OSM-Gauntlet (in progress)

[SuperApe]

OSM-Gauntlet

Version:
Final Version

Download:
OSM-Gauntlet (http://www.unrealplayground.com/maps.php?mapid=11591) (July 28)

Requirements:
Requires the latest version of the OSMT toolset (OSMT_v1.0). Available on the Development thread.

Description:
You are chased by baddies to an entrance to a tomb. The baddies stop chasing and let you "escape" into the tomb. Once inside, you decide between three routes: one that is puzzle heavy, one trap heavy and one monster heavy. All three routes combine the elements of Puzzle, Trap and Monster, but do so with different emphasis. Perhaps three Objectves per route get progressively harder, but lead to the same "exit", which really just puts the player in direct conflict with the original baddies, who have been waiting for you. This final conflict will have more than one way to complete (brute force, puzzle solving or skill/luck in evasion) and actually escape the threat.

Here is a simple rough sketch of what I'd like to see in general in terms of layout. All I know now is the main story (the A story), where you are chased by a group of bad guys that leave to "to your doom" in this level, only to re-engage you at the final conflict. There are no specifics defined for the three routes as yet, but I'm not worried about that. I'll be able to find the layout for those areas when I come up with the various Puzzle, Trap and Monster areas. Important: None of the Objectives will be simply a Trap or simply a bunch of Monsters. I will always combine two, maybe all three of these elements together to make it more interesting, dangerous, etc.

I've started with the entrance, with a crude layout design, and the first gate objective that traps you inside the tomb. There is a short matinee for that objective and new playerstarts are activated just inside the gate, where the player can decide which path to take. Details like texturing, static meshes, finer BSP work will come much later.

[Lord_Simeon]

Nice :)
Is this going to be like the game Gaunlet? With spawns all over the place?
Anyway, good to see some shots, and the layout looks very cool:)

[SuperApe]

Is this going to be like the game Gaunlet? With spawns all over the place?Oh, I hadn't thought about that reference, but no, it's not supposed to be like
http://www.basementarcade.com/arcade/guant/gauntletmarquee.jpg
Although I liked that game. :)

The layout will come together when I start putting the individual objectives in place. I'll just build them one by one when I get an hour or two here and there. I've already got a few ideas. The stuff that's most solid in my head ATM is the beginning and the end. I'm fleshing out more of the beginning space now, which will feature in the intro scene I have in mind. More "in progress" shots as things come together.

[Lord_Simeon]

Cool:)
This is very fun too, i'm loving it :0
Allways wanted to make a SP adventure and thanks to your tools, we all can :)

[SuperApe]

Cool:)
This is very fun too, i'm loving it :0
Allways wanted to make a SP adventure and thanks to your tools, we all can :)Yay! I'm having a blast too. :)

Here's a couple shots of the work I did today on the entrance area. The player will drop down into this space while being chased by baddies in the intro cutscene. (I can't wait to get to that intro cutscene.) This is not my first attempt at terrain, but it's my first waterfall and fluidsurface. I think it's turning out okay so far.

[Lord_Simeon]

Looking good mate.
Here's a few ideas for your waterfall from how i normally do them.
I allways use PCL_Lightsmoke Xemitters are they are extremely functionable (and i can't get emitters to work in the editor).

Leave the blueish water one you have as the main water feature.
Use a PCL at the top to mimic water vapour slowly floating down amognst the water.
Use a PCL at the bottom pointing up for the same effect, make it bigger radii than the first two to give that splashed vapour effect.
"Borrow" the emitter from DM-Rankin, the one with the water rings. Adjust it's radii and place it on your surface where the water hits.

Heh, i had a similar idea for a matinee sequence later in my project.
Static camera, player drops into it (close up shot) along with dust could for landing.
Anim - crouch
Anim - idle_character (stretching)
:)

[SuperApe]

Looking good mate.
Here's a few ideas for your waterfall from how i normally do them...Heh, heh. You just described my current waterfall construction almost to a tee. :)

EDIT: (have a look at it, I just linked to this version on the top post)

[Lord_Simeon]

Looks good so far, i like th waterfall :)
The giant gate closing in the matinee is cool as hell too :)

[SuperApe]

Thanks, M8. :) I just got a few good ideas for the three routes to the end. I'm gonna start construction of those parts next. I'll do beauty passes on this part and the rest after I layout those routes.

[Lord_Simeon]

Yeah, best to get layout done first.
I've messed up so many times putting deco before layout.....lol, then you don't want to modify it as it's been detailed.

I've been thinking about every other game and the type of traps / puzzles / scenes they have in there for inspiration.

[SuperApe]

I've been thinking about every other game and the type of traps / puzzles / scenes they have in there for inspiration.I was thinking back to the last time I made SP maps, it was DOOM and DOOM2. Quake and even Duke3D mapping were mostly for team games. But, I think my inspiration should come from games like Oblivion now. (raisin' the bar :)) Another source for good traps, puzzles (and new monsters, frankly) would be the old D&D stuff. (and T&T. ...I'm old.) Although I do want to keep things balanced and not always think in terms of indoor or confined areas. (Vehicles! Forests!) Any good story source is good too: books, movies, legend, etc.

I think this should go up on Map Ideas.

[SuperApe]

A slightly different version has been linked to on the top post. It was just done to show off the features of the new version of the OSMT toolset (0.96b). No real progress on the map layout.

- set DeathScene matinee
- set Default LinkGun
- Monsters set to drop items upon death

[killedbycrimson]

can i see more detailed screenshoots of the map? i maybe able to do a tune for it

[SuperApe]

I'd love to get music for it when the time comes, Crimmy. Thanks. :D
Off the top of my head, it would be mostly short bursts of music (like less than 5-10 seconds) most atmospheric, some action-packed. Classical-esque, if I can get it. So, maybe I just need a theme refrain atm. :)

But right now, LOL, the best screenie of this woefully alpha map is the layout sketch up top. :D

[n3m35i5]

wewt! the monsters drop items! sometimes the little things in life make it all the sweeter. I got caught on top of one of the mushrooms (the second screenie in the first post is facing it) but that's no biggie. other than that, can't wait for the next beta!

[killedbycrimson]

I'd love to get music for it when the time comes, Crimmy. Thanks. :D
Off the top of my head, it would be mostly short bursts of music (like less than 5-10 seconds) most atmospheric, some action-packed. Classical-esque, if I can get it. So, maybe I just need a theme refrain atm. :)

But right now, LOL, the best screenie of this woefully alpha map is the layout sketch up top. :D

hmmm
the soon i can start, the better,

i can only really do one type though, you know im still noob..

[SuperApe]

wewt! the monsters drop items! sometimes the little things in life make it all the sweeter. I got caught on top of one of the mushrooms (the second screenie in the first post is facing it) but that's no biggie. other than that, can't wait for the next beta!Thanks. Yes, I also saw a point around there you can drop below the terrain. I think it's the water volume that's allowing that to happen. I'll try fixing both those.
hmmm
the soon i can start, the better,

i can only really do one type though, you know im still noob..Well, I have to see how the map is going to play out. If I had to decide, I'd say I need atmospheric (tension, creepy, cautious). Later, I may find some action-packed stuff to go with the intro and final conflict. :)

[SuperApe]

This version update adds a little more layout (not much) and demonstrates the fix for the PlayerScriptTag, implemented with the new supplemental update of the toolset (OSMT v.0.961b). Please grab the toolset update first, then grab this map update to see the fix in action during the gate closing cutscene. :)

[Lord_Simeon]

Gonna grab it right now :)

I like it so far mate, you can really go sinister in there:evil:
Ah, the ol' swinging blades from the wall trick. :)
Also, on the lines of trpas, you could have floors that dissapear with spikes underneath.
Lowering ceilings that crush.
A good ol' rolling stone ball ala Indiana jones.
Blow darts from statues.

Also, was good to check out how you did various things.:)

[SuperApe]

Also, on the lines of (traps), you could have floors that dissapear with spikes underneath.
Lowering ceilings that crush.
A good ol' rolling stone ball ala Indiana jones.
Blow darts from statues.Yep, that's the idea. Although, Remember to encorporate three things in your traps:

- Have a way to avoid it.
- Give some hint for the player who's never seen it before, no matter how subtle.
- Combine it with some other elements, like a monster or a puzzle for interest.

I'll put these suggestions on the OSM Level Design thread.

