LDG-Gaming

Hello folks! I have here a beautiful idea for interesting assault map. But this map whould be a big work so before taking this work I want to be sure that somebody will need this. So please read the following short destription of the base concept and write your opinion below. Thank you!

The base idea is to make the totally vehicular map (not race, vehicular fight only) that will represent a battle in which team of armed mechanical slugs is invading the fortress-nest of militarized chitinous bugs to destroy their queen. The main singularity is that all vehicles will be walking or running like SpiderMines, maybe strafe, have unique weaponry, various abilities and will be different for each team.

There are two sets of vehicles, unique for attackers and defenders, two different type of vehicular bugs - chitinous and slugs.

These vehicles weaponry will represent most of usual unreal weapons like RaptorPlasma, ScorpionWeb, LinkGun shaft and plasma, Stinger(UT3), Bio, Flack and even Redeemer (actually half of Redeemer :D).

That two types of vehicles would have different design, sure they will be solid (no jelly for slugs :D), but ones of them will shoot with solid/fragment/explosive projectiles and anothers with plasma/slug/bio projectiles.

Objectives tasks
attackers
1) Zone 1: Mop up the approaches for your siege. (destroy defending MegaTurrets)
2) Zone 1: Secure your siege base. (hold obj with any vehicle, like at Glacier)
3) Zone 2: Break the nest entrance. (destroyable gates)
4) Zone 2: Penetrate with Leviathan to mutate into Hatchery. (touch w/ Levi)
5) Zone 3: [some multi-objective, didnt formulate yet] (hold, multiple)
6) Zone 3: [something like 'burst to the queens lair'] (destroy or hold)
7) Zone 4: Kill that stinkers queen! (destroyable objective)
defenders
1) Zone 1: Help our turrets to defend from slugs.
2) Zone 1: Prevent the slugs from occupation the approaches.
3) Zone 2: Defend the nest entrance from destruction!
4) Zone 2: Dont let that mutant penetrate our nest!!!
5) Zone 3: [defend something]
6) Zone 3: [something like 'stop the slugs invasion']
7) Zone 4: Defend our Queen from slug bastards!!!

Vehicles description and base charecteristics

Attackers has: 1 light, 3 medium, 1 heavy, 1 flying vehicle types.
Defenders has: 1 light, 2 medium, 1 heavy, 1 flying, 2 turret vehicle types.

details mask: vehicle name (speed, hp) (team) [description]
- weaponry (if one mode is described its assined on both fire modes)

Cockroach (fast, light) (attackers)
- primary shoots with usual LinkGun primary plasma
- alternative at close can hit like ShieldGun
Spider (medium, medium) (attackers)
- the Scorpion-like web, but round and huge, slowing down target
Link (medium, medium) (attackers) rename needed
- shaft like LinkTurret, can link and heal (ray is more thick, more serpentine, with 'streaming down' clots)
Venom (medium, light) (attackers)
- primary like Bio Primary, but stronger and flyies farther, average distance
- alternative pumping like Bio but shooting multiple descrete blobs (like spray)

Ripper (fast, light) (defenders)
- primary shoots fast small chitinous needles, like stinger
- alternative at close can hit with chitinous nippers (or claws)
Kamikaze (fast, light) (defenders) meant as medium-force vehicle, running deemer :D
- selfdestruction w/ huge splash (1/2 Redeemer) and damage (distance dependent)
Scorpion (medium, light) (defenders) not that wheeled scorpion, but like bug
- primary like Flack Primary, but only 5 big chitinous darts
- alternative like Flack Alternative, close distance

Fly (medium, light) (attackers) raptor analogue
- shooting raptor plasma (green), autoaims on Hornet
Hornet (medium, light) (defenders) Fly opponent
- shooting small chitinous needles, like Cicada primary, autoaims on Fly

