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Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.11

Posted: 13 May 2010, 20:17
by Pyro
Update - v1.11 is now released! 7z file is attached to this post!
GTA2Bootcamp-1.11.7z
(139.97 KiB) Downloaded 3013 times
Alrighty here it is at last, my current project "Bootcamp Capture the Vehicle"! Download link above.

:arrow: Features/Objective
  • Team capture the vehicle! As a team (Red in the south vs Yellow in the north) you must capture the opposing team's APC and bring it to your garage to score points while defending your own! First to 3 points wins!
  • Currently 2, 4 or 6 player mode.
  • Lots of vehicles including Jeep's, Tank's and APC's that respawn!
  • Lots of weapons and powerups! Including weapons that give you 99 ammo located at strategic points and neat powerups including health, armour, fast reload, double damage and invincibility!
  • Respawn points give you access to a weapon, armour, fast reload and double damage so you can get straight back into the action! If you are lucky you may also respawn on a box near the rocket launcher, fast reload, double damage, invisibilty and tank spawn!
  • Promotes good team work and game play! Test your shooting and driving skills!
  • Fast paced so you are never far away from weapons and the action!
:arrow: How to Play
  • Each team starts in opposite bases (red team is south and yellow team is north) and the objective is to steal the opposing teams' APC and deliver it to your base (the place to park is marked by a garage door and arrows on the road) while defending your own APC!
  • Set game type to POINTS and set the winning score to $100,000. First to 3 captures wins $100,000 to win the game!
  • Make sure there is no time limit for the game otherwise team 2 loses their score counter!
  • It's a team game, so use that to your advantage!
Screen Shots
Image
South (red team) base. Shows vehicles, powerups and some of "no-man's land" (top part of screen). North (green team) base is identical (not shown).

Image
Long view from south base showing no-man's land and north base. Also shows some of the powerups too.

Image
View of outside south base. Shows ramps leading from top of the roof in the base leading down so you can either jump down straight away or run on a raised gantry back in to the base. There is a silenced machine gun and molotov spawn here, as well as electro guns on the steps.

Any questions/comments? Would love to hear them! Post away! If you would like to play test it let me know! 8-)

:arrow: Change Log

V1.11
  • Ambient light level increased while playing in dusk mode to 0.33. This makes it a little brighter than before. This won't be noticed if you play in noon mode.
  • Fixed a molotov spawn in north base on the gantry which only have 9 molotov's instead of 99.


V1.10
  • Moved the rusted rail tracks further back to stop people jumping on it (thanks to Gustavob for this).


V1.09
  • Re-designed the middle area (spawn area). Instead of being able to drive straight through there is now a building to go around. Spawn locations remain the same on the raised platforms.
  • Added and moved some boxes near spawn area so you can jump on them after spawning.
  • Moved the road in the east further back so you can no longer jump to it.
  • Re-arranged the non-respawning vehicles in no-man's land so it is mirrored on either side to balance the game.
  • Removed 2 vehicle mine spawns. Moved 2 remaining ones to central position north and south of the central building. Each pickup now only gives 5 mines each instead of 10 now with 1 minute respawn.
  • Generator timers now have correct times (thanks to Gustavob for this). All weapons are still instant respawn, armour and health is 2 seconds, fast reload and double damage is 5 seconds and vehicle mines and invulnerability is 1 minute.
  • Added double damage and fast reload to each base on top of certain boxes.
  • Moved the rocket launcher and flame-thrower generators from the first roof in each base to be next to machine gun and molotov spawn. This makes them faster to collect and speed up the game.
  • Added JPG (800x600) of game map for Game Hunter to show. This has been rotated 90 degrees to show the map better.


V1.08
  • Improved roof access to second roof section.
  • Re-arranged and added some boxes outside the bases to easily jump down to.
  • Improved the tunnel design in the base.
  • Added a gantry in each base so you can jump from top roof onto the gantry and then into the base.
  • Removed more railings in certain places to speed up access to and from certain areas.
  • Improved the look of the middle respawning area. Previously people tried to shoot each other through a bullet-proof fence.
  • North base (yellow team) now has a different style door to the south base. The new door now matches the theme of the walls.


V1.07
  • Changed the WHILE loop back to a WHILE_EXEC as it does not perform as it should without it.
  • Added arrow signs on the road near the garages to make it easier to see and where to park.


