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[Scix]

Map and texture pack licensed Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share-Alike.

NOTE FOR MULTIPLAYER USE: The initial spawn doesn't seem to work right in multiplayer.

Multiplayer users should know the following information, to get the most of the experience:

Spoiler:

Game starts at x -230 Y 108 z -100, but the spawn point is at x -143, y 91.6, z 183.

UPDATE: I am currently working on version 1.4, which I expect to be the final one. Primarily the changes are improving direction, and I have added a "scoreboard" which lists the various findable areas.


Changing computers, I lost my progress. I am inclined to let it stand as it is, and start on a new map, learning from this one.

Texture pack for Minecraft Beta 1.7 is ready.

Plans for a sequel are already sketched out, but the actual story details are still in a nebulous stage, thus the poll above. Also, I am adding some new screen shots to this post, some of which demonstrate the key system. End update 13July2011

Message from the author.
The goal.
Screenshots.
Keys and levels.
Downloads.
Issues.
Teaser videos.
Reviews.
Previous versions.



Message from the author:  Thank you for your wondrous responses so far! Over 400 downloads in the first week, that's fantastic (currently 422 downloads of the texture pack and 439 of the various versions of the map). With your help I have been refining the map, and I am really close to putting a seal on it and going onto the next project.

A recurring comment is that the story seems to end at a certain point, but the map goes on. You could argue that escaping the asylum is a complete map, and getting from there to home is a complete challenge, and the half-dozen optional levels don't need to be in the same map at all.

With the tools at my disposal, I cannot easily split the map -- best I can do is make three copies of the map and throw walls around each section, which seems like a bit of a waste. There may be a better way, I am still learning what's out there to work with.

As for the map itself, it's pretty much done. I have 1.4 loaded up, but so far all I've done is placed a cactus. I plan to put even more roads and signs around for the optional levels, and I am considering a "scoreboard" of sorts. And that'll be it, though when 1.7 comes out I may use the pistons to put back in a puzzle I had to remove because I couldn't figure out a way to do it without pistons.

And then on to ... who knows what?

So ... the poll. I'd much appreciate it if you'd tick a box or two for me.

Current version is 1.3.

The goal is simply to escape. You awaken in unfamiliar surroundings, and even though it seems like it may be a nightmare, you understand that getting home is the only way to end it.

In addition to the main goal, there are a few optional levels that can be done as side quests during or after the completion of the main quest. Some are quite a bit more challenging than others.

Every building and area has something secret or challenging to get to or find. Usually, there will be a reward.

It is strongly recommended that you play with the Crimson Asylum texture pack I made to go with the game, if for no other reason that the paintings will look silly, and the barbed wire will be missing.

The mines are not part of the game.

Screenshots:

‎1. This is where you start.
2. What's going on here?
3. Aaaaaaah!
4. Is this all just a dream?
5. Dr. Freeman will save you.
6. The lock seems to be broken. Yep, it's survival horror all right.
NOTE: the torches don't look like this anymore. Later screenshots in this post show them as they currently appear in this texture pack.


1. Nurse Creeper will take care of you.
2. Mr. Zombie says "Hello."
3. Upper Ward: the way is blocked. The torches will probably not stay that way.
4. The cells.
5. Inventory screen.
6. Part of the underground.
NOTE: the torches don't look like this anymore. Later screenshots in this post show them as they currently appear in this texture pack.


1. The front of the temple. Two keys needed to enter.
2. Squiddy says "Hello."
3. Sewer
4. Swamp
5. This is how the game distinguishes keys. The is the Bone Key
6. Inside the temple
NOTE: the torches don't look like this anymore. Later screenshots in this post show them as they currently appear in this texture pack.


1. Ghast
2. The portals in this world begin to corrupt the land around them
3. Desolation
4. There's something about that cloud...
5. The lighthouse
6. Mr. Skeleton says "Hello."
NOTE: the torches don't look like this anymore. Later screenshots in this post show them as they currently appear in this texture pack.


‎1. The cemetery
2. There was a hole here. Now it's gone.
3. The Warehouse
4. Undersea area
5. It took me FOREVER to finish this level, because I am crap at playing jumping puzzles and I kept falling when testing if a certain step worked.
6. Every game needs an ice level.
NOTE: the torches don't look like this anymore. Later screenshots in this post show them as they currently appear in this texture pack.


"No Admittance" -- can't go there till you've completed the main goal.
The Ballroom -- no "point" to this room yet.
The Asylum from behind
The Asylum from the front
(center) Rusty Minecraft (I went to school with a Rusty Minecraft once...)

Keys and levels Screen shots of each location, with possible spoilers and showing keys:

Spoiler:

The beginning, which I call the "Nightmare." Note two kinds of keys, the pressure plate which receives the green wool to open the door and the "coal key," which is a lever in a chest paired with a piece of coal. Note: if you're really stuck, it's really easy to get past these by using other levers or droppable objects, but in the spirit of the game it's necessary to find each key. All keyed doors are marked with the gold block.