Leviathan (slow, heavy) (attackers) no walk or wheels - sliding - the real slug
- something average between BioAlt and FlackAlt, closer to Bio - huge blob exploding with partitioning onto smaller blobs that explode than too, huge splash and damage, lobbed shooting (like mortar but more far then hight)
Queen (fixed, heavy) (defenders) destroyable body with undestroyable turrets
- few doubled MegaTurrets (each of few shooters controls two integral turrets), semi-automatic (shooter not needed)

Turret (non automatic) (defenders) analogue of minigun turret, but w/ projectiles
- shoots fast (non hitscan) small chitinous needles, like stinger
MegaTurret (semi-automatic) (defenders) analogue of link turret, but only projectiles
- shoots medium speed big chitinous darts, technically like LinkTurret primary

All vehicles except Queen are singleseat. All vehicles have zero driver damage and in all vehicles driver dies with his vehicle.


Objectives tasks
(repeated for reading with the following below vehicles quantities information)
attackers
1) Zone 1: Mop up the approaches for your siege. (destroy defending MegaTurrets)
2) Zone 1: Secure your siege base. (hold obj with any vehicle, like at Glacier)
3) Zone 2: Break the nest entrance. (destroyable gates)
4) Zone 2: Penetrate with Leviathan to mutate into Hatchery. (touch w/ Levi)
5) Zone 3: [some multi-objective, didnt formulate yet] (hold, multiple)
6) Zone 3: [something like 'burst to the queens lair'] (destroy or hold)
7) Zone 4: Kill that stinkers queen! (destroyable objective)
defenders
1) Zone 1: Help our turrets to defend from slugs.
2) Zone 1: Prevent the slugs from occupation the approaches.
3) Zone 2: Defend the nest entrance from destruction!
4) Zone 2: Dont let that mutant penetrate our nest!!!
5) Zone 3: [defend something]
6) Zone 3: [something like 'stop the slugs invasion']
7) Zone 4: Defend our Queen from slug bastards!!!

Vehicles quantities by objectives

16 plrs variant
1) def: 3 Ripper, 2 Kamikaze, 2 Hornet, 3 MegaTurrets
1) atk: 4 Cockroach, 2 Spider, 2 Fly
2) def: 5 Ripper, 2 Kamikaze, 2 Hornet (reinforcements arrived)
2) atk: 4 Cockroach, 2 Spider, 2 Fly
3) def: 5 Ripper, 2 Kamikaze, 1 Hornet, 4 Turrets
3) atk: 3 Cockroach, 1 Spider, 1 Fly, 2 Link, 1 Leviathan (reinforcements arrived)
4) def: 5 Ripper, 2 Kamikaze, 1 Hornet, (Turrets)
4) atk: 4 Cockroach, 2 Spider, 1 Fly, 3 Link, 1 Leviathan (reinforcements arrived)
5) def: 5 Ripper, 4 Scorpion
5) atk: 4 Cockroach, 2 Spider, 4 Venom
6) def: 5 Ripper, 4 Scorpion
6) atk: 4 Cockroach, 2 Spider, 4 Venom
7) def: 5 Ripper, 4 Scorpion, Queen with 2 double turrets
7) atk: 4 Cockroach, 2 Spider, 4 Venom

28 plrs variant
1) def: 5 Ripper, 4 Kamikaze, 4 Hornet, 4 MegaTurrets
1) atk: 6 Cockroach, 4 Spider, 4 Fly
2) def: 7 Ripper, 4 Kamikaze, 4 Hornet (reinforcements arrived)
2) atk: 6 Cockroach, 4 Spider, 4 Fly
3) def: 8 Ripper, 4 Kamikaze, 2 Hornet, 4 Turrets
3) atk: 5 Cockroach, 3 Spider, 2 Fly, 3 Link, 1 Leviathan (reinforcements arrived)
4) def: 8 Ripper, 4 Kamikaze, 2 Hornet, (Turrets)
4) atk: 7 Cockroach, 4 Spider, 2 Fly, 4 Link, 1 Leviathan (reinforcements arrived)
5) def: 10 Ripper, 6 Scorpion
5) atk: 8 Cockroach, 3 Spider, 6 Venom
6) def: 10 Ripper, 6 Scorpion
6) atk: 8 Cockroach, 3 Spider, 6 Venom
7) def: 10 Ripper, 6 Scorpion, Queen with 3 double turrets
7) atk: 8 Cockroach, 3 Spider, 6 Venom

After every completed objective force teleportation will be used to avoid using vehicles from previous objectives.