V1.06
  • Corrected player coding and doors.
  • Changed the WHILE_EXEC to WHILE so should now be lighter on the CPU.


V1.05
  • Removed Invisibility powerups from the map.
  • Added support for 3 and 5 player game modes for multiplayer. Extra team members are assigned to the non-host team for balance.
  • Improved access to the rooves in each base. There is now sloped rooves for faster access.


V1.04
  • Team 1 now uses the Russian (red) colours.
  • Team 2 now uses the Scientist (yellow) colours.
  • Team colour update should also make the game arrows properly coloured to find other players.
  • Team 2 base as been re-textured slightly to differentiate it from the Team 1 base.
  • Team 1 base roof re-textured.
  • Removed extra arrows when you entered an APC to guide you back to base. It now only shows arrows for the location of each APC.


V1.03
  • Fixed a tile in north base where you could fall through it.
  • Lights in the bases and spawn points reduced in radius from 8 to 4. Added additional lights around scenery.


V1.02
  • The first rooves in each bases lowered for faster access.
  • Removed wall from initial game start point for fast access to vehicles.
  • Removed trench by south-west tank building.
  • Removed trench by respawn area.
  • Shotgun and Grenade spawns removed.
  • Grenade spawn replaced with Molotov spawn.
  • All weapons now give 99 ammo except vehicle mines (still 10 each).
  • Weapons respawn a lot faster, most are instant. Health and armour powerups now respawn after 3 seconds, double damage and fast reload take 5 seconds, mines 10 seconds. Invisibility and Invulnerability timer is the same (1 minute).
  • New armour pickups on the respawn points.
  • New Double Damage and Fast Reload right next to respawn point.
  • Two additional spawn points added. These are on the boxes where you jump on top of tank buildings.
  • Updated MMP files so the map name appears shorter in Game Hunter. Now shows up as "Bootcamp CTV - x Player".


V1.01
  • Player spawn coding re-organised.
  • Collision detection on lamp post fixed.
  • The waterfall sound near south base moved further back to make it quieter.


V1.00
  • Initial release.

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 13 May 2010, 20:46
by Gustavob
It looks very nice, Pyro, nice work there :]. Do something happen if you destroy the generator? Hope you release it soon :P

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 14 May 2010, 07:29
by MrExclusive
Hi

This level looks great for me but I would remove rails from the building in the base. It's gonna make the level faster as you won't have to go round every rails as it seems to be inevitable when you would like to collect weapons. :) I like the idea of map as it's not going to be the casual map with no purpose on it.

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 14 May 2010, 11:18
by Pyro
Hi there, thanks for your feedback!

@ Gustavob - The generators are there just for show really. I did have a plan for them for a different game mode for them (where players pick up a briefcase from somewhere and go to the place above the generator to destroy the covers (there is a cover and the generator is actually one cube lower than shown in the picture - it's just how TradeMark's map viewer reads MIS files ;) ) then throws a grenade into it for both generators to get points/win). I will look at other game modes in future for this map! 8-)

@ MrExclusive - I can understand removing some of the rails (like on the steps up to the roof) but without any rails it's a long way to fall! From the highest point on the roof if you fell off you'd end up dead! I might remove the rails on the first roof bit (see 2nd picture) where the first steps from the ground go up and meet the second steps to highest point, the rails closest to those steps and possibly the railings next to second steps so you can run from top most roof to the bit lower down. I won't remove the railings that will lead directly to the water just in case. I know that people will get blown off there with rockets or something anyway :P

Edit: Below are the changes I made to the railings following MrExclusives suggestions...

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Railings removed from stairs to first roof section. Railing removed from the side of the first roof to allow quick access back to ladder and ground floor. Second roof section has railings removed to allow quick access from top roof to lower roof section (applied both sides of the base and for both bases)

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View of the front of the base. Railings removed from top roof for quick access to steps in front of base (where electro gun is). Railings also removed from steps leading to gantry in base entrance driveway (leading back into the base). Same applies to other base.

Any other railing will be kept in place, usually as the drop is too high (and health only respawns in bases) but this should be a good work-around.

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 22 May 2010, 18:22
by BenMillard
Which texture number did you use to create ladders into the watchtowers? They are brilliant! Is it a fence applied to the next block over, then rotated and made Flat? Fantastic attention to the edges of grass, roads and rooves. Nice to see some trees and some interesting use of shadows.

Restarting in "no-man's land" with a couple of good weapons should balance the gameplay well. That was really essential to make DeCon Labs fun, fair and still a huge challenge.