Some shots from the asylum, including keys. You'll note that in addition to key+object, there are two keys identified by location: the director's key and Dr. Phelps' key. Only one pressure plate lock here, it's a golden apple. This one's tough to find, so far everyone who has reported back has cheated through this door. But it's findable, I promise.


Once you escape the asylum, you still need to get home. Consider this chapter two, if you like.

These are some locations and keys you need to find to get home: the temple (requires two keys), the swamp and sewer, the depot, the maze, the Tree, the nether portal.


The gate to "home" and the lighthouse, the last obstacles to getting home. Current versions identify home as "The Manse," but I plan to avoid confusion by changing all references to simply, "home." The Manse is part of a backstory that is no longer part of the narrative of Crimson Asylum (at least part one!)

Note the diamond key is indicated by a bit of diamond ore, and the obsidian key by an obsidian block.


The top layer shows the way home and your welcome message. The rest are the "optional" levels you can find separately from the main narrative: The ice ruins, the volcano (note the entrance to the right), the water .... thing, the warehouse, the hedge labyrinth, the cemetery and the Hellmouth. You can do all of these before finishing or after, up to you. You get some extra keys at home, but those are for exploration parts of completed areas that you couldn't get to the first time through.

In addition, there are a couple of mines left over from when this was a home map, but there's no particular puzzle or point to them. They should all be blocked off so no one wastes time in them under the misapprehension that they are part of the game.

Downloads:

Map:
[download link for map version 1.3] (latest)
[alternate 1.3 download, via mediafire]

Texture Pack:
[download link for texture pack via mediafire] (Minecraft Beta 1.7)
[download link for texture pack via Megaupload] (Minecraft Beta 1.7)

(separate thread for the texture)
Known or possible issues:
-The pigzombie skin is terrible. The chicken is weird, too.
-There is an underground trainride that is divided into rooms; it is possible to bypass the whole series of challenges, as the gates are not installed (I plan to use pistons from the 1.7 update). There are signs showing where they should go. This is an optional part of the map.
-The start of the game requires the spawnpoint to work properly. Occasionally spawnpoints, when not the original one for the map, decide not to work. I have not had this happen in this map, but if it does it'll mess things up a bit. So far this has not been a problem for anyone reporting who was playing in single player mode. Multiplayer seems problematic, but until I can recreate the issue, I am not sure what to do about it.
-The torch texture has been tamed compared to the ones in the screen shots above.
-It is theoretically possible for a creeper to blow up something important. Short of making everything out of obsidian, not much I can do about that. Play on as best you can.
-There is a ladder to the roof of the asylum. This should have been blocked or removed. It's okay to go up there, but you may get stuck if you jump down to the other rooftops. Fixed in 1.1
-The map size is huge. Unfortunately, not all of that area is play area, but you may need to take this into account, considering your individual system.
-There are Single Player Commands in effect that make parts unplayable. This is fixed in 1.2.
-There are gaps players can "escape" through and get lost. Fixed in 1.3
-"Rose Key" switched badly placed. Fixed in 1.3
-Based on reports from players, some roads and paths have been clarified with signs. A lot of it is "open world," but the player should know where to go to advance the story.


I created most of this map "legit," only using Single Player Commands after I built the Asylum, Temple, House, lighthouse and most of the caves and mines. I started this map as my regular game map, until it took on a life of its own.

Video teasers:
http://www.youtube.c...bed/PUtM3Y9iNWo


And we have our first video!



Courtesy of Dyz-69 at his Map Tester thread.

There's a second part.

I've found three videos about the texture pack -- one in German and two without speech at all, but near as I can tell they both liked them.









I'd be happy, of course, to answer any questions or field any suggestions.

Reviews*:

From Dyz-69: "first section of the game was amazing making me feel i was in a nightmare and then i suddenly woke up in a bed but wait...why em i still hearing those slamming doors?...whats this footstep sounds im hearing near the theater?...why does the morgue have flickering lights!?....oh god is that a creep-SSssss BOOM" (follow the link to read the rest)

From trineops: "Very nice job. Don't really have much to say. Except that i really liked it."

From ethancordn: "I really like it, I think its very well done and atmospheric." (follow the link to read the rest)

From rsmalec: "If I had to point out the best part, it would be hard for me to chose the ambient noises or the level of detail in decorating the entire world. ...  Visual decor/detail: 4 (of 4), Creativity: 4, Adherence to theme: 4 ..." (click through to read the whole thing)

(Addendum: "I just rated you a 14/20 on my new scale.")

