Very small maps: could they be interesting?

[Urcscumug]

Mooseberry joked on a another thread that he'd like to put the human and alien teams and bases in a very small box and let them rip at each other (at least I think he was joking ).

So ok, not a tiny little box, but how about something reasonably small, like the storage room with the suspended platform on Arachnid?

Yes, I mean that would be the entire map. Place aliens at one end, humans at another. When and if they reach S2 they can try taking over the platform.

The Arachnid room is just an example, I'm sure others can be found. Regardless, here are some things that could make such a map playable:

* I've already given you an idea about the size, I hope. Other comparisons: twice the ATCS courtyard; the human default room on Niveus + the next room; the storage room on Tremor; the human default room on Karith etc.

* The room should feature obstacles that would limit aliens from fast access from one side to another, and at the same time prevent humans from firing clear across it. Such as stacks of storage boxes, rows of pillars, low roofs with protrusions, pipes etc. Think of the room next to the human default on Transit, or the room with the big transparent pipe on Nexus. It would be nice though to find a happy medium between limitations and small zones of free movement. For both aliens' and humans' sake.

* Lighting may be important. Would low light help prolong or hasten the end of the game? Which would be desirable?

* It's not out of the question to add one or two small rooms or balconies or alcoves to make things more interesting.

And the most important question: would such a small map be playable? I think so, and I think maps like Mission One or Nano have proven that, and this map genre has the potential to become very interesting.

[Plague Bringer]

Nano is not exactly a one room small map.

[UniqPhoeniX]

I definitely prefer bigger maps, smaller ones start to get repetitive really fast due to limited base locations.

[mooseberry]

I think it could work. This is, kind of in a way, a mod of Tremulous. A sort of, get rid of running around, get rid (hopefully) of camping, just pure combat.

Perhaps limit BP though? I wouldn't like big games and 100 bp, human will just camp even worse.

[Archangel]

I made a map a while ago that is sort-of like this. I took X-20's shoebox map (he gave me the .map) and I rebuilt it to work. It isn't very pretty, be warned I'm sure you can find it on MG's map database.

[lol]

wow, the map im workin on is a small map with some of the same ocncepts but a few things that will really add to the gameplay.  Im still new to mapmakin so it might be awhile till its done.

[epsy]

I've already seen maps like this(one room). None of them was playable.

[Zero Ame]

what about a little more then just 1 room? because like epsy says, they are very unplayable, 1: aliens wouldnt be able to evo because how close they are to human base. 2 humans would easily just snipe the aliens from the safty of their base(even with boxes and crates in the way, jetards would just go up and down for ammo.)

I would try something more of where there are at least 3 rooms. I'll actually try this out

[Knowitall66]

...3 rooms...

What?! ANOTHER atcs clone
More ontopic: The arachnid2 crate room may work for a 1 room map.

[Zero Ame]

no, nothing at all like ATCS, it has 3 rooms + tons of halls, im talking about a map thats purely 3 rooms, which I'm done making already and im testing it right now

[Odin]

1.2 could have a game mode that closes and locks certain doors, and builds a base for both races in the same room. Both races would be confined to the same room or set of two or three rooms that are connected to each other and are timed with a stopwatch to see who can win faster than the other team.

[Plague Bringer]

That'd require a new map with sections blocked off.

But, another reason why we might want a new engine? More gimmick/gameplay options. The ability to cut power to a door, or, as a human, to fuse wires and power it, or as an alien, to spit juice (or something) to create an electrical connection. Lights that can be powered? Better shadows on players so that you can actually hide in the dark (give the helmet the ability to outline alien forms)? A flashlight would be needed, and the only reason we don't have one is because the engine won't like it, and it's not needed on the current engine.

[Zero Ame]

Lights that can be powered?

This can be done with the current engine it just has to modded to allow it. JKA(a game that uses same engine just modded) has the ability to alow you to make lights that have switches so you can turn them on and off. Or with their func_breakable entiny alows you to make a lamp that can be destroyed and the light breaks with it

[Odin]

That'd require a new map with sections blocked off.

Not really, just have the game calculate a likely place to put a base, and set all doors leading into the area to have a wait of 9999 and start_closed.

[Knowitall66]

Could I just propose a simple solution. A new entity that can be placed via a layout, that is nothing more then a sheet of metal to seal unwanted routes.
@Plague: as Zero Ame said our current engine can do a hell of a lot. (As long as someones will to make it so )

[Plague Bringer]

That'd require a new map with sections blocked off.

Not really, just have the game calculate a likely place to put a base, and set all doors leading into the area to have a wait of 9999 and start_closed.

Can changing settings determined before the bsp build of the map be altered within the game? I think not (if only because I've never heard anything contrary to this).

Lights that can be shot out would require dynamic lighting to make them effective. It was my understanding that Q3 can't support that?

[gimhael]

The Q3 renderer supports up to 32 limited dynamic lights. Limited because the dynamic lights have no shadows, they only affect a limited range and the engine doesn't really compute the proper lighting, but it just renders an additional light texture on all the surfaces within the range.

So they are only used for short light effects like muzzle flashes, because the eye can't see how bad they really look in the short time.