Buildings could do with more detailing and variety before the final version yet:
  1. Some sloped rooves.
  2. Different heights.
  3. Different sizes.
  4. Maybe one side would use a 1-block-high platform, as if to keep it off the ground?
  5. In fact, the normal ground could be at sea level with the buildings and garages raised up from it.
  6. Sea defences and/or cliffs and a mainland on other sides, turning the level into a peninsular?
  7. A garrison.
  8. A warehouse.
  9. Mess hall, diner, canteen, kitchen...something like that.
  10. Target range.
  11. Physical assault course.
  12. Fuel tanks.
  13. Ammo dump.
  14. Medical centre .
  15. Some of those camouflage tent things.
Quite a few versatile textures in bil.sty for these things. (As you've already demonstrated with those ladders!)

Will you add Molotovs so they can be thrown from the various raised areas? They stay in sync in v11.3 and work great as artillery. (As many pro games on Vedic Template have confirmed!)

Would it be more fair to arrange the level West-East instead of North-South? Better suited to a 4:3 aspect ratio as well, I think. That's why MultiSlayer Football is that way around.

(EDIT) Added more building ideas. The level is using ste.sty for its awesome grass and bespoke army textures.

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 23 May 2010, 01:59
by Pyro
Hi Ben, thanks for your comments :) Wall of text incoming so brace yourselves!

The ladder texture is from ste.sty and is tile number 457 and is added in a block right next to the tower struts (which use tile 463) and set to "flat" on the up tile (assuming you go by up, down, left, right and top) and setting it to "flip" so it doesn't look reversed on the other side (if that makes any sense - use flip on guard rails on slopes and you'll see what I mean). It was a toss up between using bil.sty and ste.sty for their military tiles and I went for ste.sty to make it have a "cleaner" look. Plus, the grass tiles with the dirt tracks add to it too I feel.

I learned from my old stuff that I didn't do a lot of shading and figured I'd try it out on this. Also, adding things like trees and the crates I love adding to add an "atmosphere" to the level. It's little things like that people don't usually recognise when they are there and in place but sticks out like a sore thumb when they are missing! This also applies to using well placed objects (like tyres, oil drums etc).

:arrow: 1,2 & 3 - The main bases were designed (I say that lightly - not much design finesse in making a cube :P ) to be large enough to allow the players to spawn (easy enough as they can be 1 cube from each other), enough space for the vehicles (both the normal "boring" drive around vehicles (aka the jeeps) and the APC for capture the vehicle, garage space (double spaced garage also means it goes in pretty deep so you don't get the dreaded "crunch" of hitting a wall, and no-one likes navigating a wide vehicle into a small garage door at high speed!), space for weapons (double of everything - can't have them too close to each other) and other stuff.

However, the overall height of the bases could be brought down by one level (faster to climb/get down). When I was making the map I didn't actually decide on what the theme would be so added a bit of everything as a "just in case". Ideas ranging from your classic death match to team death match (the map would be far too big for that), hoard (collect bits from around the map), assassination, capture the intelligence (with briefcases) and finally capture the vehicle were thought up. I could spruce the design up a bit with interesting slope/roof types but I could see it as getting in the way, although the only reason (currently) to go up to the roof is to collect the Electrogun spawns.

The little buildings in "no-man's land" were to add a little bulk to the map and give players a little reward for climb up it (so far it's invisibility but very close to rocket launcher, fast reload and double damage). Easy enough to run up the ramp and jump and they are only small buildings (3x3x2) but I see them more for people who are respawning (or nasty folks who want to have invisibility while driving the tanks). Overall, I want to try and leave the design as open as possible if I decide to do different game mode(s) in future. We shall see!

:arrow: 4 & 5 - Other than to look interesting I can't personally see the reasoning behind this. I would like the sound of it in single player where you have time to "explore" but multiplayer can (and is) fast paced. Seeing where slopes are at an angle can be a pain!

:arrow: 6 - Sea defences? I'm not really sure how I'd go about designing something like that? Are you on about things like a beach with guard towers, mines, barbed wire fences and the likes? That sounds like a good idea for a new map/game type (invasion?) but it'd be hard to reverse the attackers/defenders if the level is designed in one way (everything leading up to a single point/area).

:arrow: 7 & 8 - More eye candy? :P Do-able but they'd be out of the way, and the map size is actually (surprisingly) too small for those right now!