In my case, I do leave a tripwire out and I don't completely hide the apparatus, so a cautious player could potentially see it. (also, if one were moving slowly, they may not actually Bump the wire and activate the trap)

Working on this trap is how I found that completely gibbing the player can mess up the DeathScene. The focus stays at the default location instead of the Pawn location (because there is no Pawn left). I think I have a solution for next toolset version though.

[SuperApe]

I finally got some time to work on this. I've got three more rooms, three more objectives: Puzzle, Trap and Monster. I'm still playing with the details, but I like the feel of it so far.

I now see a bug in the toolset, related to the new feature to engage an AIScript for your Pawn along with your cutscene. The first cutscene with an AIScript runs fine, successive ones do not. I did some minor fixes to my working version of the toolset and if I can nail that bug, I'll do a supplemental update. EDIT: Now fixed with supplemental update.

Oooh. Pretty fire.

[SuperApe]

I had to update this along with the supplemental toolset update v0.971b. Be sure to grab that new version of the toolset on the Old Skool Monsta Toolz Development thread before downloading this new version of the map.

[SuperApe]

Two more pics.
I'm using some custom meshes like these masks and still playing around with their shape. I think I'll define the eyes a little better.
Of course, I'm still holding off on any real wall, ceiling, floor texturing. And static mesh detail work is a ways away. I'm just concentrating on getting the objectives laid out. I'm even moving whole rooms around as I work.

[Lord_Simeon]

I don't know how your managing ot map and cofe up the updates too.......do you ever sleep....rofl :)

I haven't had time to test due to work, i'm off for two weeks after today though :)

[SuperApe]

Sure I sleep, right between eating and mapping. (Eat-Sleep-Map) :)
I'm just doing a little bit whenever I have a spare hour or two.
And I'm also in training for being sleep-deprived papa. :D

Added a puzzle room with the Lever Puzzle I elaborate on the OSM Level Design thread. I came up with a few more ideas for rooms, so I almost have the rest of the routes sketched out. I'll update again when I have two rooms (Objectives) per route completed.

[SuperApe]

New version released. Three new rooms: that's two per route, one more to go before they connect to the final battle area. I've moved a lot around and made tweaks to existing rooms.

Please download and comment on the rooms so far. (Although the last one I worked on today, with a *big* fire/lava pit is not up to snuff yet) Still no details, smeshes and texture work done yet, just layout stuff and objective work.

A progress pic: These Krall are sleeping, not dead. ;)

[SuperApe]

Working on the last room now before the final battle area.
This room is dedicated to the end of the Puzzle-heavy route, so it's a puzzle with a little monster to mix it up.
The (very loose) idea I have been working from is:
Monsters will continue to spawn unless puzzle solved.
Which isn't very detailed, but it gives the basic idea. The Puzzle elements will be a short series of things the player will have to do (lever, button, shoot target, etc) to disable this rather large contraption that acts as a literal Creature Factory. I'll model the contraption and import it as a series of Static Meshes, Movers, VariableTimedMovers, Particle meshes, etc.
After working on the other two "final" rooms, my brain is a little fried to be puzzle/prop designing. I decided to take a pic of the basic room and sketch the contraption idea. The other rooms are looking good though. If I can finish this puzzle thing tomorrow, I'll update the map again.

[SuperApe]

Well, I worked on this last puzzle a little more. The model is considerably less detailed than the sketch above, but I think a lot of the details and eye candy will come from textures and particles. I still need to make the center piece that hangs down.

I have a little better idea how this contraption/puzzle should work. The idea is this: This is a literal Creature Factory, using a Skaarj Warrior in the left tube as an original to copy. The machine is able to copy it's DNA or whatever and make SkaarjPupae (making Skaarj one-after-another turned into an unbelievably tough situation for the player). So, the Skaarj Warrior is behind a glass shield tube while SkaarjPupae are made at regular intervals in the open tube on the right.

I do not want to give the player a roadmap (like Assault) on how to disable this contraption. This is a puzzle. So while I would like to suggest things the player can do (visually, with sound, etc.), I need to be carefull not to give the solution away or make a solution too easy. It will be a fine balance that I'll keep in mind as I go along.

Some things I think the player can do:
- Work the control panel. This may be largely decorative, but a key lever or button should be available to do one piece of the puzzle. But, it won't be simply a shut off button.
- Shoot the glass. The tube holding the Skaarj could be destroyed; releasing the Skaarj and preventing normal operation. But here again, I don't want it to completely disable the contraption. I want it to start doing something unexpected. (see below)
- Destroy a component. Either the main unit, the centerpiece, the left tube, the right tube or the control panel should be damagable. Again, I would want this to be only part of the solution to the puzzle. If done out of order, I'm thinking bad things happen. (see below)
- Cut the power. I plan on having power lines running from somewhere back where the player came. I was thinking the player could run back there and knock out the power at some point.

Some consequences that a wrong move could provoke:
- An electrical shock from the broken equipment.
- A massive explosion.
- Double the rate of replication.
- Skaarj Warriors replicated instead of SkaarjPupae.

Pic of the model so far.

[Dlarkin]

I had fun running through this level. The cinematics really added to it and I liked the switches and various puzzles. The falling gates behind you was really great too. But, the best part had to be that spitting rotating obelisk. Even simply modeled and textured, the way it moved and acted was actually really cool!

Your final boss fight is similar to the bossfight we originally had planned for our game. The idea was that the boss was protected by a giant 3 layered force field, and you had to destroy 3 generators to release him and be able to attack him. The generators that I built are somewhat close to design like the ones that you have. Due to obvious scripting complications and difficulties, this never really got off the ground.

Here are some concept screenshots of the "Level that never was":

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8341/screenie0et.jpg

[SuperApe]

Thanks for the comments. :)

That idea does sound similar to what I have in the big fire pit room, but different. I don't have the final battle set up in this map yet. The three routes will converge into one area where a big conflict will take place. Just after that is the ending "outtro" matinee. But, I need to finish the three routes first; I'm almost done with the last of those.

Thinking about your boss idea, just off the top of my head, it sounds like a force field thing (Mover or something) around your boss that is deactivated (moved away or otherwise disabled), after a Counter (trigger) counts to three. It gets a count signal when one of the generators (destructable Decoration) is destroyed. Sounds like a cool idea and it doesn't sound too difficult, if you get time to do it, the "techincal" aspects of it should be pretty easy.

Back on subject:
I'm still working on this last room, but need more time to model the contraption pieces before putting it all together. There's going to be some mover parts, a breakable glass tube, particles, etc., so it'll take a little time yet.

[SuperApe]

This now has another three rooms added to the routes, so all that's left is the final battle area where all routes meet up for a massive conflict. These last rooms are meant to be pretty tough. I still need to do tweaking to make it easier in the beginning, harder at the end. The final battle area will be outdoors again, like the beginning. So, this concludes the inside portion, but I obviously have a lot to do inside still: texture work, static mesh decoration, zoning work, etc.

These two pics show two rooms, one is supposed to be the hardest trap, but it's not that hard ... yet. :evil: The second one shows a quick shot from the development of that contraption I talked about above. I still have a lot of work to do with it (like animated textures, a destroyed mesh, little tweaks), but the basics are there. It's involves one of the most complex trigger systems I've ever set up. EDIT: I've made a supplemental update to the toolset just to fix a bug in the CreatureFactories this room uses. Be sure to download this latest version. (v0.981b)

Please try the latest version out and give comments on it so far. As always, download is available on the top post. Thank you.

[SuperApe]

Two things I need to work on so far:

One, a ThingFactory problem, I just outlined on the OSM Beta Testing thread as a bug and I've got a fix idea for it that I'll include in the next toolset version. EDIT: Whoops. It appears that by "fixing" the problem with ThingFactories in the final puzzle room, that I "broke" the proper functionality of the ThingFactories in the "totem" room. (sigh) I think I'll ask TexasGtar for the original UT99 source code for this actor and just clear this up that way.

Two, there are a couple of key places I need to test to see if there are any monsters around (Big Fire Pit Room and this last Puzzle Contraption Room). So far, I've not had luck with it. Here's what I'm trying now: A Trigger set to ProximityType ClassProximity. The ProximityClass is SkaarjPack.Monster. (But, I've also tried OSMT.ScriptedMonster. It's shouldn't matter, it's just a subclass.) I can understand if the monster spawned inside the collision cylinder of the trigger, the trigger may not register it, but I'm having problems getting a trigger when the monsters are led out of the cylinder and back in. :scratch: I'm starting to think I need to devise a special trigger for this purpose (detecting monsters).

