I'm absolutely happy with Area 1 and 3, and I could just start making the displacements for those, but I still have no idea what to do with Area 2 and that needs to be decided first. Terrain or concrete? Both terrain and concrete? Because it can't be something that requires a lot of performance, terrain would be preferrable, but I can't think of any type of terrain I'd want to put there. Also, latest file: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/emp_echelon.rar This link includes the materials and textures i've used in the screenshots
2 should be relatively open terrain with some craters, tanktraps and (partially destroyed by artillery, quickly dug out) trenches/foxholes - not reinfoced ones, like there should be inbetween 3 and 4. more like this for 2 - open and not fortified, but with some sense, so you can attack without running over open ground much longer then you can sprint without upgrade. it should give attackers a chance, while still giving the defenders good oversight. they dont really need to connect anything - actually it probably feels and plays out better if they dont connect as a whole. it should just buy you some time to breath. there shouldnt be much large cover for tanks, i think itd be more epic if the first attack will be mainly (but not exclusively) infantry. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...attalion_resting_in_a_trench_(AWM_E02866).jpg http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...g,_Infanteriestosstrupp_im_Schützengraben.jpg http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_F5Rp0dBMz14/TLx-EvUipEI/AAAAAAAAE_w/-y1jcdjRoBA/s400/FOXHOLE http://www.eucmh.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/foxholes-december-1944-01.jpg http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Fkngi6q6W...HE/gABdosrSHTg/s1600/keifer+marshall+1+2.jpeg this inbetween 3 and 4. it should mainly favor defenders and they should connect battlements. there also need to be small rooms with roofs to give cover from artillery. also you need to get out with at least duckjumping (there shouldnt be that many stairs though) from enough positions or everyone will avoid them since they become deathtraps. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/POL_Warsaw_transzeja.jpg http://www.science-at-home.net/gallery/history/albums/userpics/normal_Grabenkrieg.jpg http://static1.akpool.de/images/cards/32/324616.jpg http://bildbasis.de/images/large_005/005849.jpg http://www.wien-vienna.at/weltkrieg1/stellung_prater2.jpg ah and also, let there be "unlimited*" tickets - at least till either attackers reach some point on the map (4?) or defenders capture beach. give us the meatgrinder ... *absurdly high edit: i hope all the images work. also im aware that some of the things above wont be that easy to build in hammer - foxholes mainly, but reinforced trenches in displacements aint that trivial either. i mean neither are impossible but "natural" looking and performant is probably going to be a challenge still. its one thing to slap something on the ground or cut out huge holes, but its another to sink a winding walkway the width of 1-2 people into disps. not impossible, but a lot of pushing single verts around. oh and i agree with dz, as few ladders as possible. at least never defensively, its too much of a threat in empries - people might get pushed into a disadvantage when they try to reach a defensive position ...
Noob question.... what causes the restriction here? And as a Hammer newbie, is there some thing I can help with? Displacements, alphas, .... Downloading the rar now.
The restriction is the more polygons (detailed brushes) and entities in general, the more CPUE and GPU resources the area will require. So it has to be not exactly super-detailed, but it can't be bland either.
I duno... how about the same train you have there now with map turrets on those three pillbox looking objects(I can't tell since I can't load empires anymore). Each pillbox gets a lvl3MG flanked by two lvl3MLs on it.
Steam must have broken something again today. It won't launch for me either unless..... Close steam client, delete clientregistry.blob, relaunch steam and then SDK 2007. Then it runs. However, if you close Empires completely, you have to do this all over again. Steam unfix your fixes please!!! This is a big map, kudos Silk on the tons of work already done. I'll See if I can get a spawn point going so I can walk around a bit. I've already compiled and stolen another's minimap, but spawns don't show and I can't spectate yet.
This fix works. It's a bit cumbersome, but it works. 1. Install source sdk base 2007. 2. Run it. 3. Quit 4. Right Click -> Launch Properties 5. In the text box, place the following text: -game ..\empires\empires 6. Launch source sdk base 2007 from now on when you want to play.
if you put spawns on the map, the entities are disabled by default - i always forget that too. idk if its really polycount or just that source doesnt like to draw a lot of visleaves at the same time. modern games draw more polies per model then any empires map has as a whole (jaja, exaggerated)
Fact is the source engine doesn't have the latest stuff and tricks to increase details without completely sacrificing performance. They improved things with each new version but to compete with modern engines they need a drastic overhaul. I noticed though that displacements cost nearly nothing. Brushwork demands more performance but isn't too bad either (as long as it's properly func_detailed) Models however can cause severe performance drops. Depending on which model it's not a disaster but even small, simple ones require a lot more power than I expected. If you want as much detail in large maps like this as you get in singleplayer maps, limiting view distance and blocking off as much as possible is by far the most important thing. And even then it's impossible, cause you'll be hitting tons of engine limits long before the map is finished: max displacements, max models, max detail props, max LDR leaf ambient ... As for help ... depends on exactly how new you are to this :D I'll make the displacements and probably the textures for the terrain as well. Some people have said to help with the brushwork. I don't think someone's offered to help with the entities yet, or they must've done before my break. You're not a modeller by any chance? View blocking will be used to block of area 1 from area 2, area 4 from the rest of the map, and the underground tunnel from everything else as well Area 2 and 3 will be in eachothers view though, so not too many models, only cheap models, mostly displacements, ...
