Map assessment and pathing enhancements

[Nelsona]

Not really, let's see the logic:
- 1 PlayerStart = a sort of SP map
- A SP game Ends if player is being killed/dying;
- Mission was requiring pushing a button;
- But pushing button was initiating a permanent trap for button pusher;
- Commit suicide = Game Ends = Mission failure = Dumb logic of this SP "converted" to MH map - it's mindless.

In MH terms, due to MH capabilities (read again) Bot is capable to push mission buttons - we do have support for that... but... when map is plain broken right from factory, those USELESS doors can be deleted - I'm not trapping bots/players just because a "smart" non-mapper "making maps" is finding this cool, because it's not.

Now I have to work a bit at Brutes area... Worth testing some BT for Bots as long as I can have paths - if a Bot used is smarter enough.

Progress on... Another wall-hit
- Small holes can have paths, the problem comes when 3-4 Bots are trying to get into rat-hole in the same time - solution was a sort of depression stuff, not getting into during a few seconds = taking damage up to the death if needed for releasing spot, we don't have all day to mock a hole;
- The very last lift has a sudden addiction for jumping out of it as long as it doesn't move into the right location. Bot here can be helped with a kicker but... engine has rules when it comes to a "Mover-BASE" vs Bot, or it's needed some special script again. In other hand, it jumps in a second attempt - after leaving mover - so it works somehow but won't look that realistic.
- First area with pupae monsters might be a trap if it's simple, Bot need to trigger Mover if is lost in room and there I think are needed two more other LiftExit actors for linking lower zones - these will be added and manually connected as long as I don't want to rework everything again.

[evilgrins]

Let's try this instead, then.

Assess...


1. Do not remove any of the monsters, and do not sterilize the cows!
2. Bots have a hard time getting out of the water, even without the fish eating them.

I'm probably gonna swap out the UTDMT for UTDMS, but no worries there.

[Nelsona]

Wow ! What a rush... Meh, previous map needed a bit of tuning due to On-Line movement timers (in local OFF-Line it was good), Bots weren't the same in BT room and then I had to do some changes... Of course, I won't modify everything and adding a lot of needs (those can be mutators), but making it playable as a not broken Level. I think it's ready and then I'll hook this next...
It took time for working some paths or fake item spots for preventing loops right in base - Inventory behind a door and spot in front of door it's a mess heading nowhere but now days we can solve these old junks - also I had to take in account plain MH replacements which are not so friendly when items are simply placed out of more pathing data which does quirks in this case. In conclusion... whoever is re-building map will build bugs - there aren't many options out of custom scripting which doesn't worth to do in this lousy claustrophobic Level. As I can see, it's usable and I think I'll keep it in my private gaming cage.

MH-UnWanted_rS552.7z

(485.89 KiB) Downloaded 137 times

For Bot action WayPoints are open - mission belongs to Bot or it can go broken if player is messing with order of objectives. If Bot takes control over mission they can even finish map, the start depends on first pupaes round. Only after first CleanUp paths are opened and then recommending order FreeLance instead of Attack because of default MH trash bug, other MH versions are not exactly affected here.

[evilgrins]

Wow ! What a rush...

Sorry, I must've read you wrong earlier. I thought you had given up on Unwanted.

[Nelsona]

Next CTF map looks also operational but I need more testing. It would be better to see a pure CTF game for testing routes instead of buggers pawns without a real CTF purpose. I think it worth duplicating a clean version. Also there are are in each Base a sort of tower linked with a Teleport but.. I don't know if defender placed there is very useful, so far I don't see any defense installed... maybe it's not needed...
Initial map has a bunch of reachSpecs and not having a good coverage of map - a lot of space was in the wild with zero navigation, pretty stupid. I got a more spread navigation coverage with less than 2000 reachSpecs using UT Editor - I don't have plans with 227 as long as I see MyLevels which can go broken based on "development", and then it will be old school style but using a bit of tweaking. I moved and saved spam items elsewhere until map will be ready and then importing them back - purpose is not not generate thousands of paths through vials without a CTF need. Tunnels also are navigable, there is place for some AlternatePaths. It's entertaining a bit.

[evilgrins]

It would be better to see a pure CTF game for testing routes instead of buggers pawns without a real CTF purpose.

I usually don't send maps until after I edit them, although this one had the fish and cows already; admittedly I skinned the adult cows.

PetSkaarj used to be NaliPriests, which were on there when I got it.

I fixed the pens out front of the bases that have the UTDMT in them, used to be something else in there plus the fence needed fixing as the Titan kept climbing up the sides.

[Nelsona]

All right... Due to various textures and assets I did not tried to setup some "voodoo" paths through 227. All work is UT - plain UT - as long as certain spots and XC paths need more fine tuning which might not be very entertaining and too much time wasted for small tiny little bits. As result, I excepted some items (more items in reality) from creating junkish paths and using plain Devs, cleaning network as much as possible... here we are, having even a few AlternatePaths. Technically this has to be tested intensive - if stuff from map won't bug tests... Geometry is a bit touched due to water surface - I really don't get these dumb habits of making things harder with water surfaces way TOO LOW...

CTF-UTDM-BadNeighbors_rS1698.7z

(621.17 KiB) Downloaded 132 times

[evilgrins]

When I got the map back the titan on the Blue Team was a little weird looking, but I fixed that.

After I'm done tinkering, I may send it back to you for something specific, but I'm still debating if I want to do the thing I'm toying with.

[Nelsona]

I don't get why do we need UBER textures and all sort of extra things...
To me it's fascinating how community have sudden problems and UT has to be ruined in all the way. They have Palette problems, map-list loading speed problems, enum vars that cannot be accessed (because we mess with creating objects that only Garbage Collector is removing - if are not referenced), they need a team of Nalis and Cows in UT like a game-type cannot have these without to add assets in UT and making a mess with old versions. I don't get where are coming these aliens and I don't get this way of "OMG I cannot do that" and "OMG we need that".
In patch files and even in maps which I did, I skinned a monster dynamically. I exported PCX file, load file in a PSP, increase colors, adjust RGB and even brightness a bit, decreasing colors back to 256, importing new PCX and using it. No BMP, no PNG, no extra-bullshit and no screwed palettes are ever encountered. Skin is normal but has another "background" - red is more red-ish, blue is more blue-ish, etc. I would like to do some of these in NsMonster but in that time I was pretty much tired of solving X bugs of these Pawns instead of porting them forward as "coders" are doing...
What are differences between a high color imported texture and a 256 one in game ? Let me see, not extremely very noticeable but definitely taking more memory and even leading to some rendering trashes posted mainly in all sort of "mapping" places.

All these great texture imports are damaged by 227 (not sure why the heck 227 must do that crap) and they need an extra-work, or else good tweaks done at pathing are not that possible to be done in UT, not even in UT469 for reasons which are escaping me. A builder should do more cute things as demonstrated by PathLinker but with new natives done in extra-builder not embedded in UT for messing up compatibility.

[evilgrins]

I don't get why do we need UBER textures and all sort of extra things...

Don't really need them, per se, but people like stuff going on other than what the game's focus is.

It's like those pointless birds you sometimes see flying above. They don't really serve any purpose.

Anywho...

This map is quite large and a lot of the space isn't being used for anything. Mostly bots travel between bases on that path on the right side and don't go much of anywhere else.

Have fun.