In SP02 I think this is the first map I have ever seen with all wool not in a chest. You know in the intersections you can just use carpet. It's far more visible and people can't just take the wool and stuff. Even though they didn't beat the map that way don't you want to limit it?
Zunar is correct here: I trust players to play fair, thus I have no reason to limit my use of wool as a building block. As for the intersections, I just don't like how carpets look there, which is why I'm using the "colored gates" thing.
Makes sense, I agree completely. I'm assuming the Valley of Makers to Black Wool ender pearl skip was intentional too?
Also, since SP03 is going to be primarily outdoor areas, are you going to put speedrunning shortcuts in those areas, or just design it how you feel and see how a speedrun would go through it?
Actually, VoM to Black Wool skip was accidental. I placed the Black Wool area there because I wanted to be all compact, and only later thought "hey, that's totally going to be a speedrun strat, I should leave it like that".
I'm gonna think about adding speedrun shortcuts is SP03. Even if there will be some, normal shortcuts are still going to be dominant (there are like 3 shortcuts between areas in Intersection 1).
Hey Tikaro, I'm curious about something. There's a lot of digging-through-wall skips in Overload speedruns, but there are very few possible in Animosity. Did you build Overload's areas like that intentionally, or did you just forget to wall off the areas to prevent that? I mean you did make a speedrunning item so you probably left those shortcuts on purpose, but I wanted to ask.
Yes, I made it like that intentionally. After Animosity, I think that it's a bad idea to isolate every area and limit speedrunners' possibilities.
You know, I'm wondering something: Why is the series called "Simulation Protocol"? Just wanted it to sound all sci-fi like, or is there an actual reason?
I believe the original idea was that all of the maps take place in a simulated world, a sort of a Matrix (well, I guess if we're talking about minecraft, they quite literally do). I might return to this idea in SP03, I have some thoughts on how to use it in the story.
Also, thanks for pointing out the little mistake in the sign, I will fix that. In fact, I might throw out a little bugfix for Overload soon, to get rid of some minor stuff (though still for 1.7).
After 20 episodes of battling through Simulation Protocol 2, I finally completed it with a death count of 3. Great map and I look forward to your next one! Keep up the great work!
I must admit, your level of play makes me feel like a total casual. Nonetheless, it was a great watch and I'm glad that you enjoyed your time with my little map.
Also, what a glorious reaction at the end! That moment is most definitely my overall most favorite moment in all of SP02 LPs.
[quote=TheZunar123;/members/TheZunar123;/forums/mapping-and-modding/maps/1550497-ctm-collection-simulation-protocol-series-by?comment=729]
This actually brings me to question about one of the secret items in the game.
-snip-
You are correct, it is sort of a reference item, though not for a game. The name "Tengen Breaker" originated from one anime named "Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann" (hence "Tengen" part, which I believe in this context can be translated as "heavens", so the name of the sword is basically "Heavens breaker\Breaker of the heavens"). The main idea running through the show is that "with enough willpower, one can overcome anything", so it is quite fitting for a speedrun item (that's basically what I was creating it for), as speedruns require a lot of patience and training.
And yes, of course there will be secret items in SP03, maybe even something similar. Also, there will probably be some not-so-secret items that will be references to games\shows\whatever else.
Boy oh boy, as I'm just about to finish writing this dev. update, as there is suddenly stuff that I want to answer to! Prepare for ye old might wall of text.
***
SP03 Dev. Update №2 (Is that the sparkle o' coin I see?)
Okay, so here we go again. Today, I want to finish (we all know I will fail at that) talking about the theoretical differences in SP03 and my previous maps, but I also want to sort of concertize where I think I went wrong with, mainly, Overload.
So, the first thing that I think fell apart in SP02 is the loot system. Back then, I had this idea that I would make a gigantic list of dope custom items that player would be able to find and be like "ooh new shiny unique thing, I'll take that". And I could have done that, but my system was wrong in both the way I did items and the way I distributed them.
Here's why. All of items were divided into three groups: "Uncommon", "Rare", "Elder", (items from the last one being the most powerful). Now, that's basically how you would expect loot to look like in an RPG, right? Well it would be, if "Rare" or "Elder" items were actually something rare and hard to find, and not just stuff that you find later than Uncommon.