That worked for 2 days then a new error. For now my trick above is my only in. Guess I could try uninstalling Empires and SDK again... for the thrid time this week. Was doing fine until I was hit with an update middle of last week. The error received after the update (requiring you fix) is different than the current error and typically associated with the .blob problem
Valve is trying hard to kill off the modding community Anyhow, try Vicki's solution? Vicki made a thread, check it out
BE Briefing: Aerial scouts have reported a fleet of old Jekotian warships heading towards the Echelon Research and Development Plant located on a small, isolated island. A distress signal has been sent out immediately to bring in reinforcements, and while our Temptresses can arrive in time to support the anti-aircraft defenses, Imperial ships will arrive too late to stop the beachhead. The garrison must hold off any soldiers and vehicles that will inevitably spill out of the frigates, as Echelon stores research data critical to the war efforts. Defend the facility until the assault ends. If the defences are overpowered, any survivors are to reconvene with the reinforcement fleet and take back the base before the rebels manage to secure the data. NF Briefing: After much careful planning, command has decided to send out a fleet to seize control of the Echelon facility. We do know that there is something of extreme value inside - be it data, experiments, or some prototype weaponry. However, our lookouts have spotted enemy aircraft way in the distance, so expect a hearty welcome. The entire island is heavily fortified, and the only way in is through the front gates - do not expect this to be easy. Your goal is to secure the facility and hold it until it is picked clean of anything that might be valuable to our cause. Remember that there is a Brenodi fleet heading towards the island, its goal to aid the defenders.
can someone who has the map please post a picture out of hammer showing the beach displacements (1-3) selected, with grid - camera pointing from beach to cliff. some shot that captures elevations. silk because you said you put some placeholder bunkers somewhere at 1 (sry cant find the post now lol), i ask myself if there need to be anything else then some tank trap props and rocks for believeability, cant terrain be cover enough? totally out of scale horribad paint sketch on a touchpad
I'll take some screenshots once this is compiled. As for your concerns about the beach cover ... the attackers WILL be massacred. There's no ticket limit though, and a massive crossfire as challenge at the start of the map (hey it's a beach landing ) immediately gets the adrenaline up. The beach is much more flat than you think btw (screenshot up soon), however more than half the distance can be be covered in relative safety. The final 40% of the distance shall have to be run at max speed But don't forget NF has tanks when they attack. Every destroyed vehicle is cover. The working ones as well, but as usual they won't care about providing cover to mere infantry Edit: Hammer isn't obvious at all, you can't tell which is which 1) Top overview: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/0 - Top overview.jpg 2) At the beach looking at defensive line 1 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/1 - Beach.jpg 3) Between defensive line 1 and the ditch 1 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/2 - Between def 1 and ditch.jpg 4) In the ditch https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/3 - Ditch.jpg 5) Between the ditch and defensive line 2 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/4 - Between Ditch and def 2.jpg 6) Behind defensive line 2 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/5 - Behind def 2.jpg 7) Defending defensive line 2 https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/6 - Defending at def 2.jpg 8) Defending the wall https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/7 - Defending the wall.jpg I quite like the 2 main bunkers btw, you did an excellent job on those. I just added some 'cutout' on 1 side so they can overlook and guard the area where BE will retreat to in order to climb over the wall after defending defensive line 2: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u...treat area (climbing ropes over the wall).jpg Feel free to change it though, but it quite fits the style already Btw you know the mapsource was posted somewhere in here? Edit: Best screenshot i could get from hammer - i've encircled 2 player models for size comparison: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/234836/mapping/emp_echelon/9 - Sideview.jpg
well im moving and there still is a lot to do in our new apartment - for once i want shit done my way. we are finished with electicity now (we also have whole walls again). paintjob and then ill take time and have a look at things - i got to admit im a bit scared off by all this nothing works bullshit, but ill manage if its manageable but back to topic, i think what feels odd is that this river (?) divides the area from left to right while it should be cut it the other way (and not by a river) and if mortar fire hits the beach, it its probably not dry sand also its all too structured, more randomness, its a damn battlefield theres shitloads of explosions, probably heavy artillery bombardment and if air strikes before the landing. stuff wont line up orderly ...
What kind of things need to be modeled in Empires? Not not game related, but a classic car part I recreated in 3D. http://i544.photobucket.com/albums/hh331/PlazinJavelin/Video/1971Grille_2_9c2B.jpg
Ok, in order.... So do we replace the shot pistol with a shotgun, or is this a whole new weapon? Yeah, NF barracks sux. If it's going to stick that high in the air, it needs a machine gun nest up there. :D You don't like the rusty look of the NF CV? BE does look cooler. Yeah I could probably do these things. Brushes to cover the models harder, but we could get help on that. And still someone would hate it all.