Q: Why do I need to know if there's a monster around? When do I use them?
A: At the end of an objective, I want to start my cutscene, open a gate, allow players to move on, etc., but if there are still baddies lurking around, I need to know that and stall the completion of the objective. A couple of my trigger systems actually check two conditions (TriggeredConditions): 1) Is there a player around? (if so continue, if not recheck in a few seconds) and 2) Are there monsters around? (if not continue and finish the objective, if so recheck in a few seconds). That way, I know I can go ahead and start the cutscene without fear of the player getting gakked during it. Unfortunately, atm that's obsolutely possible in these two rooms.

[SuperApe]

I had to update to fix a few things:

- I had a wierd set up to get the last puzzle room to work. Now that I've fixed the ThingFactories, I needed to make this right.
- Added a small delay before triggering the end of the "Big Fire Pit" objective.
- Minor texture alignment fixes.

It should be working pretty well now. I'd appreciate any thoughts on how it plays. Thanks. :)

[SuperApe]

I made a little more progress today. No releases. I have a long way to go with this "final battle" area. But, I can post a couple early screenies.

[SuperApe]

At the top post of this thread, you'll find Alpha Version 9. Please download it, try it out and comment on it here.

This is the last alpha version, as I now have the layout done (with the possible exception of some extras I will use in the intro sequence, to be added later). There is only the bare sketch of a final battle area atm. It needs a lot of work in both visual development and in monster AI stuff. There is an OSMEndGame trigger set up (finally), but it is just a temporary ending to this adventure. I also have some special effects, but they are also in need of a lot of tweaking. So, I guess what I'm saying is, be kind on that final battle area. :)

There are miscellaneous improvements to the rest of the map. I really, really would like comments on this map. I haven't recieved many yet.
Where are all our map testers? :p

[n3m35i5]

sorry about that... I;ll be back in an hour or two with something to say. for now I noticed a problem with the lever puzzle (the one with the two gates, one of them has a skaarj: ) shooting the skaarj gate causes it to lift immediately. sometimes that can get a little annoying.

[SuperApe]

I noticed a problem with the lever puzzle ... shooting the skaarj gate causes it to lift immediately.That's was an intentional addition to the original design after I realized that a Player could simply shoot the Skaarj through the gate and kill him before even trying the puzzle. So not only can you "shoot open" that gate, but so can the Skaarj. While this could have been avoided by using glass doors, I decided to do this instead.

[n3m35i5]

That's was an intentional addition to the original design after I realized that a Player could simply shoot the Skaarj through the gate and kill him before even trying the puzzle. So not only can you "shoot open" that gate, but so can the Skaarj. While this could have been avoided by using glass doors, I decided to do this instead.
huh... I didn't even think of that. good catch there superape.
for starters, the player is severey unequipped. link gun and assault rifle can kill a lot of monsters, but not that many. I wasted two lives on the gasbag alone, leading to my next issues:
I get killed by the gasbag. I respawn at the big gate, and run straight through the ax trap, forgetting it's there. I pass safely through and it triggers behind me. isn't that not supposed to happen? in any case, I now have a new spawnpoint. I kill the big gasbag, but one of the babies kills me within seconds, and I respawn after the ax trap. the cinematic immediately starts, and the gate in front of me closes! the one in the gasbag room opens, but that's no use to me if I can't get BACK INTO the gasbag room. I use the ghost cheat and drop back on the other side, dodging the baby gasbags. in the next room, you have a very clever trap, but way too many monsters. I literally ran out of ammo before I killed half of them. no matter... ~ loaded. it's OK if I'm testing :) now I move onto the other paths. the funny duplicating machine is awesome. the swinging ax puzzle was OK, I couldn't figure out the floor panels, so I ran for it. I had no idea how to complete the last room. I killed everybody, including the warlord (who occasionally teleported off the map and dissapeared) and nothing happened. I hit E at all the terminals to no effect. there is that one ship that lifts off first, but I'm still trying to figure out if it's possibl to sneak through.

[SuperApe]

Thank you. :)
I agree, I need to do a serious equipment check when all the monsters are the way I want them. I know I need a powerful gun (LinkGun) available at all times, so I know I'm going to use that in the story: that the Player has it during the intro. Beyond that, there's going to be a serious adjustment to Health, Ammo, Weapon (Shield?) gifting. This will hopefully help in rooms where the enemies outnumber your ammo.
Now that situation with the Gasbags (Big Fire Pit Room) you ran into is crazy. There is a problem I'm having detecting monsters (it's supposed to be, if no monsters then trigger the objective). That's broken atm, so that's how it happened. But in your situation, you hit it at exactly the worst time. I never even considered it could be that bad. Thanks for telling me. I'm working on that problem.
But yes, the ax trap before it is an Objective you can reach or avoid (it's optional), but after you've completed it (triggered the ax), you are supposed to spawn there. So that one part is working the way I intended.
(Cheating is plenty okay with me if you're testing. ;))
Glad you liked the Puzzle Machine. Did you get through it in one piece? That room has the same problem btw, I need to detect whether monsters are still hanging around, but right now, the Objective can be triggered before they're all gone.
The "Checkerboard" trap room is a Trap, not really a puzzle. The three routes represent the three types of Objectives OSM has: Monster, Puzzle and Trap. Not everything along the route is the same, of course, but the last rooms are definately meant to represent high difficulty versions of those kinds of Objectives. This last Trap room has many things going for it that are essentially "unfair" while still being mostly entertaining rather than frustrating. For example, *this* time you could just make a run for it, ... but try it again. ;) The floor panels are supposed to look more like a puzzle than they actually are; it's a trap. (There's three things going on: 1) darts fly out if you hit the wrong square, 2) there are some jump pads randomly active on squares, 3) and then the blades.
The last room is definately in progress. There is an ending trigger, you have to go to the ship (or under it, I suppose). Thanks for testing that room out. I realize I need to disable the bTacticalTeleporting on the Warlord so he doesn't teleport to a spot in the map behind some gate. :p And thanks for the idea: I'll put UseTriggers at the terminals so Players hear some reaction (but nothing will happen). I will have to put in some obvious hints for the Player so they know how to end this adventure. So far, there's no easy or designed way to sneak through, but good instincts: that's coming. This last area is meant to have either a brute force, or a sneaky or a strategic way to solve it and get through.
And then the intro/outtro stuff needs to get done too, which I hope will explain more about the story and the suprises I plan to put in this final battle area.
Thanks again, n3m35i5. :)

[SuperApe]

I just did a quick "one-off" update for a private tester, using the new PlayerAloneTrigger in those places. Although I needed to tweak it's configuration within one of my trigger systems (the same "worst-case scenario" happened in the Big Fire Pit room while I was demonstrating the level), the new Trigger itself worked like a charm. :) The next update will include the PlayerAloneTrigger in key places when I need to know if the Player has cleared the Monsters before starting the cutscene, triggering the Obective, etc.

[SuperApe]

Okay, so I lied when I said that was the last alpha.
*This* is the last alpha. OSM-Gauntlet_alpha10, link available on the top post.

Changes:

- PlayerAloneTriggers used in key places to fix problems of dying during cutscenes.
- Smarter Krall attack in the middle passage, third room.
- Fixed Skaarj Patrol in final battle area.
- Fixed Warlord teleporting away. Redesigned his combat.
- Added extra health and ammo drops in key places after achieving Objectives.

(you should grab the latest toolset update for this, v0.994b)

So, at least now it's a little more playable. Next version *should* be a beta, with a more complete final battle area, intro and "outtro" cutscenes and most likely some texture and deco work.

[n3m35i5]

I'll get to it later. right now I am teh busyness.

[SuperApe]

I got to run through this new version a few times yesterday and it does play a bit better than before, IMHO.

I did find one error I have to remember to fix: The Player can run back from the final battle area through one of the passages (towards the last swinging blade trap room) and open that gate from the wrong side by walking up to it. I just use a simple trigger there and I should probably set it to Object -> InitialState -> OtherTriggerTurnsOn, and then only turn it on after the previous Objective in that route is completed.

