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Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 24 Apr 2012, 18:23
by Magus
~[FGS]SaSQuATcH~ wrote:I think one of the greatest ideas for a spawn room that I've seen was the one where there is a spaceship in the sky - the spawn room - and in order to fight you have to jump out of it into a pool. It's far enough from the battlefield that you can't be harmed and you can't harm others but you can still have a dynamic game absent of spawn campers. (I forgot the name of the map, it was some sort of RPG)
If I'm not mistaken it was a LuigiNuke piece? That might help. I do recall the work in question, though - and even that isn't without issue.
I would like to add that I think
vision is vital from a spawn point - if you can have a rough idea of what you're about to throw yourself into then you can prepare appropriate weapon choices without risking an early death.
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 24 Apr 2012, 20:12
by anax
lol that's LuigiNuke's map which is on the rpg/Tac servers, Holiday Resort or some name like that. pretty amusing map
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 24 Jun 2012, 18:23
by [FGS]Kalman
*Bump*
What about skyboxes? Shadowrunner said original DX ones aren't the best, because they are too simple
Will you add more thigns to this checklist?

Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 25 Jun 2012, 00:26
by chin.democ.
I don't want to turn this into a how to guide, I want to keep it as a checklist, besides I don't consider myself as a proper mapper.
Updated info.
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 25 Jun 2012, 01:40
by [FGS]Chees
you joking right Chin!
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 25 Jun 2012, 14:24
by ShadowRunner
[FGS]Kalman wrote:*Bump*
What about skyboxes? Shadowrunner said original DX ones aren't the best, because they are too simple
Will you add more thigns to this checklist?

It depends on your map, if the map edges are literally only sky, there's little point to making a skybox if you can just add one in.
What we noticed in the challenge was sometimes where walls were fake backdrop too, there wasn't much in the way of scenery in the skybox.
If your map is set in a city, but you use Vandenberg, then it would look very weird wouldn't it, not a light anywhere in the distance, only dark mountains.
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 25 Jun 2012, 18:24
by [FGS]Kalman
Just downloaded Source SDK, i'm studying the skyboxes made by Valve
It's a bit different way to make skybox, because they use multiple skyboxes, one for the decorations, and one for the clouds, ground etc.
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 25 Jun 2012, 18:31
by ShadowRunner
Post-challenge, here are some thoughts to add to a checklist before hosting...
1. Have you struck the balance between perfecting content and releasing content from time to time?
2. Did I really play every inch of the final build or did I just play half of the final build?
I did this mistake on Bioweapon too, because I had got rid of two errors for the last 20 builds, that re-appeared in the final build.
3. I think it's good to run a second installation of DX or DXMP, with a default folder, then you know if your final build packages contains all dependencies, there's no possible confusion or bug.
4. Whichever SDK you use, the other one has advantages too. Install both/every SDK for Deus Ex and use both if you want.
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 27 Jun 2012, 15:47
by PhillipJ
Hi,
As an old mapper I wanted to contribute a lot to this but there is one very important feature this guide is missing. You mentioned that doors should generally be sliding doors, as doors that swing open tend to be buggy in multiplayer. This is actually not true; doors that swing open are fine. However, what's probably happening is that the DXMover's MoverEncroachType was left at ME_StopWhenEncroach.
By default (for some terrible, terrible reason), all DXMovers are set to StopWhenEncroach. This means if the mover is sliding open (or sliding closed) and it collides with a player, the mover will abruptly stop, and remain half-way open until you click it again. In multiplayer, this implementation is bugged, and, from all clients' perspective, any doors set to StopWhenEncroach will appear to open all the way, but on the server's side, they are actually stopped half-way, because they collided with the player opening it. So, on the client's screen, the door is open, but he can't walk through, because the door is 'stopped' on the server. To fix this, set all "normal" doors (normal swing doors, vents, cabinet doors..) to ME_IgnoreWhenEncroach. (That's Mover -> MoverEncroachType -> ME_IgnoreWhenEncroach)
Actually, any of the other available encroach types are perfectly fine for MP. ReturnWhenEncroach makes the door bounce back to it's previous position if it collides with a player, and this works fine in MP, and SHOULD probably be set for pneumatic sliding doors. CrushWhenEncroach also works fine, assuming you want the door to instantly kill players who are blocking it. Should probably not be used much, but it still works fine in MP, and could be used on large blast doors.
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 27 Jun 2012, 20:43
by [DXA]avatar
i disagree with the crush thing as there a very slight possibility that 2 players come to the door at the same time and that would kill one of them ...
even though it is quite rare, it is still possible so i disagree...
+ the mover thing has never happened to me? when i play the map in single player it stops, but in multi players it keeps on moving o.O? or maybe i don't have the default setting idk? or maybe Nobody's anna mod or MTL or something else fixes this bug .
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 27 Jun 2012, 21:20
by [FGS]Chees
not a massive issue tbh as this is a guide of basic things to check when mapping

you could have just said make door setting to Ignore on Encroach! instead of a massive Message! Nice observation though PSullivan it's a handy tip for the new mappers

Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 27 Jun 2012, 21:32
by [FGS]Chees
I would set lift movers to kill on Encroach as ...a lift on the head would hurt some what and ye kill me! but doors on the lifts in reality would stop on Encroach but players would become annoyed by this so setting anything a player will pass through to Ignore On Encroach is probably the best option.
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 28 Jun 2012, 00:51
by Magus
[FGS]Chees wrote:you could have just said make door setting to Ignore on Encroach! instead of a massive Message!
While true, there is no harm explaining the reasoning behind some of the design decisions in mapping.
An interesting thing I'd like to add though is that ME_CrushWhenEncroach isn't completely infallible - the lifts on my old map DXMS_Blockade had this set and would occasionally bug out when they had crushed someone causing players to be stuck within them...
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 28 Jun 2012, 00:54
by Poor
[FGS]Chees wrote:I would set lift movers to kill on Encroach as ...a lift on the head would hurt some what and ye kill me! but doors on the lifts in reality would stop on Encroach but players would become annoyed by this so setting anything a player will pass through to Ignore On Encroach is probably the best option.
Lift doors usually return on encroach.
Re: Mapping Checklist - Work In Progress
Posted: 28 Jun 2012, 02:25
by PhillipJ
@Poor: agree
@Chees: Yea I could've shortened it but I wanted to make sure that people don't think that simply swinging doors are buggy in MP. *Any* door set to StopWhenEncroach will be buggy in MP, provided that the door physically collides with a player while moving.