#1 2019-03-03 00:20:52

eXeler0
Member

New single player map "Area32x"

Howdy strangers,

After not touching mapping for maybe 16-ish years, I ran into dumptruck_ds's great Trenchbroom tutorials on YouTube and that got me going so after creating a test-map I decided to do a proper map.

Link to map:
http://www.quaketastic.com/files/single … 32x_q1.zip

Here is the README file pasted:
---------------------------------------

===========================================================================
Title                         : ex_area32x_q1 (RC3 = Release Candidate 3 (but could become Final))
BSP map name          : ex_area32x_q1
Filename                   : ex_area32x_q1.zip (Map does *NOT* run in DOS)
Release date             : 2019.03.03 (Release Candidate 3)
Author                      : eXeler0
Email Address           : exelero2009@gmail.com
Other Files By Author :
Misc. Author Info       : exretro.com

Short Description       : A Half-Life -esque approach to mapping a Quake
             map. You find yourself outside what seems to be
                         a secret underground facility. Can you get in
             there and unveil its secrets and get away with it?

Additional Credits to   : @dumptruck_ds for great Trenchbroom tutorials
                         that got me going after not doing any mapping för
                         18 years.. Also thanx to @PacMan for beta-testing.
===========================================================================

* Where to get the file that this text file describes *

Web sites: quaddicted.com, (after beta also:) exretro.com/downloads/...

* What is included *

New levels              : Yes
Sounds                  : No
Music                   : No
Graphics                : Yes (only .wad - no other custom graphics)
Other                   : Yes (.lit file included for colored-lights)
Other files required    : No


* Play Information *

Single Player           : Designed for
Cooperative 2-4 Player  : No!
Deathmatch 2-4 Player   : No!
Difficulty Settings     : Not specifically implemented


* Story *

You find yourself outside something that seems to be a secret facility
hidden in the mountains. What is it, and why are they trying to keep
you away from it? Go on a Half-Life -esque mission and try to unravel
the mystery of this secret underground facility.


* Construction *

Base                    : New from scratch
Build Time              : On and off for 2-3 months
Editor(s) used          : Trenchbroom + ericw tools for compiling
Known Bugs              :
May/Will Not Run With   : Original unmodified Quake or old WinQuake
Tested With             : Quakespasm only


* Technical *

Map is made without any stuff that requires mods or plugins. Aim was to
make it compatible with "Vanilla Quake" as much as possible. But, it
may not run in older engines anyway. (expect HunkAlloc, AllocBlock:
Full errors). Map size is kept under 4096x4096 units, edge count is
kept low enough to fit into bsp (and *not* requiring bsp2), its not
using a skybox, it doesnt use alpha blend, fog... However,
a number of other limits are exceeded: (Numbers from RC3 version)
It's using protocol 666
*** 35207 marksurfaces exceeds standard limit of 32767.
*** 9412(?) visleafs exceeds standard limit of 8192.
*** 284 models exceeds standard limit of 256 (max = 2048).
*** 104 lightmaps exceeds standard limit of 64 (max = 512).
Maps is "fully vis:ed"


* Installation *

Unzip archive to root of your Quake dir. A map named id1 and another named
wads are included in the zip and these need to be in root.


* Copyright / Permissions *

Authors may NOT use the contents of this file as a base for
modification or reuse.  Permissions have been obtained from original
authors for any of their resources modified or included in this file.

You MAY distribute this file, provided you include this text file, with
no modifications.  You may distribute this file in any electronic format
(BBS, Diskette, CD, DVD; BD, download, etc) as long as you include this
file intact.  I have received permission from the original authors of
any modified or included content in this file to allow further
distribution.


