Simulant [MP]

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Simulant [MP]

Postby Hikarikaze » 10 December 2017, 22:46

Map name: Simulant [MP]

Map ID: hikarikaze-si

Map description: Enter a world where reality ceases to exist.

Map Page Link: http://www.plazmaburst2.com/?s=9&a=&m=hikarikaze-si

Map Demo Link: http://www.plazmaburst2.com/?s=2&map=hikarikaze-si
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A map similar to Confrontation.

Spoiler: Show More
The concept of alternate battlefields is still here, but I also combined the concept of inverting a map to give a different feel to the map. This map is a 3v3 and features teleporters. The topmost player on each team at the start of a co-op round can head directly into the teleporter immediately, which will place them elsewhere. These teleporters are open to anyone who wishes to travel through.

There are two places to fight in again: story-wise, I'll call the original place players start in the "present battlefield" and the teleported place the "future battlefield."

The present is an open map that possesses entrances to the future battlefield (the teleporters). Weapons are scattered all around. In the center lies a single heavy railgun that only one player can possess. Using this efficiently can turn the tide of battle. As players progress closer to the center, they'll find better weapons albeit in risky places, such as an open area with no cover. If the enemy team manages to procure all of the present weapons, there is still hope to turn the battle around. The future battlefield is an inverted version of the present, with differences in terrain. The bottom is purely open, leading to more deaths from falling. Lasers border the bottom to serve as a hazard; falling through said lasers instantly kills you. There are platforms (that emit these lasers) to situate oneself on, but traveling along these platforms is not recommended nor encouraged because they are not designed to serve as an extra lane. Like the present, there are powerful weapons here, especially as you approach the center, but the ones scattered far from the center are more powerful than the ones scattered far out in the present.

Like in Confrontation, there are two teleporters to exit from on the left and right sides of the future battlefield, where the left teleporter will lead to the right and so forth.

I ran plenty of tests regarding triggers, basic mobility around the map, and wall overlap/placement but if I missed something like oversights or general issues, do note them here.
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Hikarikaze
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Re: Simulant [MP]

Postby lpzimm » 11 December 2017, 03:04

I like it - I think it's aesthetically pleasing, the gun choice is appropriate, and the design is fairly creative (reminds me a little of cahir-portal), but here is my criticism (much of the criticism is what I find often in maps, not just your map):

- The small height changes in the platforms make the flow strong and satisfying when you're moving slow or trying to move in a single direction, but when it comes to nuanced combat movement, it will (probably, according to the jumps/mental simulations I did) make jumping a little bit difficult - a sudden height change can ruin a selfboost, and there are times when you are walking but you can't jump because you're falling slightly. I would suggest flattening it out a little bit.

- Inside the base/under the platforms, it's a little tight. Walk across the bottom, and you'll hit your head on a few things. You want to make movement on the bottom as quick as possible, so that one can escape easily.

-Could use more teleports between dimensions. Although that would make it more cahir-portal-y.
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Re: Simulant [MP]

Postby Hikarikaze » 11 December 2017, 04:48

lpzimm wrote:I would suggest flattening it out a little bit.

I'll try to see what I can do to keep the overall look of the map and have this suggestion fit in simultaneously.

lpzimm wrote:Inside the base/under the platforms, it's a little tight. Walk across the bottom, and you'll hit your head on a few things. You want to make movement on the bottom as quick as possible, so that one can escape easily.

I understand what you mean. Originally I didn't want that to be a lane for people to go back and forth on as I said in the OP. That area's the only one I'm very skeptical on because it's easy to glitch through and die when you land there (at least when I was testing that area). Making it more accessible is an easy fix but I don't think that area will have any significant plays happening because it's 99% a hazard more than anything. It's one of those areas where I don't know what exactly to do with it.

lpzimm wrote:Could use more teleports between dimensions. Although that would make it more cahir-portal-y.

I considered that but there's few places where I could place teleporters. The places that could work were reserved for weapons originally, but I'll see if there's good spots for at least one more pair of teleporters when I get the chance to look at the map and make any changes.
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Re: Simulant [MP]

Postby Hikarikaze » 18 December 2017, 02:07

This post is a changelog, don't mind it. I made mostly terrain changes and very minor performance changes to compensate.

- https://i.imgur.com/1X2nXYi.png / https://i.imgur.com/qyKkulW.png

The map received a visual update where the time periods are now color coded. Purple represents the current battlefield while red represents the future. It also adds a splash of color to a previously drab and boring landscape. I darkened the elevator path BGs to make them look at least somewhat attractive rather than the boring gray that barely fits in with anything.

- https://i.imgur.com/HTDQLcW.png

The entire bottom "lane" in the future battlefield has been redesigned. Originally you could fall through the lasers and that was it. There were little doors to serve as nets for the weapons to keep them from falling, but it didn't look right. The solution was to expand this area to add an additional lane comprised of another hazard called Conversion Fluid. Conversion Fluid, story-wise, is responsible for the way the landscape is in the future, reshaping the landscape to the way it is. This damages you over time; lingering in there for too long will kill you. This is a deterrent for anyone looking to camp in this lane.

There are three entrances into this pool: from the left, where the screenshot is, the middle of the arena, and the right side. There are four weapons kept hidden on the floor: two heavy railguns and two rayguns. Acquire these quickly enough to secure an advantage, especially if an enemy has procured a railgun from the present battlefield.

If your weapons manage to fall in this pool, you can jump in the fluid and grab them without instantly dying. I made the HP decreasing rate lenient to allow time for players to grab their weapons and leave without dying, but it's still quick enough to stop any campers situating themselves.

- https://i.imgur.com/XEk7Oel.png

This lane is less cramped to allow movement across. Since I originally didn't want this area to be a separate lane, I only allowed easier movement across, while getting up and down from there will be somewhat of a nuisance. There's also no cover at all across this entire lane, so tread along with caution. There are cases where you may glitch through the edges and get killed so you really have to be careful here.

- https://i.imgur.com/Ua9ScPs.png

Here are those weapons in the pool I previously mentioned. The game sometimes isn't cooperative with picking up weapons inside of a liquid, but it's very possible to acquire both weapons and still make it out alive. The ~13 second kill time from the conversion fluid makes it all the more possible to do this.

- https://i.imgur.com/bEI0Dg6.png

Some light flares are invisible now to speed up performance in the map, as compensation for the additional walls I put into the map (the extra lane). I added a couple of invisible flared lights in some areas to make them more visible and I added invisible lights across the top of the map to serve as natural sky illumination (because of stars and the Moon, etc). This effect you really won't be able to notice because the map is set at night and most areas have their fair share of shadows and darkness.
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I'm still working on implementing a few things, such as working out respawning with weapons most, if not all, of the time, once I understand 100% how that works, and changing the look of shadows so it's less rounded and extruded away from backgrounds (basically I'm making them look more realistic). There are still some things I'm looking to solve and fix as well.
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To-do List
- Make lighting and shadows look much more better and attractive - done
- Try to find a way to ensure respawning with a weapon almost all the time if not all the time - in progress
- Keep performance as smooth as possible when adding or changing up things - always in progress; right now, this isn't so much of an issue and performance is tolerable
- Try to ensure mobility is at an all time high throughout the map - done for now; still ironing things out
- Add differences in gameplay when the map is played in co-op or DM/TDM (limited teleporter uses per round in co-op, things of this nature) - in progress
- Make the map more attractive, I guess - in progress though the current state is alright
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Hikarikaze
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