In the last weeks, ive made alot of adjustments and bug fixes. As an example, the Power Meter is an actual meter now and not just a picture. However, i have also worked on two new features, which will improve the map gravely:
Items and Pickups
Missile-Cluster:
Just as crucial as the ammunition chests is this pickupable weapon. When picked up, your secondary weapon will be replaced by a Missle-Cluster, which fires a swarm of missles into the direction you are facing. Each of these Missiles will do 100 damage. However, the weapon has limited range and only a few missiles will actually hit. However, this also makes the Missile-Cluster great to attack groups of enemies.
After all 3 ammo rounds are used, the Missle-Cluster goes away and you get your secondary weapon back.
There are two Missle-Cluster pickups on the map, which will respawn every 60 seconds.
The ammunition of the Missle-Cluster is indicated by a little symbol next to the "mine layed" symbol on the bottom right side of the screen. Each red line represents one ammo round:
The Missile-Cluster plays an important role in taking superior positions in the game. Often, you will face enemies which have aquired an much better position than you, making it very hard to defeat them. However, the Missile-Cluster can shoot up walls and clear enemies even in the best positions.
Example:
He has a great position and is hard to shoot:
However, the Missile-Cluster takes care of that problem:
Help Mode
Through the course of testing Heavy Iron, i have noticed that alot of players have a hard time getting into the game with all its controls, features and so on. This is why invented the "Help Mode". The Help Mode pretty much is an interactive Tutorial mode that guides the player through the Map. I can be activated/deactivated by pressing ALT and is normally activated when the game starts.
The Help Mode tells you exactly in which situations what to do, like when you aim something, a text will appear that tells you how to shoot. Or when you run out of ammo, a picture and a short description of an ammunition chest will appear.
Additionally to that, it constantely tells you all the controls you currently need.
This is how the Help Mode looks like, however, it does change depending on the situation:
This feature makes Heavy Iron much easier to access and all in all makes the map feel more like an actual game.
Yup. I always implement a very similar system for anything I want to make. I love contextual help, rather than the standard "here's 5 paragraphs of instructions. ready? go."
Looks like a great game :D
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Feel free to Send me a PM if you have any questions/concerns!
On the latest EU map night, me an Action had a 1v1 in Heavy Iron. So if you want to see some real gameplay of Heavy Iron, check the map night recordings! Heavy Iron is most likely the last map played.
The trailer posted on the front page of SC2 mapster today is seriously very impressive. You should be proud that you could make SC2 look so cool.
A thought for you is that a lot of errors appear in the trailer and in some of your gameplay screenshots. There is a trigger to hide the error pane to make things look cleaner for your presented vids/images.
good? laggy wasd and not smooth movement in the slightest. I did test this once and maybe you have improved it. I tried to give feedback but you just ignored me...
People are so uncreative, thinking it was a train. I saw badass hover tank when it popped out. I was like that's a great idea! It looks really good. But how bad will this kill my graphics card? It's nice to see a project actually updating. Usually I see a cool project and don't see it update until I forget about it.
good? laggy wasd and not smooth movement in the slightest. I did test this once and maybe you have improved it. I tried to give feedback but you just ignored me...
probly still is what it was...
As i said before, the game does not have lag. Its just requires a good PC and a good internet connection for it to run smoothly. I have played this map countless times in 1v1 and even 2v2 without getting the slightest lag. However, i have yet to play a 4v4 that doesnt lag. The reason for that is because as soon as one players pc or internet connection in the game cant handle the requirements of this map, it lags like shit.
But one, just one thing is seriously wrong....your interface looks like shit.
The Health/Ammunation - Bar looks so cheap and crap. Use more images and dialogs like I used in Sexy Game Quiz. Its easy and it looks way more professional so I hope you'll do something about it.
But one, just one thing is seriously wrong....your interface looks like shit.
The Health/Ammunation - Bar looks so cheap and crap. Use more images and dialogs like I used in Sexy Game Quiz. Its easy and it looks way more professional so I hope you'll do something about it.
Indeed. I might change the interface around again when i finished everything else.
