I don't really think it's easy to play first time. When go to buy stuff it seem you need to know what you've already bought. Why isn't that marked in the shops? Instead you have to bring up the inventory it seems and mouse over your stuff.
It doesn't require you to know what you've already bought. You can just go and buy what you want. It'll not smack you in the face for doing that the first few minutes, but it'll bite you in the butt after some time. Which is perfectly fine, its called a learning curve. Also, looking at your inventory is natural for a lot of different games. Look at MMOs, they only show comparison Tooltips when you're lucky, most don't know that feature or only got it via patches. Generally every game that has a Inventory requires you to look at it for knowledge (Diablo for example has that too).
Also, its not really easy to play as a newbie. It needs some brain and planning. Its not like some TD. But its easy to understand. You immediately graps the concept if you watch the Tutorial or after playing for a few minutes. Currently its fighting with balance issues and the lack of the so-called Meaningful Choice, but those are being adressed by feedback & discussions.
Seems the people here really like it:p. I should give it a try sometime.
I had noticed it was kinda low on the list. A few pages. Maybe advertising it on the Bnet.forums and even Team liquid, Could help boost the popularity considerably. Especially since a lot of the comments here seem really positive.
Going to boost it via Custom Live on friday at the very least ^^
After some testing with a few mapster folks, its coming down to these things (for now):
At the moment Shields are too powerful. Either add a weapon that ignores shields or remove the ignore completly and balance it out more, so that a good mix is better than Shields + Speed.
Machine Guns are currently the weapon of choice. Choosing a different weapon usually results in death. You gotta do something with them.
Base Defenses are needed, Mainbase needs to be able to stand up to a single tank, but going down against 2 & 3.
We had a bug where vjeux spawned on Blue, even though he was on Red. He died.
As mentioned by Otixa and me, you need to work a lot on balance. Also the weapons need a lot more variaty (Minelayer, Tracking Darts, etc). The Base Defense is too weak in mid- & late-game. Also, add the Power-Node System we suggested. Besides that, very good Battletanks adaption, was fun to play. Most of the other stuff has already been said (reduce base speed, shields totally op before the drain weapon, etc.)
Gonna give it a public push on Custom Live again. Feel free to join Skype that evening, we could use a female voice to keep people busy *lol*
Blizz is probably going to take it down - sadly. But I'd suggest you take a look at Empire At War (the latest Star Wars RTS). It'll help you with finding ideas, I suppose =)
Okaaaaaaaaay. Lets do this, since I'm the new Modguy and need ??? and Profit.
First of all, for any TPS you do, use the Console Command "texuvset X Y" for your map. It will change the texture uv tiling values for the current terrain. Thus, it won't look as bad as it does right now =)
Next thing that is wrong, is your scale. It might mostly be the camera being to close, but to me it looks like you didn't scale the assets properly to fit your unit. Dropship is too small, the train is like a childs toy. Scale does a LOT for your immersion & feel.
Also, you should use a few more omnis, especially on burning stuff. Fire makes a lot of light in the darkness. A Lava-Lake is like a christmas tree for your map ;)
Overall the Assetplacement still seems a little too random to me. Also I'd suggest trying to think about how you lead your player. You know stuff, but player doesn't. Always keep that in mind.
Last tip: Always think about your view. When you look into the distance, you should see a city (I guess). Maybe place a Battlecruiser slowly moving overhead, firing at stuff on the ground. This can do a lot for your atmosphere.
If you got more questions, just come and ask. Its my new job here to help people with Game & Level Design
Also you shouldn't miss out on Custom Live next Saturday (18th), we're going over Level Design stuff =)
Otixa and I might have maybe a few hours this evening if our packing wents well. We'll see. There aren't a lot of maps though, but we can still play ^^
The Tyrant has one major problem: Its anatomy is flawed. If you look at the size of its body and at those tiny legs ... they'd break the first time he tried to walk. Even Zerg are bound to the laws of nature ;) Look at the Ultralisk and the size of its legs compared to that of your Tyrant, you get what I mean =) Besides that, its pretty cool. Though the Diffuse seems a little bit low detail Oo
Really like it, though your Terrain has a few lackings and the Balance is still off.
Terrain:
You're having a Space Station I assume, so you should place a few bulkheads that open/close. No space-meant ship/station would make the failure to have nothing to lock down different areas should they be exposed to vacuum. Also, try to add some Windows on the outer area. If you've areas where the marines can walk around in their suits on the stations outside, maybe make aliens float away to death there. But also limit the marines air, so they can't camp those spots. Just try to clean your terrain up a lot more, currently its looking decent, but you can make it better. Also don't randomly place Omnis. Have a Lightsource for your light. Nothing is just red or blue magically.
Balance & Gameplay:
The Thing is too weak against Auto-Turret spam. You have nearly no change to take down a survivor if he is holed up. Especially in the upper left corner. Just limit the number of turrets per survivor. Or make the Thing evolve like in Parasite.