:arrow: 9 - Mess hall/canteen, not really sure if you mean it as another building (with different textures?) or something you can "enter" (straight forward designing a building that has no roof but surrounded by walls with a unique floor texture and see-through windows. bil.sty is excellent for that, ste.sty, not so much.

:arrow: 10 - Target range would be fun but rather limited by textures. Could use a certain floor with marks on it with lines to shooting area and target area (with grass bank behind it?), although can't think what the target could be. Maybe a burned out car or something? Those, however, crash the game if they "explode". Making them bullet/fire/rocket proof is one way but they can still be nuked by electrogun and things exploding right next to them (such as an exploding car making a chain-reaction).

:arrow: 11 - Now this is one that would really be difficult to do depending how you look at it. From a "role-playing" perspective I'd design it using things like barbed wire, wooden poles, dips and the likes which the player can't interact with (as such). But for real players I could see it as actually jumping from box to box, doing certain things to get up slopes, tricky sideways jumps and avoiding mines etc.

:arrow: Molotovs - Yes I can easily add them. It would actually be good to place them on the platforms in front of the bases (near the electroguns) to rain fiery death upon hapess victims stealing your APC (or just because you can!).

:arrow: West - East - I didn't actually think of this until I play tested the garages and found the north base garage a little harder to see than the south one, hence I added tyre tracks and placed the chevrons on the floor marking where to go. In fact, I see the problem is the steps up to the second roof section as it partially obscures it if you are directly above it and not moving. They are both far easier to see when you are at least walking, and anything speedier (provided not too fast) makes it much easier to see. Either way I'll move the offending steps out the way.

Phew. Some interesting comments and hopefully answered them as best I can. I think a lot of your suggestions would fit very nicely into a completely new map/game type (briefly described above) which I could have a bash at in future (I've thought of two distinct map types, one an invasion type map on beach etc with another one being an obstacle course from hell (jumping from crate to crate, driving small distances, shooting and destroying power generators to access new areas etc - tests your moving skills AND shooting skills!) which would be fun to try).

Lot's to think about :)

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 23 May 2010, 09:30
by BenMillard
I would expect any multiplayer level to be substantially rebuilt at least 3 times from its first release to its final release.

Have you seen the army base in Capital City? That's using ste.sty and looks quite varied. Added a few more building ideas to previous list for numbering.

Most of my suggests were for eye-candy, yes. If you build smart it can even be more playable. Check the warehouse rooves in the Schnellburg district of MultiSlayer City. You can do parkour them across them. Get in Game Hunter today and maybe I or someone else can show you! 8-)

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 24 May 2010, 20:14
by MrExclusive
I like all Bens suggestions. A lot of map are released too early and the effect of is worse than it could be. Give us some signs, cables and stuff like this as this make the level more interesting and enjoyable. Look at my map (I think it's a good example), or Bens maps or Dafes Death valley. They all have pipes, signs, cables, stairs, slopes and stuff like this. :P For example I've worked for 5 months on my map before first release (texturing took me 3 months, modeling and scripting 2 months). My level couldn't be so great without Bens help of course so listen to him whatever he says. :P

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 25 May 2010, 02:38
by Pyro
MrExclusive wrote:I like all Bens suggestions. A lot of map are released too early and the effect of is worse than it could be. Give us some signs, cables and stuff like this as this make the level more interesting and enjoyable. Look at my map (I think it's a good example), or Bens maps or Dafes Death valley. They all have pipes, signs, cables, stairs, slopes and stuff like this. :P For example I've worked for 5 months on my map before first release (texturing took me 3 months, modeling and scripting 2 months). My level couldn't be so great without Bens help of course so listen to him whatever he says. :P
You have an interesting map, particularly the grassy areas. Some of your buildings have rather strange designs to them and some wrongly placed textures on them including incorrectly flipped tiles. Not bashing it though, and of course I don't fancy turning this into a topic for your map etc (aka "de-railing this thread") :P

My map still has a lot of little detail to be added to it and already has a good chunk of detail already in it (signs, ladders, gantries etc) and more to come. I personally find, for some strange reason even when I first started mapping that using ste.sty, to me anyway, is the more challenging one to work with to make things look nice. Most of the time I settle for bil.sty (as you have chosen for yours) as it has a wide variety of textures to choose from from new shiny stuff, run down, high tech, lots of signs, cables and other nice fillers.