Wow. This gameplay trailer blew me away. I especially liked the camera work in the cinematic. How did you get the camera to move so smoothly between turns and pans? There was absolutely no jerking. Did you use splines or some special tool? This is by far the best camera work I have seen in any custom map trailer.
Some suggestions for improvement:
1) Fix those ugly red errors. If you're not yet sure how to fix them, at least do what SkrowFunk said and hide the error pane while recording your trailer.
2) As others said, improve the interface. However, focus on functionality over prettiness. Try to keep it simple and functional. Remember that the entire point of an interface is to give the player control.
3) Find a better word to use than "Destroyed". Destroyed could mean that you were just destroyed or you just destroyed your enemy; it's kind of ambiguous. Also make it smaller. It's pretty annoying to see that big text blocking your view so often. Also consider whether or not this text is even necessary. There are many other nicer ways to let the player know that he just killed someone: i.e. play a sound, display a special effect, etc.
Wow. This gameplay trailer blew me away. I especially liked the camera work in the cinematic. How did you get the camera to move so smoothly between turns and pans? There was absolutely no jerking. Did you use splines or some special tool? This is by far the best camera work I have seen in any custom map trailer.
Some suggestions for improvement:
1) Fix those ugly red errors. If you're not yet sure how to fix them, at least do what SkrowFunk said and hide the error pane while recording your trailer.
2) As others said, improve the interface. However, focus on functionality over prettiness. Try to keep it simple and functional. Remember that the entire point of an interface is to give the player control.
3) Find a better word to use than "Destroyed". Destroyed could mean that you were just destroyed or you just destroyed your enemy; it's kind of ambiguous. Also make it smaller. It's pretty annoying to see that big text blocking your view so often. Also consider whether or not this text is even necessary. There are many other nicer ways to let the player know that he just killed someone: i.e. play a sound, display a special effect, etc.
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, these errors are ugly and they will be hidden in the final release. The thing is, when i made the trailer, i wasnt aware that you could hide them. And for the "Destroyed" text: Theres actually alot of sound indication in the game, and a sound also plays when you kill someone. However, the Destroyed text together with the sound have a real kick to it whenever you kill someone that can only be noticed when you actually play it. They make killing alot more satisfying. Also, the text is just small enough that its not annoying, you actually dont even notice it in intense situations.
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And here it is! The final Gameplay Trailer and the full presentation are online!
Final Gameplay Trailer:
@Crainy: Go
Sooo... you play as a train?
No. A tank like vehicle that happens to have the same model. Its called "Heavy Iron" for a reason.
@Crainy: Go
Alright. Anyway, the trailer looks great :)
@Crainy: Go
Ohh. Lol I totally thought it was a train. I was like- what the heck?
:D Looks good.
In the last weeks, ive made alot of adjustments and bug fixes. As an example, the Power Meter is an actual meter now and not just a picture. However, i have also worked on two new features, which will improve the map gravely:
Items and Pickups
Missile-Cluster:
Just as crucial as the ammunition chests is this pickupable weapon. When picked up, your secondary weapon will be replaced by a Missle-Cluster, which fires a swarm of missles into the direction you are facing. Each of these Missiles will do 100 damage. However, the weapon has limited range and only a few missiles will actually hit. However, this also makes the Missile-Cluster great to attack groups of enemies.
After all 3 ammo rounds are used, the Missle-Cluster goes away and you get your secondary weapon back. There are two Missle-Cluster pickups on the map, which will respawn every 60 seconds.
The ammunition of the Missle-Cluster is indicated by a little symbol next to the "mine layed" symbol on the bottom right side of the screen. Each red line represents one ammo round:
The Missile-Cluster plays an important role in taking superior positions in the game. Often, you will face enemies which have aquired an much better position than you, making it very hard to defeat them. However, the Missile-Cluster can shoot up walls and clear enemies even in the best positions.
Example:
He has a great position and is hard to shoot:
However, the Missile-Cluster takes care of that problem:
Help Mode
Through the course of testing Heavy Iron, i have noticed that alot of players have a hard time getting into the game with all its controls, features and so on. This is why invented the "Help Mode". The Help Mode pretty much is an interactive Tutorial mode that guides the player through the Map. I can be activated/deactivated by pressing ALT and is normally activated when the game starts.
