Update News

The Public Beta is released!

Download the public beta for the 1st chapter here.

http://www.l4dmaps.com/details.php?file=2739

or

http://forums.l4dmaps.net/downloads.php?do=cat&id=2

What is happening this week
I have a long list of fixes/tweaks/and enhancements in the works from all the public playtester feedback. About 13-20 hours worth of work is being done. Keep sending in feedback in the meantime, I want to cram in as many fixes as I can into 1 update.

Next Week
I begin alpha blocking the second chapter.

Status update…..

COOP and VS maps are complete (for now). The only thing left is to do is make the VPK and test it out before releasing it to the public. Most likely a Friday release since I don’t have much time tonight to do anything. So hopefully this will be my last screenshot to provide until you can play the map and see it for yourself.  

 

 

Beta is Almost Here!

I made wonderful and speedy progress last night.

Tonight I have to put my VPK together and test it on a seperate computer to make sure my custom textures and sounds install and play on others peoples computers. If all goes well the public beta ready by either Thursday October 1st or Friday October 2nd. Either way it should be out by the weekend.

COOP is of reasonable quality and fun on Expert difficulty. VS on the other hand hasn’t been tested yet.. I will have to test it once the VPK is complete.

My original plan was to have this ready by Sept 4th. Looks like I was a month off on my estimate. With a ton of luck I might be on schedule for my 2nd chapter to be ready by end of November.

Path choices

There are 2 (technically 3) paths towards the saferoom once you get to the main gorge area.

Path #1- The long path- comes correct with 4/5 chance spawn of a 2nd pistol and if you’re lucky some pills. It’s also the scenic route with a little scripted sequence for you to enjoy.. if you’re not too busy fighting zombies when it happens. This is the path as a designer I am crafting to encourage players to use most often.

Path #2- The short cut -  I have provided a shortcut but I want it only to be taken if the survivors are feeling pro. So the entrance to the path is slightly hidden, there is no 2nd pistol or med spawns along this route, and it is the most dangerous path to the saferoom. How? Take it if you feel lucky.

 

Path #3 – Ravine (unofficial) - This was never intended to be an actual path to the saferoom but it can be taken. Basically if you or a teammate gets pulled/falls into the ravine the only way out is wade through the water to the other side of the canyon area. Until then you are basically at the mercy of the infected. Once you get out you might have to backtrack if you want to get that second pistol.

Now, for the release date? As soon as I learn to properly optimize my map. The compile time is taking over 20 hours and it should not take longer than 2. Hopefully this weekend it will officially go from alpha to public beta.

A new type of rescue closet

In COOP you have to set up rescue closets throughout the level so in case a player dies they can respawn back into the game.

 

My issue was 2/3 of my first chapter are in a cavern/canyon area and I didn’t want a building in the middle of nowhere for a rescue closet.

 

So I came up with this. A crashed truck that serves as a rescue closet. I chose a model truck with the back door already open. I then added a rotating door prop and brushed around the door to close the gap and chose textures that blending the door and truck together. It works!

 

 

Well…. It sort of works. My issue is if you touch the door with your body once it is open it disappears! I haven’t been able to fix this yet. Also you can see the lip of the default model door at the bottom. See below…

The countdown continues….

I made a checklist of items needing to be completed before I release the public beta. This list is an estimated 22 hours of work.

Last night I completed some items in 1 1/2 hours that were estimated to take 4. That puts me ahead of schedule but I am sure I will run into some unexpected issues. Namely custom sounds and scripting some dynamic events. I will save those for the weekend when I can dedicate larger blocks of time to mapping.

Gimmicks vs Originality

I am trying out something I have not encountered in other L4D maps so if you play my map in the next week or so let me know what you think of it.

At the time I thought it was a great idea but the real test is what it does for actual gameplay.

Bascially there is a section I don’t want survivors to rush through so I added dead decomposing trees in the way. Survivors have to melee/shoot the dead trees to destroy them before they can move forward.

Working as a team it takes not much time at all. It’s mainly there to serve as a small tension builder and provide infected in Versus to stage an ambush at this point.

Let me know what you think of this when you give it a try. Does it add to gameplay or does it come off more like a gimmick?

Below are some shots of these destructible trees in action. In both shots you see Bill melee the dead trees to break them and move forward.

Public Beta looms on the horizon

I am starting to notice a cycle here. I can get stuck on a problem and work on it for hours until I am at my wits end. Only to have the solution come to me in my sleep.

Anyway my map is now playable with infected from begining to end. I still have some items to work on but it’s very exciting to finally see these long hours of brushworking finally start to pay off with gameplay.

Open Environments in L4D

The crowning feature of Chapter 1 is the main Gorge area. It is a ‘bowl’ style canyon that has a towering mesa and bridge spanning part of  the gap. It was the original image that popped in my mind when making this campaign.. moonlight hitting the side of the mesa the bridge support casting a long shadow over the gorge. I wanted a dramatic sense of scale for the player their first play time through. In some ways I have exceeded what I wanted… in others I had to make alterations to accommodate gameplay. Why? Because this is an open environment.

 

Open environments are bad for L4D for several reasons.

 

• Too open is a performance drop on lower end machines
• Too open the survivors can see infected a mile away and clear the area from a safe distance meaning less intensity and boring gameplay
• Too open and it can be hard to direct the routes you want players to go leaving you with wasted space you spent precious time mapping
• Too open and hunters in VS can be overpowered
• Too open and smokers/boomers in VS can be underpowered

 

 

Lets see.. what are the most open areas in Valve stock L4D maps? The 3 biggest I can think of off the top of my head are- the finales for Death Toll (camping grounds), Dead Air (airport runway), and Blood Harvest (farm). Of these three the only one that is remotely exciting prior to finale starting with the horde coming in is Blood Harvest. Why? Because as you make your way to the farmhouse you drop down into a field of corn that blocks visibility. Yes, that adds tension. If the corn wasn’t there it would be a less exciting run up to the finale similar to DT and DA.  (Dead Air is the most boring prior to the finale starting)

 

I want exciting and memorable. I want to have the effect of an open canyon and the intensity of also contending with infected.

 

 To make this happen I have made the canyon not as wide as it used to be. I have also added a ravine cutting through the canyon so if the player drops in it they have to go to certain points to get out.  I have added some large boulders and rises in the ground to shape multiple routes and block visibility. I have added some ledges along the sides of the canyon walls for hunters to climb up and pounce from. I am adding a scripted sequence involving cars crashing into the canyon floor with the survivors. Things are shaping up. But I have yet to really test the gameplay.

 

Will this be fun in COOP? Will this be fun in VS?

 

I am closer than ever to beta.

 

Anyone want to test it out when ready?

This weeks update

  Here is what I have left to do:

• Finish first pass @ displacements, detailing, and texturing the main gorge area, mesa, and final path up to safe room.
• The area the chapter begins was mapped so small you can easily see where the map ends and skybox begins. I will enlarge this section to improve immersion.
• Walk through the map begining to end with note pad and taking pages of notes on what needs to be tweaked/improved.
• Begin second pass @ displacements, detailing, and texturing the entire chapter using notes taken in the previous step and checking them off as completed
• Add fade in and camera zoom sequence for chapter intro
• Add breakable wall inside country home
• Add custom sounds and textures
• Build 3D sky box
• Map Optimization
• Add scripted tank sequence
• Build nav mesh
• First initial playtesting with infected from begining to end.
• Final tweaks on all aspects of map
• Make campaign poster
• Properly build VPK to include custom content
• Release for beta testing

I would guess just looking at that list there is between 60-120 hours work left until beta. Incredible. I thought I was closer to the finish line than that.