The Verge Of Extinction (Beta3 Internal Release) Comments.

[MalOSB]

Hi
Thank you to all the People who are testing the last beta before i release the final Map. :D

This post is to show all the comments and recommendations that the testers have given.

I hope to have the map finished by late Friday or Saturday. :evil:

For updates on what i'm doing check out
http://www.gameover.org.uk/ut2003

Mal
:rockon:

[MalOSB]

Cobra's Comments on Beta 3

Hi I have tested, your map, on a Altlon AMD XP 2000+ Gf4 Ti4600 128MB, 768MB DDR, I think that you did a super map, the bots play verry well, the lights, it is perfect, the eye candy is verry good, the placement of guns, perfect no problem, dont change a thing, you have a great talent my friend, so keep on. Cobra

__________________
Louise

MAL: Thank you. Glade your enjoying it :D

[MalOSB]

Comments from Glden Joe

System: P4 2.4Ghz with 256Rimm
but a Geforce 2 gts pro

Performance:
This level will run fine on a geforce4 based card with a decent cpu but will
have much trouble running fast on a geforce2 classed gpu even with a decent
cpu like mine (had drops like to 30 fps at some points)

Guideline for an eventual next level:

Try to make your next level a bit more detailed with the bsp, meaning, more
rooms (for indoor environments that is). Make sure that some points of your
level kan be hidden from view so you can actually optimize the level. This
one now is one cube with lots of detailed meshes in there and there is no
optimisation possible, and that's a bit of a shame. With multiple rooms you
can easily use antiportals and zones to block certain meshes to be drawn
when not in view.

Todo list on this level:

-Some side halls seem to have lightsources but no lamps or anything that
actually could produce light.
-The rotating blender like static mesh needs a blocking volume so you don't
actually hit that blender, coz then you scream of pain but lose no health,
and that doesn't actually add to gameplay :p
-Some of the lights in the main room at the sides just pop out of a metal
wall, not very detailed and not very realistic :)
-Ok I see you only want that texture to be on the main walls of the main
room once but it seems a bit stretched out, like too little butter on a too
big slice of bread.
-The light is already improved but: some lights don't seem to emit light (to
do this you must add a light really close to the white surface of a lamp
static mesh and give it like 128 or a bit more brightness but a small radius
like 24 or so. Then a bit lower you can add a normal light with less
brightness but bigger radius to add the overall lighting of the lamp.

That's it for now. Try to finish this one off and then start with a brand
new idea with some more complex environment.

Also remember: big environments should be a little less detailed, and small
areas could handle more. You should make your levels run well on a
geforce2/geforce3 ti200 class cards. Maybe in like 6 months or so you can
make maps more detailed coz then ppl will start catching up with the newer
generation of cards.

Greetz and hf

Oh btw: I forgot in my todo list: to add music in the level (level
properties) and some screenshots when it's finale also in level properties
:p and oh the elevator sound is too long, use a shorter one, or slow the
lift down

[MalOSB]

Originally posted by MalOSB
Comments from Glden Joe

System: P4 2.4Ghz with 256Rimm
but a Geforce 2 gts pro

Performance:
This level will run fine on a geforce4 based card with a decent cpu but will
have much trouble running fast on a geforce2 classed gpu even with a decent
cpu like mine (had drops like to 30 fps at some points)


=============================================
MAL: Actually gives same performance on higher card but in full detail. You may have to lower settings a notch. You get sub 30 fps when your looking at the whole map. this is because you can see through the platforms so i am unable to place an anti-portal in the platforms. If it's a big problem i'll change the texture on the gantries for a solid one and put some anti-portals inside them. My next map will be very different to this map.

I can't play CTF-December on my PC at full detail. The whole map is jurky!
=============================================


Guideline for an eventual next level:

Try to make your next level a bit more detailed with the bsp, meaning, more
rooms (for indoor environments that is). Make sure that some points of your
level kan be hidden from view so you can actually optimize the level. This
one now is one cube with lots of detailed meshes in there and there is no
optimisation possible, and that's a bit of a shame. With multiple rooms you
can easily use antiportals and zones to block certain meshes to be drawn
when not in view.


==============================================
This is my first level and i only wanted to make a small but highly detailed map. Trust me on this my next map will blow this away but i have to finish what i started before i can start work on that. It's going to be a HUGE CTF map so all your comments will help :D
==============================================


Todo list on this level:

-Some side halls seem to have lightsources but no lamps or anything that
actually could produce light.
-The rotating blender like static mesh needs a blocking volume so you don't
actually hit that blender, coz then you scream of pain but lose no health,
and that doesn't actually add to gameplay :p
-Some of the lights in the main room at the sides just pop out of a metal
wall, not very detailed and not very realistic :)
-Ok I see you only want that texture to be on the main walls of the main
room once but it seems a bit stretched out, like too little butter on a too
big slice of bread.
-The light is already improved but: some lights don't seem to emit light (to
do this you must add a light really close to the white surface of a lamp
static mesh and give it like 128 or a bit more brightness but a small radius
like 24 or so. Then a bit lower you can add a normal light with less
brightness but bigger radius to add the overall lighting of the lamp.