The second problem, which flows from the one above, is that, in the end, all of those custom items are common. They are probably the most common loot in the whole map. I think at least half of the chests in the map contained some kind of a "shiny custom unique item". Because of this, they lost their charm as "custom unique stuff" and became just stuff you need to sort through.
Another thing that bothers me a little bit is that all of the custom tools, weapons and armor are different only in terms of enchantments. Now, it's understandable, there isn't a lot you can customize in items in terms of gameplay, but there's still the whole attribute system that I didn't use. Okay, if you ask me, the current attribute system is absolutely pitiful and doesn't achieve what it should with only 7 customize-able parameters, 3 of which can't even be applied to players. But even so, there is a lot of combinations you can do with this.
The last problem of Overload loot is that it doesn't convey any lore with it. A "Sharp Iron Sword" in lush cavern with complex structures for observing the stars and in menacing dull ruins, rotting away and breaking down from below by magma currents, is still the exact same "Sharp Iron Sword". And if those two swords were instead, continuing the example, "Mossy Rusted Sword" and "Tainted Grotesque Sword", the overall experience from playing the areas would be just a tiiiny bit deeper.
So, how do I want to go about not falling in the same pit twice? First of all, there will be no more tiers for items. It will be entirely up to the player to decide if the sword that he has just found is better than the one he's using right now. Other than that, I will also utilize attributes to my advantage, so, for example, you'll be able to find both a "Gigantic Stone Greatsword", that deals a lot of damage, but makes you slower, and a "Swift Stone Longsword" that doesn't deal that much damage, but makes you faster (damn I really like using swords for examples). Alongside with a more attribute-oriented loot, enchanted stuff will probably become more rare. No more enchanted loot in every other chest! Because of that it will both feel and be so much more valuable when you find it.
And last but not least, items will be tied to lore. Instead of "Durable Iron Sword" you will find stuff like "Royal Knight's Broadsword" or "Dull Axe of Revolutionary", and they will actually be somehow logical to the context and will reveal a tiny bit of history of the world through their names\descriptions.
Oh, I just finished talking about this one topic, and this is already quite a text. Let's stop here today, but that does raise one question for all of you guys who read these updates: should I not stop myself and write big walls of text when I want to talk about a lot of stuff (probably 2\2.5 times more than this update), or is this size (+/- a bit, of course) more comfortable for the updates?
Im not trolling. Im giving my thoughts on the map. When I played it the beginnning and the first intersection where great. but after playing through the second intersection I noticed that the map was literally 25% architecture 70% spawners 4% natural spawns and 1% traps. I felt bored because all i did was fight monsters constantly and didnt have to worry about traps. but maybe im just spoiled by Vechs whose maps i played and make me feel like there isnt a crap ton of spawners..
Troll or not, I should address this.
First of all, combat is one of the main factors in CTM maps, so you will find yourself in combat pretty much all the time when you're exploring areas. If you find it boring, perhaps CTMs might not be for you.
Next thing. Spawners provide much more flexibility than natural spawns, as well as are overall better in terms of precise balance of difficulty, (so you will not find yourself watching a stupidly large horde of mobs coming for you from one dark room). So, of course there will be a lot of spawners in the map.
Also, it seems like you are saying that I tossed a "crap ton" of spawners around in the areas without too much thought put into it, (and I apologize if that is not what you wanted to convey). But saying that is just plain wrong. If there is a spawner somewhere in the map, it is there because I thought that it should be there. I didn't just fly around for several minutes placing spawners because "there should be spawners in areas", but I actually thought, for example, "I will put this blaze spawner in the lava near the anvil, so the player will have a more difficult time here, but as a reward, he will get a shiny new anvil". And if there are places with spammy spawners, they are there because I wanted there to be such a place (for better or for worse is a different question).
There indeed isn't a lot of traps, but they are certainly not the key factor for interesting gameplay, and I would rather use them scarcely than have one around each corner.
With all of that being said, I'm sorry that Overload didn't meet your expectations. There are a lot of great CTMs out there that you can dive into, so you will most certainly find something enjoyable for yourself.
After watching ColD's Animosity run several times, I finally cracked.
-snip-
It was six minutes slower than the record and I ended up not having one of the wools at the end, but I was really just playing for personal satisfaction. Redeeming myself, if you will.