I intend my map to intentionally be small but fast paced, hence things like direct access to areas but also making it rewarding for going out the way to get the better stuff. As I mentioned before, I didn't actually know what the final game type I would pick for the map would be and have plans on leaving it open for future script(s). Due to the suggestions above from Ben, I have ideas for making a proper sized military base (hangars, warehouses, docks, making a proper island and other stuff) but that's for future. Having spent about 4/5+ years not doing GTA2 I wanted to do this as a little "warm-up" to see how much I could remember and get use to things again (and as Ben suggested, in a different thread, to perhaps go back to my old maps and update/improve them).

But yes, still work to do on the map. 8-)

Edit - Small Update

A few little tweaks to the map...

Image
Steps leading to highest roof have been moved to allow people to easily see the garage doors. Both north and south bases done. Few little details added including fans (with sound), more cabling (not that noticeable on this picture) as well as adding molotov spawns (one either side on first roof section near steps to second roof for both bases).

Image
Some random pump type thingy (with sound) outside south base... Updated some trees to be double height. Also added silenced uzi and another molotov spawn on the lowest point near the steps at the front of each base. Also, that is not an intentional "hole in the wall" by the gantry leading back in to the base, it was removed via the "remove hidden surfaces" thingy!

Image
Water tower outside north base (with sound). Also shows the s-uzi and molotov spawn too. Added some vehicles lying about (do not respawn and are coloured olive green, TM's map viewer shows them as default colour).

Image
An updated wide-shot of the no-man's land area showing parked vehicles. Also made the edges of the grassy areas more natural looking by adding some slopes/curves (both sides of the map) rather than a straight edge.

As well as that, added random objects around the map (tyres, oil barrels etc) to crash in to. For some reason certain objects don't like showing in TM's map viewer but they are there!

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 29 May 2010, 16:13
by BenMillard
Great updates, Pyro! Looks like you could survive a fall from the stairs to the top of a box outside the building. Could be a neat shortcut. Make sure fences allow bullets through, so people can use Molotovs as artillery (molo-sniping). Also, I think you should allow walking past the coastal side of those smaller buildings

Incidentally, I just noticed the Sun is to the South-West of buildings in GTA2. So your shadows should be cast Northwards. D'oh! :lol:

Release the files and let eager players start trying it out. Even if it's just as a standard die-respawn-die level for now. Would help uncover whether the rooves are worth going to and basic gameplay stuff like that. Release early, iterate based on feedback, then you avoid major rebuilds and rewrites later on. 8-)

Prison Escape
(EDIT: I've now made a Jailbreak development topic, because I want to create this myself!)

After 10 years we are still waiting for a good prison escape level! Requiring stealth and teamwork, could be a worthwhile project for you after this warm-up?

I saw an interesting re-texturing of the GTA2 prison but it probably needs to be made from scratch. Starting with a cut-down "wireframe" to test the concepts, capabilities and compatibilities of the script.

Maybe the gameplay could be the opposite of DeCon Labs? The host is a police officer, with AI help, trying to stop the other players escaping. If all players escape, host loses. If time runs out before all players escape, host wins.

Could copy-paste some original GTA2 city outside as the safe-house they have to reach, with FBI wanted level.


Army Base
Maybe check my co-operative Army Base assault level to see what already exists. To avoid naming conflicts and duplication of effort.

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 29 May 2010, 16:22
by Sektor
Pyro posted a version of Bootcamp in the Trademark map editor topic.

[MapFiles]
GMPFile = bootcamp.gmp
STYFile = ste.sty
SCRFile = bootcamp.scr
Description = Bootcamp 1player
PlayerCount = 1

Re: WIP - Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle

Posted: 29 May 2010, 16:30
by Pyro
Ah you beat me to it Sektor! :shock:

The script itself contains the code for all 6 players, but I need to create the individual MMP files for it first. Ideally it is going to be a 1v1, 2v2 or a 3v3 (so therefore a 2, 4 or 6 player map). It could be played 3 and 5 player as well but the teams would be unbalanced and would need to add something somewhere (bots would be one thing but they can't use shortcuts etc!) to balance it.

I'll make a proper v1.00 release shortly, just need to add some code to make the base vehicles respawn (the APC's and tanks already do, just need it for the 'normal' vehicles), probably later today in fact (shouldn't take more than half-hour/hour to do) and I'll throw in the MMP files too.

Edit - v1.00 is now released, first post updated and file added to first post!

