Spotlight on Mvalley Please keep vulgarities and arguments to a minimum. Post only if you have something constructive to say. Coffee Burrito has asked me to work on Mvalley so please give suggestions that might improve the appeal of the map. I personally really like Mvalley as a map. I dont aim to change any gameplay drastically, the main thing im focusing on atm is just visual appeal. I've allready changed the 3D skybox somewhat, strictly to get rid of the fog. My personal opinion is that fog should be a feature of a map not a requirement, no fog on Mvalley looks far more appealing and gives great point of reference with the giant mesa in the center. Hopefully new players will get the idea even more and 'Head for the giant mountain!' or 'go twords the satellite dishes!' There is some odd shadowing on the mesa and satellites at distance, but new models should fix this before release(scaled). Replaced the bridges, however this wasnt really an asthetic replacement, more of a requirement to again get rid of the fog. The old bridges weren't aligned to grid in the least bit(not even grid size 1) and therefore unscaleable for this operation. Damn is to be replaced/changed, for 2 options, either A: make the doors large enough to accommodate the NF CV as well as BE CV or B: make the doors small enough to prevent any vehicles from entering(or vehicle clip them). Please provide your opinions on this matter. Soundscapes to be added, specially down by the river id like to add some running water sounds. Minimap
change it as little as possible. i like this map as is and dont want to see it drastically different.
I dont really plan on any drastic changes, mostly just visual. The Dam thing was requested of me by the devs, which it is an imbalance so I dont really have a problem fixing that one.
The only thing I hate are these little wood bridges. I wasted so many tanks at them. And some game where lost, because cv haven't managed to cross them. You can make them larger or a add some kind of border.
First I wanted to cry and bitch cause you removed the old fog but it really isnt that bad, but now you see brown everywhere. Map needs color diversity and so cause imo it suffers the same "wall of green (here brown)" problem as the old emp_bush. Btw, the big rock model in the centre pops out now or is it placed in the skybox too? Suggestions: -Make the dam brushwork pretty, really pretty theirs enough room to add alot brushes. -Make the bridges pretty they can take more than 10 brushes. -Diversity, not one bridge prefap -Remake all textures -Some infantry cover on places where it doesnt hinder vehicles -Some new interesting ref nodes
Ontopic: I agree with SIP, the wooden bridges need tweaking, they seem to just throw tanks into the water currently.
I want to allow both CVs into the dam without allowing medium tanks and heavy tanks to go via the dam, because dam is currently an infantry only path and I don't want to change the dynamics of the map at all. Because I really like the map design, it plays brilliantly. One solution to this is to put some sort of "bollard" between the refinary and the side of the dam facing the water. this would allow CVs to get inside, but they'd have to stay on their side of the dam, and so vehicles wouldn't be able to go inside and get out the other side. One very obvious (when you see it) problem with the map when you can see it without fog is that it's very flat, it's very obviously either "high ground" or "low ground", which looks unnatural. I actually really don't like the design of the new bridges. Not for fear of change, but staring at them for a while it hit me- they're too artistic. The old bridges had a more industrial feel to them, while the new arched bridges would never be built in a desert area like Mvalley. Similarly, the Mvalley bridges would look out of place in a map set in venice, while your bridges wouldn't. You need to create industrial style bridges. The struts which supported the bridge were also good for gameplay (cover/hiding behind them) and they created parallax, something any outdoor map desperately needs. not that your bridges arn't attractive, though they could have a higher brush count.
metal frames for support, such as Yes the high ground vs. low ground does look right, i've seen that VERY much throughout the 4 corners area, when i was younger used to play around in Zion national park.
About that. I know your love for removing the fog to see the entire map, but have you considered using just a tiny bit to only make things less clear from a huge distance while still allowing the players to see everything? A complete lack of fog does make it look a little ... well artificial sometimes. I've just looked through the window and the trees 500m away from here have lost a lot of their color compared to the ones here in our own street. This depends on the time of day/weather of course. For maps with a skybox covered with clouds for more than 1/5 i'd suggest trying to use a little fog. Trying can't hurt. For example: Fog start: 100 Fog end: 100,000 Maps are 32,000x32,000 If you'd look to a point 20,000 units away from you that area would be 1/5 fog. This would still allow people to see even the outer edge of the 3d skybox.
Ya, a little bit of fog wouldn't hurt. Mountains in the skybox would be nice, but I'd rather see a difference in texture between high elevations vs. low that is more noticeable. Otherwise you just have a blur of brown. Make it kind of grey-ish with gravel on the top area perhaps? I think specifically that the lower areas would have more moisture, hence being darker brown, whereas the top areas would have washed off the top soil to reveal more rock features. Even a little bit of foliage near the water would be quite nice.
- double the width of the wood bridges, so the NF CV and tanks can cross it safely - make the dam entrance smaller, so that neither CV can get into it, it's a dam not a parking lot - there a columns outside the dam to the north that make it impossible to pass for more than 2 soldiers at the same time, pretty annoying on 64 player servers - those two ramps leading from your base to the dam highground are a pain in the ass to build. Prebuild them or give them less HP - maybe you find a way so commanders can place the ref in dam more easily (with closed roof)
-those ramps take so long to build to make fast base rushes not possible -the dam was made so you need infantry to open the roof to place a refinery.
Ya I'd actually have to agree with you guys about the bridge, it really doesnt fit, I however needed to replace the old bridge to make the 3dskybox work properly(so I could screenshot for you guys what im trying to do) but I can replace it. I was unsure about having bridges with any kind of massive supports on the top blocking vision since it would in a way change the mvalley gameplay for tanks shooting off the bridge. Im also not feeling your bridge drummer cause then i'd use a model and it would have to be scaled and placed into the 3dskybox as well, and remember these bridges will be seen at all times basically by the players so i don't want them TOO detailed. fog can be added at a distance quite easily, I've done it before and I do like the effect. and oh yes the satellite dishes and mesa in the center are indeed in the 3dskybox and wont disapear. I was rather unsure about how you guys would feel about a texture makeover on mvalley but seems thats what everyone is asking for so I wont have any qualms about switching em out.
