped...
- The spikes in the jail sometimes don't work, especially the first time they appear each execution. It's not something too important though.
- Maybe arena matches shouldn't be so often, with so many players...

 

[Hazel.H]

Thanks, the final version is almost ready. I fixed the bugs, changed the arena match times and tweaked a few other things

Edit: waiting for confirmation from nalicity

 

[Hazel.H]

JB-Divergence Final Version

Here's the final version!
jb-divergence.zip (11 MB)

I uploaded it on Friday and I'm waiting for the map to appear on NaliCity, but I'll let you know once it's there. You can find more screenshots and stuff here: http://www.hazelwhorley.com/maps.html