=============================================
MAL:If it's not already been changed it's in the works.
=============================================


That's it for now. Try to finish this one off and then start with a brand
new idea with some more complex environment.

Also remember: big environments should be a little less detailed, and small
areas could handle more. You should make your levels run well on a
geforce2/geforce3 ti200 class cards. Maybe in like 6 months or so you can
make maps more detailed coz then ppl will start catching up with the newer
generation of cards.

Greetz and hf

Oh btw: I forgot in my todo list: to add music in the level (level
properties) and some screenshots when it's finale also in level properties
:p and oh the elevator sound is too long, use a shorter one, or slow the
lift down

MAL thanx for your help.

[HortonsWho]

Here you go-

Weapon Placement: Plenty of weapons and ammo for the size, probably too much adrenaline(?) and the powerups=shields maybe too many for the size of the map. I like how everything is laid out, good spot for the damage amp.

Flow: Good, plenty of Z in such a small space, good work.

Lighting: much improved... Lava needs more red glow coming up into the room... it is absent now.

"Any Bug's:" There is a blocking volume in the far upper stretch (I scribbled a red line across it in the attached pix. It needs to be pushed back because it currently cuts the width of that corridor in half.

"Anything else you'd like to comment on:" Sound-- needs much more... the lava needs an ambient rumble or something... maybe also add an emitter to generate a little smoke or steam? The map is too quiet... up the volume. Granted, this is a DM map where the music might stay on (no music currently, right?) but I tend to play with music off. The bot wasn't very challenging even at higher settings... he frequently got stuck near the damage amp.


"What is your Spec and how did it run?" Runs decently... Running with all settings on HIGHEST (1024x768) I had a few moments of sub-20 FPS... generally 50's... better with detail run at normal.

My rig: P4 2.4 Northbridge, 512 RAM GForce 3ti (waiting for the NV30's).

Looks pretty good.



On my Athlon 1600XP, 512mb DDR and Geforce 4 4200 128mb system it ran ok on full detail 1024 x 768 with 3 Bots.



The last thing I really want to know is have I improved the map from the Beta version? I think so... work on the lightinf effects from the lava, increase sound... otherwise, nicely done.

[MalOSB]

Horton your spot on with everything you've said.

I am working on sound and the blocking error is fixed.

I have been looking at performance.
I can greatly improve and remove the below 30 moments.
However this is at a cost... I'll have to loose the see through grates and replace them with a solid floor so i can put Anti-Portals inside them.

What i want to know is will it damage the look of my map? I always liked the grates but i want this to work on as many systems as possible. The other advantage of making them non-grates is that you will not always be able to see the other Opponants

Update: I've completed a version with Anti-Portals in the gantry. you can see 2 screenshots of with and with out. The increase is attached to the whole level and both screens are Full Detail (1024x768) with 3 bot's.

http://www.gameover.org.uk/ut2003/fps.shtml

Cobra i would realy like your imput on this because you liked the level alot.

[MalOSB]

Comments by Freakish

Ergh..so I've been busy with a lot of other things, but here are a few
thoughts on your map..

Flow: check the broken ramp that leads from the lower level to the
mid-level - when running from above players can get caught on it. The wall
supports allowed you to remove some chains and that has made it easier to
move around in the map..nice.

Weapon/item placement seems fine to me. There's nowhere for a player to run
off and camp, so the health amounts seem just right.

Check the room opposite the damage amp (other end of the map) - the lines of
the textures line up but the grating on the back wall texture is cut off in
the corners? Nitpicking, no biggie.

This version doesn't run very well for me, but don't let this really worry
you as my computer is old and slow (ahh..can't wait to upgrade..).

Hope that helps a bit..sorry I don't have time to go more in depth. I'd
suggest you upload your final beta (assuming that's the next stage) and ask
for a final round of comments from forum members. They'll be sure to
respond. ;)

--Freakish

[Cobra]

Whit Anti-Portals, no question about it,:)

[MalOSB]

How do i get a Picture in the Level Menu?

I know it's in Level Properties but i don't know how to get a picture into the textures browser!

How do i get music to work on my level?

Any help would be brill

Mal

[Cobra]

Send a privite message, at Lord_Simeon, he will tell you what to do.:)

[Unicorn]

Import a screenshot in 512x256 format into 'mylevel' package in the textures browser. 'MyLevel' package shall NOT be saved as a package, UnEd3 embeds 'mylevel' into the map so that no external texturepackage is needed. This works with all textures.

Anyway, import the screenshot, which should be named just "screenshot" into mylevel. Select the texture once imported and go to levelproperties--->LevelSummary and click on screenshot, click add and the full link to your screenshot should be displayed as: 'Texture'myLevel.Screenshot'

Now you only have to rebuild your map and save it. Done! :D