Re: Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.10

Posted: 30 May 2010, 02:34
by BenMillard
I've been testing this with Pyro and it's already quite fun and balanced. Very promising start!

Re: Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.06

Posted: 31 May 2010, 15:50
by DAFE
Pyro, looking good...

Also, I have to go off topic a little and just shout out to TradeMark's viewer... it really does a great job for screenshots and objects placement. Too bad he couldn't make the 2D sprites look 3D :P Ah well, excellent effort and result thus far.

Good Luck!

Re: Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.07

Posted: 01 Jun 2010, 11:22
by Salamander
TL;DR, but re: railings: pros don't die when they fall, no matter the height, and anything that decreases game speed should be removed. Dafe's Death Valley was so much worse when all the fences were solid, you kept smacking into something every time you picked up speed, same with Multislayer. Now with non-clipping fences and railings, DDV is my favorite map ever.

Re: Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.07

Posted: 01 Jun 2010, 15:19
by BenMillard
I was thinking the non-garage side might be good as a sort of storage area.
  • Could have containers and ammo boxes, maybe a fuel tank.
  • Would enable attackers and defenders to dodge and fight a bit more when inside the base.
  • Helps make the direction to garage even clearer as all roads and driveways point to it.
  • More open than MS Ship but tighter than Zooka Arena could be a good balance.
  • Another place to fall to from rooves.
  • Geometry and size of the boxes can transform key to playability.
Maybe replace 4 central towers with 1 building that has a low gantry around it?
  • Respawn points are still quite protected.
  • Drivers must make some turns to reach other base, increasing skill requirements.
  • Reduced vehicle speeds improve chances to destroy APC at the last minute, before it reaches other base.
  • Slightly slower for players to shoot at things on the opposite side to them.
Add a map preview image for Game Hunter 1.5 Create Game window:
  • Filename matches .gmp but with different extension.
  • Supports JPEG and GIF. (Only surface type maps and "mini maps" are any good as GIF.)
  • Select any of my levels in the list and you should see it.
  • Players must unzip the file to gta2\data along with the other files.

Re: Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.08

Posted: 01 Jun 2010, 22:55
by Pyro
I have re-modelled the central area so you now have to drive around it as well as adding some boxes near the spawn point so you can jump down to it. These are mirrored on each side. Also, the random vehicles in no-man's land have been changed so they too are mirrored on each side (2x Buicks, 2x Box Truck's and 2x Van's). This will be applied in v1.09 which will be out soon once I add some of the fluff Ben suggested for the base areas.

Here's what I've made for the middle section (texturing looks a bit strange using the church style but looks surprisingly nice)...

Image
As you can see I've added some boxes near the spawn area for players to jump to. It is easier to jump to the east/west boxes from the east/west spawn points than it is to use the north-east/south-west (the NE one isn't visible in the picture) spawn boxes but easily do-able.

There is another Van parked on the other side as well. I was thinking making it a first come first serve to get to the Van(s) to receive 2 (or 4) squad mates for one time use. Failing that I still need some bonus on top of the roofs - I could make that into a insta-gang style bonus armed with flamers/rocket launchers through a phone after paying a certain amount.

I'll see what I can do with the inside of the bases tomorrow or something 8-)

Edit - since (apparently) the new GTA2 version and GH allows custom GXT files (so I'm guessing mine, according to Vikes instructions, would be bootcamp.gxt) I'll add some messages on screen along the lines of:

:arrow: Big messages...
- "Capture the Opposing Team's APC!" (displayed once on game entry?)
- "Red / Yellow APC Stolen!"
- "Red / Yellow APC Captured!"
- Maybe another one for when a certain team needs one more capture to win? "Red/Yellow Need 1 Point to Win the Game!"

:arrow: Briefs (yellow team would get Scientist face and red team the Russians)...
- "We've stolen the Red/Yellow APC! Bring it back to our base to capture!"
- "We've captured the Red/Yellow APC! This is our first capture!"
- "We've captured the Red/Yellow APC again! This is our second capture and need one more to win!"
- "We've captured the last Red/Yellow APC! We have won!"
- Maybe use a neutral face one for game introduction along the lines of "Hey folks! You and your team mates need to steal the opposing teams' APC and bring it back to your base's garage to score a point! You need 3 captures to win the game! Don't forget to defend your own APC to stop them scoring!"

Another update: Added some extra boxes inside the bases, see picture below!