The work elements

Making a map from zero is a big work. Especially hard it is when it can became your first map.
I'm not able to make it alone. I need help. This map can be created only by a team work, separated but organized.

Things I'm going to take alone:
- architectural plans and design

Things I can take alone but will glad for any help:
- vehicles modelling (mainly of borrowed elements from some UT2k4 mods and UnrealEngine games)
- vehicles coding (mainly borrowing from UT2k4 weapons and vehicles)
- map building by my sketches (brushes, staticmeshes, movers etc.)

Things I can't take alone and I wish to do them together:
- map mechanics (scripting, pathnodes etc.)

Things I can't take at all and need somebody to do them:
- decoration (textures, adornments, emitters etc.)

Things that should be taken by folk:
- testing

When I write this lines I have in mind such people as Azarael, Izumo, Socio and some others...
Sure all this can be done only on two conditions: folk should be interested in this work and participants should be interested too.

So I want everybody to leave a comment please. Thank you.

It immediately remembered me this:



Sounds a nice idea, but I think it will rely more on the motivation of the creators (you, Aza, Izumo... whoever participates) to be achieved... And yes it will be a lot of work.

Well I suggest to look what type of vehicles are done (modelled) first (FlakRat; Warthorgh; Helicopter from the Battlefield).
btw. there is in Ut2k4 bulldog as a static mesh; which could be used, but turret needs animating. However not resulting it in complete spam with reasonable amount of players won't be as easy to map.

so heres my opionion:

im 100% sure that this map cant be good
if you do it, it will be like confexia, a lot of work, a big map, a lot of vehicle action, a lot of boredom and lame vehicle gameplay

this is assault, a map with 100% vehicle-based gameplay, and with new custom vehicles WILL fail in gameplay, theres no way that this map can be good, not a chance

if you want to make a good assault map, let out any custom vehicle shit, make non-vehicle parts, and take a good look how the epic games maps are done in gameplay, but dont go on with your idea, cause it WILL be shit, i can garantuee you that

Calum

For once, I have to agree with Calum, with a few additional statements:

- Making new things for the players of LDG is a waste of time. If you make new vehicles, you have to balance them and figure out how to spoonfeed their functions to over 400 noobs (550 unique IDs per month). If you fail to do so, they will tell you all your hard work is shit and they will never vote your map again. Balancing alone will take ages, let alone design and modelling.

- None of us can texture. I use an extremely lame method for the basic texturing on my vehicles, hence why you complained that the Venom looks like a Mario vehicle. The blue team skin is a fair approximation of what the craft looks like in G-Police: Weapons of Justice, but the red team skin...bah.

- I won't support any project that involves stealing the work of real developers and modders (ones with skill).

Reading the description, one thought was circling in my head... AS-Insemination.

Its like the most original map I ever saw done for UT2004, but its a real failure in terms of gameplay. Because its all vehicle-gameplay based, and to be fair, it gets boring fast. Rush-them-with-vehicles, be-rushed-by-vehicles sums it up.

I agree with Calums post, making a good AS map is a lot more then just "having an great idea" maps shouldnt be just rush-do-obj-win (though most of nubs like them like that). Its a try-fail way, things that you thought will be fun while making the map, turn out to be shit in gameplay with real people. And you dont have any other choice, just to f*ck your hard work and effort, and sometimes scrap and re-do stuff that you spent hours of work on.

lol @ socios avatar

Thanx all. Theme closed.

PM me if you want this unlocked. - Azarael