The Help Mode tells you exactly in which situations what to do, like when you aim something, a text will appear that tells you how to shoot. Or when you run out of ammo, a picture and a short description of an ammunition chest will appear.
Additionally to that, it constantely tells you all the controls you currently need.
This is how the Help Mode looks like, however, it does change depending on the situation:
This feature makes Heavy Iron much easier to access and all in all makes the map feel more like an actual game.
Some more feedback would be nice.
Yup. I always implement a very similar system for anything I want to make. I love contextual help, rather than the standard "here's 5 paragraphs of instructions. ready? go."
Looks like a great game :D
On the latest EU map night, me an Action had a 1v1 in Heavy Iron. So if you want to see some real gameplay of Heavy Iron, check the map night recordings! Heavy Iron is most likely the last map played.
The trailer posted on the front page of SC2 mapster today is seriously very impressive. You should be proud that you could make SC2 look so cool.
A thought for you is that a lot of errors appear in the trailer and in some of your gameplay screenshots. There is a trigger to hide the error pane to make things look cleaner for your presented vids/images.
good? laggy wasd and not smooth movement in the slightest. I did test this once and maybe you have improved it. I tried to give feedback but you just ignored me...
probly still is what it was...
People are so uncreative, thinking it was a train. I saw badass hover tank when it popped out. I was like that's a great idea! It looks really good. But how bad will this kill my graphics card? It's nice to see a project actually updating. Usually I see a cool project and don't see it update until I forget about it.
As i said before, the game does not have lag. Its just requires a good PC and a good internet connection for it to run smoothly. I have played this map countless times in 1v1 and even 2v2 without getting the slightest lag. However, i have yet to play a 4v4 that doesnt lag. The reason for that is because as soon as one players pc or internet connection in the game cant handle the requirements of this map, it lags like shit.
This. Looks. Goddamn. Awesome.
This looks really awesome!
But one, just one thing is seriously wrong....your interface looks like shit.
The Health/Ammunation - Bar looks so cheap and crap. Use more images and dialogs like I used in Sexy Game Quiz. Its easy and it looks way more professional so I hope you'll do something about it.
Indeed. I might change the interface around again when i finished everything else.
Looks good. I second h34dl4g's opinion. The interface can be improved a lot.
Really alot of trigger errors in the gameplay trailer. Also sidewards movement looks jerky. Otherwise pretty awesome cinematics.
Contribute to the wiki (Wiki button at top of page) Considered easy altering of the unit textures?
https://www.sc2mapster.com/forums/resources/tutorials/179654-data-actor-events-message-texture-select-by-id
https://media.forgecdn.net/attachments/187/40/Screenshot2011-04-17_09_16_21.jpg
Wow. This gameplay trailer blew me away. I especially liked the camera work in the cinematic. How did you get the camera to move so smoothly between turns and pans? There was absolutely no jerking. Did you use splines or some special tool? This is by far the best camera work I have seen in any custom map trailer.
Some suggestions for improvement:
1) Fix those ugly red errors. If you're not yet sure how to fix them, at least do what SkrowFunk said and hide the error pane while recording your trailer.
2) As others said, improve the interface. However, focus on functionality over prettiness. Try to keep it simple and functional. Remember that the entire point of an interface is to give the player control.
3) Find a better word to use than "Destroyed". Destroyed could mean that you were just destroyed or you just destroyed your enemy; it's kind of ambiguous. Also make it smaller. It's pretty annoying to see that big text blocking your view so often. Also consider whether or not this text is even necessary. There are many other nicer ways to let the player know that he just killed someone: i.e. play a sound, display a special effect, etc.
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, these errors are ugly and they will be hidden in the final release. The thing is, when i made the trailer, i wasnt aware that you could hide them. And for the "Destroyed" text: Theres actually alot of sound indication in the game, and a sound also plays when you kill someone. However, the Destroyed text together with the sound have a real kick to it whenever you kill someone that can only be noticed when you actually play it. They make killing alot more satisfying. Also, the text is just small enough that its not annoying, you actually dont even notice it in intense situations.