Torn
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Posts: 2672
Registered: 07-02 |
justanotherfool said:
Well, I've been delayed for longer than I had anticipated, but I finally have something to say about the map, and hopefully I'll have a few points that the other testers didn't make.
As per usual, I tested in prboom-plus with a 2.5.x.x version (I forget), but I used zdoom 2.3.0 for the purpose of taking screenshots.
I didn't find that much in the way of bugs. The only real problem was that it seems 100% kills is unobtainable due to the fact that 5 monsters are missing. I didn't actually check this out in an editor, so I suppose it's possible that I missed 5 monsters, but I found all the secrets and played through the level multiple times, and there were always 5 monsters left at the end (according to the kills counter). I also spotted a HOM which I'll talk about later.
They have got fixed, I will comment on the Hom when I come to it. But probably many of these have got fixed.
The only suggestion I have about the gameplay of the map is that you change the first cyberdemon fight. As it stands it's easy to just camp at the top of the stairs where the cyb can't hit you and pump rockets into its exposed head, as in the screenshot...
http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/3268/torn8.png
Well, I dunno what to do about this one. I will think about it. I am not sure what other enemy I would replace him with.
I do, however, think there are a lot of things that could be done to improve the aesthetics of the map. This is a long list...
1. The top of the teleporter is suspended in mid-air in the opening room. I think it would be better to remove the top of the teleporter or to add 'bars' connecting the bottom and the top of the teleporter
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/5797/torn1.png
Don't forget it is a hell map, a hellish tech-base. I can whatever I want. :P It was done that on purpose, like the teleports in episode 3 in ultimate doom. So I am not gonna fix that one.
2. The wall in the courtyard looks strange because it's too low, allowing you to see that there's really nothing beyond it. Making it taller or maybe adding a bit of detail outside the wall would improve matters...
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4607/torn3.png
http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/7338/torn5.png
My idea in the start was to put mountains there, maybe I will do that. But again in my head you can do many things in hell maps you can't do in other maps. Also one I will think about.
3. This is a very minor point, but I feel that some of the ceiling sectors in the following screenshot dip too far...
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/2201/torn4.png
Well, I don't know to say to this one. It is just details and I don't think it fucks up the gameplay, which is most important. Maybe I will edit it...
4. Here's the HOM I spoke of earlier...
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4228/torn6.png
[QUOTE]
Sorry but I don't see the HOM, care to explain?
[QUOTE]
5. Here I don't like the switch texture, but more importantly the light fixtures look strange because they get cut off where the lights meet the ceiling, i.e there's an alignment problem.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/4650/torn7.png
Again it is minor things and again I don't know to say. I like it as it is now really. But I remember what you said, maybe I will replace it with something else
6. All of the 'brain' areas on your way to raising the invisible bridge look bad because the same textures have been used on the floor, ceiling and walls but they don't align properly. Maybe some different textures should be used here? Also, the lights look out of place in rooms of organic flesh, I think. If you were going to use them I'd prefer if the lights at least had metal borders instead of just putting a light flat in.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/5081/torn9.png
http://img192.imageshack.us/img192/3158/torn10.png
Refer to what I said above this.
7. The transition to the outdoor area here looks odd, due to the height differences involved... I also can't help but feel that the level would look so much better if all the doorways weren't so square. Some 'arches' would work wonders.
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/6005/torn11.png
[QUOTE]
Okay, there you have a point. :) I guess I will use some arches at openings like this.
[QUOTE]
8. The outdoor area here looks bizarre for a few reasons. It's hard to pinpoint what's the cause, but the part where the sky meets the wall looks odd. I think some more contrast is needed there. Maybe make the room indoor with lots of holes in the roof? Also the 'door' opposite where you come in looks like it might open at some stage but never does, and it's too blocky and too deep. Also, all the walls are so bare and the room as a whole is bland.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/175/torn12.png
Okay I will look into this. I think a simple border would be enough.
[QUOTE][B]
9. This room also suffers from the same texture being used on ceiling/walls/floor with misalignment, and the ceiling is too bare.
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3451/torn13.png
Well, you are right that the ceiling is a bit bare. But I can't do much about the alignment... Except maybe at the window.
10. This door looks odd because of the black line on the wood texture below it. Maybe some little stone steps would be less jarring?
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/3914/torn14.png
Yeah, you are right. It look a bit weird. I will see what I can do about that one.
11. When you enter the library area, the room to the right (through the grating) is a little too bare, not that most players will spend a lot of time looking at it, especially with the lighting as it is. Also, the roof in the BFG secret is too high...
http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/5413/torn16.png
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/1229/torn15.png
The first shot: I am not gonna do anything about it.
The second shot: Yeah I guess I should lower the ceiling, I forgot why it was so high in the first place.
12. The big yard again looks a little strange for some reason. Maybe just doing something to smooth the transition between sky and wall (borders, etc) would make it look a lot better. I also think the shape is too blocky, in particular the part included in the screenshot..
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/55/torn18.png
Yeah I guess I will use a simple border. About being too blocky, maybe. I will check into this too.
[QUOTE][B]
13. The metal grating with flames would look a lot better if there wasn't a 90 degree turn. Make the wall curvier, perhaps?
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/4421/torn17.png
I guess I will check that togther with the stuff above this sentence.
14. I don't like the look of this room at all, and think things would look much better if you just had a mural in the wall instead...
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/421/torn19.png
Well, I like that one. Ulimate doom influences my mapping in hell maps alot, so I think it has got to stay. But I will think about it (Okay wrote that sentence alot, but many of those things is a stuck part of my mapping).
15. The room beyond the red key door is too bare again, and it has the lights issue I pointed out earlier. Consider doing something to the walls in particular. The teleporter at the end looks great though.
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/2364/torn21.png
[B]
Okay, I guess I can add some more details if it doesn't influence the gameplay.
16. I like this room a lot, but I feel that the height of the sector separating the cave from the sky is too great. Also, it's too blocky to look natural.
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/9458/torn22.png
17. All the side rooms in the cave area look extremely bland by comparison with the cave as a whole. There are texture misalignments, and the floors and (even worse) the ceilings are all the same heights...
http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/5714/torn23.png
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/8720/torn25.png
18. This room is nice enough, but again the ceiling is too flat.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/8463/torn24.png
About the "open" cave. Yeah maybe it is too blocky.
Oh well, I don't know about making cave stuff in there.
]
That's all I've got. Apart from the issues I raised, I think the map looks good and plays well. I'm sorry for taking so long to get back to you on this. It's pretty late where I am, so if I seem incoherent that's my excuse.
Okay, that is cool. But it sure is many things you want me to change, as it is not really "bugs" as you said.
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05-02-09 17:07 
