DM-DustStorm2k12

[Skaldy]

It's a very popular map here, jefe, and on other servers I visit too. From memory, the updated version here has at least 3 extra "bypass" path connections, to reduce bottlenecks and open it out for TDM/Freon, which work quite well:

• from the underpass, to the level above
• from the redeemer room, around the corner
• from the redeemer-unlock graffiti wall, to the area behind

So, can we look forward to an even better version?

[Butcher]

Just Join us in the BW#1 server in peak time (from 19:00 to 23:00 CET) and it will be played when server is full. Its played everyday

[Calypto]

In 2k13/INV, there is a path near the little "patio" behind the storage crate.

[jefe]

The modified version was further edited and renamed to DustStorm-DC2k13.

DustStorm-DC][ is the version on BW #1, which was modified by Vanico and cleaned up by me (tasteless "Jam sucks" in arabic-like lettering which adds to filesize).

DustStorm-INV is the one on the invasion server, or BW #2. It's an edit of the 2k13 version to accompany monster flow better.

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=1 ... file%2czip

I really like the additions to DustStorm-DC][. Very nice and faithful to the original style of the map.

[jefe]

I'm nearly finished with a "DC 3" version of the map, based on the DC][ edit.

Added a new section going from the underpass Bio room to the flak pickup.
Added a connection above the overpass as in the INV version.
Lighting revamped.
Skybox remade to look more like a dust storm.
BSP error near the dome fixed.
Most random barrels removed.
Remade some textures.
Blocking volume above the level restored, working on making them a bit more consistent.

If you have any ideas or requests for the new version, I'll definitely consider it.

[Skaldy]

In the original, there was a place near the flak (the adjacent boxes) where people could get onto the roof, which was undesirable. I could never manage it myself, and it might have been fixed in later versions anyway.

If the least-used areas are brought into active play, that will be great.

I look forward to seeing & playing your new version.

[jefe]

Well, when we tested DC][ on my server one of the first things we found was the we could easily get out of the level. When I looked at the map in unreal ed, I found it was because someone had deleted the large blocking volume that covered the level. There was also a large gap in the volumes on the walls on the new path near where the old redeemer room was. But even in the old DC version there were several places were you could get onto ledges and at least one place you could get out completely. What I'd like to do is make the volumes more consistent, so the plan is to draw new ones vertically from every ledge so that you can fly or get knocked around without landing on any roofs.

I really don't mind getting on roofs if the level is pretty open and the level's design supports it. But in this case the map isn't intended to be played like that, and it's an ugly patchwork with a bunch of BSP errors on the roof. It would pretty much take completely remaking ALL of the geometry to fix that, which is way beyond the scope of an edit.

Bringing the least used areas into play is also another goal. For DM play, that was my thought in adding the new section from the bio room the the flak covered by that metal grate. And that overhang above the other flak was a dead end, that's why I've put the the van there as a route to go up to that keg of health. I'm also trying to make some of the other areas more attractive for invasion players as hiding spots by minimizing the number of nodes in those buildings, but I'm not planning to have a huge area without path nodes as in your INV version (you guys can delete them out of a section if you want.)

[Skaldy]

OK. Sounds good - the weapon/health/damage placements will have benefitted from a review too.

One of the other reasons I always liked this map is that it runs very smoothly unlike some of the maps on the BW server, like AMDK-OldHaven, which seem inherently stuttery even on my AMD 7850. I assumed this was down to having smaller numbers/sizes of textures & objects etc. Even sky implementations seems to affect AMD and nVidia very differently.

For me, detail is less important than performance for a twitch arena FPS like this, so I hope this minimal philosophy is continued in the new version of DustStorm.

[jefe]

Yeah, I'm not sure what to do about the weapons at the moment. I kind of like the weapon lockers, but I could set it up more leaning toward DM with standard pickups. But as I understood it, this maps is played on your TAM and INV servers, so weapon placement shouldn't matter much for you guys.

As for details, no, I'm not going to do much more than I've already done (skybox and light cones.) In fact, back when I edited the old version of DustStorm, I always played on low or medium detail, so I never noticed how strong the dust effect is, enough to be a bit of a FPS hit. I've toned that down considerably for the new version.

As for AMDK's maps, I have mostly just his later maps on my server, since his early ones like Palace of Injustice and OldHaven, while quite impressive, had performance issues. One of them, STP-Station, I edited for my server, removing about half of map and just keeping the railway area. I was nearly done with it and couldn't figure out why I was still having FPS issues. Turns out it was the skybox. Normally when you look straight up at the sky, your FPS should be close to your maximum; on some of AMDK's maps you'll see a sizable FPS drop when you look up.

There are some tricks to improving maps with poor FPS, but the solutions can vary widely and can be a lot of work to implement, or the fix can be something simple like changing the fog distance. Sometimes it's just down to level design and too much of the level being visible at once, and there isn't much that can be done.

I might take a look at OldHaven, since I've had someone else request it, but I've got quite a few other things on my todo list as well.

[Skaldy]

That's good - optimizing at the end is usually worth the effort.

AMD cards definitely seem to have issues with transparency somewhere - the smoke/fire/mist/gas effects in this BW mod cause slowdowns in close combat, just when you don't need them (I swear I'll get an nVidia card next time!). And even modern game authors find this - I saw this recently on an upcoming FPS forum: http://forum.toxikk.com/viewtopic.php?f ... ency#p8638 , but what they found and whether the solution could help with configuring UT2004 or with map design, I don't know.

As for skyboxes, there's that "SkyBoxHack" setting in UT2004.ini, and I'm not sure whether that is better on or off under AMD/nVidia. I also wonder about the "TextureDetailLightmap" setting - it defaults to UltraHigh and changing the detail in the game UI doesn't ever alter it. You can manually edit the .ini and set it to Normal of course, but I can't particularly tell if it makes much difference.

Oh well.