DM-HIR4X (Beta 2)

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

RE: DM-HIR4X (Beta 2)

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Cough cough http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i5-lynnfield,2379-7.html
bleh

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

ouchhhh......right in the bo***x......biatch! ;)

AMD RU..RU....rulzzzzzzzz ...on prices! ( what a fraqd consolation!)

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

ROFL! I thought you'd like that link. wink

I should probably add that by fps issues it was going down to about 40fps while the rest of the map was over 100. I was wondering if this would cause issues for lower spec PC's. (like those powered by AMD chips doh

) - sorry couldn't help myself. aww

But yeah, if it works fine on the other testers PC's then it's probably no concern. Anything over 30-40 should be OK

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

ROFL! i ll play it with fraps on tommor....hm...in a moment...

anyway it s nice from you to point that kind of stuff ;)

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

No probs M8! Happy to help! biggrin

Good to see that we can have a playful 'dig' at each other without getting insulted as well!

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

lol i wait the results to insult ya ...hahahaha

u cant imagine how i dont care bout amd or intell....and i m quite sure it s same for ya.....lol ;)

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

odd ....i have all setting maxed but no AA and i havent any drop down under 60...

i was only watching the rotatig barrel and the water effect from 3 different views/places:

1 st test;36 seconds:
2nd test:16 seconds:
3rd test:12 seconds:

frame:2239 1009 747
time:36129 16296 12050
min:60 60 61
max:63 63 63
Avg:61.972 61.917 61.992

can u tell me if u have special settings on AA or if u think i havent watch in the right direction, thx in advance mate ;)

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

15 bots ;all settings max ; fps limit:150

frames:20380
time:221693
min:49
max:151
avg:91.929

i had a very short fps drop down but under hard turrets fire and i cant really find a place where it hurt fps around thoses big rotating moovers (walking or with vehicles); when u have some minutes Mick ;can u take a shot plz of the exact zone ?
...thx ;)

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

yup, will do!

Bane the Zergling · crocodile dundee

Hmmm Intel nicesssss................hey Bl!tz hows the work on the map going.

I can't try till tomorrow then I be back for more beta testing.

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

i m finishing the meshing & texturing on spaceship..huge map.....long job... haha

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Here's the spot;

I'm running with all settings on max(probably no AA) at 1920x1080. Framerate counter in tha top corner sez 47.

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

thx mate ; i ll try to remove some stuff around that area to improove the fps :)

have adjusted 6 of thoses big thing (thoses long things i uses to build the rotating barel) ;6 of them was centred on another prepivot point(lol dunno how that hav happen) and the result was a micro superposition of thoses moovers
fix now and i ve remove one "special effect" mesh....dunno how to name thoses long tubes haha
here it dont change a lot the result (gain 3 fps on mini value) .....but i have a powerf....oops...

...have.... a... hav ...hmm.....had a short night

:p

....

-- Edited by Bl!tz on Wednesday 4th of November 2009 01:28:32 PM

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

....thx mick ;)

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

little video to show the new sky adds

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Nice use of layering the hubble pics!

Bane the Zergling · crocodile dundee

Very nice great work I didn't notice any fps drops but some vehicles you are using are all but useless in space.

:Manta
:Viper

You just fall into the blackness of space.

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

thx mate ; for the viper and the manta i have add them for their fast mooves and their hit n run abbilities but it s discutable point (though with their "jump" function i m abble to travel between levels without problems, it just take some minutes practice)

here are some picts from the "respawn/teleporters" plat form ; bsp finish on it and meshing seriously advanced but.....if i m 100 % satisfed of the contrasts and the lighting on the static meshes and on the bsp( i mean i have the expected result haha)....
.... i cant succed to get "cutted" shadows for the static meshes on the floor/bsp; i did a lot of settings tryed(dynamic &static lights with cast dynamic shadows and hidden shadows and shadows on light points "on and off"and on staticmeshes themselves) but with no success is there a special setting somewhere ?

-- Edited by Bl!tz on Tuesday 10th of November 2009 08:47:22 AM

Diesalot · Drinker of too much beer

I find that static meshes dont give the shadows i want either mate. I thought maybe hide some bsp inside the mesh as it gives better shadow quality. Ive not tryed this yet though.

