Spotlight on Duststorm Please keep vulgarities and arguments to a minimum. Post only if you have something constructive to say. UPDATE: Download for Beta 1 test for new version of the map here http://www.sendspace.com/file/w06fe1 This is for server owners to upload to their servers for playtesting and feedback. Coffee Burrito has asked me to work on Duststorm so please give suggestions that might improve the appeal of the map. I personally really like duststorm as a map. I dont aim to change any gameplay drastically, the main thing im focusing on atm is just visual appeal. For instance I've allready replaced the 3D skybox, regardless of anything else it needed to be replaced. I dont know if any of the rest of you have seen the seams and texture overlap etc, not pretty. Im thinking might make some new textures for the map, nothing too drastically different from the current. But a new variation that doesnt look like it walked right out of counterstrike counterstrike. I've also edited some the map terrain to be steeper in the areas you cant actually walk up, to make it visually more obvious which sections of cliff you can walk up. Basically to make it easier on people less familiar with the map to be able to determine which slope can be walked up, cause alot of them are very close to the same height but you can only for instance walk up the left cliff not the right. Soundscapes to be added. Also plan to include the dust puffs again. Minimap
new skybox looks nice. Can you add some roughness to the terrain so that at ground level, the main bases are not directly visible? like a small sand dune or 2. Just two small dunes across the front of either base, no more than 100 units high at the highest point. enough to make it impossible to see straight into the enemy base from ground level, but not enough to make driving an issue.
Mapping wise, Let's find some better palm trees, don't really like those and they seem to be glitchy (collision being funky). Also let's redo ruins, add some more detail to them and possibly re-organize it, will post back with some ideas
If you've fixed the skybox could you have some way of telling where it is? Because I don't want to drive into it accidentally.
put some "dustparticles" in the skybox, as it is driving into the skybox would be driving into a dust storm while the actual map is in the eye of it so you can see where the skybox starts AND have it pretty :p also can i remake ruins? i wont change anything of the layout you dont want, just make it a large amount prettier
CHANGE THE BARK TEXTURE USED FOR THE HILL TO A REAL ROCK TEXTURE also: - Cover for infantry - use textures to show where you can climp on the hill
DON'T change the map too much. I agree: prettier. but don't change the layout. don't make any cliffs that were climbable not climbable. Duststorm is one of the best maps in empires. nay, with the right teams, the best map. fantastic job with the skybox. The sand texture is pretty good, it's already been changed once since the map was first made. I don't know why you'd change it.
The whole point of these spotlights are to update the maps with the latest stuff, they are NOT to alter gameplay. A few may require extra things but not much.
I concur with mayama about the bark texture. sandbag im not making cliffs steeper that you could climb before, im making cliffs you COULDNT climb more obvious that you cant climb them, not by a drastic ammount, just enough so when you walk up to them alot of the time you go "oh, well that one is prolly too steep to climb." also sandbag about the new textures, I think this update is a good opportunity to influx empires with some custom content for future mappers to use. While the textures in duststorm dont make you want to vomit out the mouth, they are in tons of maps in other mods and in default half-life 2 games. I really think we should give empires as much individuality as we can so new players dont load up duststorm and go "oh hey look its a counter-strike map" I personally just want these spotlight programs to leave all these maps then 'unique'.
it's called duststorm... what if every 20 minutes, a duststorm blows across for 15 seconds reducing visibility to almost nothing, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind and client side generated particals rushing past the screen. maybe it would suck... but it might be really cool.
They better not be, since they are Empires textures. Sometimes I wonder if I have the same game as you people.
