On A Rail Uncut - Re-Adding Cut Areas/Scenes (Expansion Project)

General Development Source 1
#1441

That is fucking absurd.

But I wonder if it’s supposed to be that way. I mean, if the guards weren’t programmed to be more durable than the soldiers, then the fellow that tags along with us in QE would die during the first encounter.

Either way, I think that the marines will already be losing a fair deal of battles to the aliens. Tacking on a loss against a few guards wouldn’t really strengthen their image.

Don’t get me wrong; I’d be for a HECU vs. Security fight, but the HECU have to win. That might be doable with maybe 5 vs. 2 odds. I don’t know.

#1442

would rather see the after math of a 4v4 in which the player enters to see the last guard get mowed down or blown to bits.

#1443

I thought back of the idea of a secret cache in one of the containers, and that someone proposed to have an alien inside. I’d propose to have instead stack corpses of BMRF personnels (scientist, guard or that excellent retextured office employee Mr. Someguy proposed). That echoes Blue Shift, were scientists were detained in cargo flatbeds. Also, finding some weapons and a bloody pile of corpses can be quite the horrifying set. ^^

Another idea is to have a bit of a scripted moment, where as you approach some containers you hear in one of them BMRF personnels guarded by a few soldiers. They start complaining about the HECU’s actions against them, only to be slaughtered by the soldiers firing back. That would also echo all those lined dead scientists TextFAMGUY has placed in the A maps.

#1444

I would prefer you open up a container and find zombies and bodies inside, or body parts and a bullsquid. That’d be a sad way to go, locked in a container by soldiers, then killed by an alien teleporting in.

#1445

That’s… really morbid. I like it! I second this.

#1446

How’s work going on Map B2?

#1447

Yeah Text, how is that B2 map going?
Getting dusty in here…

#1448

Said on another forum, that was 4 days ago though. Hopefully things are still on track.

#1449

Some times, time can’t pass fast enough…

#1450

He’s mostly likely put OaR:U to one side and is out enjoying the exceptionally good weather we’re currently experiencing here in the UK. And, I wouldn’t blame him for doing just that either. He deserves a break.

#1451

Progress report eh? Okay, detailed-ish one incoming.

I was pretty well on track for a release tomorrow until this morning, when I got asked to help with some family matters, which has kept me occupied all day until this very moment. It’s a shame - if I’d spent all day mapping today I’d definitely have made tomorrow’s release.

Been suffering further creative block on the 3D skybox’s exact layout and the blank segment next to the warehouse. From previous screenshots where the containers and cranes used to be has now been moved into the skybox and there is (for now) instead a blank area, which I’m hoping to fill with something interesting but not visually obstructing. Input would be welcomed though nothing too drastic please. I’ll figure out something eventually, I always do - but for now it’s really had me stumped for quite a while.

So, I’ve been doing what I normally do when I suffer blocks like that on a nearly-locked in map, I just instead worked on whatever I felt like. I’ve been fleshing out the cave tunnels (which look GREAT btw, REALLY pleased with them, even though they’re only a very small part and very simple). So far I would say about 1/2 the map is fully detailed, with 5/6 of it being layout-complete. No scripting or enemy encounters have been even started yet - but that really isn’t the hard part. I can put those together in a few hours.

It’s going well overall, I’ve been putting really good detail into previously dull areas. The train yard’s looking pretty fleshed out and I’m getting close to “lock in” point, which is the point at which I say the layout is “final” and no longer going to be altered except for detail/scripting. In addition I did a fair bit of work on the ending segment of B1 to prepare it for the linkage to B2 - they now link together properly! The ending section of B1 at the top of the lift is pretty different to what you guys might be used to - it could be a bit of a shock! When the B2 Alpha is released, it’ll ship with an updated version of B1. B1 itself has seen NO CHANGES aside from the ending segment being altered, so don’t get too excited! The PROPERLY updated version will come with the beta, which will ship I don’t know when but hopefully in the sorta near future.

I actually landed a job which will last me 3 - 4 weeks, starting next week, so progress (which has already admittedly been quite slow) will slow down even further. Don’t fear though - during this time I’ll still be mapping during the evenings after work, but I won’t be able to dedicate full days to it anymore. I still firmly believe that the beta/RC/final stages will be a shitton quicker than the alpha stages, because of the great feedback I’ve received from the community - and importantly - because no major redesigns are needed. Unlike with ST Uncut, and probably because of my greater experience and INITIAL interface with the community on this project - my areas are generally much better designed. So far with OaR Uncut I haven’t shipped an area where people have flat out said “this bit needs to be redesigned,” unlike ST Uncut where the TOW Courtyard, Helipad, Furnace Room, Gasworks etc etc saw plenty of design complaints.