Speedrunning this map has really opened my eyes to one of the main issues: natural spawning. Almost half of my attempts ended only a few minutes in at Red Rock Canyon due to natural spawns screwing me over. The others usually involved skeletons, either shooting me off my pillar or ganging up on me.
Hooray for speedruns! I'll watch that in my free time.
If I were to replay Animosity now, I would probably find it to be an amateur disaster all around, starting from balance and aesthetics and ending with me being a total jerk with purple wool entrance. C:
Tikaro, I just noticed that in the Overload Let's Plays tab you have ColD's video linked twice instead of Rich's. Who, by the way, beat Gunter's speedrun time on Overload. Kinda surprised he didn't post it here, to be honest, considering he made such a big deal about getting the world record in the video.
(I'm hoping Gunter will practice more and get his record back so we can rub it in Rich's face that he doesn't have the record anymore. :P)
Ah, thank you for letting me know, must have overlooked that when fixing the video section.
You see what this does for hype and what this does for actual map playing are two VERY different things. A five intersection map with 15 or 16 areas is pushing it for most players. 28 areas will make people quit a quarter of the way through, unless a lot of those areas are VERY short.
I definitely see where this is coming from, but I don't think it's necessarily true all the time. From my personal experiences, if a map is captivating and has fun, varied, and interesting gameplay, it'll keep my attention all the way through and it won't matter to me how long it is. For example, I took 40 hours to play all the way through Ragecraft II and never got tired of it (as in, I played it for multiple hours a day from start to finish) because of the fantastic gameplay and visuals. However, I also got bored of Savage Realm about 15 hours in because a lot of the gameplay and area design felt repetitive to me, even if it was very well balanced and had solid 9/10 aesthetics. And if Overload is any indication of what SP3 will be like, I don't think it'll have a problem keeping me interested.
Also, on a more direct note, judging by the way you said 16 areas is pushing it for a five-intersection map I don't think you picked up that the 28 areas probably include intersections. If they do include the intersections and each wool is in a separate area, that leaves 7 or 8 non-wool areas depending on the number of intersections, which I think is manageable for a committed player. Sure, it's not for everyone, but if some people don't want a huge map there's plenty of smaller ones out there that they can play.
As far as getting burnt out during creation, that's something I'm sure Tikaro has kept in mind when planning the map. Especially considering that the focus is more on structures, which he enjoys making over landscapes, I don't think it should be too much of a problem.
Okay, I thought that the amount of areas might raise some questions (especially without the proper explanation from my side), so I should address this now.
The map consists of 28 areas in total, 16 of which contain wool. This leaves us with 12 non-wool areas (these do not include intersections). Out of these 12 areas, 3 are mandatory transitional areas, but they're short and are "areas" more because of different environment than size (they are there because I needed to make smooth and logical transitions between the areas). Leaving these out, there are 9 areas left. 3 of those are small dungeons that you'll need to visit, but they shouldn't take you more that 15 minutes to complete each one. Without them, 6 areas are left in question, and only 2 of those you need to go through ("prologue" and "starting area", if you will). And so, the last 4 areas that are left are not mandatory, and if you're going just for the wools, and not world lore and loot, you can ignore them. (There will be a sign at the start of each of those areas telling you that "this is a side-area that can be skipped").
So, in total, out of those 12 non-wool areas you must visit 8, 6 of which are small. Doesn't sound quite as scary as "28 areas", right? C:
I see. Since the areas are open to the sky there will be natural spawns, which may make balancing the areas a bit more difficult. I'd be totally fine with a difficulty around Overload as long as it has a good difficulty curve. Animosity struggled with that a bit, as I demonstrated in my feedback.
Speaking of feedback, you can expect some for SP03 when it gets done. Would you prefer me to do a blind review like Overload or a second playthrough one like Animosity?
This will be up to you to decide after you play through the map, because I can assure you that I will be equally happy with either one of these choices.
I do have one question: How is the difficulty of SP03 planned to be compared to Animosity and Overload? Or can you not answer that at this point?
It is indeed too early to predict anything concerning difficulty. When I will start placing loot and mobs in Int1, then I'll be able to do a vague prediction.
Heyo guys! As a heads-up, I've started doing Dev. Updates for Simulation Protocol 03, in which (for all the new people that missed the time I was doing these for Overload) I will talk about various things I encounter throughout the development, as well as show some screenshots. As I was doing in the past, I will try to post these each weekend in my topic.