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

what is funny is that i have superb shadows when i work on the map and each time i build they just disapear.....this UT3ed makes me crazy it s really not logical tool !

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

To get good shadows you'll probably have to set the lightmap on the BSP surface to 1 or 2....however...if you do this to too much BSP then you'll probably have the lighting compilier crashing or will have a massive amount of lightmaps for the level. PC's could probably handle the lightmaps without too much trouble but the PS3 will probably struggle.

If you're using more than one directional light make one the main light and make it twice as bright as any other directional light, so it casts shadows without the other lights weakening them too much.

Below is an area that you have shown above but this is using a surface lightmap set to 2 as seen ingame. (in beta 2 you've set it to 32)

-- Edited by Lord_PorkSword on Tuesday 10th of November 2009 09:42:59 AM

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

lol nice mate.....thats what i see before "build" process and is what i espect to obtain :p

thx for help but i cant understand this sentence :
"Below is an area that you have shown above but this is using a surface lightmap set to 2 as seen ingame. (in beta 2 you've set it to 32)"

if i set it to 32 ...was pure hazard because i dunno what seeting u re talking about haha ;)

stevelois · ...

Blitz, BSP set to 32 is normal, it's the default setting when you create a geometry ;)

For medium results, you can set the surface to 16 instead of 32, the biggest impact (increase file size versus shadows quality) is going lower than 4.

I did several tests with Nano, playing with lightmaps of 32, 16, 8, 4, 2 & 1. In all case the file size increase slightly & the build time get longer & longer to do. Still if you use only a small amount of surfaces like I do in Aly, there is no problem of using lightmaps of 4-2 & 1 since the file size will be just a bit bigger (like 1-2 MB) & it won't take to much time to build (like 2 mins more).

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

thx bro ;)

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

thx mates ...got it :)

-- Edited by Bl!tz on Wednesday 11th of November 2009 10:52:46 PM

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Good ta see you got it working!

Damn you're a good shot with the sniper rifle!

Remind me to never play with you...you'll kick my arse! bleh

Diesalot · Drinker of too much beer

Nice movie mate. I noticed the floor material getting kinda repetetive though. Maybe add another to break it up some.
Looking good though mate. biggrin

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

thx m8s ;)

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

ok i think i m totally done with the teleporter arena ; i will probably remove the teleporters to do a "pure" DM level and a CFT too ...expect a RC tommorrow because all the family have betatest a lot here and i m happy with the result....u ll tell me :p

after that i ll polish the ruin part and publish another DM level & a V-DM of it.....lol.....and after that the spaceship....+ 1DM map.....and the satellite ....and a V-DM......and than the final explosion the huge VDM and the huge VCTF....and if it still some power inside ....a V-DOM ....muhahaha.....what a stupid idea i had again ...lol^^

DM-Dolmen
CTF-Dolmen
DM-CarceralDebris
VDM-CarceralDebris
VDM-Satellite
DM-Hirax
VDM-Hirax
VDM-TheBlast
VCTF-TheBlast
VDOM-TheBlast.............

.............OMFG!.......

.......

-- Edited by Bl!tz on Sunday 15th of November 2009 02:03:41 AM

-- Edited by Bl!tz on Sunday 15th of November 2009 02:04:12 AM

stevelois · ...

Bro......................

Your absolutely CRAZY !!!!!!!!!

With so many projects, beta tests & such, when do you sleep, work & all the rest mate !!!

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

A flying monkey never sleeps! confuse

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

right ;).... i will pay that with another neverending day...muhahahazzzzzzzzzzzZzZzZz :p

Bane the Zergling · crocodile dundee

Hey Bl!tz mate whats happening with this one?