[SuperApe]

I'm starting to try different texture combonations and colors, just to see how it looks. I've added some minor deco too. As the player progresses towards the final battle, I want the textures and deco to slowly change from the old stone and tile to higher-tech metal and wires. I'll have to finish up the final battle AI and layout, because there is more to it than what I've shown so far. Intro and outtro movies should be fun to do, but I think I should at least finish the final battle area first.

[techbinge]

Its looking good you big hairy ape :). I started playing through OSM-Gauntlet but didnt get a chance to finish just yet. I think I will this evening. I do have some crits for you, but I will compile them all (ok, so that makes it sound like there are a lot, theres not :) and post them when I finish.

Excited to see it deco'd out.

-Tyler

[Lord_Simeon]

OOooo...i PM'ed you before seeing this shot, looking cool SA.
Oh, grab the spiderweb texture / mesh combo from DM-Seasons and use it if you want, will look cool in there hung from a few roofs.
3D Texturiser made the web, the mesh is by me.:)

[SuperApe]

OOooo...i PM'ed you before seeing this shot, looking cool SA.
Oh, grab the spiderweb texture / mesh combo from DM-Seasons and use it if you want, will look cool in there hung from a few roofs.
3D Texturiser made the web, the mesh is by me.:)Thanks. I was gonna use more of the HourMouria webbing, but I'll look into that. :)

[SuperApe]

Today I want to make a few important deco meshes, a wall lamp, a few crates and a chandellier (sp?). I sure hope the textures I'm using on the wall aren't some random custom texture package I've picked up. I see the modify date is 2004, like many other stock textures, so I'm hoping it was just some bonus pack texture package I've never seen. (BTW, while looking through the texture packages on my extensive hunt for the pain indicator, I saw sooo many very cool efx, deco and *character* textures that I've never seen before. Likewise they had 2004 dates on them, so I think they were "hidden" stock textures.)

After I put the deco meshes in and finish the texture work on the level, I'll finish up the final battle AI stuff and them work on the intro and outtro matinees. I have big plans for those. :evil:

[SuperApe]

The ending AI and endgame triggering isn't quite there yet, I need to do the outtro stuff, and I need to add a little something to the new intro. But...

I've finished 95% of the decoration work. 99% of the texture work.
I added lots of pickup goodies in various places to help ease the difficulty.
The final battle area is looking better, and despite the work I still need to do there with regards to AI, it's a pretty tough battle to win. :evil:
New map description. New ambient sounds. Pretty new clouds in the skybox.
And I added an intro that uses the new ScriptedCharacter features:

Your character appears in the intro movie. :)

NOTE: You must have the latest toolset version installed. (v0.995b or later)
Download the toolset on the top post of the OSMT Development thread. Download this map on the top post of this thread.

PLEASE, please, please try out this map and give some feedback. I left one or two "errors" in the map just to see if any beta testers could find it. ;)

Thank you for your continued support and testing.

Final stretch!
:rockon:

[TexasGtar]

Well...i tried to read the whole thread but i didn't. So i figured i'd tell on myself.

I had a few problems with the map. The opening is really good. I like what you did there with the guy being chased by ???? and jumping down and all. It works! Very nice.

Anyway...of course i have only played a few rounds so if i say something stupid just ignore it.

Okay.....the route to the right. Well the first time i used the levers and managed to open the skarj door. He instantly killed me. ( i really suck at this game. It's so embarassing) Anyway..i eventually wore him down and defeated him and the other door opened..i think. and I went thru. I believe this is how it should work.
However...the next time i chose the route to the right ....before i played with the levers i walked up to the gate to see what i could see and low and behold ..there was the skarj between the grated door. So i fired....this opened up his door even tho the locking mechanism was still across the opening....i killed him......then i went to the levers and they did not saeem to work at all. I was stuck. So i went to the central route......

I killed the gasbag and his belched babies (after several tries) but alas...the door to the next area again did not open. I was again stuck. I even jumped in the fire pit...you know...to exhaust ALL my options. To no avail....so i said well there is always the fly route.

So i went to the left route...killed all the flys (again after several attempts...hey man how bout some darn ammo?????..lol ) And the door never opened. However this time i was spawned inside the fly room. Which you know has a locked door on both ends. There was no where to go. I was indeed truly stuck.

Was i punished for shooting the skarj thru the gates on right route ??? Or is this a problem that might need investigation?

And for now all i have to say is...MORE AMMO MORE AMMO MORE AMMO! Uh...did i mention that i wanted more ammo? :) I can;t hit the broad side of a barn anyway. I spent most of my time using the defense gun. (#1) cuz i was out of ammo. It was nice you put some for the final fight. But along the way i think a little scattered here and there ...at least enough to kill all the monsters if you never miss a single shot. I mean..it is only fair to give us enough ammo to complete the mission. I mean, i won't be able to...but those who can actually play this game should have that opportunity. (imo) :)

All in all i thought you could do a little more with the areas..ESPECIALLY when it comes to cover. There was no where to duck and shoot. I mean you are pretty much a sitting duck in every room but the final. Is it possible to elaborate a little in the rooms to give some kind of cover to a lost attacker.
That would be cool if possible.

Okay new subject....the roof collapsing in the one area withthe guys that crawl when shot..i forget their names...anyway...i didn't get why the roof fell in. Did i miss something? And as long as you are making the roof fall in with debris..it would be cool to be able to climb up on the debris to get to the ledges where the moinsters were shooting at you ..and perhaps offer some goodies up there...uh...like..oh ..i don't know...maybe soime ammo or something of course you are almost to the end once you kill all those guys but maybe something up on those ledges obtainable from a double jump off the new fallen debris. Just a idea.

There was some message when i reached the final ship objective but i didn't catch what it said...something about a trigger i think? Didn''t look like it should have been there. Maybe it was a note for us beta testers? Dont know.


Okay the flys room.....uhm.....okay..not just in there..but a lot of places....the gas bag chamber too . TOO DARK! The flys i could barely see until they were on top of me and the gasbags like to hide up high by the ceiling and it was so dark up there you can't see anything.

Okay...that's all i have for now. Other than it was way to hard for me. Fun but at my skill level in 2004..nearly impossible without bumping up the max lives to 15. I don't know what to offer for suggestions about this because i feel you probably have it very difficult by design. Which is cool. I still had fun playing it even though the 2 minute your dead scene took longer than me respawning and getting killed the next time. I would like a way to escape from the your dead scene and go right to the respawning. I mean..yes it is cool and all..but after the 30th time of watching your dead in slo mo i just want to spawn again.lol Impatient bastard huh? :) I guess it just might be the way it is done since LS's map had the same long long drawn out death scene before the respawns. Anyway...i didn't like the wait.

Uhm.................i noticed in your notes you had mentions something about response times of monsters. I did notice i was able to sneak up on several of them without being detected. I almost had to shoot at them before i was noticed. Not sure if this is the delay you were mentioning in the notes or not?
If not..i think you should bump up their awareness and range of sight so they can see you at or when you can see them. I don't know..maybe another judgement call?

Anyway...i will keep at it. I am totally stuck in LS's maps because i can not jump fast enough to get across one section in Wangara 2 and wangara 1 freezes after the first fence. So i guess i will keep testing yours for another day or so if you are finding anyof this helpful. I hope so.

Well...til next time.

[SuperApe]

So, ... you want more ammo. ;) Okay, we'll get more ammo throughout. (some extra stuff too) That said, I was trying to make the Player conserve.
The route to the right starts with a lever puzzle. If you don't pull the correct combonation, the gate with the big monster will open. But, there is a way to open the other gate and continue. If you do, you get goodies immediately.
I notice now that if you skip the intro by clicking, the lever puzzle breaks, I'm looking into this now, but that's why your second attempt to the right went nowhere.
The route up the middle should have a proper setup, but I've noticed that sometimes the delay is too long (it checks to make sure all gasbags are gone at regular intervals). So, I'll work to make that check happen a little faster. And I'll make sure the gasbags can't "hide" up through the chimney hole.
The route to the left, the fly route, has been giving me troubles off and on. Three or so used to come right out and attack right away. Now, it's hit or miss. I wanted to make the minihealth cause them to attack, so I'll work on that. Once all the flys are dead the next gate will open.
It sounds like you may have been a little impatient with these, but I'll go over them again.
About half the rooms have cover, the other half don't. I tried to give a reason to have cover (columns, side passages, corners, objects), so I'll go through and see if there's more places to have cover.
The room with the roof collapsing does have stairs on both sides that allow the Player to go up to the ledges. Nothing is up there atm, but that's a good place to put goodies. :)
The Krall (that's their name) spring a trap that make the debris fall. I haven't put the rope up to it that indicates that's what's happening, but there is an EliteKrall (blue guy) that springs the trap from one of those ledges. I'll put that rope in and it should be a little clearer, but it is supposed to be a suprise trap.
The ship message is just a placeholder for the outtro I still have to do. It says, "This is a temporary ending. More to come."
Too dark, huh? We'll I think my monitor is calibrated, so I guess it's just my lighting. I'll work on that too.
There are some things I can do about the monster's awareness, like increase their SightRadius (I need to do that on the Warlord at least), but you are able to sneak up on them from behind. Are you saying that's too easy to do?

