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Baby's First Steps: The Ice Cave


RelFexive

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I had this great idea for a duel map: the duellers get dropped into an ice cave. So you've got twisty floors, stalagtites and stalagmites (some breakable?) and some impromptu lights stuck to the walls.

 

I've done some preliminary work, mostly on using the 'simple patch mesh' method of terrain creation. Here are some screenshots of the little I've done so far:

 

Test Shot 1

 

Test Shot 2

 

Test Shot 3

 

Test Shot 4

 

This terrain method is a little hit-and-miss. Anyone got any better ways or tricks to use?

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Looks good... the key to an ice cave will be making it look natural... random humps of snow and such that have no apparent pattern.

 

You might even have a hidden jedi temple filled partly with snow (blocking off some areas) that part of it could be in... or maybe the entrance to a jedi temple covered with snow? So you could duel on the snow covered steps or further away from it in the cave...

 

Just ideas. :D

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Hmmmm.... Good ideas there.

 

My original idea was just to have a cave the duellists were somehow lowered down into through a hole in the ceiling (loooong hole, no jumping out!).

 

But instead, now this: A cave set into a cliff, the duellists blocked in by a forcefield; a big cave with rolling floors and ceilings spiky with stalagtites and stalagmites (some breakable) with a small, half-buried Jedi temple at the other end.

 

Sounds a bit more interesting, yes?

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OOH You could half both of the player spawns be above ground with an auto-opening door that whisks them into a series of snowy chutes (slick texture) down into the main area!

 

Damn, I should stop giving you ideas, I almost want to make this myself now. :p

 

But yes! Very good ideas!

 

Make the snow look natural and blend the temple in well enough and that would be a very good map indeed.

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I would like to issue a little constructive criticism. The shots you showed looked like a square room with piles of snow in it. You really need to ditch the corners as it kills the illusion of a natural cave. I would make it multi-leveled too if you can pull it off.

 

Or better yet, a small outside portion with a cave enterance, a medium sized enterance cave with 3-4 tunnels leading to one large main cave filled with stalactites and stalagmites.

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Yeah, I know. It's just a test at the moment, for perfecting the lumpy snow effect. I'll deal with the harsh corners when I do the real thing.

 

How about several levels/rooms, separated by slippery tunnels that force the duellists down to the lowest level, where the temple/shrine is?

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Originally posted by RelFexive

Yeah, I know. It's just a test at the moment, for perfecting the lumpy snow effect. I'll deal with the harsh corners when I do the real thing.

 

How about several levels/rooms, separated by slippery tunnels that force the duellists down to the lowest level, where the temple/shrine is?

 

If you could pull that off, that would be slick.

 

Sorry, I couldnt help myself. But I do like the idea of slick surfaces. Especially with the shrine at the bottom of it all. It would kinda be kool to have someone encased in ice somewhere on the level too. Just for the look of it. Maybe Dessan...

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For a really cool effect (if you want to create a damn nice effect), you could even try putting in brushes against a wall of ice to make the effect of a fossil of some sort of ancient hoth beast...

 

And if you want to try to "force" duelists to the lowest level, you're going to need to make sure that both duelist can pretty much always see each other on each level, otherwise one may drop down and the other won't know it. :p

 

The excitement of a duel might be cut off when one of them has to say "Uh hey... I dropped down another level." :p

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I've done a bit more work on it....

 

Test Shot 2.01

 

Test Shot 2.02

 

Test Shot 2.03

 

Test Shot 2.04

 

Test Shot 2.05

 

Test Shot 2.06

 

The sliding tube/tunnel was a serious bitch to figure out and get working, but I got the hang of it in the end....

 

I'm not really sure about the floor and ceiling. They seem a bit off to me.

 

The forcefield barring exit from the cave can be walked through at the moment. Anyone spot any threads/know any tutorials that tells me how to set up a proper, reflects blasters type forcefield?

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It was a bit of a trick getting the hang of making the tunnel, I can tell you....

 

I need to add, sculpt and connect a few more rooms (another three?) and put the temple/shrine in the bottom.

 

And I might add the cliff face outside too....

 

And I'll experiment with monster 'fossils'....

 

I'm not sure how to add a frozen Desann, though.... Anyone got any ideas?

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You've seen the second set of screenshots? Just that room so far :) I think it needs another four chambers, the last with the temple/shrine at the end of it. The lower rooms should be easier, as I think I'll be sticking to curved floors with lumps and spikes on instead of the 'terrain floor' of the topmost room.

 

I've got quite a ways to go, mostly because I'm still perfecting my techniques (such as they are) and learning as I go. So it will take some time.

 

Questions That Need Answers:

 

1. How would I add a Desann to this MP level, just to stand still 'frozen' in a block of 'ice'?

 

2. How the frell do you do fog? If I can't get it to work I'll have to resort to using the 'forcefield stops you getting outside' trick instead.

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Well, if the only problem with the forcefield is being able to walk through it, you could just put a thin clip brush in front of it. As for being able to reflect shots, there are some forcefieldy (yes, that's a word) shaders in a few of the texture sets that are solid and reflect energy projectiles. I don't remember exactly where, but check the imperial sets and doomgiver, there'll probably be some there, though in the editor they often look like the default checkered pattern.

 

On the other hand, if you could make one of your snowbanks into a func_door just above the cave entrance, you could have it collapse on anyone who tries to leave. It would make it seem more like you were inside an unstable cave if you pulled it off right. I think you'd need to set the speed high, set the crusher flag and give it a high dmg value, and probably set it to start open with the angle set to stright up. But that's just my three cents (inflation).

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I'm not really concerned about blocking the entrance now as I've sorted out the cliff + fog problems I was having.

 

As an addition, I was thinking of adding a few of the small skiffs from Nar Shadda and have them floating out of jump range around the canyon.

 

As for the aforementioned Desann-icle, I'll post a thread about it....

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