This is because with OaR Uncut, in addition to me being more experienced and communicative with the community on initial designs than before, I’ve also planned ahead a lot, and tried my best to be very self critical. It’s also partly because of the design principles I have with OaR Uncut, which are quite different to ST Uncut. ST Uncut was more straight remaking with major aesthetic overhauls, while OaR Uncut features major, major design, layout, and aesthetic overhauls. Because I’ve been redesigning most of OaR’s layouts, it’s forced me to put more thought into designing areas and this has hopefully made me a better mapper. It hasn’t been easy though! I didn’t think that mapping for OaR Uncut could get much tougher than it did for B1, but boy has B2 proven me extremely wrong.

As ODB so aptly said though, I’m working well outside of my comfort zone, and that’s where all the magic can happen. I’m really hoping to make B2 into that one map in OaR Uncut which everybody looks forward to.

I only got back from Greece yesterday! No wonder it’s been quiet in here.

The weather here has been splendid, but it’s been even more splendid in Greece. I’ve had my break. Now is the time for work!

#1452

For the empty area, I’d suggest a pallet stack, but that might not work because you’d have to lay a couple dozen pallets individually since there’s no ‘bulk’ models for it, which I’m sure would wreak havoc on the entity limit and performance. Maybe the base for a tower crane, if you’re considering that at all. Or you could do pallets with things on them, not interesting but at least more realistic than crate stacks. Or maybe dumpsters full of trash?

(I’d reply with more but I’ve got a throbbing headache right now…)

#1453

When in doubt, add a pile of crates.

#1454

Actually, after loads of pointless deliberation and many scrapped/bad ideas, I went back to the shipping crates! This time though, I laid them out very differently and just generally went for a different inspiration. I also extended the exterior part of the warehouse out a bit as well as changing the loading dock positions, and all these features combined make it look real good! I fenced it in as well, which looks mighty impressive.

Work on B2 has gone very well, though as usual and unsurprisingly - slower than I expected. The map is now “locked in,” meaning it’s layout complete. It’s also already linked properly to B1 and to C. All aspects of the map’s interior aspect are now properly lain out. All that’s left to do, layout wise, is the skybox, which is my next task. Once the skybox is complete, I can seal the map, and start the lighting pass. Once the lighting pass is complete - scripting and encounters (pretty easy, this map features no complex scripts or events). After that - testing and release. I won’t give an estimated release date as I’ve shot myself in the foot way too many times with that - but it’ll be quite soon.

#1455

Keep your time. :slight_smile: Time is of the essence!

#1456

I have a question. I know the B2 map is visually very different to anything in that original chapter, but what does it relate to, specifically? I’m not so sure what this area is being expanded from. I might have to look at the early pages here, I guess. But if anyone has a quicker answer, or better yet a HL1 screenshot of the area, I’d like to know.

#1457

In terms of strict rail layout, it’s a remake of F and G, combined together. Look at Jessiestorm’s post on page 10 of this thread to get an idea of how those 2 maps looked. The actual tram path is the same layout wise, though the settings it travels through and its overall size are vastly different.

#1458

Now this cleared out things for me too. I can’t wait to see the final version, but… actually I’ll have to :smiley:

#1459

I think we’re all waiting eagerly for it, I’m hoping that I’ll wake up in a few hours and see the release post.

#1460

It’s getting there guys, I promise - patience. It’s been hell, been having a lot of trouble creatively, but the end is in sight.

Actually hit a pretty significant milestone today in that I finally sealed the map and have compiled it with VIS and lighting for the very first time. It looked pretty damn snazzy. The map is actually now layout complete - all major parts of the map have been laid out and are “finalized”. The only area of the map which hasn’t been almost fully detailed is the warehouse, but that won’t be too difficult.

The only major bit of work, layout wise left to do is the skybox, which is untouched thus far. That can come later though, for now I’m working on getting the actual playable area itself finished.

For now, I’m going to move onto the scripting and the lighting, both of which are fun and not too time consuming to work on.

Because I have a job now which I’ll be working for 3 weeks - a month, don’t necessarily expect the drastic progress previously promised. I’ll still be working on this and still expect to be able to release within this week, but eh. Real life interferes a lot as I’m sure you understand - I hadn’t planned for getting a job but in my current situation I sure as fuck wasn’t going to turn one down! The hard slog, for me, in terms of Oar Uncut - is nearly over. Editing my previous work in the forms of A1, A2 and B1 will be A LOT quicker than making them - trust me. Don’t expect edits to OaR Uncut maps to take anything like as long as they did for ST Uncut or ST Uncut v2. OaR Uncut’s maps are much better planned ahead and just all around better on their first iterations than ST Uncut’s maps ever were. This is for a whole number of reasons. The community were involved with OaR Uncut right from the get go, which helped a lot, I’ve improved immeasurably as a mapper from when I started ST Uncut, etc etc. This WILL make life a tonne easier in implementing the feedback I’ve been given thus far - part of the reason ST Uncut was so time consuming is all the vast numbers of redesigns I had to make AFTER releasing, which definitely won’t happen here.

B2 is so much more ambitious, both in terms of layout and aesthetic, than I’d previously imagined. I think you guys are really going to like it, I think it’ll be a really fitting end to OaR Uncut. The reality remains to be seen, but I feel like I’ve created something pretty special personally. We’ll see!

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