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

it s on the grill....i m going to finish "Flux" and than CTF-Dolmen

Dm-Hirax will be a part/map of the upcoming "pack"
i firstly though the "hirax" will be the big map but finally it ll be the "spaceship" level only and the big one will be named "DM-TheBlast" as it s the biggest and as it ll contain all the "sublevels"

this thread still named "hirax" because it was the original project name....will update the name & thread soon ;)

thx for interrest Zerglings;)

1)DM & CTF-Dolmens
2)DM-CarceralDebris
3)DM-Satellite
4)DM-Hirax
5)DM & CTF-TheBlast

i have to use this order ;it s the easiest one for build ;)

Bane the Zergling · crocodile dundee

Sounds great mate will follow on this.

Good luck with the list ya going to need it. smile

KaiShun · Unreal Old Friend

so mate my first thinkings of HIRAX is wow damn big area ! many details in! just a lil thought , how ya came back to different areas if ya beamed ya anywhere ! played with 6 bots and just could kill 1 at the beginning ! hope i could help a bit ! like it much with the low grav things and the long distance viewing ! good map for snipers (like me ) hehe

was running around like 15 min maybe i should try more or need to know a trick

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

lol yeah botpathing not done bro

to see some action:

-25 to 32 bots

-in the respawn area each color of teleporter lead to a specific "world":
*blue:spaceship
*red:ruin
*green:satellite
i have choose this way because the map is "especially" build for online fun; when u die u can choose where u want to go to ;join the guy who just killed ya or go on other part to grab a vehicle a weapon or anything else and choose where from u re gonna send yer next attack

- i have add other parts to "link" the three "worlds": floating ruins ans so; u can now walk n jump from each places to other

thx for the test ;)

KaiShun · Unreal Old Friend

will try it today night again with more bots then to have a try with more action ;) and give ya feed back! got it with the different colours before would be just funny to get back again to another area!

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

i will have a totally revamped version of the DM soon:

-new respawn base (in the center of the map; and nomore using "dolmen arena" but a techy style one

-add stuctures (debris and broken towers ) between all the arenas to allow walking mooves and not only vehicles

-all lifts working

i have to set the jumppads and change some textures and i ll need feedback on performances :)

quaal · Unreal Old Friend

Where can I download the most recent version Bl!tz? The last edit on the first post says:

-- Edited by Bl!tz on Monday 9th of November 2009 03:52:05 AM

I'd like to give it a go :D

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

yes i havent post a new beta since ages and it have change a lot i m gonna upload a new one tommorow ...thx for interrest mate :)

quaal · Unreal Old Friend

Alright sounds good :)

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

BETA4

botpathing is totally unfinished so if u want action on the map add at least 20 bots...:p

teleporter colors/destination:

red:jail ruin
blue:spaceship
green:satellite

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

I've only had a real quik go but will have another good go hopefully tomorrow!
Feels like a totally new map compared to the earlier versions!
I really like the new layout M8!

Will give more feedback sometime in the next few days!

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

:) thx mick...still lot of work on botpathing :p

Lord_PorkSword · Connoisseur of Bourbon!

Gave the map a good run last night. biggrin

As I said I prefer the new layout as everything is closer together and not as spread out as the previous versions.
I like the shattered ruins look you've gone for in this version! It makes more sence and matches nicely with the broken moon and asteriod field in the backdrop.

Can't remember if I commented on this b4 but I really like your layering of meshes for the bright star underneath everything!

eg.. this one:

Comments/thoughts:
Biggest issue with the map is that it's very big and even with 32 players you have to run around to find the action. At most I only ever saw about 3 bots in the same area fighting amongst themselves. I reckon once you polish up the bot pathing (especially the vehicle pathing) this will help alleviate the issue as it'll allow bots to navigate the zero-G in vehicles between the areas.

With the area with the broken glass I reckon you should open up the interior a bit more so there's more of a chance to shoot opponents who are traversing that area!

...I've said this with a few maps recently.... this map would suit the warfare gamemode very nicely I reckon. Making it a warfare map would concentrate the action in various areas throughout the map and both sides capture their way towards the enemy base. With so many different places across the level it'd make a quite interesting game as tactics would constantly change as the battle moves between the different areas.
Even the giant space cannon could have a base node and a power node on it so sodes have to capture say the front of the cannon then march towards the back to take out the enemy once and for all!
If you don't want to do a Warfare conversion I'd be happy to rig one up for ya to test out and see if you like it! confuse

In the pic below I've placed some (badily drawn) red dots on where I'd put the power nodes n bases for a warfare version.