Image
The non-garage side (in this picture the non-garage side is on the right while the north base, mirrored, is on the left) has more boxes. As you can probably see this now allows for strategic jumping to the boxes and gives something to hide behind on the defence. The boxes down on the right and left hand side (right next to health pickups) you can jump from the top roof with no trouble, and this has finally allowed me to completely remove the railings from the top roof! The left side also has a few boxes and this can help slow down a fast travelling APC (the turning circle on the APC isn't great!) and would be fun for last second defence. Other than that you can jump on the top of each box now.

I will add a DD and FR spawn to the top of the boxes next to the health pickups so they are available inside the bases but require a little work to get and saves you wondering about no-man's land to get them!

Re: Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.08

Posted: 02 Jun 2010, 19:25
by BenMillard
Sorry, this is gonna be a bit negative. Boxes on tarmac look stupid and so does a church in the middle of an army "war games" arena type situation.

Also, boxes in no-man's land are too tight. APC is nearly a full cube wide! Also, if you respawn at rockets you cannot make a last-second shot across the road towards an APC which is about to be captured due to that box being in the way.

The overhangs of the central building also look like they'd get in the way. Looks weird and top-heavy. Stargate-SG1-style chevrons clash badly with Tolkien-style masonry, imho.

I think these ideas are fundamentally A Good Thing. But the geometry and texturing are key to making it play well and feel right, respectively.

Not sure how you're gonna do per-team messages, pretty sure everyone will see the same thing. DeCon Labs used to have briefs but peopled hated them; they get in the way. A short, rude message from a teammate quickly teaches newbies to the level what they need to do. ;)

Re: Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.08

Posted: 02 Jun 2010, 19:52
by Pyro
BenMillard wrote:Sorry, this is gonna be a bit negative. Boxes on tarmac look stupid and so does a church in the middle of an army "war games" arena type situation.
I never settled on the church style building (was just for me to test) and it's since been updated to same style as military style. As for the boxes they look decent and serve a valid purpose being a place to jump to from the high roofs, the side roofs, place to hide/fight from and a useful place for some bonuses.
BenMillard wrote:Also, boxes in no-man's land are too tight. APC is nearly a full cube wide! Also, if you respawn at rockets you cannot make a last-second shot across the road towards an APC which is about to be captured due to that box being in the way.
I'm aware of how wide the APC is and that in itself brings a certain challenge but not impossible. Even going around the central area you can still pick up good amount of speed coming out of a base and can "bounce" off the wall to align yourself. If all else fails you'll hit the wall at too much of an angle and slow right down (or stop) giving plenty of time to have a few shots. This is also why the mines are still there.
BenMillard wrote:The overhangs of the central building also look like they'd get in the way. Looks weird and top-heavy. Stargate-SG1-style chevrons clash badly with Tolkien-style masonry, imho.
Looking at the picture it looks as if the south facing wall on the top overhangs a long way, but in fact it's using the thin wall slope thingy. This doesn't affect respawning at all. Rather it'd look even more boring just being a straight-sided wall with roof. And as above, it's been re-textured to military style.
BenMillard wrote:I think these ideas are fundamentally A Good Thing. But the geometry and texturing are key to making it play well and feel right, respectively.
Some are, some aren't :P
BenMillard wrote:Not sure how you're gonna do per-team messages, pretty sure everyone will see the same thing. DeCon Labs used to have briefs but peopled hated them; they get in the way. A short, rude message from a teammate quickly teaches newbies to the level what they need to do. ;)
Briefs/messages show for everyone. Short, sharp messages are useful. One problem I foresee is every time someone enters an APC it'd show a message "Red/Yellow APC Stolen!". A one-off introduction message/brief at the start will still be useful though.

Update - v1.09 is out now (link at top). Didn't add the game briefs in this update but all the other changes I've mentioned are there. Also, I included an 800x600 picture to work with GH although this was rotated 90 degrees to show it properly (better than a long, thin picture). For everything else, check the readme file ;)

Re: Bootcamp Team Capture the Vehicle v1.10

Posted: 13 Jun 2010, 12:19
by BenMillard
It's pretty much unplayable in Dusk. Please increase the ambient light to at least 0.33 in the script.

The obstacles in the center give a better chance for defender to destroy Pacifier before it is stolen. But if they drive the opposite side to a respawned defender, there's still no chance to recover the situation. (But maybe that's fair, since defender died anyway.)