Currently players don't really need to play together. They can simply bunker down alone and wait it out. This is bad. Try to bring your gameplay more to teamplay. Have maybe objectives, like random power-shortages 'n stuff where you need people to actually do something else besides trying to hide out. Or have them search for food on the station. Hand them a flashlight and make some areas really dark. Get them to feel the fear of an alien running loose. Currently when I see the Thing I go all like "*lol* Look its a Thing. Here, eat my grenade. Here, Auto-Turret to your face. And another grenade. Burrow? Ha! Sat-Scan! DIE! *Thing explodes - game is over*"
Maybe reduce the number of infected and make them stronger. Also make them spawn more logically. Sometimes they just pop up. Have some kind of entrance where they come out or at least let them spawn in a gush of blood from a bodybag.
We were modelling a highpoly crate and designing level design basics.
Themes include
Modelling the highpoly
Reverse-engineering a lowpoly
UVW mapping
Basic texturing
Diffuse
Specular
Baking normals
Preparing the textures for SC2
Importing the finished asset
Episode 2: Evil Toplings & Protoss Shrine
(23:21:16) (Xaragoth) Is he british or not?
(23:24:54) (TotalBiscuit) haha nice
(23:25:09) (Xaragoth) Can I call it british? :P
(23:25:33) (TotalBiscuit) by all means
TOTALBISCUIT APPROVED BRITISH TOPLING :D
Themes include
Highpoly modelling
Visual Tricks
Lowpoly Reverse-engineering
Meaningful Choice
Modelling a tophat
Baking normals and basic diffuse map
Attaching the tophat
Designing hero roles
Episode 3: Machettes and Farting Swamp Sharks
Themes include
Modelling a convincing high poly machette
Lowpoly Reverse-engineering
Creating a worn metal texture with blood splats
Designing a swamp environment
Editing terrain
Placing foliage in a convincing way
Editing lighting
Setting a skybox
Episode 4: Terrain Shaders, Project Vector and Tiles
Themes include
Modelling concrete *
Creating a terrain-shader object *
Discussion of Project Vector
Modelling a floor/ceiling tile
<sub>* livestream lost the first 40min of the show</sub>
Every Saturday Otixa and I shall present you with interesting Workshops, Tutorials and Discussions centered around Maps, Mods and Tools! We will grab folks from the community, prepare stuff you're interested in and go through all the important steps you need to complete in order to create a good Map. The topics will range from the very basics to advanced things like Nextgen Models, Game Design rules and creating awesome Terrain.
0
It doesn't require you to know what you've already bought. You can just go and buy what you want. It'll not smack you in the face for doing that the first few minutes, but it'll bite you in the butt after some time. Which is perfectly fine, its called a learning curve. Also, looking at your inventory is natural for a lot of different games. Look at MMOs, they only show comparison Tooltips when you're lucky, most don't know that feature or only got it via patches. Generally every game that has a Inventory requires you to look at it for knowledge (Diablo for example has that too).
Also, its not really easy to play as a newbie. It needs some brain and planning. Its not like some TD. But its easy to understand. You immediately graps the concept if you watch the Tutorial or after playing for a few minutes. Currently its fighting with balance issues and the lack of the so-called Meaningful Choice, but those are being adressed by feedback & discussions.
Going to boost it via Custom Live on friday at the very least ^^
0
After some testing with a few mapster folks, its coming down to these things (for now):
At the moment Shields are too powerful. Either add a weapon that ignores shields or remove the ignore completly and balance it out more, so that a good mix is better than Shields + Speed.
Machine Guns are currently the weapon of choice. Choosing a different weapon usually results in death. You gotta do something with them.
Base Defenses are needed, Mainbase needs to be able to stand up to a single tank, but going down against 2 & 3.
We had a bug where vjeux spawned on Blue, even though he was on Red. He died.
0
As mentioned by Otixa and me, you need to work a lot on balance. Also the weapons need a lot more variaty (Minelayer, Tracking Darts, etc). The Base Defense is too weak in mid- & late-game. Also, add the Power-Node System we suggested. Besides that, very good Battletanks adaption, was fun to play. Most of the other stuff has already been said (reduce base speed, shields totally op before the drain weapon, etc.)
Gonna give it a public push on Custom Live again. Feel free to join Skype that evening, we could use a female voice to keep people busy *lol*
0
Blizz is probably going to take it down - sadly. But I'd suggest you take a look at Empire At War (the latest Star Wars RTS). It'll help you with finding ideas, I suppose =)
Also, I vote for Eternal to get a Yoda Avatar.
0
Okaaaaaaaaay. Lets do this, since I'm the new Modguy and need ??? and Profit.
First of all, for any TPS you do, use the Console Command "texuvset X Y" for your map. It will change the texture uv tiling values for the current terrain. Thus, it won't look as bad as it does right now =)
Next thing that is wrong, is your scale. It might mostly be the camera being to close, but to me it looks like you didn't scale the assets properly to fit your unit. Dropship is too small, the train is like a childs toy. Scale does a LOT for your immersion & feel.