Thanks for giving it a shot. :)

[TexasGtar]

I played it some more.I again had trouble with the lever room. I have opened the door with the levers. I know the combo but it does not always work??? I do not think i clicked the intro to get out of it. Anyway, if that is the cause ask LS how he did his intro because clicking does nothing to stop his. That way you can not stop the intro.

Well, maybe i am just so bad at playiong that it seems like i am constantly out of ammo. ??? Maybe it's just me always running out. I'm a bad shot you know. Same with the lights,...could be dark on my side but okay for others. I'd wait for more feedback and see what others think before changing the lights. It looked great in the editor.

Uhm....i am stuck at the green goo dispenser. I guess there is a way out of there. Don't tell me but i couldn't figure it out. I didn't want to cheat when i was in the editor so i kinda closed my eyes around that stuff.
But i tried several things..a real brain puzzler. I have a maybe solution that might have to do with ...oh wait i wouldn't want to spoil it for everyone but i think i know a way.

The flys i think are perfect the way they attack....i mean at first it is slow but then it's like a total swarm and i die lots of times before i kill them all. Also ..Often after killing ALL the flys the door does not open. I haven't gotten past the green goo so i have nothing further down that route. It looked like the flying pathnodes were not exactly aligned with the exit holes. Perhaps this causes the delay in getting out. Also the way you have bunched them all up. Isn't there a way to make them be still until activated? Maybe you could line them up behind the exit holes so they have a more direct line straight out of the holes? Just guessing. Also making a direct line of sight to the mini health so they can see when you jump up there might make them respond to the exit quickly?

The gasbags also sometimes when the big guy has spit out a bunch of babies...and then you kill the big guy but it takes several trys to kill all the babies that....again..the door does not open. Something is not triggering your ai script when all monsters are dead. I believe it has to do with the fact that i have died and already killed the big one in a previous life or simply the time it takes to kill them all is too long. Don't know. BUT, i would allow themn to hide in the chimney hole as this is well lit but hard to see them until you creep to the edge of the firepit and look straight up. I'd keep that sneeky hiding spot. It's good i think.


Impatient...oh definately yes! lol that's me. :)


About cover...yes some rooms are very well spaced with cover and its good. I was more saying some are very vunerable places. Even lowering a section of floor would break up the openness a bit. Some rooms just have no where to go and i realize that. The map is fine really. I'm impressed. I just want it all..lol


Roof colapsing room- Yeah..i saw the stairs in the editor...i told you it is dark on my computer. :) The problem with the roof trap is that is gets sprung too early. I mean every time it has been sprung i wasn't anywhere close to it. That is the only place i have not died in your map. Perhaps have a safe room with window where a master krall can be operating the trap and the door to it doesn't open for the krall to get out until the player walks close to the trap springing it....and releasing the last krall...???


The krall are fairly easy to sneek up on. Yes i would try to increase their sight radius.

Thats all for now.

EDIT: A couple of rereading thoughts....the flys..is it possible to attach a flare to them so they emit a tiny light. Thsi would help find them in the dark and give you some idea when one is approaching. (other than the buzzing sound) It might look dorky tho?


and..... I still like my suggestion of being able to reach a unreachable area by using the cieling debris for a climbing route. Maybe not the area with the stairs but an area that you could not reach without the debris...a udamage would be helpful; during the last battle. But it would have to be hidden well...only an explorer should find it.

[SuperApe]

;)
The intro interrupt thingy is a new feature which I am testing out in this map. By default, I do not allow interrupt, that's why LS's doesn't do that right now. I can simply set that back to the default, but I am working the bugs out atm.
Question about the lever puzzle: Are you trying to pull the levers as fast as you possibly can? Or are you taking your time and they still aren't working?

About this lighting. I wouldn't want others to give me the cliche comment, "It's too dark!", so I'm inclined to spice it up anyway. But, just so you know that you're seeing things as I do, try this:

From UT2004 main menu, go to Settings. In the Display tab, see the picture of the skaarj ship in space? This is a gamma test image. There are three sliders just above it to adjust how this looks. On the left hand side of that image, there is a grey scale gradient, going from white on the bottom to black on the top. The goal is to see all those shades of grey in a very even gradation. If you can't see the second to last white or black square, you can adjust the sliders. I have my settings at Bright: 0.5, Gamma 1.0 (standard), and Contrast 0.5. Depending on your monitor's age, wear and tear, etc., you may need to change yours to something very different from mine (an LCD screen). Just adjust until you can see those gradations of grey and all the details of the image.

I have issues with the flies. The pathing is okay, their position is okay. They need to be alerted to the Player and there's a few different ways to do that.

I'm glad you got to the "Totem" goo dispenser. Unfortunately, this puzzle/trap does require aiming accurracy and timing. :p You'll get it.

The gasbag ("FirePit") room may be having problems triggering, but you can try this next time if you want: exit the room and come back in after killing them. I will work on this.

Yeah, there's a fine line between allowing the Player to see the Krall trap sprung and actually catching him in it. I'll adjust that.

The "firefly" note gives me an idea for another monster. :evil:

The UDamage note is awesome.

Thanks! :D

[TexasGtar]

;)


I'm glad you got to the "Totem" goo dispenser. Unfortunately, this puzzle/trap does require aiming accurracy and timing. :p You'll get it.

I'll check out the display thingy.

Requires aiming accuracy and timing...awwww i'll never get it then. Oh well. I was completely off base with my new idea on how to get that puzzle solved. I have exhausted my ammo on it lots of times to no avail.

I'll try the gasbag room again if it happens again.

[SuperApe]

I started working on all this and then got distracted with a new supplemental update to the toolset. (v0.996b, go grab it)
Will update this next. Most likely end of day tomorrow.

(Off topic: Now I'm off to participate in a focus group and play video games for cash! Woot!)

[Lord_Simeon]

Nice :)

BTW, do you need any help with say meshes or something?
As you know i'm near done, and with you trying to do Gaubtlet and the toolset i figured you might need a hand, even an Aussie hand :)

Actually, i just D/L'ed a nice statue mesh yesterday that would look very cool at the start.

[SuperApe]

I've been meaning to work on this map instead of the toolset, but the tools take priority. I've got a healthy ToDo list for this map now. I've been testing the tools *in* this map, so it's kinda like testing both. I see things to fix all the time.

Now that I'm thinking about it, the latest toolset update (v0.997b, go grab it), will fix some things going wrong (like puzzles and gates breaking after IntroCutScene interrupt), but I need to finish the version I'm working on now and upload it tomorrow. But, first a little shuteye.

"Oh boy: sleep! That's where I'm a Viking!"-Ralph

[SuperApe]

I'd been wanting to work on this map for days, but I got distracted with the toolset fixes. Yesterday and today, I got lots of good progress on this map. I may not have everthing just right yet, but at least it's all there and working.

Progress in this version:
- New map description (did I have this before?)
- Level screenshots
- Fixes to intro scripts, so when players do interrupt, it is handled gracefully.
- Added more to Intro cutscene (finally, a story to follow)
- Most intermediate cutscenes and player pawn scripts done (I might add one or two more for the final battle)
- Outtro cutscene and ending (yay!)
- More ammo and stuff (not TONS more, just more in good places and with reason)
- A few more weapons
- More deco
- More ambient sounds and efx

There's been some improvement to the final battle AI. I'm thinking this is pretty close now, I may just tweak the available player resources now so that they can beat it a little easier. I have a couple ideas for that and I'm debating whether or not to steal an idea from MortalPlague. :D Also, if I add the cutscenes I'm thinking of, it will change the pace and difficulty of the final battle (in favor of the player for sure). Right now, the final battle is still too tough to beat without cheating.

