Straatholme - My Shiny New DTV Map

[MountedRhader]

Well hello there. No doubt at some point you have seen me on the DTV server, for that is where I spend the bulk of my cRPG time when I have it. Indeed I do love a good DTV round, but it has become increasingly evident that DTV maps are not exactly in surplus. Of course, as responsible parts of the DTV community, you admin gentlemen and ladies could always make a map here and there, occupying your long important hours, but why not let your pals that play DTV do the work for you !

Win-win, right!?
visitors can't see pics , please register or login


Gandalf seems to think so. So let me cut the cr@p and get right down to it. I made a cave DTV map. It is open and has nice little heart-warming details thrown in there that players will appreciate. I have screenshots, the file itself, and the terrain/scene code that is required. I have tested AI paths with several bots more than 5 times, and even tweaked the paths themselves. Here are some screenshots:

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login





~Outdated but insightful screenshots below.~




visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login



I made a cave map long ago, but it has been lost with the passage of time. I made this because I had some free time today that I am not normally blessed with, so don't waste my efforts. If you are interested, let me know and I will supply the file/code. The file itself is 659 kb, but that is not far over the 600 kb line. I did my best to delete junk that wasn't needed from the file to reduce size...& surely you fellows can wait an extra second of downloading to play a wondrous DTV map.


     The Virgin protectors are winding through a cavern short-cut route on their way to a Nordic kingdom when attacked & pursued by hordes of fiercesome, semi-retarded enemies. They decide to take refuge in an ancient stronghold within the mountain known as Straatholme, to prepare for the siege. They light the antiquated, iconic fireplace within the settlement's perimeter as a beacon of radiant light and goodness in the dark deep of this mountain, and to send a defiant message to the raiders not far off. Who will be victorious this day, those who heroicly (and sometimes not so heroicly) defend Vivi, or the mindless swarms of foul raiders and glitchy wretches that wish her harm and pain?!




So what do you people think?

[Mlekce]

Ehh it would be too hard to defend against bots here. Too open space. pew pew would slay us all.

[Uther Pendragon]

I think that on higher waves people would get insta-shot by Vitez and above on this ramp, without any cover. But good initiative. Always good to see some mappers make a DTV-specified maps.

Could use some diversity in terrain, some buildings or simple barricades, maybe a tiny fence here and there to promote shieldwalls, otherwise 50 bots would just swarm players there imho

Also Straatholme 

[MountedRhader]

Thank you so very much for your feedback Uther and Mlekce! !

I shall get to work right away on adding in some cover to Straatholme, for in no way is it dead-set. There are already some nooks and crannies within the buildings, but I will dutifully get to work on the improvements suggested.

[MountedRhader]

So here we are: terrain texture variations, buildings around city, loads of cover (but still with enough room), a few more things added, and some possible bugs rooted out and mercilessly obliterated.

visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


visitors can't see pics , please register or login


I have answered your prayers. Give in to my holy map-making skills.

[Alliedint]

I think that this is a very interesting concept for a DTV map I like the darkness and the idea of the defensive lines . All in all I would like to see this map on the server even if its just to test it out if it runs smooth with out the bots getting snagged up at spawn ect. could be a lot of fun and a good change of scene.

[MountedRhader]

I think that this is a very interesting concept for a DTV map I like the darkness and the idea of the defensive lines . All in all I would like to see this map on the server even if its just to test it out if it runs smooth with out the bots getting snagged up at spawn ect. could be a lot of fun and a good change of scene.

I agree! This map should definitely be tested on an official server once it is done. And yes it is truly a beautiful scene - not all effort was put into making easily-exploitable terrain (like some other maps I know of), but some time was spent adding an ample amount of beauty to this map as well!

Any suggestions so far as the map could go, Allied? I generally have a pretty keen sense of what players want to see working, but player input is also truly invaluable to me. Anything you want to see put into Straatholme?

The question is posed to everyone.

[HappyPhantom]

ZOMG, I just had a thought, it's inside... NO RAIN! 

[Jarold]

Rain goes through props.... its acid rain!

[HappyPhantom]

  - NoooOoooooOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

[MountedRhader]

- NoooOoooooOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

Indeed the cavern mouth is quite porous. But will it rain or snow? The map is snowy originally.



And rain will probably still affect any map even if kept out by the ceiling surface.

[Teeth]

Making steep cavern walls stretches textures a lot, so they look kinda horrible. It is hard to find an alternative way of making cavern walls in such a maps, but you could have them slope upwards more gently so the texture gets less stretched and get a more natural look. You've also made some props a few times their normal size, which makes the textures stretch as well. You could for example replace the large stretched paved areas with actual terrain so you can apply some textures that are not very oversized.

I am also quite surprised by your large file size, you don't seem to have that many objects. I guess it is the terrain. From a gameplay point of view the latest screenshots look good, think it would work pretty well.

As for snow or rain, I think that is decided by either the original texture you selected in the terrain generator or if you selected a snowy map edge.