Also, you should use a few more omnis, especially on burning stuff. Fire makes a lot of light in the darkness. A Lava-Lake is like a christmas tree for your map ;)
Overall the Assetplacement still seems a little too random to me. Also I'd suggest trying to think about how you lead your player. You know stuff, but player doesn't. Always keep that in mind.
Last tip: Always think about your view. When you look into the distance, you should see a city (I guess). Maybe place a Battlecruiser slowly moving overhead, firing at stuff on the ground. This can do a lot for your atmosphere.
If you got more questions, just come and ask. Its my new job here to help people with Game & Level Design
Also you shouldn't miss out on Custom Live next Saturday (18th), we're going over Level Design stuff =)
0
And stabby things.
0
Otixa and I might have maybe a few hours this evening if our packing wents well. We'll see. There aren't a lot of maps though, but we can still play ^^
0
Thats it. Bloodelf Rap reached SC2. Time to bail out.
0
Not really a Review. But anyways. If you wanna play with him, just tell him :p Or be there for Custom Live.
0
School? No. University? Yes. I had days where I was at the Uni from like 9am to 8pm.
0
The Tyrant has one major problem: Its anatomy is flawed. If you look at the size of its body and at those tiny legs ... they'd break the first time he tried to walk. Even Zerg are bound to the laws of nature ;) Look at the Ultralisk and the size of its legs compared to that of your Tyrant, you get what I mean =) Besides that, its pretty cool. Though the Diffuse seems a little bit low detail Oo
0
Really like it, though your Terrain has a few lackings and the Balance is still off.
Terrain: You're having a Space Station I assume, so you should place a few bulkheads that open/close. No space-meant ship/station would make the failure to have nothing to lock down different areas should they be exposed to vacuum. Also, try to add some Windows on the outer area. If you've areas where the marines can walk around in their suits on the stations outside, maybe make aliens float away to death there. But also limit the marines air, so they can't camp those spots. Just try to clean your terrain up a lot more, currently its looking decent, but you can make it better. Also don't randomly place Omnis. Have a Lightsource for your light. Nothing is just red or blue magically.
Balance & Gameplay: The Thing is too weak against Auto-Turret spam. You have nearly no change to take down a survivor if he is holed up. Especially in the upper left corner. Just limit the number of turrets per survivor. Or make the Thing evolve like in Parasite.
Currently players don't really need to play together. They can simply bunker down alone and wait it out. This is bad. Try to bring your gameplay more to teamplay. Have maybe objectives, like random power-shortages 'n stuff where you need people to actually do something else besides trying to hide out. Or have them search for food on the station. Hand them a flashlight and make some areas really dark. Get them to feel the fear of an alien running loose. Currently when I see the Thing I go all like "*lol* Look its a Thing. Here, eat my grenade. Here, Auto-Turret to your face. And another grenade. Burrow? Ha! Sat-Scan! DIE! *Thing explodes - game is over*"
Maybe reduce the number of infected and make them stronger. Also make them spawn more logically. Sometimes they just pop up. Have some kind of entrance where they come out or at least let them spawn in a gush of blood from a bodybag.
0
What you need to do the workshops
3D Studio Max with the Import/Export Plugin (or equivalent)
Photoshop with the DDS Plugin (or equivalent)
XNormal (or equivalent)
Episode 1: Modeling Basics
We were modelling a highpoly crate and designing level design basics.
Themes include
Episode 2: Evil Toplings & Protoss Shrine
(23:21:16) (Xaragoth) Is he british or not?
(23:24:54) (TotalBiscuit) haha nice
(23:25:09) (Xaragoth) Can I call it british? :P
(23:25:33) (TotalBiscuit) by all means
TOTALBISCUIT APPROVED BRITISH TOPLING :D
Themes include
Episode 3: Machettes and Farting Swamp Sharks
Themes include
Episode 4: Terrain Shaders, Project Vector and Tiles
Themes include
Modelling concrete *Creating a terrain-shader object *<sub>* livestream lost the first 40min of the show</sub>
Episode 5: Hextiles and Cutscenes
Themes include
0
You can go to the stream by clicking above.
Welcome to the ModCraft Thread!
Every Saturday Otixa and I shall present you with interesting Workshops, Tutorials and Discussions centered around Maps, Mods and Tools! We will grab folks from the community, prepare stuff you're interested in and go through all the important steps you need to complete in order to create a good Map. The topics will range from the very basics to advanced things like Nextgen Models, Game Design rules and creating awesome Terrain.
Next Show:
22nd December
Themes will include:
Christmas Special with surprise content!
Also check out these links
CGtextures
0
Works kinda fine with the loading until 50% now, its slowing down a lot after that.
It needs a lot of work. It just is nothing but a bunch of enemys, ugly terrain and overall not very interesting skills - sadly :\