So Tikaro, are you going to be doing dev updates for SP03?
Yes?
SP03 Dev. Update №1 (40+1?)
Feels good to be back to doing this.
So, let's hop right into it with several things about SP03, (it's called "SP03 Dev. Updates" now, am I right?), and how it will be different from Animosity and Overload. I will leave some stuff for the next time, so this first update will not be a giant wall of text from the depths of hell.
As you can remember, if you've played either Animosity or Overload, most of the areas were either fully underground or with skylights at the top, without any areas on the "surface", for the lack of a better word. That is the first major difference between SP03 and SP01\02. SP03 will consist mostly of open-sky non-underground areas. Though, I will still mix in some of the good-old underground areas, but there will not be many of them. Also, unlike SP01\02, SP03 will feature quite a lot of non-wool areas that will be either transitions between wool areas, or just areas for special loot\something else (loot will not be the sole purpose of those areas). That means that the map will be overall bigger than any of the previous ones, and that it will take me longer to finish it : D. Right now, the total amount of areas in SP03 I plan for is 28, including all of the transitions and non-wool areas. That might (and probably will) change throughout the development, but I though that this is quite interesting as it is.
Next, the structures. My previous maps certainly made use of different kinds of structures, but it wasn't their absolute focus, there were still some areas that relied on terrain (though I was already getting rid of that in Overload). SP03 areas will be more structure-oriented than terrain-oriented, (yay for bigass fortresses). Now, that doesn't mean that terrain will be of a lower quality, that means that there will be less of it. And let me be completely honest with you right now, I just plainly find building bigass fortresses much more enjoyable that doing terrain.
And last but not least for this dev. update, the lore and story. SP03 will not be just a compilation of diverse areas like Animosity and Overload. The map has a consistent theme running throughout it as well as full lore background. You as the player will be able to find different pieces of lore like old books\encyclopedias\letters that will give you various information about the world and its habitants. And also, with each wool collected you will find the notes of a person that will lead you through the main story. Getting a little bit off topic, I did create several fantastic worlds in the past for the purpose of giving my brain something to work on, so I hope I will be able to create an interesting story for SP03. In its state now, most of the plot is laid out as well as all of overall lore, though there is still some holes I have to fill and then polish it all.
Phew, I think that'll do for now. I will also update the main post to have some basic information about SP03 shortly after this post. But now, to close it off, as we were doing in good-old days, a screenshot:
You know exactly what this is, right? (Ah yes, I've decreased the potion spawners' activation radius, so it will spawn potions only if you're very close to it.)
So, I was playing SP2, i've got to intersection 3. There was a sign saying: "To activate the teleportation system walk under potion spawner". So i did walk under the spawner, but it hasn't got activated. SP2 seems to be an evil map so did you just put it down to make ppl think they can use that and then not making it work? And has this happened to anyone else? If it did what should i do then? Thanks for replying.
That's not intentional and is a bug with redstone. Type "/scoreboard set players @a Int 2" in the chat to force teleports to work. (If that happens with Int4, type the same thing except replace "2" with "3").
So how's SP03 coming along, Tikaro? Anything screenshot-worthy yet?
It is going quite good. I'm not working as fast as I possibly can, but the progress is getting done at a solid pace. Right now, I'm more or less done with aesthetics of first intersection, though I'm still going around doing touch-ups.
You are right, I've been avoiding screenshots for long enough. There are quite some things that I could show off, but let's just not think about them right now C: . Instead, here is a little piece of one of the starting areas:
Just finished up the Blizzard review. I've got some college homework to do so I can't play Sandstorm quite yet, but I should be able to sometime this week.
-snip-
Aww yeah, give me that sexy feedback.
Let's go about this in order:
The spawn works as intended only in SSP because you can set the starting configuration of only one player in world settings, and in SMP those settings are ignored. I could have done some redstone to fix that, but the time was running out, so that's how it is.
The Strawberry Jam is a CTM map-making event that runs every couple of months. The goal is to create a small CTM map in 3 days from scratch. With the last area, when I started working on it, I had something like 6 hours left, with all of loot, mobs and testing still to be done, so I've tried to find a good balance of making something playable and not going over time limit. Thinking about it now, I probably could have done something more interesting with it, but oh well.
