Map Review Please?

Franaticus Satanii · Post by **Franaticus Satanii** » Fri Oct 31, 2003 7:46 pm

This is my first completed map. I think most will enjoy it.

FAQ's:

- TDM
- MOH:AA

It is based upon Birkenau site plans downloaded from museum sites on the internet. The map has areas for everyone's fighting style niche. Open areas for snipers, buildings for outdoor guerilla warefare, and indoor areas (some secret rooms) for explorers and campers. It also includes some dog BOTs thanks to a modified script by bdbodger (thanks BTW).

Some surprises are in and around the map such as electrified fences, working gas chambers, etc.

Thanks to tltrude, bdbodger, wacko, and general_disarray for their continued help and support getting through all the scripting.

I would appreciate any critques to make my next map that much better. Thanks all at .MAP.

Here is the link:
http://rsha.cyberseals.net/user-rsha-birkenau.pk3

Post by **jv_map** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 7:52 am

Hmm I'm sorry to say this but the review center here is pretty much on hold

, which has to do with the fact that all our reviewers are very busy with other things like private life and other projects.

If I were you I would post this in the new map releases section (with a few screenshots) and most likely you'll get some feedback from our members

Post by **Bjarne BZR** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 10:42 am

I also sugest to post it at www.mapraider.com
Exelent site that more people should use.

Franaticus Satanii · Post by **Franaticus Satanii** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 5:04 pm

Thanks for the heads up.

I will re-submit as advised.

I don't know how to get the screen shots in the thread. What size/resolution should they be? Where do the screen shots need to reside?

Post by **jv_map** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 8:23 pm

Well you have to upload them somewhere... but if you don't have access to any ftp servers you may also e-mail them to me and I'll put em up for you.

640 x 480 is a good size for a screenshot.

Franaticus Satanii · Post by **Franaticus Satanii** » Sat Nov 01, 2003 8:36 pm

Thanks jv_map. I in fact do not have access to an ftp server.

Per your excellent offer, I have sent some 640x480 jpegs to your email. These are the same images that I posted at "mapraider" per Bjarne BZR's advise.

Thanks for your help.

Post by **Bjarne BZR** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 11:18 am

Your post at mapraider got me interested, so I took a look at it:

Overall feeling: is great. You have really captured a sense of gloom and hopelessness. Good work!

FPS: is not good, and at most of the bad spots I see no real reason for this. I blame the dogs.

Texturing: is not ready in my opinion. After basically running across the map once I found about 10-20 brush and/or texture errors. If you are blind to these errors yourself (common after working with a map for a long time): get someone to beta test it for you.

Dogs: are cool and all, but I cant really see them doing anything else than irritate players when the first "look, a dog, cool" effect has worn off.

VIS: you have large chunks of distant buildings popping in and out of existence in the horizon... no lookie goodie.

Conclusion: It will be a good map when it is completed ( and for gods sake: make an objective version... there is a thread about making Liberation Mode objectives in MOH:AA in the forum

)

Franaticus Satanii · Post by **Franaticus Satanii** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 1:29 pm

Bjarne BZR,

Thanks for the response. Glad you liked the ambience. Game play is real good if you take out the bots. And you are correct, with my clan testing the map, we went two 15 min rounds before I emailed everyone with an updated script without them. At first they were awesome, then in the way, then a real pain in the a**! Next release will discontinue the dogs (

) and i may make an object...liberate the camp.

A lot of people have played this map so far without commenting on errors. I have noticed a couple of issues, like a missing sig texture, a light leak coming from the next room, and fire leaking from the furnaces a little. Can you give me a "reader's digest" version of what you saw? I'd like to touch it up with the next release.

My latest project {RSHA} Pandamonium will be a little more diverse (briefly, allies have tracked a sub to a secret sub pen restocking installation located on a beachfront town with cliffs and have placed it under artillery attack). When I am finished, I will jump back to {RSHA} Birkenau and flush it out a little.

I don't know how to keep the farplane from blinking like that. This map is BIG and it's a little unruly to work with.

Post by **Bjarne BZR** » Sun Nov 02, 2003 10:18 pm

Well, because I like the map and you promised an objective version....OK

The most common error is your use of fence textures... putting it on all the faces of a brush looks like crap. Only put the fence texture on one face and common/nodraw on the rest (if you get ugly sharp edges: add a frame):

This looks wrong... but it may be intentional to have a loose plank in here:

These carts have open fronts... never seen carts like that. My guess is you deleted the front unintensionally and then copied the cart:

Two holes into the skybox/void under the fence:

The roof is levitating:

Missing texture (bunker 3 I think):

Here is your problem with popping horison(the following two pics are from the same angle). If you use common/caulksky instead of your current sky, you will get the look in the second picture. Your 2 choices to solve your problem are:
1) Keep the farplane clipping (fog) and change the sky to common/caulksky.
2) Keep your current sky and remove the fog completely.
I suggest 1 (with a rolling cloud layer like I made in Vemork approach).

These models are not clipped, you can walk through them:
The train cannon...

...the flak-88...

...and the canopy truck.

Hope that helps.