Q3 map 'q3_curse2' (beta)

[speaker]

Hi,

This map is a remake of the Unreal Tournament level DM-Curse][. It is one of the best levels in the standard UT distribution. It has rather good gameplay but is a bit plain looking. I have tried to recreate the layout of the original while making the map visually more interesting. I would appreciate having your opinion (good or bad ).

Downloads:
PK3 (size 6.1 MB) http://menczel.extra.hu/q3_curse2.zip
MAP (size 3.2 MB) http://menczel.extra.hu/q3_curse2_map.zip



More screen shots:
http://menczel.extra.hu/q3_curse2_2.jpg
http://menczel.extra.hu/q3_curse2_3.jpg

[foralarx2k3]

I wish I could comment on more than just what I can see in the screenshoots for you Speaker. But as it may be some time till I'll back up and running for now that will have to do. Visually it looks great and the gothic theme really retains the atmosphere of the original map. Speaking of which from the screenie's you've provided I can tell you it's most def. very easy to tell which map it is, so well done on that as well. It's very difficult to tell from screenies but that lower corridor does appear wider than in UT. And the upper area looks to be more open that it's counterpart, at least on the horizontal. Given quake 3's speed over UT2K3, etc I'd say that, that's actually a good thing. I'll certainly be downloading this once I'm back up and running to give it a run-a-round in as it's a gem of a ffa map, so I'll be sure to pop back then and provide feedback when I do (though this may be a dead post by then ). Quick question .. (as it's sure to help boost your download count ... curiousity and all that .... did you include all the hidden areas .. without giving away to much .. like the one on the upper level ?)

[v1l3]

Maybe I'm confused or not..but, I already have a final version of this map made by Tomasz "Vymmiatacz" Maci¹g. Is that you, or are you re-doing it?

[speaker]

@foralarx2k3:

I was sorry to hear about the untimely death of your hard disk. I hope that you will be up and kicking again ASAP.

As for the hidden areas, you got me there, man. One of them (the alcove over the wooden posts going across the room where the UT logo is on the wall) is there but it is not hidden. The hidden chamber with the quad damage is not included in this beta. I am not sure if quad damage should be included (especially in a hidden area). Tutorials on 'proper' level design say no. About the hidden area on the upper level, I am at a loss. I am not aware that there is such a thing. Could you be more specific?

Please, be warned: When you get the map and have a look at it, don't expect a faithful clone. You may be disappointed just as you were with my previous conversion 'q3_ultrav'.

@v1l3:

I am reasonably sure that I am _not_ Tomasz "Vymmiatacz" Maci¹g .

I was not aware of the conversion you mentioned. I am not looking for excuses, but you may recall that in a previous post I requested info on existing conversions of Quake and UT maps. Now, if you had sent me a note... Anyway, I would appreciate if you could post a link to the map you mentioned.

[foralarx2k3]

Thanks for the words of sympathy Speaker. Ok didn't have to wait for my pc to have a quick run around after all ... though it was only a short run around .. no bots .. so I can't comment on game play. It looks pretty good mate .. I don't think the loss of the secret areas will affect game play in any way what-so-ever on your version. [Upper one is at the end of the beam where you have the red armour .. in UT you can just walk straight through the wall ... I'm pretty certain it's still there on curse II .. if not it was def there on the prev version]. Anyways like I said it won't be missed on your version. I was worried about the horiztion proportions from looking at the screenshots... let me asure everyone .. they are just fine.... All in all it gets the thumbs up from me. Good work fella. I'll be sure to pop back and get a copy for myself when I do get my PC working.

Cheers

FoRa!

[v1l3]

http://www.lvlworld.com/#c=m8&i=1792&d= ... =DM-Cursed][


..and I never said I was dissapointed with q3_ultrav! I've actually played it quite a bit.

[speaker]

@v1l3:

Thanks for the link. I checked out the map, it is an amazingly faithful copy of DM-Curse][. However, I was not really satisfied with its lighting and texture choices: it looks even blander than the original. Nevertheless, a good conversion job. My attitude is somewhat different. I do not want to make carbon copies of other maps, just something as similar as possible. But I don't hesitate to change a couple of things if I am convinced that it will improve the level or makes it more suitable for Q3. Maybe it would be appropriate to call my converted maps 'xxx-ish', but it sounds so silly

BTW, you probably misunderstood me, the remark about disappointment was meant for FoRa.