* Authors commentary *

After seeing stuff like Arcane Dimensions, standard medievil Quake is a
tough "market" to get into these days. I have not touched mapping since
the early days of CounterStrike, so basically some 15-20 years ago.
I always loved Half-Life so I thought, "hey why not make a Quake map that
plays more like a Half-Life level and not so much as your average Quake
map.
Also, if I'm doing a single player level, I want it to have some replay
value so there's a bunch of secrets to discover that will help you
complete the map more effectively. I also tried to give the player
some feeling of "free choice".
From a technical perspective, my initial though was to keep it as much
as possible within vanilla Quake limits, because I wanted it to be
playable on lesser systems that still have ports of Quake based on
old WinQuake versions. At some point I ran into max edge limits so
I started optimizing and tried to keep geometry simple. Still, in the
end I exceeded a bunch of limits which means it will need a modern
Quake engine to run. Not a big deal for most people, but it will
exclude some other.
Also, just wanted to say that map was sort of finished a while ago, but
it took a while to get the damn vis to go throug (meaning finding and
fixing leaks, believe me, some "shouldn't have been called leaks, but
hey, you don't argue with a compiler, you just fix it until it works ;-)

Hope you enjoy my map.
/eXeler0

#2 2019-03-03 21:34:02

Pineapple
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

Wakka wakka

#3 2019-03-03 22:49:32

dumptruck_ds
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

Congratulations. I am going to fire this up and report back!

#4 2019-03-03 23:07:32

eXeler0
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

dumptruck_ds wrote:

Congratulations. I am going to fire this up and report back!

Thanx man, this wouldn't have happened if it wasnt for your very helpful Trenchbroom tutorials.

#5 2019-03-04 20:59:09

JMP
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

Congratulations on the release. Haven't played yet, but the screenshots on your site make it look very stylish, especially the outdoor shot.

#6 2019-03-04 22:27:38

eXeler0
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

Thanx @JMP I went for the Half Life look rather than classic Quake so I ended up replacing most of the default wad with my own textures.
And now that you mention it, yea, screenshots are actually available here:
http://www.exretro.com/downloads/qmaps/ … index.html
(Hope its ok to post an url to scrreenshots)

Cheers
eX

#7 2019-03-05 20:27:38

dumptruck_ds
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

I played a bit of it. It's way too hard IMO. Not enough health and way too much reliance on secrets for weapons and armor. I dig the setting tho and there are some nice elements and some fun to be had. I had to turn on godmode when you put me up against a Shambler and Fiend in a tiny room after a fight with no health.

FYI Shamblers take 1/2 damage from rocket launchers.

I think one issue is that every button is a shootable button. That wastes ammo unless you switch to an axe and in the case of the first elevator puzzle I HAD to shoot a few times to solve it.

It's a very ambitious map and I want to play some more so keep at it!

#8 2019-03-05 20:28:59

dumptruck_ds
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

Oh also I got stuck at the zombie area with all the signs - not sure where to go after that.

#9 2019-03-05 22:10:24

eXeler0
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

Hi @dumptruck_ds thanx for your feedback - fair points, I was thinking long and hard about the way to lay out the pick-ups throughout the map, and it's possible I'm breaking some etiquette or philosophy here but in the end it was sort of a design choice to have the player learn the map and reveal its secretes in order to succeed (replayability, after all once you complete it its the end ;-)). Once you find the secrets (most are fairly easy to find) you'll be beating the map with 100% kills, all (or most) secrets in about 15 minutes.

#10 2019-03-05 22:14:45

eXeler0
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

dumptruck_ds wrote:

Oh also I got stuck at the zombie area with all the signs - not sure where to go after that.

When you see the blocked room with warning signs and zombies, you go right into the weapons lab. From there you use the elevator up and up there you can get a gold key (upstairs, then past the lava)..
Then you need to find your way back, past the zombie room - and theres a shaft you can use to reach it from above (shaft is blocked though, and you need to activate it with a trigger upstairs, then ruuun! ;-). After that, the next door opens right away and you proceed to the next area.

Last edited by eXeler0 (2019-03-05 22:20:57)

#11 2019-03-06 01:40:14

dumptruck_ds
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

You should pos the map on func_msgboard for more feedback from the community. Or join us on the Quake Mapping Discord. Quaddicted is great but it's a bit more quiet as far as playtesting and feedback.

#12 2019-03-06 12:53:48

eXeler0
Member

Re: New single player map "Area32x"

dumptruck_ds wrote:

You should pos the map on func_msgboard for more feedback from the community. Or join us on the Quake Mapping Discord. Quaddicted is great but it's a bit more quiet as far as playtesting and feedback.

Sounds like good advice, thanx man

/eX

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