Good idea about giving one carrot at the start, food is somehow always one thing I'm struggling to find a solid balance with, although that's maybe for the better.
On the topic of Gilded Pass|Fateful Carnage similarity, I believe I made GP earlier that FC, so it was most certainly a source of inspiration for me indeed.
And about semi-linear layout for SP03 - I believe it's possible to make such a style work wonderfully in a full-sized CTM, but I have a soft spot for Linear-Branching, which is why I'm going with that. Besides, I already have a full-blown plan for SP03 with all of the areas laid out in a nice order.
So, overall, thank you for the nice review with quite some thoughts, as always, put into it. It does make gears in my head turn and think about some details that I wouldn't have thought about otherwise, which is certainly a good thing.
0
Zunar is correct here: I trust players to play fair, thus I have no reason to limit my use of wool as a building block. As for the intersections, I just don't like how carpets look there, which is why I'm using the "colored gates" thing.
I don't know yet. I might, previous ones have been quite fun.
0
Actually, VoM to Black Wool skip was accidental. I placed the Black Wool area there because I wanted to be all compact, and only later thought "hey, that's totally going to be a speedrun strat, I should leave it like that".
I'm gonna think about adding speedrun shortcuts is SP03. Even if there will be some, normal shortcuts are still going to be dominant (there are like 3 shortcuts between areas in Intersection 1).
0
Yes, I made it like that intentionally. After Animosity, I think that it's a bad idea to isolate every area and limit speedrunners' possibilities.
0
I believe the original idea was that all of the maps take place in a simulated world, a sort of a Matrix (well, I guess if we're talking about minecraft, they quite literally do). I might return to this idea in SP03, I have some thoughts on how to use it in the story.
Also, thanks for pointing out the little mistake in the sign, I will fix that. In fact, I might throw out a little bugfix for Overload soon, to get rid of some minor stuff (though still for 1.7).
Nope, still 1.7.2
***
Also guys, there will be no dev. update today, I will try to get one done tomorrow, I've been a bit busy the last couple of days.
2
I must admit, your level of play makes me feel like a total casual. Nonetheless, it was a great watch and I'm glad that you enjoyed your time with my little map.
Also, what a glorious reaction at the end! That moment is most definitely my overall most favorite moment in all of SP02 LPs.
[quote=TheZunar123;/members/TheZunar123;/forums/mapping-and-modding/maps/1550497-ctm-collection-simulation-protocol-series-by?comment=729]
This actually brings me to question about one of the secret items in the game.
-snip-
And yes, of course there will be secret items in SP03, maybe even something similar. Also, there will probably be some not-so-secret items that will be references to games\shows\whatever else.
6
***
SP03 Dev. Update №2 (Is that the sparkle o' coin I see?)
Okay, so here we go again. Today, I want to finish (we all know I will fail at that) talking about the theoretical differences in SP03 and my previous maps, but I also want to sort of concertize where I think I went wrong with, mainly, Overload.
So, the first thing that I think fell apart in SP02 is the loot system. Back then, I had this idea that I would make a gigantic list of dope custom items that player would be able to find and be like "ooh new shiny unique thing, I'll take that". And I could have done that, but my system was wrong in both the way I did items and the way I distributed them.
Here's why. All of items were divided into three groups: "Uncommon", "Rare", "Elder", (items from the last one being the most powerful). Now, that's basically how you would expect loot to look like in an RPG, right? Well it would be, if "Rare" or "Elder" items were actually something rare and hard to find, and not just stuff that you find later than Uncommon.
The second problem, which flows from the one above, is that, in the end, all of those custom items are common. They are probably the most common loot in the whole map. I think at least half of the chests in the map contained some kind of a "shiny custom unique item". Because of this, they lost their charm as "custom unique stuff" and became just stuff you need to sort through.
Another thing that bothers me a little bit is that all of the custom tools, weapons and armor are different only in terms of enchantments. Now, it's understandable, there isn't a lot you can customize in items in terms of gameplay, but there's still the whole attribute system that I didn't use. Okay, if you ask me, the current attribute system is absolutely pitiful and doesn't achieve what it should with only 7 customize-able parameters, 3 of which can't even be applied to players. But even so, there is a lot of combinations you can do with this.