From basje: "Everything looked really good and well thought of. The pathways are good, the really big things, but even the houses (and interior) look very good!"   (click through to read the whole thing)

Just in case you are interested in older versions:
[[[ [download link for version 1.0 map]  ]]]
[[[  [download link for 1.1 map] ]]]
[[[[download link for map version 1.2] ]]]

Texture, pre-1.7:

[[[ [download link for texture pack] ]]]
[[[ [download link for texture pack via mediafire]]]]





*Reviews also contain some useful, constructive critique -- click through to see it. I just quoted my favorite parts here.

[Scix]

The images behind the spoiler tag don't seem to be resizing. Would it be better to just unspoiler them>

Edited by Scix, 26 June 2011 - 11:25 PM.

[Razorhawkzor]

I just downloaded your texture pack and map, hopefully it doesnt crash my game.

[Scix]

I hope not, too! Is that likely for some reason?

There are no mod-necessary items in the map.

[Eae]

Read your private message please

[Chintapop]

Hello! I played your map, but coulnd't find Dr. Phelps office to get to the bottom thing, couldnt find the golden apple key, etc. I was able to get on the roof through the ladder, fall down via the roof ledges, but then was stuck . Maybe remove the ladder to the roof?

[fluffycud]

can you please tell me why while I download it it is full of pop ups. PS it is from the site your link is from. PPS sounds like a good map as well.

[trineops]

this sounds gonnz download it + texture pack.  and can't wait til totaly finished

[Scix]

fluffycud, on 16 June 2011 - 06:13 AM, said:

can you please tell me why while I download it it is full of pop ups. PS it is from the site your link is from. PPS sounds like a good map as well.

I'm not sure what you're asking -- you mean Megaupload is giving you popup ads? That's sucky, sorry about that. My browser settings pretty much stop that sort of foolishness, so I was unaware.

If anyone can recommend a good upload site, I'll move it there.

trineops, on 16 June 2011 - 06:30 AM, said:

this sounds gonnz download it + texture pack.  and can't wait til totaly finished

Hope you like it. Please come back and let me know what you think.

[Scix]

Chintapop, on 16 June 2011 - 05:31 AM, said:

Hello! I played your map, but coulnd't find Dr. Phelps office to get to the bottom thing, couldnt find the golden apple key, etc. I was able to get on the roof through the ladder, fall down via the roof ledges, but then was stuck . Maybe remove the ladder to the roof?

Ah, I originally put that ladder there to help me build, I'd forgotten.

Spoiler:

Phelp's office is in the tower, so you need the golden apple.

Spoiler:

It's in one of the individual cells on the 4th floor, through a gap in the wall.

Also:

Spoiler:

It's pretty easy to "cheat" by tossing something else on the pressure plate if you get stuck.

I hope you'll try again (or jump off the roof and start over, I guess. Depending on how much you've collected it might not be too much of a loss).

[Scix]

Map update 1.1 uploaded. Just some minor changes, the list is in the OP.

[rsmalec]

Downloading for later playthrough!

[Scix]

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[N2tZ]

Hey, I added your map to my list of adventure maps (link in my signature)

[Hug The Creeper]

Quote

If anyone can recommend a good upload site, I'll move it there.

Dropbox. You have to download their software, but it's worth it (Direct Download).

[Razorhawkzor]

I downloaded the map and texture pack. I didnt really like the texture pack so I used another one. But I just ended up quiting early on because I was having terible lag with fast graphics and tiny render distance.

[trineops]

haven't finished it all the way but looks nice till how far i came. See you uploaded full version so i will do that one

[Scix]

Hug The Creeper, on 16 June 2011 - 07:56 PM, said:

Dropbox. You have to download their software, but it's worth it (Direct Download).

I'll have to look into that.

Razorhawkzor, on 16 June 2011 - 08:07 PM, said:

I downloaded the map and texture pack. I didnt really like the texture pack so I used another one. But I just ended up quiting early on because I was having terible lag with fast graphics and tiny render distance.

Sorry to hear that. I'm not sure why it would do that.

Thanks for trying, anyway, and thanks for reporting back.

N2tZ, on 16 June 2011 - 06:42 PM, said:

Hey, I added your map to my list of adventure maps (link in my signature)

Thanks!

trineops, on 16 June 2011 - 08:23 PM, said:

haven't finished it all the way but looks nice till how far i came. See you uploaded full version so i will do that one

Glad you're liking it. How far have you gotten?

[Scix]

99 downloads of the map, and 76 of the texture pack. They say that only 1% of customers (I know you're not really customers) will tell you what they think, and only 1% of those will be telling you what they liked.

I think the folks here have a much higher percentage than that. I sure hope so. This is my first, and I'd really like to know what works and what doesn't, as I plan to make more.

[Scix]

Criminey! I just checked my map's filesize against some others, and it seems to be huge (65M), at least in comparioson.

I imagine this is because I have some locations that are widely separated (using nether portal shortcuts and underground tunnels), so the game rendered all the intervening chuncks.

If that's too big for some, I don't know what I could do about it, besides try to make a more compact one next time.