Apart from that I liked all the small hidden areas you've placed around the map to reward players who go like to go adventuring! With all the different areas it constantly keeps the game interesting which is nice!

Love that ship docking station as well! biggrin

I look forward to seeing a version with updated bot pathing!

-- Edited by Lord_PorkSword on Thursday 4th of February 2010 08:51:38 AM

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

multithx mick,very usefull :p

i agree all on comments and i must admitt that i am stuck on botpathing.....lol....lot of nodes but thoses bots just ignore them...i missed some setting somewhere to force them to use vehicles.....+.+

for the warfare version i agree too; i was first planning to publish a VCTF version but yeah warfare seem more addapted and "easy" to build here

i have 0 experience in warfare and i m not a huge fan; though it can be an interressant experience, if u are interrested to do it i m sure u can have better results than me ...haha(not because the powerfull pc this time :p)Tell me in what way u d prefer to have your touch on it, i m ready to share the "copyrights"(ROFL...)50/50% with you if u help me to port it to the final versions:DM & Warfare....i insist on a DM version because i like to have 1v1 on that kind of map; it s a new experience to navigate large areas while hunting ur opponent imo...though it cant be the unique gametype on it because it ll never fully use the map and warfare is required too on a more "alive" way to play it
if u prefer not engage urself on it and just send ideas and feedback ...np ...i m open to all

last point i had like to hear from you is fps performance.....dunno wtf with my rig but the game slowly goes more hard for my rig....more i install maps & more is huge my UT3folders...more limited is the fps performance....each time i reinstall the games i have the fps blocked up to 150 fps but when my ut3 folders hit the 25gb the perfs decrease horribly....weird game haha....here on hirax i m up to 150 fps on a "new install" and around 70 with all the custom stuff installed...any idea? and how was ur fps?

thx again for help ;)

quaal · Unreal Old Friend

Hey Bl!tz I tested this two times and I came away with the same feeling both times.

I really want to be able to jump from one area to another. I can see people fighting over in space somewhere but I can't get there immediately. I think it might be a little more interesting if you move everything a little closer together so you can see better and also maybe added some jump pads to jump from one place to the next (of course you're vulnerable in the air but that adds some stress to using the easy way around ;) haha)

It's a nice looking map though. I found the lights to be a little strong (it felt like there weren't really any shadows anywhere - in space the contrast would be very very high (unless there were two stars nearby) but the contrast in your map is a little low. Try having the extreme contrast and then offset it with lots of point lights from meshes or glowing things or spotlights or something. Could be really interesting. Like the dark side of the level :D

I don't remember my fps (but they weren't that low).

A WAR version would be really sweet too if you could get the bots to use the vehicles. Do you have all the volumepathnodes set up? Also, to make paths "LESS" desirable you can add #'s to the "ExtraCost" variable in each path node. The numbers are in Unreal Units. So...

If you had a path that is 1024UU long and you put "512" in the ExtraCost, the bots will THINK the path is actually 1536UU long (and bots usually take the shortest path).

Nice map though it's fun. And a duel would be so epic O_O Sounds... stressful :)

Bl!tz · ...ǝp¡s ɹǝɥʇo ǝɥʇ uo

thx mate for testing and i agree on lot of points

for the contrasts i did a lot of testings on them and it s actually the best balance i can obtain...the problem is that i use white materials on some places and dark on others....make the balance on both with a skylight is pure hell haha

for the botpathing i understand 25 % of what u are speaking about ....need to learn more again :p

as i said this map target is very unconventionnal and i dont try to have a classical gameplay on it but to make it a "vehicle" experience (UT3 dont gametypes dont make justice to vehicles and i had really like some "mothership" map) that s why i have use quite all the grid; adding a lot of jumppads can help to cross the map....i m slow ...each jumppads need half an hour settings in low grav...to post the beta faster i have remove several of them and replaced em by portals to make the map less hilarious on jumppads flops :p