The last problem of Overload loot is that it doesn't convey any lore with it. A "Sharp Iron Sword" in lush cavern with complex structures for observing the stars and in menacing dull ruins, rotting away and breaking down from below by magma currents, is still the exact same "Sharp Iron Sword". And if those two swords were instead, continuing the example, "Mossy Rusted Sword" and "Tainted Grotesque Sword", the overall experience from playing the areas would be just a tiiiny bit deeper.
So, how do I want to go about not falling in the same pit twice? First of all, there will be no more tiers for items. It will be entirely up to the player to decide if the sword that he has just found is better than the one he's using right now. Other than that, I will also utilize attributes to my advantage, so, for example, you'll be able to find both a "Gigantic Stone Greatsword", that deals a lot of damage, but makes you slower, and a "Swift Stone Longsword" that doesn't deal that much damage, but makes you faster (damn I really like using swords for examples). Alongside with a more attribute-oriented loot, enchanted stuff will probably become more rare. No more enchanted loot in every other chest! Because of that it will both feel and be so much more valuable when you find it.
And last but not least, items will be tied to lore. Instead of "Durable Iron Sword" you will find stuff like "Royal Knight's Broadsword" or "Dull Axe of Revolutionary", and they will actually be somehow logical to the context and will reveal a tiny bit of history of the world through their names\descriptions.
Oh, I just finished talking about this one topic, and this is already quite a text. Let's stop here today, but that does raise one question for all of you guys who read these updates: should I not stop myself and write big walls of text when I want to talk about a lot of stuff (probably 2\2.5 times more than this update), or is this size (+/- a bit, of course) more comfortable for the updates?
Also, the screenshot, as always:
***
Troll or not, I should address this.
First of all, combat is one of the main factors in CTM maps, so you will find yourself in combat pretty much all the time when you're exploring areas. If you find it boring, perhaps CTMs might not be for you.
Next thing. Spawners provide much more flexibility than natural spawns, as well as are overall better in terms of precise balance of difficulty, (so you will not find yourself watching a stupidly large horde of mobs coming for you from one dark room). So, of course there will be a lot of spawners in the map.
Also, it seems like you are saying that I tossed a "crap ton" of spawners around in the areas without too much thought put into it, (and I apologize if that is not what you wanted to convey). But saying that is just plain wrong. If there is a spawner somewhere in the map, it is there because I thought that it should be there. I didn't just fly around for several minutes placing spawners because "there should be spawners in areas", but I actually thought, for example, "I will put this blaze spawner in the lava near the anvil, so the player will have a more difficult time here, but as a reward, he will get a shiny new anvil". And if there are places with spammy spawners, they are there because I wanted there to be such a place (for better or for worse is a different question).
There indeed isn't a lot of traps, but they are certainly not the key factor for interesting gameplay, and I would rather use them scarcely than have one around each corner.
With all of that being said, I'm sorry that Overload didn't meet your expectations. There are a lot of great CTMs out there that you can dive into, so you will most certainly find something enjoyable for yourself.
Hooray for speedruns!
If I were to replay Animosity now, I would probably find it to be an amateur disaster all around, starting from balance and aesthetics and ending with me being a total jerk with purple wool entrance. C:
0
Ah, thank you for letting me know, must have overlooked that when fixing the video section.
3
Okay, I thought that the amount of areas might raise some questions (especially without the proper explanation from my side), so I should address this now.
The map consists of 28 areas in total, 16 of which contain wool. This leaves us with 12 non-wool areas (these do not include intersections). Out of these 12 areas, 3 are mandatory transitional areas, but they're short and are "areas" more because of different environment than size (they are there because I needed to make smooth and logical transitions between the areas). Leaving these out, there are 9 areas left. 3 of those are small dungeons that you'll need to visit, but they shouldn't take you more that 15 minutes to complete each one. Without them, 6 areas are left in question, and only 2 of those you need to go through ("prologue" and "starting area", if you will). And so, the last 4 areas that are left are not mandatory, and if you're going just for the wools, and not world lore and loot, you can ignore them. (There will be a sign at the start of each of those areas telling you that "this is a side-area that can be skipped").
So, in total, out of those 12 non-wool areas you must visit 8, 6 of which are small. Doesn't sound quite as scary as "28 areas", right? C:
0
This will be up to you to decide after you play through the map, because I can assure you that I will be equally happy with either one of these choices.