@foralarx2k3:

Thanks for the kind remarks, I am glad you liked my map. FYI, the secret area on the upper level is still there. It is amazing that I must have played this map several dozen times and I never found this place.

[v1l3]

well..regardless of the other one, Cursed2 is a good map to remake. I haven't downloaded your version yet because I thought it was the other one. I'll wait until you put an .aas file in it. Your right about the other one being very simple looking in lights and textures though.

[speaker]

@v1l3 :

The map does have bot support (aas). I don't post maps w/o that, even betas. It would be kind of pointless (difficult to test how the map actually plays).

BTW, have you seen any conversion of DM-Malevolence (a level in one of the bonus packs for ut)? I'm asking since that will be my next project.

[v1l3]

Nice remake of the yep. I like the item and weapon layout also. About Malevolence being done already..I haven't see anything, though I'm trying to remember what the map looked like as it's been a while since I played it. The maps that have been done are Healpod, turbine, The Deck, stalwart small, Phobos, Morpheus, Tempest, and Morbias.

[speaker]

@v1l3:

Thanks for the info. I found Morpheus, Turbine and Deck16 on LvL, but had no luck with the others. Do you have links for the rest?

[v1l3]

Morbias, Tempest, and Phobos are in the UnrealArena Mod...and they were made by Kiltron and their terribly done. I dunno if their just unfinished or not..as that mod was never finished and become final..it would have been cool if it had. The healpod .bsp name is cr_dm2. Stalwarts .bsp is stalwartq3. I could have swore that I got these maps from ..::LvL, but apparently not. I'd put them up, but I have no site and I'm on dial-up so it would take me like 40 minutes to send one of them which I don't have the time to do so...so don't ask!!
You can get the UnrealArena mod at: http://www.quakeunity.com/downloads
Check it out..it's a cool idea, but completely unfinished.

[speaker]

@v1l3:

Never mind, it's not so important. Those maps have never been my favorites anyway. I checked the maps I found, and my reaction is kind of mixed. The Turbine remake is terrible, ditto Morpheus. Morpheusx is reasonable, but gameplay is ruined by the fact that in Q3 you cannot assign different gravity to different parts of the map The 'Deck16' remake (q3deck) is quite good, I like it.

I decided to go ahead with the conversion of DM-Malevolence and DM-Bloodflowers as my next projects. Hope to post betas in about 2-3 weeks And I will definitely make a Q3 version of DM-Tempest. It is a great map IMO.

[Mikko_Sandt]

I played two 7-minute rounds against three bots (Nightmare). The bots navigated the map quite well although I rarely found any fights outside the area (and the hallway leading to it) with the LG but I guess I should have increased the bot count a bit. I also never saw the bots picking up the Red Armor. There were enough weapons & supplies available. Have you tried if including a Quad would mess up the balance? I just thought the level could be of right size for a Quad.

I remember the original Curse only vaguely so I can't say much about that. Visually this remake was pretty good with some nice curves and good texturing.

[speaker]

@Mikko_Sandt:

Thanks for testing & evaluating my map.

I have also noticed that the bots prefer to stay in the upper RG room and the main atrium with the bridges. There was not much I could do about this. (IMO handling bot navigation is poor in Q3, it would be far better to be able to place bot navigation marks aka waypoints by hand, like in UT.) Maybe I will try to add a few well placed botroams to improve the situation.

The quad _is_ present in the original map, in a hidden alcove in the room where the yellow armor is located. I will try to add it, it may even help attracting the bots to other places of the map.

[dichtfux]

I don't know the original map, but this remake really looks and feels like an unreal map.

Good texturing. Lighting is ok but maybe a bit boring, it seems to be very uniform, no darker or brighter spots.

Bots tend to run in the middle of the long corridors, all you have to do is spam rockets, plasma or whatever there. But that's the fault of the bots and the maps layout, not yours. I'll give it another try together with my brother later if I find the time.

Good job.

Btw: You already promised you wouldn't do so anyways, but: please, please don't call any of your maps whatever-ish. I don't want to ruin my suit and keyboard here.