I'd really appreciate more testing on this map. Please download it from the link at the top post. Please give feedback here.

[Lord_Simeon]

Rab through it, LOVE the intro.
It's very cool with the jump down, Skaarj etc watching.
Really sets the mood.
Speaking of which, you thought about using music triggers?
Anyway, i reckon you still need a bit more ammo before the Krall bell room.
I had a real hard time defeating them all as the mini i used on the Skaarj, the link ran out pretty quick and i had to hammer my way through them.
I'll post more thoughts up later, i only had a quick run through, looking good so far though.
BTW, i like the texture and decal choices, the statues at the main entrance look great and right on the theme.
The good ol' missing tiles adds more depth too.

[outpt.co.uk]

New textures look great, giving this map a try very soon. Looking at the front of the temple above, it could do with some sort of roof and a small bit of work. Maybe flames instead of electric lights, but then again I'm assuming the end is somewhat hi-tech?

More feedback when I run through this.

[SuperApe]

...you thought about using music triggers? Anyway, i reckon you still need a bit more ammo before the Krall bell room.I'd really like music with this, especially in the beginning and end. I haven't browsed the stock music enough to know if I'd need custom music yet. I know I need a lot more firepower against he Krall now. I *was* able to just squeak by and finish once without cheating, but that was just before I upped the Krall health. I did that by using stealth to take out the first Skaarj, leading the Warlord back into the building and pumping him with lead while letting the last of the Skaarj get caught in their own crossfire. It wasn't a reliable solution. Mostly, the final placement will be about introducing the other weapons a little earlier and giving more ammo for them along the way. (which will seem like more normal weapon placement to me, personally) And then there's the MP idea I wanted to steal: putting a turret (for defenses) out in the landing area. :evil: I haven't decided if I'm going to do that yet, but it could be an interesting component to the final battle, as an optional tactic, that would require more stealth.

Maybe flames instead of electric lights, but then again I'm assuming the end is somewhat hi-tech?Yeah, I had originally thought torches throughout, blending into hi-tech just at the end. But, I fell in love with the new lamps and then had concerns about performance with all the emitters. So, I just went with lamps. I had thought about making some flicker a bit, but you'll notice a few are just "out" instead.

[killedbycrimson]

how fast paced do you want?
i can do slowish, about 120bpm med, 140 bpm or fast about 160. first two are more mellow styles going to 160 which is hard fast and really nasty like blito on drugs :D

[SuperApe]

how fast paced do you want?Mellow-slowish might be better. It's more about "scoring" the story. Have a look at the map just to at least see the intro. See what you think.

[outpt.co.uk]

I got a few tracks in my audio pack that might suit parts of the map.

I uploaded a couple.

http://www.outpt.co.uk/temp_img/2ft6.ogg
http://www.outpt.co.uk/temp_img/6ft2.ogg


If anyone needs music I may be able to assist.

[killedbycrimson]

Mellow-slowish might be better. It's more about "scoring" the story. Have a look at the map just to at least see the intro. See what you think.
im not sure im in the right frame of mind. Im in the creative zone, but its all focused on getting something right that i have been learning. if you cant find anything, ill give it a shot, i just dont think it will be good for me to get distracted atm.

[SuperApe]

That's okay. I'll look into music when the gameplay is good and done.
Any map comments from anyone?

[Lord_Simeon]

Meh, i'm working at the moment,
Have one more shift to go.
As above for comments on what i've already stated.

[outpt.co.uk]

- Intro was great!

- Those lamps are ok, I still prefer torches. These can be set to fade after a certain distance without taking too much of a performance hit. Lamps are fine though, just a personal opp.

- New textures and lighting feel a lot better now. Like the small touches such as loose bricks.

- The blade killed me taking the middle route suddenly, and the death scene was at the start of the map?

- This seemed to spawn a team mate at the entrance. Dunno why/how he got
there or what to do with him?

- Dead guy in entrance - cant seem to step over him or jump over him or anything.

- The room with most of the sleeping enemies - seems impossible?


More feedback soon - I'm finding this map very difficult but then again my difficulty is ramped up top. Going to try again later with difficulty turned down.

One thing I like about the map is i feel determined to get through it - looks like i'll die a lot and learn from it, and pick it up later with determination to get further.

Map is coming along great, keep going :)!

[SuperApe]

Thank you, outpt. I appreciate it. :)

- The blade killed me taking the middle route suddenly, and the death scene was at the start of the map?This is the result of both Gibbing completely (where there's no Pawn body to focus on and the camera needs something, so I spawn a Blood Explosion for that purpose) and then the Blood Explosion itself is spawned in an invalid place, like inside a wall. It's fairly rare. Maybe I can have the code go through a few tries to find a valid location.

- This seemed to spawn a team mate at the entrance. Dunno why/how he got there or what to do with him?Ooo. That's an odd one. It's similar to what happened when I found the Redeemer bug. Make sure you have the latest toolset version and I'll look into that.

- Dead guy in entrance - cant seem to step over him or jump over him or anything.It's difficult to make this an automatic thing. I just need to set the collision height and then offset it with PrePivot so that it rests on the floor, but doesn't block actors way above it.

- The room with most of the sleeping enemies - seems impossible?Right. This room and the "Krall Shrine" room both need some tweaking in order to make them possible again. The Krall health was bumped up considerably from 100->180; Elite 100->200. So, I need to adjust the number of them and the available Player weapons/ammo accordingly.

[outpt.co.uk]

Ooo. That's an odd one. It's similar to what happened when I found the Redeemer bug. Make sure you have the latest toolset version and I'll look into that.


Not sure if that guy is even in the map, but when i have another crack at it i'll try recreate it

[SuperApe]

Beta2 has been uploaded to UP (link @ top post). The .zip file includes an OSMT folder with just a text file explaining that the OSMT toolset is not included, but will be in the final release. Any comments on the map would be appreciated before I get my replacement video card and can finish this up. :D

[JohnnySix]

Played through just now - quick thoughts.

[SuperApe]

Played through just now - quick thoughts.Thanks, these notes are awesome. But a few things bother me that I'll have to revisit.

That's really cool that your custom model worked in all the cutscenes *except* that it couldn't tell which team skin you had in the beginning (this doesn't suprise me, really, the match hasn't technically started yet and I think the team stuff isn't assigned until after it does, but this is a bummer), and the end outtro (I can tell from the screenie you show that you finished, but that your character didn't get transported the proper place for the outtro movie. By chance is he missing a "Vehicle_Driving" anim sequence?)

I know about that corpse, his collision (and all the other corpses) need to have collision because they are destructable. And there's a good reason why they're destructable, but I won't give it away if you haven't found it. :evil: I'm going to adjust the collision cylinder height on him and the others.

The note about the stair trim sounds good. I'll look into that for the final deco pass.

The Big Baddies behind the gate could simply be shot at through the gate, so I put a 1 point damagable trigger to open the gate. If you didn't shoot at it, it probably shouldn't have opened, so I'll look into that.

The screenies you show where you're "stuck" with the weapon off to the side, is an odd result of the an AIScript hanging on the Player Pawn after the cutscene is done. Supposedly the last toolset version (v0.998b) makes forces cutscene AIScripts to let go of the Pawn, but if you're using that version of the toolset, then this obviously isn't foolproof and we still will need to end all cutscene scripts with an ACTION_LeaveSequence. Good to know, sorry that happened, there's only a few new cutscenes in Gauntlet where I omitted that action because I was hoping it was unnecessary. I'll just put them in.

Ah, ha. You found my tactic for saving ammo in that final area. Yes, I have increased ammo for the area, but still have to do this to these guys to keep my ammo for later. Still, it is a little too easy, I agree. And it would be nice to get Players to ^jump^ if they tried to sneak up on them and they quickly turned around. :evil: So, I may stick a simple trigger right behind them. There's lots I have to do to the final battle area.

Thanks, these notes help. :)
Did you try any of the other routes?

[SuperApe]

Link available on the top post.
As always, I can use more feedback either on the what's new or what's been there. Thanks. :)

I addressed the basic notes I got: Fixed collision cylinders on carcasses, added trim to a few stair cases, etc. Plus...

