5 replies to this topic

[OP8]

Expressing my opinion as a level designer for 2.5 decades and dozens of games. The layout of manifold is highly playable and easy to grasp for any skill level of pilot, but this map should not be ranked among finished works for visuals and mechanics. I get it, when this map was made, whoever was doing the maps was still learning how to effectively use the engine and tools. It was fine for a game still being built, but frankly, it's visually monotonous, rubber stamped, and uncreative for a finished product.

Even if no geometry is changed, texture assets, lighting, sky box, environmental effects, and other things need to be brought up to par. Parts of the structures need whole panels painted in white or orange or black. Look at NASA or Russian launch facilities for inspiration. The grey on grey on grey on black overly busy texture gets old really fast. If this is on an asteroid, give it a fast day cycle so the player feels like the whole place is orbiting 2 suns, or some other colorful eye candy for effect in the sky. Make the shadows more dramatic and change as the pronounced light sources traverse the sky.

Give the upper and lower covered areas distinct artificial light sources. The upper area could have "always on" red hazard lights associated with the high voltage equipment of the dish above. Make the tunnels underneath always dark at the entrances but contrasted by bright blue or orange electrical effects or plasma from the reactor cores. Don't be afraid to make the whole ceiling or floor down there a semi solid light or dark texture with minimal grey. Use texture like you'd see on giant electrical transformers or external shuttle fuel tanks. Give the basement a lingering low fog, under lit with orange marker lights on the floor. It currently has no "atmosphere" and is ugly to look at, let alone to showcase the visual of any mech in front of it.

The outer perimeter structure needs blocks of inaccessible interior spaces like offices, laboratories, shuttle hangers, repair bays etc. The occasional 8 story high, closed hanger door painted in shuttle black and white, or yellow/black diamond striping wont hurt these structures either. Give the walls depth and personality, instead of their current "we put this big grey thing here to give the map shape with no function or immersion". The walls could use some eye level, force-field protected aircraft hangers like on star-wars capitol ships. Give the player small views into the human scale world that is the space station surrounding them. Put a full sized egg shaped dropship in view anywhere.

All the maps could benefit from certain scenery assets that are randomized on or off at map start, like shuttles, buildings, wreckage, minor cover pieces etc. AKA sometimes there's a ship on the launchpad blocking a specific sightline, sometimes not; determined before a player is capable of viewing the area at game start.

If this is a space map, give us modified gravity like a space map. Make this the one map where the 10 jump jet spider can really get way up there. The outer edge of the map forces players to stay inside mission boundaries, the mechanism of forcing players to stick on the ground like every other map is redundant and uninspired. This should be the one map where a foolish scout really can get all the way on top of the central dish. Provide a clearly visible but indirect catwalk or ramp for each side to get on top the outer wall from the inner combat area.

People like this map due to it's Arena style layout, it's clearly visible ground, and easy to navigate pathways. Keep those attributes. But for christ's sake it doesn't have to be the grey and black plaid capitol of the universe. PGI's lone mapper has had enough time to learn the engine and asset tools to build something far more immersive as a space station than this.
Heck, send me the tools and assets and I'll upgrade it to artwork status myself for free.

Even a few of my friends have been over watching me play, and said to the effect of "I don't like it when you get this map, you can't see crap over the loud salt and pepper textures, and it's ugly"

Anyway, add that all to my long list of rants.

[edene]

tldr: muh graphics

[Smokeyjedi]

There are far too many mechs to build and sell. thousands to choose from the battletech universe. every other facet of programming is second wind to the main goal. ppl pumping quarters into this p.o.s. So they are so invested, they cannot leave.....You could spend thousands of real dollars in game over the last few years to literally play robot deathmatch on public drops on the same **** coded maps.....seems like 10 devs to make mechs while the 3 remaining devs PGI has deal with every bug or other issue in game. lol

Edited by Smokeyjedi, 26 October 2016 - 05:31 AM.

[Omaha]

jaysuhn, on 26 October 2016 - 02:02 AM, said:

tldr: muh graphics

He doesnt go on about just graphics, PHYSICS TOO!

Smokeyjedi, on 26 October 2016 - 05:30 AM, said:

There are far too many mechs to build and sell. thousands to choose from the battletech universe. every other facet of programming is second wind to the main goal. ppl pumping quarters into this p.o.s. So they are so invested, they cannot leave.....You could spend thousands of real dollars in game over the last few years to literally play robot deathmatch on public drops on the same **** coded maps.....seems like 10 devs to make mechs while the 3 remaining devs PGI has deal with every bug or other issue in game. lol

Frankly you don't have to pre order every mech spending thousands, though I am thankful many do. It helps keep it afloat.

Have things happened in development I don't agree with? Sure! Am I passionate about the game? Sure! But I still like and love mechwarrior/battletech!

Edited by Omaha, 26 October 2016 - 07:46 AM.

[Wolf McNish]

Well, I would agree with this, and would add that it could use a few more acess points through the wall, as a well coordinated team can just utterly control the game if they have the center of the map and control the entraces.

Had that happen last night in FW and it was an exercise in frustration, as a lot of people also didn't get it to move to another entry if the first one is locked down.

I've also noticed that I get way more stuck in the entries to the inner structure.

[TypicalDogAct]

the physics stuff is a issue .... you know that out of bounds area, at the edge of the map ... yeah ... its there above your head also ... you can mess with the gravity control in a user.cfg file, and load up the testing grounds to see what I'm talking about ... the engine has a very simplified idea of gravity, and during early testing, it was 'scaled' so that it 'felt' right to the testers on the day .... the way that its interpreted at the engine level, is terminal velocity, and I think that's set for about 4x what a normal humans terminal velocity is ... so messing with gravity ... is pretty much out ... its never going to happen within the confines of the current engine ...

I hear what your saying, about the beautification of the map .... but, it seems to me, to not be too far from the lore descriptions .... other than the whole teams starting on opposite sides etc .... and then theres the scaling .... one team should be inside the ring, and the other outside .... the facility is owned by ComStar, and was designed for them to defend, their asset ... that giant fusion reaction in the basement, yeah ... its probably the only thing that saves the map from being super basic and barely lore, they should make it an uncontrollable ecm tower ... because that would make sense ... and evenly disadvantage both sides ....