0
It is indeed too early to predict anything concerning difficulty. When I will start placing loot and mobs in Int1, then I'll be able to do a vague prediction.
4
You can read the first one here.
13
Yes?
SP03 Dev. Update №1 (40+1?)
Feels good to be back to doing this.
So, let's hop right into it with several things about SP03, (it's called "SP03 Dev. Updates" now, am I right?), and how it will be different from Animosity and Overload. I will leave some stuff for the next time, so this first update will not be a giant wall of text from the depths of hell.
As you can remember, if you've played either Animosity or Overload, most of the areas were either fully underground or with skylights at the top, without any areas on the "surface", for the lack of a better word. That is the first major difference between SP03 and SP01\02. SP03 will consist mostly of open-sky non-underground areas. Though, I will still mix in some of the good-old underground areas, but there will not be many of them. Also, unlike SP01\02, SP03 will feature quite a lot of non-wool areas that will be either transitions between wool areas, or just areas for special loot\something else (loot will not be the sole purpose of those areas). That means that the map will be overall bigger than any of the previous ones, and that it will take me longer to finish it : D. Right now, the total amount of areas in SP03 I plan for is 28, including all of the transitions and non-wool areas. That might (and probably will) change throughout the development, but I though that this is quite interesting as it is.
Next, the structures. My previous maps certainly made use of different kinds of structures, but it wasn't their absolute focus, there were still some areas that relied on terrain (though I was already getting rid of that in Overload). SP03 areas will be more structure-oriented than terrain-oriented, (yay for bigass fortresses). Now, that doesn't mean that terrain will be of a lower quality, that means that there will be less of it. And let me be completely honest with you right now, I just plainly find building bigass fortresses much more enjoyable that doing terrain.
And last but not least for this dev. update, the lore and story. SP03 will not be just a compilation of diverse areas like Animosity and Overload. The map has a consistent theme running throughout it as well as full lore background. You as the player will be able to find different pieces of lore like old books\encyclopedias\letters that will give you various information about the world and its habitants. And also, with each wool collected you will find the notes of a person that will lead you through the main story. Getting a little bit off topic, I did create several fantastic worlds in the past for the purpose of giving my brain something to work on, so I hope I will be able to create an interesting story for SP03. In its state now, most of the plot is laid out as well as all of overall lore, though there is still some holes I have to fill and then polish it all.
Phew, I think that'll do for now. I will also update the main post to have some basic information about SP03 shortly after this post. But now, to close it off, as we were doing in good-old days, a screenshot:
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That's not intentional and is a bug with redstone. Type "/scoreboard set players @a Int 2" in the chat to force teleports to work. (If that happens with Int4, type the same thing except replace "2" with "3").
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It is going quite good. I'm not working as fast as I possibly can, but the progress is getting done at a solid pace. Right now, I'm more or less done with aesthetics of first intersection, though I'm still going around doing touch-ups.
You are right, I've been avoiding screenshots for long enough. There are quite some things that I could show off, but let's just not think about them right now C: . Instead, here is a little piece of one of the starting areas:
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Aww yeah, give me that sexy feedback.
Let's go about this in order:
The spawn works as intended only in SSP because you can set the starting configuration of only one player in world settings, and in SMP those settings are ignored. I could have done some redstone to fix that, but the time was running out, so that's how it is.
The Strawberry Jam is a CTM map-making event that runs every couple of months. The goal is to create a small CTM map in 3 days from scratch. With the last area, when I started working on it, I had something like 6 hours left, with all of loot, mobs and testing still to be done, so I've tried to find a good balance of making something playable and not going over time limit. Thinking about it now, I probably could have done something more interesting with it, but oh well.
Good idea about giving one carrot at the start, food is somehow always one thing I'm struggling to find a solid balance with, although that's maybe for the better.
On the topic of Gilded Pass|Fateful Carnage similarity, I believe I made GP earlier that FC, so it was most certainly a source of inspiration for me indeed.
And about semi-linear layout for SP03 - I believe it's possible to make such a style work wonderfully in a full-sized CTM, but I have a soft spot for Linear-Branching, which is why I'm going with that. Besides, I already have a full-blown plan for SP03 with all of the areas laid out in a nice order.
So, overall, thank you for the nice review with quite some thoughts, as always, put into it. It does make gears in my head turn and think about some details that I wouldn't have thought about otherwise, which is certainly a good thing.