I've put way more ammo in the final battle area, so even if you limp in, you'll have something to work with. Other additions include triggers to make it a little harder to sneak up and ShieldGun the Skaarj at the workstations, improved deco in the outtro final shot, more ammo and goodies in "Krall rooms", some minor texture and BSP tweaks, minor AIScript tweaks, and a MiniGun Turret addition in the final battle area that I'm toying with atm. The turret is really just an idea I'm stealing from MortalPlague, but if people particularly like it, I'll keep it in and make it look a little prettier with a more elaborate base.

This is not final because I a) am testing out the new ammo amounts, b) am testing out the new MG turret, c) need to fix a crucial lighting problem. I need help with this lighting problem regarding my Sunlight actors. I get glowing floor edges that I don't know how to mask or get rid of without completely changing the BSP. Help! (see pic)

[SuperApe]

Searching is my friend. I just typed "Sunlight problem" in UnrealWiki and got this (http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/wiki/Sunlight#0.3) right away. ;) I'll try a few of these ideas out, like subtracting some "trim" from the offending wall, then replacing it with an add of the same builder brush. In the past, I've solved this by making the roof opening space wide enough to actually cover and shadow the offending area. Maybe I'll resort to that. :dunno:

Any more testing notes? Can Players reach the end? Is the final battle still too tough? Does the MG Turret really add anything, or am I just being a copy cat of MP's idea? :D

[SuperApe]

I've got most all issues sorted on this now.

- Layout: 100%
- Triggers/Objectives/tricky stuff: 100%
- Monster AI: 99%
- Weapon/Ammo/Item placement: 100%
- Lighting/Deco/Effects: 100%
- Pathing: 100%
- Cutscenes/Cutscene character AI: 100%
- Difficulty adjustments: 100%
- Online play adjustments: 100% (see my last post in OSM Level Design)

I added *all* the weapons you could have picked up in the various routes in the final battle area. So along with the new ammo, you are pretty much fully loaded and have many chances and opportunities to succeed. I just need to tweak one SmartFly so that he guards the minihealth a little better. That's pretty much it. Then I'll post a beta4 (final beta).

I am keeping the MGTurret as it turns out to help a little and also provide a nifty little trap action in the final battle. :evil: Also, it's fun. I added some extra effects and deco in on the flight deck to play with while on it. :)

[SuperApe]

Everything appears done to me. Unless something "broke" during rebuild and I didn't catch it on my tests afterwards, this will probably be the final version.

This adventure is fairly tough, but totally possible on Novice. It is near impossible (for me) around Masterful. On Godlike, I can't imagine anyone beating it unless they get very lucky, which is entirely possible.

Differences from the last beta:
- All weapons available for final battle.
- New effects/deco available in final battle area.
- Fixed fly room and gasbag room objective stuff as best I could.
- Un-froze the pool at the entrance.
- Lighting pass to remove all glowing edges and add coronas to fire.
- Miscellaneous deco here and there.
- Miscellaneous trigger/objective fixes to make online play possible.

This is by far the most complete and prettiest map I've ever made in any game engine. It's also taken the longest, although I suppose working on OSMT concurrenty had something to do with that.

Please test this out and leave final notes or comments. Any playtesting is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

[Lord_Simeon]

I'm just about to go to work so i'll run it through when i get home tonight mate:)

[SuperApe]

I suppose I'll need to show a few screenies. :p

[Lord_Simeon]

Looks very cool mate, i think you should swap out the pillars with the ones from Osiris2 though, i think they are in Barrens static packs.
Don't think i'm going to be able to test it tonight, i just got home from work and it's 8:00pm......another 12 hour day tommorrow and the next day too.....groan.....

[SuperApe]

I've added a missing lamp in the SkaarjBerseker cage. I put a small control panel at the launch pad so the outtro make a little more sense. I redid the level screenshots. I'm thinking about putting vines in the Krall shrine room and some in the Krall gong room. Just a couple vines hanging down and crawling up the pillars and walls here and there. I'm thinking of the vines SkyFurnace used in ONS-Kakmo.

[Lord_Simeon]

I ran through again last night.
I'm going to test again today, but i encountered a problem.
The intro rules, great sound FX and atmopshere, as well as the scripted sequences of the monsters.
I went in, hung a left and died 6 times in the fly room. Each time i was down to my shield gun.
The next section, the pillar i have no idea how to get past it. Maybe a motif on the wall descriping how it dies / works would be cool.
So i suggest another wep as the default spawn wep, maybe a mini as flak / rocket might be too powerful.

More comments later.

[SuperApe]

... the Skaarj wouldn't have let you escape into the tomb, right?

I went in, hung a left and died 6 times in the fly room. Each time i was down to my shield gun.You'll excuse me if I don't consider this a "problem". :evil: Is this a bad time to talk trash? ("It's a bunch of flies. What you can't kill flies?") :p Seriously, try this map out on a lower skill level first. A good combat tactic against a swarm of flies is to strafe until they line up in a bunch and then fire into the bunch so more of your shots count. They are so small and agile that it's easy to waste shots if you're not careful, so try not to fire until you're too close to miss. And don't let them crawl up to you, their walking attack is faster than their flying attack.

The next section, the pillar i have no idea how to get past it. Maybe a motif on the wall descriping how it dies / works would be cool.Again, I'm grinning an evil grin. :evil: It's a deceptively simple trap/puzzle that almost acts like a monster. It takes some aim, some timing and an eye for detail. This Totem can be a tough block of stone to take down. Just take a deep breath and count to four.

So i suggest another wep as the default spawn wep, maybe a mini as flak / rocket might be too powerful.The LinkGun was specifically chosen for it's rather high single projectile damage value. Would you believe that you need the Link to get past the Totem puzzle? And to help finish the next Objective in the route? [/hinting]

I have to say, I'm having a lot fun hearing about these problems. :evil:

[Lord_Simeon]

LOL, i suck at the 2004:)

Yeah, i can see how lame i sound now......a bunch of flies < pwned me.:)
Will have another crack at it later on, i'm in editing mode now and i'm officially labelling this day "Mapping day" in our household .:evil:

I'm planning on having wangara1 and 2 uploaded tonight and another version of Nanoclean.
W1 is done, W2 needs some small tweaks, Nanoclean needs a bit more luvin.

[SuperApe]

LOL, i suck at the 2004:)LOL. I'm sure you'll get it. Thanks for playtesting. :)

[SuperApe]

I could use a little more playtesting from anyone before Friday. For final, I've got vines added to the Krall Shrine room and to the Krall Gong room. I think it's just about done now.

@ LS: Were you able to get past the Totem? Have you tried any other routes yet?

[SuperApe]

Due to a "show-stopper" in the OSMT toolset, I've had to fix it and re-upload OSMT v1.0. It was a major problem with Thing/CreatureFactories, which I use extensively in this map (weapon, ammo, health gifts & the monster contraption). As a result, I've had to re-fix OSM-Gauntlet and re-upload my Final Beta. So the bad news is, you'll have to re-download this map (now beta5) and it will require that you also re-download OSMT_v1.0.

The good news is, it will work better. (Minigun will always be given back to you upon respawn along the route to the right and the Monster Contraption on the route to the left will work better than ever. :evil: ) And this version includes the little things I've added, like the missing lamp in the SkaarjBerserker cage, the hanging vines in the Krall Shrine and Krall Gong rooms, and the little control panels at the end.

Now, it's lookin' good. Please help test before Friday. I need as much as I can get. Thank you! :D

[SuperApe]

Darn it. I forgot about the Totem's extensive use of ThingFactory. Of course it was totally broken after the toolset update today. I've re-re-uploaded the Final Beta of OSM-Gauntlet. (this time, beta6) It's working now and I've gone through all three routes to make sure I didn't miss anything. But I have to apologize to the four people who downloaded beta5. Sorry.

I'd still really appreciate playtesting before Friday.

EDIT: Oh, did I mention I included some of the new CarcassFlies?

[Lord_Simeon]

Just had a quick run through in between doing the new guttering on the roof:)
I beat the Totem......YAY!.
And i only got killed once by the flies this time, my aim must be improving:)
The "machine" had me going for a while, i ended up putting on god and loaded as there was about 6 Skaarj evertime i rounded the corner but i got it in the ned.
The edning battle is great, good placement of the mini gattling gun there too, makes it a bit easier.
The edning was great also, very immersive as is the intro movie (i particularly like the sounds). Heh, when the Warlord points to the symbol anove the temple, it looks kind of like he's scared to go further and calls his troops back, good atmosphere mate.
When i finished the map, it started loading DM-Ironic and i got this error.
Maybe you can code only OSM maps to be loaded in rotation, like the other gametypes although i'm not sure how much hard work this will involve.
Maybe it doesn't like a different gametype coming straight after it???

