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Soldat Forums - Soldat Maps & Map Making - Mapping Ideas / Discussions
carnageX
May 6, 2006, 3:40 am
Screenshot:
[URL]
[URL]

Well, as of right now, it's about an estimated 60-70% done. I still have to add moss (liana) on the rocks, spawn points for more players / other objects and such. I just want some criticism on the basic layout / look of the map so far. I may change the name, or I may keep it. I'm not sure yet, I'll just have to wait and see. I still have to fix some things on the bridge, because the bullets go through it, even though I have solid polygons there, so help on fixing that would be appreciated. So, what do you think of it so far? Thanks in advance =).

I'm not completely finished, so I'm not releasing a download link as of yet.

rabidhamster
May 6, 2006, 4:22 am
Make sure you don't use more than 500 sceneries. Also, add more poly detail.

carnageX
May 6, 2006, 4:32 am
Yeah, I'll have to try to remember not to add a lot of scenary XD. I'm not going to add moss to the entire area, just bits and pieces of it. I'll probably add some barrels, trees, etc. around also. Mostly above ground, and barrels and such below ground.

And what do you mean by 'poly detail'? Could you explain a little bit more about what you mean?

The Geologist
May 6, 2006, 6:04 am
All that moss at the top really isn't doing anything for the map, and you could get more use out of freeing up some sceneries without it. Other than that, how about a little scale? A screenshot to see how big a soldat is in there? because with all those tunnels going to nowhere, gameplay could be hindered.

DeMonIc
May 6, 2006, 9:04 am
Keep in mind that if some sceneries look nice on the overview, they might look horrid in-game: this goes for that liana formation up top too. Try to use less support.bmp's, you can make much better supports with different types of sceneries ( usually the better looking col*.bmp's do the job ). Also, if this is a DM map, it should have a big circular route, because this way gameplay could end up pretty pale.

Soulsnipa
May 6, 2006, 12:08 pm
good golly miss molly thats a lot of liana.

carnageX
May 6, 2006, 4:39 pm
Ah, ok. I'll work on the suggestions, and fix the layout a bit. Hopefully I'll be able to make it better. I guess it's a good thing I didn't decide to finish it, and release it as a final map, and it turns out to be a bad one =\. Thanks for criticism, guys =).

rabidhamster
May 6, 2006, 4:57 pm
Poly detail (n.) Polygon volume, the more polygons per area, the better. Formula: D=A/P, whereas D is poly detail, A refers to size of an area that is filled with polygons, and P is number of polygons. The higher, the better.

Keron Cyst
May 6, 2006, 6:48 pm
That's not always true. You forgot on the left side D + L (Lag).

Nice. If that thing in the top-left is a bridge I'd recommend trashing it or wrecking it (make a hole somewhere). One-way paths on DM are poor.

carnageX
May 6, 2006, 7:19 pm
Yeah, it's supposed to be a bridge. I think I most likely will trash it, because there seems to be holes in it, because when I shot at it when I ran a practice run through it, the bullets went through it =\. So I may just trash that bridge, and then add a platform below it. I'll try to work on it today, if I have time that is.

edak
May 6, 2006, 11:53 pm
This reminds me of lode-runner, I say follow the suggestions and give us a new screenie.

carnageX
May 7, 2006, 6:15 pm
Ok, I took your guys' advice, and I modified the map. I took out all the liana at the top, and took out the bridge. I also opened up some of the previously enclosed areas to the rest of the map. I also changed the shading around the torches from white, to an orange color. I still have to add scenary. I didn't have much time to fix it up last night, but that's what I came up with. So, what do you think now?

KamikazeDuck
May 8, 2006, 7:08 am
:) better

:D even better when there's more scenery, and maybe smoother edges? I looked back and they're okay