Potential mapping project

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Whiplash
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Potential mapping project

Post by Whiplash »

Hi guys;

Sorry for my long absence from here, no excuses this time I just haven't been doing much DX. :oops:

Anyways, I just revisited some old fan-made missions from back in the day and I thought it might be cool to try and make one all new.

If the concept works and I actually do it, I will need some help. First I'll explain what I need, then my rough storyline for the mod.

Firstly, some advice:
I'd like to set some of the missions in daylight, or at least have the option to do so, so if any mappers out there can give me pointers on how to do this, that would be great, last time I tried to make a daylight map was DXMP_Ballymahon, and the feedback I got was like "meh, this looks like a zxc map" which I assume was intended as an insult. I gave up mapping immediately thereafter.

Secondly, some actor creation
Basically, part of the story will take place in the year 1970 in the USA so I need two actors created for the specific storyline:
1) Since the 1960s will have ended less than 7 months previously, I will need a "hippy" character. I will attach a pic to show what I have in mind.
2) Since the prevailing currency is dollars instead of credits, I'll need some credit chits reshaped as dollar bills, I will have currency and trade in the game and dollars will simply take the place of credits e.g. in conversation, with no new functionality.

If anyone has the ability to make/alter such actors, I would much appreciate any help so that I could make this a little more convincing.

Now the story

The story starts in 2052 just after the Area 51 incident. In my version, there was a 4th option -> the leader of the NSF Technical Services Division, Leonard Goldstone (a new character but I'll use the Lebedev model with a new name), knew all along about Majestic 12, the Aquinas protocol, Area 51 the lot. He sent JC an infolink message saying his division of the NSF had surreptitiously built a ring of fiber-optic cable around a ten mile radius surrounding Area 51. He's also hacked the global telecommunications system so that it will use their Aquinas bypass if Area 51 gets blown up or something. But he explains that he needs time to start it up, so he asks you firstly to kill Bob Page so as to prevent his evolution but don't let the Illuminati take over Area 51, then hack the control panels for the anti-matter reactors so that they will blow the whole place sky-high in 5 hours (or some similar timeframe). JC concludes that this will keep him alive, keep global civilisation going while also not empowering any of the factions, and thus give humanity a chance to recover. But the escape leaves him battered and he barely escapes alive, falling unconcious.

The game will start with an infolink message from Leonard G. giving JC a recent history lesson, explaining that he got a nasty bump on the head and might need a full recap of those events. (Of course the real reason will be that this will be the start of the game and the best way to explain the setting to a new player.) While the result seems to be a good one, something is not quite right. During the briefing, your NSF tech chief realises something is not right somewhere, and that Jock (the pilot)/Morgan Everett (of the Illuminati) needs to contact JC urgently. He signs off allowing allowing Morgan (or Jock, I haven't decided which yet) to explain that there's a much bigger problem.

Morgan Everett has determined, (and possibly sent Jock with a message to this effect) that Howard Strong (remember the nutcase in the Silo?) well his even nuttier brother Wilson commands a whole pile of Majestic 12 troops and equipment, and also a secret MJ12 experiment in time travel. Detecting the deaths of Bob Page and Walton Simons and also the loss of Mj12 control of Internet 3, Wilson Strong concludes that MJ12 has been decapitated and that it's up to the lower levels of the organisation to put things right. He decides he's going to take every MJ12 asset under his control, fire up the time travel machine, and go back to July 1970 to take control of the railroad transportation system in the Northeastern United States. They focus on one system in particular, the leviathan but now bankrupt Penn Central Transportation Company. How on Earth will this help MJ12? Only Wilson Strong could answer that, but like I said, he's a little unhinged in the head, to say the least.

Needless to say a massive MJ12 platoon led by a lunatic could do serious damage let loose in human history and everyone agrees you have to follow them, to Hell if necessary. Jock speeds towards your position in Area 51 with Morgan Everett and possibly other characters, then Jock takes everyone to the site of Mj12s experimental machine, they set it up to target an Illuminati safe house near a key Penn Central yard, close to the time Wilson and his Mj12 team have just gone towards, and you, a team, Jock and his borrowed SH-187 helicopter go into history just after the Mj12 team but just before their changes in history reflect on 2052.

You/JC, Morgan Everett, Jock, Alex Jacobson, Leonard Goldstone, Jocks' helicopter and enough technology to fulfill all occuring needs, suddenly appear in July 1970 at an illuminati safe place. Your obejctives for the mission are two fold:
1) Eliminate every trace of MJ12 in this timeframe.
2) Find ways to limit the damage to the timeline.

You will take the confidence of surviving Penn Central employees by pretending to be a member of the Penn Central Police or a mercenary specialist hired by the bankruptcy trustees, depending on the circumstances, at least in the beginning. The missions will take you to at least 3 places on the Penn Central system, and possibly to head office in downtonwn Philadelphia.
There will be some interesting characters, new conversations some explaining the history of the timeframe, new maps obviously etc. But I would not try to be photo-accurate in representing real world locations, the physical maps will be almost entirely fictitious.
Set Yo Ass On FIRE :mofu:
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[FGS]Chees
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Re: Potential mapping project

Post by [FGS]Chees »

This might be helpful for daylight. Not sure never tried to make a daylight map yet.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/qvwyq ... htDemo.rar

Chinny has done some some daylight maps maybe ask him for some pointers or download the maps he has done to see how he has done it.

Edit: just noticed the words daylight missions :bwahaha: hum a couple of was it can be done but will let more experienced mappers, coders to speak up first.
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ShadowRunner
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Re: Potential mapping project

Post by ShadowRunner »

If it's single player you could use Mainman's dawn to day lighting... it gradually gets lighter throughout the course of the level. Won't work well in MP, but is fine for SP I guess.
Whiplash
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Re: Potential mapping project

Post by Whiplash »

Hi Shadow,

stupid question maybe, but where is this mod?
Set Yo Ass On FIRE :mofu:
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ShadowRunner
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Re: Potential mapping project

Post by ShadowRunner »

It seems to be on another PC at gf's house, but I remember there was no additional file to it afaik, so I assumed it was somehow a tweak of lighting properties. I'm sharing my computer here most of the time with gf too, so I have been a bit absent.

It went from total pitch black to bright white light over about 30 minutes. The map has a lot of zones and a lot of lights, largest zone was around 512 iirc. I can ask gf to find the file when she next goes home.

I really like the Jock, Alex, Everett combination with new characters for a mod. Awesomes. The Libyan/French mod with Alex in the field was awesome, as was Hotel Carone and Jock fighting and Everett is awesome, the original SP Everett level was tiny.
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