My little map/mod

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#21

:hmph:

You’ve clearly never mapped.

Do you know how easy it is to put NPCs in? You click and adjust a few setting, then place a few nodes. Redesigning and detailing a level, on the other hand, take a lot of time. If you just make a simple outline and test the gameplay from there, you can save many hours of work if something doesn’t work.

#22

It’s name is “Desolation”, so there won’t really be much NPCs - some breaching combines, some people on the street at one time, nothing much really. I don’t really want to put too much action in - you have like two magazines of pistol ammo, and the map is rather about getting out, not fighting your way out.

Stuntz - This mod will take place in old, easter europe post-soviet location, i even consider locating it somewhere near the HL2 beginning, and believe me, these buildings are really blocky. But yeah, i’ll probably add some new elements here and there.

#23

So it’ll be kind of a puzzle mod rather than an action mod? Like Research & Development?

#24

Looks action packed.

#25

IMO to make an interesting mod you need at least one of the following:

  • Exciting gameplay (different enemies, maybe in an unusual setting, some new way to deal with enemies, scripted events or just a perfect combination of standard hl2 combat.)
  • Gorgeous eyecandy levels (whatever setting you’re using, choose the most interesting locations that match said setting)
  • Awesome, engaging story (will need a lot of thought put into it not to mention work)

As for the suggestions to improve on geometry, don’t add stuff unless it makes sense. And it probably won’t unless you move to a more industrial location (abandoned warehouses, factories (which can be extremely diverse)).

Then again I don’t know jack shit about developing so make of this what you will.

#26

Well for startes the mapping is ok, it could include holes in the ground and those fake floors that you walk on and you fal, and unless the player is in an HEV suit I would redesign the hands

#27

It’s going be a rather quiet and peaceful mod (the shooting at the end of video is players failure to find a way to escape in time[note the flares, they are here for a reason], it also reminds that although you will get some bullets, it’s only enough to fix a minor screwup, and shooting your way through is not the way you should[or can] play this mod), based on exploration of environment and figuring a way out (Though i don’t want to make any hard puzzles, it’s not about it. I’m also thinking about adding something like passwords here and there, though i don’t know how to implement it in Source yet.). The thing i concentrate on is story - what happened inside after the Combine took over, stories of unknown people that were trying to hide there, and worked here while it happened. For example:

At 0:10 i look through sliding door - you may not see it well, but there are many touches i’ve created to add story there. There’s a broken open from its inside vent, a dead zombie and headcrab, few bullet holes on the metal sheet covering the entrance to elevator shaft, a crowbar in the socket, and not working sliding door. Get it?

And there’s going to be more bits like this one. Most of them will happen in the past, but there are going to be some events in the present.

EDIT:
Dead Phil - i don’t exactly know how to change and edit a viewmodel, as i’m by no means animator, so it’ll have to stay this way unless someone will comes with something clever.

#28

So Gordon Freeman or some person came to that place and fought the zombie and either escaped or died? am I close?

#29

Not exactly.
The story behind my example:

  1. Headcrab jumps out of vent, possesses worker.
  2. Someone notices this, shoots the zombie dead.
  3. The same someone is afraid that more headcrabs could come this way, and he has no knowledge about how to shut down the sliding door, so he strikes the socket that seems to have a line connecting with sliding door with a crowbar. Luckily for him, it worked and the sliding door is now off. He leaves it there because crowbar is now connected to electricity.
    Long time later:
  4. Player can acquire a crowbar, and its location is clear, highlighted by sparks.
#30

Half the time a story is just an interesting set of circumstances that the player interprets the way they see fit. They won’t necessarily see it the way the map maker sees it, but the objects still make the map feel real and lived in.

EDIT: Just noticed this: Disable shadows on the doors. Source’s dynamic shadows look terrible, and its best to just leave them out.

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