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View Full Version : My little rant on Siege maps



Higor
02-21-2013, 10:58 PM
It's been a while since I complained about something, but here goes: the maps.

The whole map thing, it doesn't actually have anything to do with layouts, poor designs, or even how the same 5 maps get voted over and over (our effors were successful here).
It's not about something actually 'visible', it's about the usage of PathNodes.

Siege and many mods use PathNode actors as points of reference to insert various things: monsters, items, relics, whatever you can think of. It's a great idea since there's no other quick way to determine what parts of the 3d space given by the map are actually playable and reachable.
But it has come to the point that PathNodes are simply being used as simple item markers, mappers have either forgotten -or worse, never learned- of their real purpose, which is the generation of a path network for AI creatures.

Some of you may wonder what I'm talking about, well I'm talking about this:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/58384316/UT99/Shots/Other/Paths1.JPG

There's absolutely no way to make AI able to play on this map, and so is the issue with various popular Siege maps as well as normal maps with absolutely no pathing on it.
Sure, the Siege's way of inserting the initial resources is partly to blame for this node usage... until RC18 comes out (RC17 is a test release only available for PUG server admins to launch).

I altered the way resources are inserted, making them spawn near the core, using the path network to 'branch' themselves away from it.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/58384316/UT99/Shots/Other/Paths2.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/58384316/UT99/Shots/Other/Paths3.JPG

This method provides uniform, fair and not so distant placement of the resources, regardless of PathNode count on the map, but the maps I previously described with terrible PathNode usage will bring these results:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/58384316/UT99/Shots/Other/Paths4.JPG

And no, I will just tweak the RU creation routine a little further and that will be it, I'm not going to revert it.
This means that some maps (ALL of them are 'Sieged' fixes) will start with terrible resource placement and the only fix for that will be to create a fully operational path network on those, which is a task I'm willing to take up (one map a week or so).
Doing so will make these maps suitable for many gametypes and in the future, capable of running with bots.

Mappers, if you can't create a path network, leave it to someone who can, it's a just matter of inserting actors.

Disturbed//*.
02-21-2013, 11:19 PM
I blame -SK- for the clarion and all the others he did.

|uK|kenneth
02-22-2013, 10:45 AM
some of you will remember Burning2012 where the ru was fair for both bases 300 ru crystals like 3-4 of them this should be fine for mlsg.

SAM
02-22-2013, 12:35 PM
There's one problem about this.

The initial RU collection is actually fun because some players choose to push up to enemy team base in order to take RU on their side while the rest of the team takes the RU near their base. This also promotes early team piston fights and honestly....is really fun....is there no other way to counter this?

Higor
02-22-2013, 02:31 PM
Taken into account, RU that spawns near core will be a bit more distant, and will be composed of only 80% of the team ru, the remaining 20% will spawn near the base/mid.

~~D4RR3N~~
02-22-2013, 02:40 PM
some of you will remember Burning2012
The only thing I love about Burning2012 (and I think many others like it too, i'm not sure) was the damn awesome music it has! But core is wayyy open...


I blame -SK- for the clarion and all the others he did.
Bathrooms ultimate is quite good! I actually get mad on areku's bathroom version, because there is always one or two ru crystals in blue's flush side but is never there in red's flush... so annoying...

Disturbed//*.
02-22-2013, 06:47 PM
Bathrooms ultimate is quite good! I actually get mad on areku's bathroom version, because there is always one or two ru crystals in blue's flush side but is never there in red's flush... so annoying...

Bathrooms ultimate isn't really that could. From the remake me, higor and severed did i learned about what SK did.

The Tub has a MAJOR bug.
The Map is laggy as it is.
The "Invisible Spot" on the counter was a Tree.(We deleted it)

|uK|B|aZe//.
02-23-2013, 10:59 AM
not laggy, just framedrops for people who dont have a pc that can keep up with the lighting and other stuff in the map

'Zac
02-23-2013, 12:29 PM
The only bad thing about pathnodes is that they random out everywhere, like 1 here and 1 aaaaaaalllll the way over there kinda like minicivil sometimes.

Higor
02-23-2013, 12:42 PM
The only bad thing about pathnodes is that they random out everywhere, like 1 here and 1 aaaaaaalllll the way over there kinda like minicivil sometimes.

DO YOU EVEN PATH BRO?!??

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/58384316/UT99/Shots/PathSample.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/58384316/UT99/Shots/PathSample2.JPG

'Zac
02-23-2013, 01:12 PM
yes i do, i put the pathnodes about a decent space between each one, i was talking about the diamonds, they spawn so far away from each other. plus, i even out the pathnodes on each side so theyre the same.