Anyway, i'll text the other two paths later today as i have to get back up on the roof.:)

UT2004 Build UT2004_Build_[2005-11-23_16.22]

OS: Windows XP 5.1 (Build: 2600)
CPU: AuthenticAMD Unknown processor @ 2213 MHz with 2047MB RAM
Video: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT (8421)

General protection fault!

History: TestReach <- UObject::GetFullName <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Gameplay.Action_SETVIEWTARGET ViewTarget[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (Action_SETVIEWTARGET OSM-Gauntlet.Action_SETVIEWTARGET24) <- TestReach <- (Action_SETVIEWTARGET OSM-Gauntlet.Action_SETVIEWTARGET24) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Gameplay.ScriptedSequence Actions[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ScriptedSequence OSM-Gauntlet.ScriptedSequence12) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (ScriptedSequence OSM-Gauntlet.ScriptedSequence12) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.AIMarker markedScript[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (AIMarker OSM-Gauntlet.AIMarker27) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (AIMarker OSM-Gauntlet.AIMarker27) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.ReachSpec End[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec751) <- TestReach <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec751) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.PathNode PathList[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode128) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode128) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Gameplay.Action_SETVIEWTARGET ViewTarget[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (Action_SETVIEWTARGET OSM-Gauntlet.Action_SETVIEWTARGET11) <- TestReach <- (Action_SETVIEWTARGET OSM-Gauntlet.Action_SETVIEWTARGET11) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Gameplay.ScriptedSequence Actions[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ScriptedSequence OSM-Gauntlet.ScriptedSequence8) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (ScriptedSequence OSM-Gauntlet.ScriptedSequence8) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.AIMarker markedScript[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (AIMarker OSM-Gauntlet.AIMarker25) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (AIMarker OSM-Gauntlet.AIMarker25) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.ReachSpec End[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec1339) <- TestReach <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec1339) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.PathNode PathList[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode165) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode165) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.ReachSpec End[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec1347) <- TestReach <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec1347) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.PathNode PathList[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode164) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode164) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.ReachSpec End[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec1353) <- TestReach <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec1353) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.PathNode PathList[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode153) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode153) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.ReachSpec End[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec1364) <- TestReach <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec1364) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.PathNode PathList[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode122) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (PathNode OSM-Gauntlet.PathNode122) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.ReachSpec End[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec5612) <- TestReach <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec5612) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Gameplay.TriggeredPlayerStart PathList[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (TriggeredPlayerStart OSM-Gauntlet.TriggeredPlayerStart3) <- AActor::Serialize <- TestReach <- (TriggeredPlayerStart OSM-Gauntlet.TriggeredPlayerStart3) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Engine.ReachSpec End[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec5587) <- TestReach <- (ReachSpec OSM-Gauntlet.ReachSpec5587) <- UStruct::SerializeBin <- (Class Gameplay.TriggeredPlayerStart PathList[0]) <- UObject::Serialize <- (TriggeredPlayerStart OSM-Gauntlet.TriggeredPlayerStart5) <- AActor::Seri

[SuperApe]

Whew! For a second, I thought that was a runtime error from Gauntlet. :eek:

The "machine" had me going for a while, i ended up putting on god and loaded as there was about 6 Skaarj evertime i rounded the corner but i got it in the (end).You just finished the Puzzle-heavy route. :) That route gets easier after a few more tries, when you figure out how the machine works.

The (ending) battle is great, good placement of the mini gattling gun there too, makes it a bit easier.I'm glad you like the MGTurret. That was a late addition (and an idea stolen from MP), but I think it works good. It also has an element of "trap" as you become a target for any baddies around and can get killed if you're not watching your health.

When i finished the map, it started loading DM-Ironic and i got this error.
Maybe you can code only OSM maps to be loaded in rotation, like the other gametypes although i'm not sure how much hard work this will involve.
Maybe it doesn't like a different gametype coming straight after it???Supposedly, I do only have OSM maps in it's rotation. That's defined in OSMGame. I've seen little warnings when I restart a level or when I start the next OSM map in the rotation. (I've gone from one OSM map to another with no problems lately) But, mostly it's talking about not being able to display the hints. I'll have a look at this. Thanks. :)

EDIT: Now that I'm looking at the error. It seems it *is* a Gauntlet problem. :( Did the game crash? Did it crash after the loading screen for DM-Ironic?

[Lord_Simeon]

PM sent with the info:)

[SuperApe]

My conclusion is that it could be:

- Related to the MapList stuff, for which I have added a new actor MapList_OSMAdventure to the OSMT toolset.
- Related to the ReviewJumpSpots hack that I use to do the intro cutscene on OSM maps, as I see the log talks about reachspecs and follows them around.
- Related to the intro interrupting stuff in OSM, where I delete the IntroCutScenePawn, which just happens to be where this crashed, according to the log text you show. The ScriptedSequence Action SetViewTarget was trying to look at that pawn as the last thing before crash. The IntroCutScenePawn *is* removed automatically if the user "clicks" to interrupt the introcutscene. But, I really don't know why this would crash. It would simply break that one script, but it shouldn't crash the engine. :scratch:
- Not a Gauntlet problem, per se, but possibly an OSMGame problem in general.
- Related to a general problem with the engine. After some testing with this, I've noticed that if you start maps by double-clicking on them instead of going through the UT2k4 menu, on map change (loading screen), it fails to display the loading hints (gameplay hint messages) and it gives a warning in the log file that the loading screen (a subclass of vignette) can't see what gametype it is; it calls it an invalid gametype. (even DM!) This may indicate a deeper problem with MapLists, MapListRecords, etc. So, if you started Gauntlet by double-clicking and then got this, it's possible that the crash is related to a stock code bug.
- Very rare. Obviously, this is not rare enough. Not for me anyway. But, I can't duplicate the problem and I can't seem to understand where/how it happened. So, I'm hoping it's not a critical problem. Hoping.

If anyone ever sees a crash like this, copy the crash log text like Lord_Simeon did, then quit out of UT2k4 and make a copy of the file: .../UT2004/System/UT2004.txt. This is the main game log file and will tell me a little more about what the engine was doing at the time of the crash.

But, let's hope it doesn't happen again at all. ;)

[SuperApe]

Download link (http://www.unrealplayground.com/forums/downloads.php?do=file&id=5643).

Thanks to all who helped test. :)

[r0tzl0effel]

The link seems to be broken.

[SuperApe]

You're right. That was an old post and the file system here has changed since. ... FIXED.













(<-- you can also hit the "My Files" link here)

[Pandemonium]

Nice stuff so far!
Have a look at the middle of this posted screenshot (http://www.unrealplayground.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=35908&d=1153544249).
The textures look a bit "old", don't they? ;)

Check if detailtextures are set correctly. If the used ones are no custom textures do not change any retail textures. Duplicate them into mylevel and set up the detailtextures by yourself. Check out UCGeneric.utx to find some.

//edit: Damn!! Didn't see this thread is over two years old. :scratch:

-

[SuperApe]

//edit: Damn!! Didn't see this thread is over two years old. :scratch:Yeah, this was the original OSM Adventure map, designed and built while I was developing OSMT v.1.0. (been 'final' for a while now, see also our OSM Adventure map archive (http://www.unrealplayground.com/forums/downloads.php?do=cat&id=18) here on UP.)

OSMT v.1.5 is now in open beta and will be the last version of this toolset for mappers/modders. (and the new version includes a *lot* more stuff for non-mappers/modders) See the OSMT Beta Testing thread (http://www.unrealplayground.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40183) for more info and a download link.

Thanks for your interest! :D

[SuperApe]

By the way, did you play some of the map, Panda? If so, comments are more than welcome. (from anyone) There's multiple paths, so replay is encouraged. :D

[SuperApe]

[ridiculous bump]

Learning Google SketchUp! to throw down infographics detailing the map areas, combat design, and level dynamics. It would be great to be able to convey more of this kind of detail at a glance, and SketchUp! looks clean. I intend to post progress here as a motivator. :D

(SketchUp's push/pull editing reminds me Duke3D mapping)